Giving to God what belongs to God
“So each of us shall give an account of himself to God.” Romans 14: 12
"Obey your leaders and submit to them; for they are keeping watch over your souls, as men who will have to give account.” Hebrews 13: 17
What's New?
Recent additions to the website...
September 9, 2024.
Added a Cookie Banner to the homepage and a Privacy Policy page to comply with State and Federal law.
August 16-18, 2024.
Changed the text of the first paragraph in Abuses: The Hail Mary & the Prayer of the Faithful. Added another paragraph regarding places that traditional include the Hail Mary in the Prayer of the Faithful. Also adding Facebook share buttons to the pages.
August 15, 2024.
Added a new page to Abuses: The Hail Mary & the Prayer of the Faithful. The page includes quotes from the GIRM and links to articles on the subject.
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Added a new item to the page, Other Resources: ePRIEST's "Liturgy Question and Answer" section.
June 24, 2024.
Added to the Church Documents page: The online Spanish version of the Roman Missal for the USA can be found here: https://liturgiapapal.org/index.php/recursos-litúrgicos/libros-litúrgicos/604-misal-romano.html
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I also fixed the page buttons on the homepage. They didn't seem to be working in mobile view.
June 20, 2024.
Facebook re-published my page last night. I restored the link in the header and the news feed to the Contact page.
June 19, 2024.
Removed links to the Liturgical Accountability Facebook page as FB unpublished the page for the second time without warning. I have no idea why they think it violates community standards. One page said there are no issues against me. But, according to one pop-up, I'm restricted for "3,649 days" -- about 10 years! If this changes, I will put the links back.
June 1, 2024.
Removed links to the USCCB website for quote references on multiple pages due to issues with linking to the site. I left a few links, and a links on the Church Documents page.
Additions to the Church Documents page:
A note about the Vatican translations of the GIRM, "The English language version is not the official translation. It is from 2003 and was provisional. It is possible that the other translations are provisional as well."
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Also added:
Other sources for the GIRM include:
https://canonlaw.ninja/?v=girm
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Various pdf versions of the GIRM maybe found here:
https://www.ccwatershed.org/2013/08/25/general-instruction-roman-missal-pdf/
https://forum.musicasacra.com/forum/uploads/2011/08/girm2011.pdf
May 8, 2024.
Added to Advice on what to do: links to articles on Fr. John Zuhlsdorf's blog about how to write to the Vatican, bishops and priests.
April 22, 2024.
Added to Other Resources and Biblical & Liturgical Formation: Information about CanticaNOVA Publications. Also added anchor links at the top of the Other Resources page to quickly skip to the page's subsections.
April 22, 2024.
Added to Other Resources and Biblical & Liturgical Formation: "Pope Benedict XVI's Quotes on the Liturgy -- A parish in Orlando, FL has compiled a helpful page of quotes from Pope Benedict XVI about music and other liturgical issues, including liturgical dance, the use of Latin, and many more. http://www.stjohncc.com/popeben.htm "
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Added to Other Resources and Biblical & Liturgical Formation, new sections on Music Resources with links to John Gaffney, Music & Liturgy, Compositions & Workshops Facebook Group (https://www.facebook.com/JohnGaffneyMusicandLitugy/) and website (https://jgaffney.org/). And links to Foretaste of Heaven: Celebrate Authentic, Noble, Prayerful Roman Liturgy https://foretasteofheaven.com
April 19, 2024.
Added to new page Communion abuses, grave, images of Holy Communion on the tongue and in the hand with information about them.
April 18, 2024.
Added to Church Documents, the Instruction Instruction Memoriale Domini "Released on May 29, 1969 by the Congregation for Divine Worship, this Instruction was in response to the abuse of giving communion in the hand without the permission of the Holy See. The Instruction gave reasons why communion on the tongue was to be retained and a tally of votes by the Bishops who overwhelmingly voted "no" to communion in the hand. The Instruction ended with a sample letter which Bishop's Conferences could use to be granted permission for communion in the hand. https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/instruction-on-the-manner-of-distributing-holy-communion-2195
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Added to Vesting, improper: "NOTE: Vesting may differ based on climate and culture. Local Bishops' Conferences or local Bishops may issue specific guidelines which vary from what is outlined here from the GIRM for the USA."
