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

Deciding on Which Songs Are OK for Mass

November 3, 2024

Question: No. 48 of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal used in England and Wales says that for the entrance chant at Mass another song “cuius textus a Conferentia Episcoporum sit approbatus” can be chosen. The same goes for the offertory and communion chants (GIRM 74, 84). For adaptations in England and Wales GIRM 48 states that these “other songs” have to be accepted by the bishops’ conference. But what about other countries? Do the GIRM norms cited above mean that any song approved by any bishops’ conference can be said to qualify for the entrance chant in a particular diocese? – T.N., Helsinki, Finland

The Divine Praises at Benediction

October 27, 2024

Question: Could you send me the revised “Rite of Eucharistic Exposition & Benediction”? We have older priests (40-plus years in the priesthood) and younger ones (between five and 10 years in the priesthood), and we conduct the service of Benediction differently. This leaves the congregation in doubt as to whether we know what we are doing and therefore what they are to believe. The younger priests leave out the Divine Praises altogether with the explanation that they are following the revised rite. Unfortunately, they are not willing to show us that revised rite, saying that their example is enough evidence. -- S.K., Wa, Ghana

Bows Toward the Altar and the Celebrant

October 20, 2024

Question: In churches where the tabernacle with the Body of Christ is just behind the altar, the first and last reverence is to be made with a genuflection toward the tabernacle, but all other acts of reverence are to be made by bowing toward the altar and not toward the tabernacle. Is that correct? The readers, before going up to the sanctuary, should make a small bow. Should they also bow toward the altar before starting the reading? -- M.C.G., Munich, Germany

Who Gets to Intercede in a Eucharistic Prayer

October 13, 2024

Question: Some people believe that during the Eucharistic Prayer those concelebrants who have been assigned to the various intercessions are assigned based on their ecclesiastical rank, for example, vicar general, vicar forane, monsignor etc. So that C1 is always assigned to the person holding the highest office, then C2 to the second highest, and so forth. Are there any specific criteria for choosing the concelebrants for the Eucharistic Prayer intercessions?