One of the distinctive features of Roman Catholic worship is the use of incense during the Holy Mass, especially in its more solemn form. Despite the familiarity of using incense in worship—think here of the expression “smells and bells”—many Catholics still wonder: Why do we use incense in Mass? Where does it come from? What […] The post The Jewish Roots of the Catholic Altar: The Altar of Incense (Part III) appeared first on Adoremus.| Adoremus
Meeting with altar servers from France, Pope Leo XIV laments the country’s lack of priests and upholds the ministry of young people at the altar, saying the dignity of their service helps lead people into the sacred greatness of the Mystery.| Catholic Outlook
Prior to the Novus Ordo Missae, priests had an entire ritual for putting on vestments for Mass. Each vestment had its own short prayer, often alluding either to the vestment’s symbolic meaning and/or a moral allusion. In the Latin rite, those prayers fell into disuse though some priests have apparently recently tried to recover them. […]| Adoremus
SAN DIEGO — “Breathtaking.” That’s how Alejandra Casas describes the opening procession of the diocese’s Pentecost Mass for All Peoples. Representatives of cultural Catholic communities enter one by one, dressed in their brightly colored traditional attire. “There is such beauty in our Church,” she says. She and her husband, John Casas, lay leaders in the diocese’s...| The Southern Cross
Is missing Mass a sin in the Catholic faith? Attending church is something crucial and part of the practices of the Catholic faith, so let's find out!| About Catholics
Old Testament priests ceremonially place their hands on the animals to be sacrificed. St. Thomas the Apostle witnesses to the Divinity of the risen Christ by exclaiming, “My Lord and my God!” The early Christian martyr St. Lawrence is roasted alive on a gridiron. The Manichean heresy threatens Catholic orthodoxy. The Ostrogoths overrun Italy. The […]| Adoremus
As a kid, I read somewhere in an article that a typical human being has roughly a gram of fecal matter just kinda hanging out in a not-thoroughly-wiped way. So that was icky, but probably a good hygiene lesson for a little kid. Then years later, while learning more about the metric system, I heard … Continue reading "Clench that Clip"| Welcome to the Petting Zoo
Ah, church with kiddos...HOW DO YOU DO IT? I don't claim to have all the answers but it's a question I've seen and received often enough that I thought I'd write out what works for us. And by works I do not mean perfection or raising fearful robot children, heh. I mean that I can confidently say our kids do reasonably well at Mass. Some of these things came instinctively but many more are things we've learned over time through lots of trial and error, tears (probably mostly mine) and victorie...| Mary Haseltine
Q: I recently learned that the feast of Corpus Christi was inspired by a Eucharistic miracle. Can you please give more details about this? — A reader in Springfield A: In the year 1263, a German priest, Peter of Prague, … Continued| Catholic Straight Answers
Q: I have wondered about a new phrase in Eucharistic Prayer II: The priest says “like the dewfall.” It sounds sort of funny. — A reader in Philadelphia A: Admittedly, the phrase “like the dewfall” does sound “sort of funny,” … Continued| Catholic Straight Answers
