The ordained priest shares in Christ’s artisan-work of re-crafting the divine image in man in a unique way. By being an alter Christus, he makes Christ, the Head and Bridegroom of the Church, present to the Church herself. He is an icon of Christ’s presence to the very icon of Christ’s presence in the world. He supports...
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Have you ever been to a Mass where the priest invited people (perhaps children) from the congregation to stand with him behind the altar during the Eucharistic Prayer? I have. Now, I’m not going to spend a lot of time discussing the illiceity of this practice (see Notitiae 17 (1981), 61). Rather, I would...
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This June is a very solemn month. There are four Solemnities on the Liturgical Calendar: Trinity Sunday, Corpus Christi, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and the Birth of St. John the Baptist. The first three are movable feasts, scheduled according to the date of Easter each year: Trinity Sunday...
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Baptism confers the common priesthood because it makes one a member of the Church, the sacrament of God’s presence in the world.5 The common priesthood enables and charges the one baptized with the duty to advance the total reconciliation of man to God, already accomplished on the cross but needing to be applied and...
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Christ’s priesthood is the true and surpassing priesthood because his sacrifice is the true and surpassing sacrifice. The identity of the priest derives, then, from Christ’s sacrifice. If Christ’s sacrifice is beautiful and a cause of beauty, then the priest has a special share in Christ’s work as an artisan who re-crafts human nature—and particular...
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In his divine nature, Christ, considered from the aspect of beauty is perfect Art of the Father, even as, considered from the aspect of truth, he is the Word of the Father. The Father, knowing and loving himself of necessity, also perceives in himself perfect beauty. The form of this beauty—if we attempt what...
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Sacrifice is beautiful. We intuitively recognize its love, nobility, and mystery. Our Lord’s priestly sacrifice on the cross is, being the exemplar and source of value for all sacrifice, also the most beautiful. St Thomas Aquinas described the beautiful as “that which, being seen, pleases,”1 which forces us to ask the question: can sacrifice be beautiful...
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And what of the Catholic laity of England? Their dedication to the Mass and the Catholic Church meant that they would be fined for not attending Church of England services, and as the fines increased, they could also be imprisoned and their property confiscated. There were some who did offer an outward compliance by...
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The January 1, 2012 erection of an official Ordinariate in North America for Catholics from Anglican backgrounds can be celebrated by all Catholics who love liturgy. When Pope Benedict XVI established the apostolic constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus, he boldly hoped that Anglicans entering the full communion of the Catholic Church would maintain some of their liturgical, spiritual and...
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The sanctuary is the place where the altar stands, where the word of God is proclaimed, and where the priest, the deacon, and the other ministers exercise their offices. It should suitably be marked off from the body of the church either by its being somewhat elevated or by a particular structure and ornamentation.
Here...
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