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Added a new page to Abuses: Communion abuses, grave
April 16, 2024.
Added to Dance, liturgical: "NOTE: There are Rites in the Church and local Roman Missals which do allow dance in the liturgy, see below. The Church in the West, is not one of them." The link "below" is to a new section, "Where dance is allowed." Added the following to the section: "A member of a public Facebook group, in response to a video of liturgical dancing, posted information and images from a local Indonesian Order of Mass from 2005, approved by the Congregation of Divine Worship. He wrote that the Introit says, "This procession is accompanied by singing and/or other appropriate activities, for example dancing." You can see his comments and images from their Roman Missal here and here."
April 14, 2024.
Added to Dance, liturgical, the following: "Particular legislation has been enacted and confirmed by the Holy See for the Zairean Rite or Zaire Use, the Congolese liturgy of the Diocese of Zaire. They have their own official Roman Missal, approved in 1998. It has elements from sub-Saharan African culture, which includes dance. See Wikipedia for more information. Patheos has an article about the rite. It details some differences between the Latin Rite Roman Missal and the Zairean, including, "The celebrants and servers dance around the altar as a means of veneration." Read the article here: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/billykangas/2013/01/the-roman-missal-for-dioceses-of-zaire.html
April 7, 2024.
Added to Dance, liturgical, the following: "On June 26, 2022, Archbishop Emeritus Pedro Dean of the Archdiocese of Palo in Leyte, Philippines, gave a homily where he addressed liturgical dance and drama. In part, he said, "My dear brother, prayerfully and devoutly prepare the Mass. Carefully and faithfully observe the rubrics. Avoid extravagance & drama, like dancing, which often distracts not only the celebrant, but also the people themselves. Remember, remember, the Mass is a supreme act of worship, not an entertainment." You can hear more of what he said in a video clip on Buhay Liturhiya's Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/liturgicallife/videos/565978084967354/
April 4, 2024.
Added to Church Documents a link to the official English translation of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith's Note: Gestis verbisque.
April 1, 2024.
Added to Church Documents and Dance, liturgical the following: "In 2012, Fr. Anthony Ward, S.M. Undersecretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments responded to a letter regarding the performance of "liturgical dance and drama ministry" at a parish in the Philippines. The response letter, Prot. n. 544/12/L, says in part, "The liturgical law of the Roman Rite does not foresee the use of dance or drama within the Sacred Liturgy, unless particular legislation has been enacted by the Bishops' Conference and confirmed by the Holy See. Any other practice is to be considered an abuse. [....] Should the unlawful practices persist, the matter should be brought to the Bishop of the Diocese." You can see a jpg copy of the letter here."
April 1, 2024.
Added to Advice on What to Do:
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Holy Water Guns, Clown Dances During Communion, and other odd Abuses at the Altar from "The Father Leo Show" on YouTube, March 13, 2024.
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"Father Leo Patalinghug is a priest member of a community of consecrated life, Voluntas Dei (The Will of God)," according to the bio on his website, Plating Grace. In the video, Fr. Leo watches some videos of liturgical "silliness." He makes the distinction that Divine Liturgy is about the work of God, while the "silliness" is a work of humans. At the end of the video (about 23:36), he gives advice on what to do about liturgical abuse. A summary: ​
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Don't get angry. Make critical distinctions about the liturgy. See the video to learn about them.​
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Make an accounting of what you find "challenging."
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Make an appointment with the priest.
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Don't try to pick a fight with your priest. Try to bring about understanding.
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Ask him, why do we do these things? Where is this found in our prayer books, in the Sacramentary, for example? And if it's not there, then ask, why are we doing it? See the video for more keys to bringing about understanding.
