Liturgy
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Lay preaching: it’s not who preaches — it’s who’s heard
The German bishops wanted to promote the lay homily. It was of no use: the liturgy dicastery rejected the request – and made it clear where it sees the place of laypeople in the liturgy.
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The space between
In a world of instant replies, Jesus waited! Even while healing urgently, Jesus paused for one quiet interruption, a reminder that presence matters more than speed.
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The Tabernacle is the message
Faithful should receive hosts from the same Mass — yet it rarely happens anymore.
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Kneelers to circles: Berlin reimagines the liturgy
“Recent editions of Flashes have discussed the virtues of standing rather than kneeling during the liturgy. We’ve had ‘Restoring kneelers!’ (23 June), ‘When kneeling divides rather than unites’ (30 June), and ‘Standing to pray: sign of a priestly people’ (7 July). The authors all want us to stand before God.”
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The Mass is for everyone – not just the intellectual few
Diverging approaches to liturgical language deepened tensions between East and West, contributing to the eventual schism of 1054.
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SSPX ordinations: 40 years on a second schism
The SSPX’s latest ordinations mark a deeper, more entrenched rejection of Vatican II than its original 1988 schism.
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Standing to pray: sign of a priestly people
Vatican II’s actuosa participatio means the entire gathering celebrates, a priestly people with a presbyter presiding rather than a priest set apart from a people.
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When kneeling divides rather than unites
“Let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!” The title of the pastoral letter by Sydney’s Archbishop Anthony Fisher, taken from Psalm 95, already hints at its content: the cleric wants to promote the importance of kneeling once again in his archdiocese. The Innsbruck liturgical scholar Liborius Olaf Lumma studies bodily postures in the liturgy.…
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The courage to be unremarkable
In a culture that prizes visibility, true worth comes not from standing out — the real challenge isn’t accepting ordinariness.
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Restoring kneelers!
Sydney clergy must now restore kneelers everywhere, treating contested history as fact and recasting decades of reverent standing as a deficiency.
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