Category: Columns

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Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

What makes a Mass ‘Pontifical’

What's That All About column by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

The third in a series by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf about the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.

In this installment we can finally get into the nitty-gritty of what Bishop Robert C. Morlino of Madison does when he celebrates a “Pontifical Mass at the Throne” in the older, traditional, Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite as it has been for centuries before the Second Vatican Council (1962-65).

In the traditional form of Holy Mass there are distinct levels of solemnity, each carefully regulated.

For Masses of priests, we have “Low,” “High,” and “Solemn” Masses.

At Low Mass, all the texts are spoken, no incense is used, and you will see one or two altar boys.

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Bishop Robert Barron

Pope Francis and the evangelicals, part two

Part two of a two-part series.

In his Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel), displaying his penchant for finding the memorable image, Pope Francis excoriates Christians who have turned “into querulous and disillusioned pessimists, ‘sourpusses,'” and whose lives “seem like Lent without Easter.”

Such people might be smart and they might even be morally upright, but they will never be successful evangelists.

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On
Fr. Donald Lange

Lent has surprisingly modern appeal

Christians around the world mark Lent’s beginning by celebrating Ash Wednesday, Feb. 10 this year.

Lent has a surprising modern appeal. Some pastors say that next to Christmas, more people come to church on Ash Wednesday than on any other day, including Easter.

Facing a basic truth

The ashes help us face a basic truth that we may try to avoid, namely death. When we receive ashes, the priest or deacon says, “Remember, you are dust and unto dust, you shall return.” They may also say, “Repent and believe the Good News!”

Combined, the words remind us that we will die and return to dust; therefore, while we’re still alive, we are to repent and believe the Good News!

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On
Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Celebrating the Pontifical Mass at the Throne

What's That All About column by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

The second in a series by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf about the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.

In this short series, we are looking into what Bishop Robert C. Morlino has been doing with the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.

You will occasionally see a news story about him celebrating a “Pontifical Mass at the Throne.”

You might not be familiar with that. In the first article, we had a whirlwind explanation of what the Roman Rite is. Now we must drill more deeply.

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On
Sr. Constance Veit

Why we can’t ‘just sign the form’

A few weeks ago, I received a New Year’s card that read, “This will be the best year yet.”

We Little Sisters of the Poor are fervently praying that 2016 will be remembered as the year we were able to return to our quiet lives at the service of the elderly after a happy resolution to our long legal struggle over the HHS Contraceptive Mandate.

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On
Veronica Arntz, For the Catholic Herald

Theme nine: Mother, Teacher, Family — The Nature and Role of the Church

Guest Column

In response to the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia this past September, the Office of Evangelization and Catechesis of the Diocese of Madison is providing a monthly series on a particular theme on marriage and family. Each theme is a chapter in the preparatory catechesis developed for the event entitled Love Is Our Mission: The Family Fully Alive, available in paperback from www.osvparish.com or for free online at www.worldmeeting2015.org This is the ninth of 10 themes that will be explored.

Understanding the nature and mission of the Church is intrinsic to understanding the family, and specifically, the family as the domestic Church.

On the night before His passion and death, Christ prays for those who will believe in Him through the words of His disciples, “that they may all be one; even as you Father, are in me, and I in you” (John 17:21).

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Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

The different Rites of the Latin Church

What's That All About column by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

The first in a series by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf about the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.

“Bishop Morlino did what? What’s that all about?”

You may have seen notices and articles over the last year or so about Bishop Robert C. Morlino celebrating “Pontifical Mass at the Throne in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.”

It is possible that some of you, seeing “Throne,” and “Pontifical,” and “Extraordinary,” might say “What’s that all about?” as you turn the page.

In a short series over the next few issues of the Catholic Herald, let’s drill into “what that’s all about.”

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On
Abbot Marcel Rooney

Adaptation and renewal of Religious Life: Embracing the vow of obedience

Reflections on Religious Life column by Abbot Marcel Rooney

Editor’s note: During the Year of Consecrated Life which ends on February 2, this is the last in a series based on the Second Vatican Council’s document, Perfectae Caritatis (Decree on the Adaptation and Renewal of Religious Life) written by Abbot Marcel Rooney, OSB, former abbot primate of the Benedictine order who now resides in Madison.

In this commentary on the Decree of the Second Vatican Council, On the Adaptation and Renewal of Religious Life (original = Perfectae Caritatis), we have been reflecting on how the Council Fathers envisioned a deep renewal of what the Church calls “the Consecrated Life.”

Number 14 of the decree speaks of one of the evangelical counsels, obedience. It is one of the most important ones, and gives a particular color to the entirety of Religious Life.

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