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If the priest persist, then Fr. Leo encouraged you to send a letter accounting these things to your Bishop or Vicar General. "Do it with a real sense of humility and concerns," Father advises. The point is also not to get the priest in trouble, he says. Don't be arrogant. It is to be truly fraternal correction.
March 25, 2024.
Added to Vesting, improper the following: "Outside of the USA, vesting may differ. For example, in the Philippines, they have an indult allowing the stole to be worn over the chasuble under certain circumstances. See this Facebook comment."
Because this website has visitors from outside the USA, I added the following to Abuses: "Note that these abuses are based on the GIRM and Roman Missal used in the USA, and other USA based sources. Some countries and diocese -- even in the USA -- may vary in what is allowed by indult or diocesan guidelines. These exceptions would not and should not include grave abuses."
March 16, 2024.
Added a Facebook page news feed to the Contact page. It may not be visible with some browsers.
February 11, 2024.
Added a link to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith's Note: Gestis verbisque to Church Documents. As the document was only released in Italian, I have included a link to a Google English Translation. I also included a link to commentary by retired professor of theology Larry Chapp, In Praise of Gestis verbisque at The Catholic World Report.
January 16, 2024.
Created a private Facebook group. From post: "For anyone who would like to PRIVATELY discuss liturgical abuse issues so as NOT to cause scandal, here is a private group. I created the group because I wondered if people weren't comfortable even LIKING the posts on this page. There are other people who know how hard it is to deal with liturgical abuse. Maybe we can connect here."
November 12, 2023.
Added a new page to Abuses: Blessings at Communion. Controversial due to people's feelings on the subject, some diocese have approved this addition to the liturgy, some have issued guidelines, while some discourage or forbid the practice.
November 12, 2023.
Added to Biblical & Liturgical Formation Resources: "The ICC's in-depth liturgical formation course Sacred Liturgy: History & Principles of Christian Worship is now available on-demand in their course library."
September 24, 2023.
Changed the website header quote.
Removed: "Describe the temple so they are ashamed for their sins. Tell them all its regulations and instructions; write it down for them to see, that they may carefully observe all its laws and statutes." See Exekiel 43: 10-11
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Added: “So each of us shall give an account of himself to God.” Romans 14: 12
“Obey your leaders and submit to them; for they are keeping watch over your souls, as men who will have to give account. Let them do this joyfully, not sadly, for that would be of no advantage to you.” Hebrews 13: 17
August 30, 2023.
Fixed the link to prayer requests from the Shrine of the Blessed Sacrament, Hanceville, AL on the page, Praying for Priests
August 16, 2023.
Added this news to Prayer for Vocations 2022: "Archbishop Blair has corrected at least one parish, so that the prayer is now prayed in the place he specified: after the dismissal. It took a long time to achieve this correction. Nothing is impossible with God."
July 1, 2023.
New homepage design.
June 15, 2023.
Added some quote memes to the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/liturgicalaccountability
June 13, 2023.
Created a Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/liturgicalaccountability
June 6, 2023.
Added the following to Hands at the Our Father: "Father Edward McNamara, LC explains in this article Deacons Praying with Extended Hands: "...there is no moment when the deacon extends his hands or opens and closes his hands during Mass as this is considered a presidential gesture." There are regional exceptions. As a presidential gesture, Fr. McNamara write, "This is why the Roman rite has no opening and closing of hands during the greeting “The Lord be with you” before the Gospel." For more information, read the article."
April 2, 2023.
Added two new items to Church Documents: Directory for Masses with Children and the Lectionary for Masses with Children.
March 12, 2023.
Added a paragraph to What can be changed in the Liturgy?
"Another part of the Mass which may appear to change is the Penitential Act. The USA version of the Roman Missal has an appendix (Appendix VI) with seven sample invocations in addition to the three in the Missal's Order of Mass. Your country's Bishops' Conferences or individual bishops may have other sample invocations for your area. They may appear in your country's approved version of the Missal or not. You may not have access to this information. Of note: there is nothing in the Roman Missal or the GIRM which explicitly states that priests may write their own invocations, however, it is implied by the fact that "samples"are given. Here is an article about writing the invocations."
