Category Archives: “How To…” – Practical Notes

ASK FATHER: Solid books about Ignatian spirituality and Jesuit teaching without the crazy stuff

From a reader… QUAERITUR: Thank you for all you do Father. I’ve always been a big fan of St Ignatius of Loyola and what the Jesuits once were. I’m also equally appalled at what they have become. Growing up the … Continue reading

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ASK FATHER: On Good Friday should we venerate a Cross or a Crucifix?

UPDATE 16 April From a reader… Father, I know you’re not a fan of the Book of Blessings, [You’ve got that right!] but being an “official” ritual book, these two paragraphs from Chapter 35, “Order for the Blessing of a … Continue reading

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Special Meal Prayers for the Sacred Triduum with a mini-seminar on Jewish shabbat, Passover and the timing of the Last Supper and the Crucifixion

Did you know that there are proper table blessing, meal prayers for great feast days and for the Sacred Triduum? I made a post and podcast about this some time ago. However, seeing that it is Holy Thursday, I thought … Continue reading

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ASK FATHER: Priest omits some of the words of absolution. Valid?

From a reader… QUAERITUR: Father, if the confessor forgot say “IN THE NAME” in absolution formula, is the sacrament VALID? But, the confessor makes the sign of the cross. Again we have some jackass who doesn’t use the proper “form” … Continue reading

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ASK FATHER: Priests praying in Latin when someone is dying and people are upset. Is this really the right thing to do?

From a priest… QUAERITUR: I thought this might be a question you would be interested in answering. The Prayers for the Dying in the modern ritual are brief, and rather weak. The alternative of course is the prayers from the … Continue reading

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ASK FATHER: Do personality disorders prevent a marriage from being valid?

From a reader… QUAERITUR: Do personality disorders prevent a marriage from being valid? For example, if a couple married in the Church, and one and/or both of them are later diagnosed with a personality disorder (such as Obsessive Compulsive Personality … Continue reading

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ASK FATHER: Now that canon law allows for females to be instituted acolytes, can a female be straw subdeacon in a Solemn Mass?

From a reader… QUAERITUR: Now that canon law allows for females to be instituted acolytes, is it possible, prudential, for a female to be a straw subdeacon in a solemn high mass? Listen here wise guy.  You are probably not … Continue reading

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ASK FATHER: Can I get a dispensation from my Sunday Mass obligation from an SSPX priest?

From a reader…. QUAERITUR: I generally fulfill my Sunday obligation by assisting at a Mass said at a nearby SSPX chapel.  We have an opportunity to attend a family reunion in a few months.  Given how far away we live … Continue reading

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Of Benedictines, Easter Cards and YOU. Or… If you send cards for Christmas, how much more for Easter?

I often mention that the Benedictines of Norcia make great beer and that when you but, you help them.  (That beer is really good.) So, too, I mention the Benedictines of Le Barroux who make wine (and they now have … Continue reading

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ASK FATHER: Marital relations in marriages of non-Catholics or Catholics to non-Catholics

From a reader…. QUAERITUR: In what status does the Church consider the marriages of non-Catholics/Catholics to non-Catholics and marital relations within such marriages? I ask due to a couple I know of where neither spouse is baptized and the husband … Continue reading

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