These are dark days, and we are battle weary. There are a multitude of wars raging, geo-political, cultural, ecclesiastical, domestic and physical, and the northern winter has us scuttling like burrowing animals, seeking out light and warmth.

Published in Canada

In his 2022 apostolic letter Desiderio desideravi, Pope Francis said congregants are called “to be astonished at the beauty of the liturgy.”

Published in Canada

One of the most oft-quoted passages of the New Testament is 1 Corinthians 13:1: “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” The ensuing verses are probably the most popular option for the epistle in the Roman Catholic Nuptial Mass and why wouldn’t it be at an occasion when we are celebrating the love between the bride and groom?

Published in Register Columnists

As controversy and deep division continued in an Indian archdiocese over the direction the priest faces during the celebration of the liturgy, the Vatican confirmed that Pope Francis named Slovak Archbishop Cyril Vasil of Košice as his pontifical delegate to help resolve the dispute.

Published in Vatican

I have just returned from a week singing under the California sun. Not favourite lyrics from the Beach Boys though, but Gregorian chant and Renaissance motets. Along with 74 other choristers, choir directors and organists who attended a Sacred Music Symposium hosted by St. John the Baptist Parish in Orange County, I return to my home parish eager to put into practice what I have learned.

Published in Register Columnists

By the time the Catholic Book of Worship III hits its 30th birthday in 2024, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops hopes to have its replacement sitting in the pews.

Published in Canada

Installing a new bishop is a very big deal. And every big deal in a Catholic diocese calls for a big liturgy.

Published in Features

Laypeople in an archdiocese of India's Syro-Malabar Catholic Church have begun a round-the-clock vigil to stop the Vatican-appointed administrator from gaining entry into the archbishop's house.

Published in International

Since language provides the foundation for thoughts and culturally roots people in communities, the death of a language means the death of the unique cultural wisdom that it holds.

Published in Canada

More than 70 aboriginal languages are spoken in Canada, according to the 2016 census. But you can’t fully celebrate the Eucharist in any of them. Anointing the sick, baptisms, funerals, weddings and other important sacramental markers of Catholic life are also delivered on Indigenous land in English or French.

Published in Canada

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis named Msgr. Diego Giovanni Ravelli, who has served as an official of the papal almoner's office since 2013, as the new master of papal liturgical ceremonies, the Vatican said.

Published in Vatican

There is an old joke that asks what the difference is between a liturgist and a terrorist. The punchline: You can negotiate with a terrorist.

Published in Register Columnists
February 18, 2021

Missal updated in Canada

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops has agreed to adjust the English-language wording to the conclusion of the Collect (the opening prayer) in the Roman Missal approved for use in Canada.

Published in Canada

VATICAN CITY -- The liturgy is not a spectacle to be observed but a prayerful event where Christians encounter Christ's presence in their lives, Pope Francis said.

Published in Reflections

Our calendar of liturgical seasons is rather bare compared to some of our sister Catholic Churches. That is never more evident than in our long season of “Ordinary Time,” an uninspired translation of a banal original (in Latin, “Sundays of the Year”).

Published in Fr. Raymond de Souza
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