March 11, 2023.
Added note to the bottom of the liturgical-abuse page:
"Is ______ liturgical abuse?" Search the relevant Church documents (links here) and other sources (links here). "
February 28, 2023.
Added a new page Prayer for Vocations 2022 to the Archdiocese of Hartford section. It includes a short quote from the exorcist Msgr. Stephen Rossetti on why it is important to pray for priests, and a link to the page with a list of places for online request prayers.
February 19, 2023.
Added to Church Documents, links to the GIRM on the Vatican website in English, French, Italian, Spanish and Swahili.
January 16, 2023.
Added to St Michael Prayer 2022:
A link to the previous page about the Decree to pray the St. Michael prayer.
And the following: "Confused? Someone else was too and sent a question to the blog of canon lawyer Cathy Caridi, J.C.L.. You can read her answer here."
January 8, 2023.
Added to Church Documents, resources for The Lectionary for Mass and a link to The Committee on Divine Worship's Newsletter.
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Added to Ambo, improper use of: "Information on the ambo may also be found in the General Introduction to the Lectionary (Second Edition). Search for "ambo." "
December 10, 2022.
Made separate pages in Quotes for Rights of the Faithful, On the Liturgy, and Pope Francis on Liturgical Abuse.
December 9, 2022.
Added more quotes to Pope Francis on Liturgical Abuse.
December 8, 2022.
Changed the Pope Francis lightbox to a page: Pope Francis on Liturgical Abuse.
December 6, 2022.
Reorganized and expanded Abuses with a main list and individual pages. Added more information and images of abuse and some contrasting images of what is correct.
December 2, 2022.
Added to Abuses:
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A list of Top 10 Liturgical Abuses according to Catholic Answers in 1999.
November 27, 2022.
Added to Advice on what to do:
A link to How to Cope with Liturgical Abuse by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J.
And a link to a video by Dan Burke on Facebook:
Contemplative Conflict - Navigating Pastoral Friction Regarding Humble Reception of the Eucharist
November 26, 2022.
New homepage design. Added anchor links to Church Documents for easier navigation.
November 20, 2022.
Added a new menu item: Abuses which lists common abuses as defined by Church documents.
November 20, 2022.
Deleted new Q & A page 4: "Why NOT add/remove/change anything in the Liturgy?" Moved that information to Q & A 1. What is liturgical abuse?, see it here. Changed the names of the old Q & A pages 4 - 6.
November 14, 2022.
Added a new section to About: How to use this website.
November 13, 2022.
Added a new Q & A question 4: "Why NOT add/remove/change anything in the Liturgy?" Removed that information from the previous questions 4 - 6 and renamed the questions to more accurately reflect the information they contain:
5. What can be changed in the Liturgy?
6. What can be added to the Liturgy?
7. What can be removed from the Liturgy?
October 23, 2022.
Added to What is liturgical abuse?:
The following sentence has been added to the definition in red at the top of the page: "It [the definition of liturgical abuse] is also included in the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM), 24: "...the Priest will remember that he is the servant of the Sacred Liturgy and that he himself is not permitted, on his own initiative, to add, to remove, or to change anything in the celebration of Mass."
October 23, 2022.
Added to Biblical & Liturgical Formation Resources:
Sacred Signs: Pointing the Way to Heaven with Rev. David Anderson (This lecture may help with understanding Pope Francis' apostolic letter, Desiderio Desideravi.)
July 17, 2022.
Added to Church Documents:
Apostolic Letter Desiderio Desideravi
Pope Francis's letter on the Liturgical Formation of the People of God, June 29, 2022, shares reflections on the Liturgy.
June 26, 2022.
