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Mar 2019
Okay, Father, your arguments are very clever, but the Church has changed. Vatican II mandated that Mass be celebrated facing the people; that is the way it is now. No one is celebrating towards the tabernacle any more; who are you, just one priest, to say that we should go back to the way things were before? Well, first of all, Vatican II never mandated that Mass be celebrated facing the people. Indeed, to my knowledge it was never officially mandated. It was permitted and done. That is all. The Vatican II......
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March 15, 2019
Priest and people: Complementary roles in the one People of God.
Once we grasp that real involvement in the Mass is deeply interior, in prayer and self-offering, we might still think there a vast separation between the priest up there at the altar and the people....
March 08, 2019
Involvement in the Sacrifice of the Mass: Part II
Last week, I tried to respond to concern about how the lay faithful can be involved in the sacrifice being accomplished by the priest standing at the altar. In my response I compared the sacrifice...
March 01, 2019
Involvement in the Sacrifice of Mass Pt. 1
Last week I showed that what Jesus, at the Last Supper, commanded us to do in memory of himself was not to re-enact the Last Supper, but to commemorate and offer anew, in unbloody fashion,...
February 22, 2019
The meaning of what we see at Mass: Part II
Last week I suggested the real key to the difference between Mass facing the people or Mass facing the tabernacle is the relation of the Mass to the Last Supper. Mass facing the people usually...
February 15, 2019
The meaning of what we see at Mass: Part I
Over the past weeks I have been examining possible reasons why a person might no longer “feel involved” in the Mass when the priest celebrates Mass facing the tabernacle rather than facing the people. Until...
February 08, 2019
What do we see at Mass? (Part II)
Last week I began asking the question, “Why do some people no longer feel like they are involved in the Mass when the priest turns to face the tabernacle?” I began to suggest some answers...
February 01, 2019
What do we see at Mass? (Part I)
The chief complaint that has come to my ears regarding the celebration of Mass facing the tabernacle is, “I no longer feel involved.” Fair enough, but let us use this as an opportunity for deeper...
January 25, 2019
The Focus of the Priest at the Altar
Last Sunday I finally began celebrating Sunday Mass facing the people again. Prior to that we had a good discussion of the matter in the parish council. There I learned that some people had expected...
January 18, 2019
The Mystery of God and Veils
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about sacred images; today I want to write about something that serves as a sort of complement to sacred images, veils. Sacred images remind us that God has...