When he opened the Holy Door at the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome at the beginning of the Year of Mercy in December of 2015, Pope Francis declared that people of faith must welcome and experience God’s love and then go out into the world to be instruments of mercy.
The pope added that Christians must be “aware that we will be judged by this.” Being a Christian calls for a lifelong journey and a “more radical commitment” to be merciful like God the Father, Pope Francis said.
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.
