Deciding on Which Office to Pray

January 19, 2025

Question: At our university campus ministry, we sing vespers every Friday. During the month of November, we sing vespers from the Office of the Dead for the souls of the friends, relatives, and benefactors of our community. Does the General Instruction of the Liturgy of the Hours (GILH), No. 245, permit one to celebrate the Office of the Dead even on an obligatory memorial, such as occurred in 2024 on November 22 (St. Cecilia)?

Terminology for Sacred Places

January 11, 2025

Question: The Catholic Church in Korea has built many temples, shrines and sanctuaries dedicated to blessed martyrs and to Our Lady. Each locality offers an English translation for foreign pilgrims. However, the translations are quite varied according to each locality. Could you offer guidance toward standardizing the usages and, wherever possible, to use official terminology? – S.C., Seoul, South Korea

Choirs in Entrance Processions

January 4, 2025

Question: What if anything does the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) say about choirs in entrance processions? My parish choir processes in front of the processional cross and candle bearers. As a Knight of Columbus, I am accustomed to leading processions in front of the cross. But my parish liturgy director is of the impression that the cross and candles should lead all, including choirs, including Knights. My pastor is of the impression that the cross and candles should precede only the clergy, the so-called official party. What are the rules as they apply to choirs and other "unofficial parties" in processions? -- K.M., Bel Air, Maryland

Double Duty as Reader and Cantor

December 22, 2024

Question: I am both a reader and a cantor in my parish. Occasionally, both ministries coincide when there is no one else available. Is it okay for me to include singing the psalm rather than proclaiming it when I am reading from the ambo? – E.M.W., Motherwell, Scotland

Baptism, Doubts and Validity

December 15, 2024

Question: Could you please clarify whether water must touch the skin of the head or face for a baptism to be valid? At the Easter Vigil and more lately, I have witnessed baptisms conferred by my diocesan bishops and priests on candidates whose head are bowed, and their hair is flipped directly forward so that the baptismal water clearly flows only down the back of the hair and does not touch the scalp or face.

Combining Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours

December 8, 2024

Question: I would like to know if the Liturgy of the Hours can be combined with Mass. In the instance that they are combined, is the penitential rite replaced by the recitation of the psalms and canticle? In other words, what’s the formula of celebrating Mass combined with the office? -- E.M.I., Kachebere, Malawi

Surplices and Albs

November 30, 2024

Question: Why do surplices look like shortened albs? Were they always this way? I have seen some with a round top instead of a square one. I have also seen albs and surplices with the top front area (near the neck) that are to be tied together with strings or a small chain, like a cope. Is there any sort of norm for how surplices and albs are to be styled in the U.S.? -- K.K., Austin, Texas

Multiple Crucifixes in a Church

November 23, 2024

Question: Inside our church there are three crucifixes: one hung right above the tabernacle, a second which is placed on the altar, and the third is the processional cross. Is it all right if we have all these three crucifixes inside the church during the Mass? -- A.R., Montgomery, Alabama

Blessings and Lectors at Mass

November 16, 2024

Question: May the celebrant at Mass bless the lectors when they make the sign of reverence before proclaiming the reading? I have seen it used in the Ambrosian rite of Milan, Italy, and the theme was broached in the 2008 synod on Verbum Domini. Would it be possible for a bishop to establish this as a liturgical norm? -- V.P., Escuintla, Guatemala

Deacons and the Eucharistic Prayer

November 10, 2024

Question: Is a deacon at Mass allowed to participate in reading part of the Eucharistic Prayer? -- C.M., Mexico City