Added to Why not ADD anything? the following new section, "Authorized Additions to the Liturgy":
In the United States, there is another source of additions to the Mass: the Book of Blessings, published by the Catholic Book Publishing Company, 1998. (The book is not available in online form, however, some of the blessings are available online. See Church Documents for links.) Some of the most familiar blessings include those for Mother's and Father's Days, for married couples on wedding anniversaries, and a girl's Quinceañera. The Book of Blessings includes instructions for how these rites of blessing are to be included in the Mass. In general, the rite of blessing takes place after the homily or as the final blessing. The instructions are not very specific. Here are the instructions from the Blessing of Families: "62. [...] The celebrant concludes the general intercessions with the prayer of blessing, unless it is thought better to have the prayer of blessing at the end of Mass as a prayer over the people." Keep in mind, that bishops may authorize different instructions.
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Added to Church Documents the following new section, "Book of Blessings":
In the United States, there is an additional source of texts used during the Liturgy: the Book of Blessings, published by the Catholic Book Publishing Company, 1998. (There is an abridged version (1992) of the Book of Blessings available on archive.org, however, it does not include prayers or rubrics for use during the Liturgy.) The complete Book of Blessings is not available in online form, however, some of the blessings, with rubrics, are available from CathoicCulture.com. Search for "book of blessings." Here are a few examples:
Orders for the Blessing of a Married Couple
https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/prayers/view.cfm?id=697
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Blessing of Mothers on Mother's Day (2nd Sunday of May)
https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/prayers/view.cfm?id=737
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Blessing of Fathers on Father's Day (3rd Sunday of June)
https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/prayers/view.cfm?id=738
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Order for the Blessing of a Family
https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/prayers/view.cfm?id=693
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Added to Biblical & Liturgical Formation Resources, a new section:
Pope Francis' motu proprio, Traditionis Custodes, which restricted the use of the Latin Mass, raised questions about some traditional elements of the Liturgy. Here are some explanations of these issue:
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Ad orientum -- What is ad orientum? What is its history?
Learn more here:"Backs to the wall: Can bishops ban 'ad orientem'?"
https://www.pillarcatholic.com/p/backs-to-the-wall-can-bishops-ban
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Latin -- What is a sacred language? How does it come about? Is Latin the only such language?
“Why Latin Is the Right Language for Roman Catholic Worship” — Full Text of Dr. Kwasniewski’s Cleveland Lecture. Scroll down for the full video, including a Q&A. https://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2022/06/why-latin-is-right-language-for-roman.html
June 9, 2022.
Added to How to write to a priest or bishop, the following new section:
Not sure to whom to write? Search the following site for your Country, State, etc.
https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/country/
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Added to Q&A, questions 4 - 6, the following:
*All page numbers refer to the USCCB edition of the Roman Missal. See Church Documents for information on where to find a pdf copy online. If you are outside of the United States of America, your Bishops' conference's edition may vary slightly in wording.
May 4, 2022.
Changing the words of the Mass can lead to changing the words of other sacraments. There are consequences.
Added to Articles of Interest:
Discovered: liturgical abuse leads to invalid sacraments by Phil Lawler
Invalid baptisms: A Catholic explainer about the facts and the fears by Kevin J. Jones
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Added to Church Documents:
DOCTRINAL NOTE on the modification of the sacramental formula of Baptism
March 23, 2022.
Added to Q&A: What is liturgical abuse?
Added the following sentence with a link to Leila Miller's blog post, "The poison in the system."
"There have also been those in the Church who have found devious ways around simple and direct interpretations of liturgical laws."
March 17, 2022.
Added to Remedies: Biblical & Liturgical Formation Resources
During Lent 2022, Relevant Radio is offering a free Lenten video-a-day series on the Mass. You can subscribe to receive emails very day of Lent. Or you can see past episodes here: https://relevantradio.com/faith/experience-lenten-lessons/
March 11, 2022.
Added to Remedies: Biblical & Liturgical Formation Resources
Msgr. Charles Pope's Three Underappreciated Acclamations of Eucharistic Piety
In this article, Msgr. Pope explains the The Mystery of Faith (Memorial Acclamation), the Amen, and the Agnus Dei (Lamb of God).
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