Resources for Liturgy questions

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I am on the Worship Commission at our large youngish midwestern parish and we’d like to do some catechesis on the Mass and the liturgy. We are attempting to build reverence, as well as knowledge, and helping to increase the prayerful participation of the faithful.

Has anyone else done such a project?

We’ll likely run some bulletin articles then post them on the website. Questions and answers about many liturgical terms and the subtle postures and gestures during Mass and their history or meaning, etc. We’d like to include the new instructions as well as explain some of the traditions that many may not be aware of.

My question is where is a good online or print resourse to find these definitions and explainations? Something not too lofty for the guy in the pew but not too simplistic either. We’ll likely paraphrase things after we’ve got the gist of the topic (sactuary lamps, bowing during the Creed, the gesture of crossing your mind, lips and heart at the Gospel, Communion fast, etc, etc.)

Thnaks in advance for your collective knowledge and inspiration!
 
The biggest resource you can find for questions on the Liturgy is the GIRM (General Instructions for the Roman Missal) an online version can be found here:
Link

A good resource for how the Liturgy is supposed to be conducted and how not to conduct it is a book you can get directly from Catholic Answers called Mass Confusion. (No I don’t work for Catholic Answers 😉 ) I don’t know whether it has been updated yet to reflect the new GIRM, but it is good for most of the questions you are asking. It is pretty straightforward, and easy to understand.

Here is a link to the book itself:
Link
 
 
Thanks - he is one of the Bishops I admire but not as much as your current Bishop 😉

I wonder though, if he has revised anything in the section on EMHC since the publication of Redemptionis Sacramentum.
 
Here are some great links from St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology:
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I wonder though, if he has revised anything in the section on EMHC since the publication of Redemptionis Sacramentum.
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I don’t know if the changes in my parish came from Bishop Sheridan’s direction or from our own pastor’s initiative, but we now have our altar servers use patens once again (and bells during the consecration). 🙂
 
Cool - when I lived in COS, I went to the Tridentine Mass on Sunday (they did not offer daily Mass then but do now but is down in Fountain anyway). For weekeday Mass I often went to Corpus Christi or St. Mary’s.

How is the rennovation going at St. Mary’s? Is it still traditional looking like the old Cathedral was?
 
I’ve been to St. Joseph’s FSSP Mass. However, I prefer the Mass I grew up with, if done without violence to the rubrics. 😉
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deogratias:
How is the rennovation going at St. Mary’s? Is it still traditional looking like the old Cathedral was?
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The rennovation is complete. St. Mary’s is absolutely beautiful. They built a baptismal font at the entrance of the Cathedral that is amazing. I go to daily Mass there when my schedule allows it. I try to go there for Eucharistic Adoration on Thursdays as it just seems more humbling in such a Romanesque setting.

In fact, I’m ditchin’ out of work now to attend Mass as St. Mary’s today. Take care.
 
Possibly the best confessor I ever had in my life was at St. Mary’s - I can’t remember his name now but he is that Nigerian priest - no in and out in 30 seconds with him;)

One thing that always puzzled me about confession there though was having it After Mass instead of before.
 
I’m attempting to do the EXACT same thing at my parish. Not having too much luck, though. My pastor is the kind of guy who knows that abuses are going on under his nose but he’s still afraid to crack down on them for fear of losing a chunk of liberal parishioners. So I’ve taken the following approach: reform the music program at the parish and many of the other abuses will quickly be brought to the attention of the faithful. If you walk into church before Mass with the intention to pray and you find yourself listening to a folk ensemble with tambourines and maraccas, how do you feel? In my case, angry and distracted. My mind ends up being more focused on the music program than the Sacrifice of the Mass.

But if you walk into church before Mass and hear a beautiful motet (I’m thinking something along the lines of “Teach Me, O Lord” by Thomas Attwood), your first reaction is to get down on your knees and pray. The mindset people have before Mass greatly affects how they will approach the Mass and things that happen during the Mass. When I’m at parishes with a lousy music program and I see an abuse taking place at the altar of God, sometimes I slip into the mindset of “heh. Another abuse. Maybe the Eucharist will be valid here.” But when I’m at a parish with a wonderful sacred music program and I see an abuse at the Altar of God, I’m outraged and usually end up complaining to someone about it.

Fix the music at your parish before you try to fix anything else. I suspect that restoring the music program will be just the kick in the pants that parishioners need to get the reform started.
 
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deogratias:
One thing that always puzzled me about confession there though was having it After Mass instead of before.
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No puzzle here - if confession is before Mass there is a deadline, and the priest will have to stop at least 5 minutes before Mass time, so as to vest and start on time. If confession is after Mass, there is no or less of a deadline, so the priest can give more time to individual penitents and to confession in general.
 
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deogratias:
One thing that always puzzled me about confession there though was having it After Mass instead of before.
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No puzzle here - if confession is before Mass there is a deadline, and the priest will have to stop at least 5 minutes before Mass time, so as to vest and start on time. If confession is after Mass, there is no or less of a deadline, so the priest can give more time to individual penitents and to confession in general.
 
One thing that always puzzled me about confession there though was having it After Mass instead of before.
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Never been to confession at St. Mary’s. I like the Capuchin monks at the Catholic Center in the Citadel Mall. They are there for you every day. They have a great mission going and they don’t have to worry about pastoring a big parish. They do about 20 confession every day! 🙂

See article here: archden.org/dcr/archive/20020327/2002032715ln.htm
 
Joan - but last I heard we are to confess our sins BEFORE RECEIVING not AFTER:)
 
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