The Mahayana Buddhist scripture Vimalakirti Nirdesa, also known as the Vimalakirti Sutra, contains one of the most radical ascetic statements in any religion’s canonical texts. The main figure of the text, Vimalakirti, is feigning illness so that he can preach...
In my last article, I discussed the dangers of traditionalism and finished by promising to address the traditionalist anxiety about change and instability, especially in the liturgy. Many traditionalists make no attempt to appreciate the significance of the Second Vatican...
The orientation of the priest during the celebration of the Mass is a liturgical flashpoint. Traditionalists consider the “ad orientem” position to be more reverent. They think that it better represents the transcendence of God. They hold that the “versus...
I have a confession to make. I am, by training, a liturgist. As such, I cringe at the well-known joke—“What’s the difference between a liturgist and a terrorist? You can negotiate with terrorists.”—both because there is a grain of truth...
A recent article of mine generated quite a bit of controversy. Many of the most vocal critics seem to have missed the point of the article altogether, and as a result accused me of advocating for individual creativity in the...
In my nearly four years as editor of Where Peter Is, I’ve usually had good intuition about which of our posts will attract attention. Whenever we’ve broken a news story (such as when we uncovered court documents that helped reveal...
In my experience, many traditionalists[1] perceive the “New Mass” as empty and bland compared to the richness of the Tridentine liturgy. From their perspective, the new liturgy needs artificial distractions, from ad-libbing to clowns, to maintain people’s interest. The inherent...
Timing is everything, so the adage goes. But while the calendar says that it is the first week of November (Halloween was just two days ago!) and the trees here are barely changing color, the Hallmark Channel is already into...
Recently Pope Francis gave a video address to the fourth World Meeting of Popular Movements (EMMP), a primarily but not exclusively Latin American coming-together of social and political activists against poverty and inequality. Francis made a positive reference to the...
Is Latin a “Sacred Language”? The “Iconostasis of the West”? A unifying, universal language? Or are we being fed a bunch of “Just So” stories? What attitudes might these “Just So” stories be inculcating? The Use of Latin While Latin...
Six weeks ago Pope Francis issued an Apostolic Letter called “Traditionis Custodes” (“Guardians of the Tradition”). When I heard the news and read the letter, my first thought was, “thank God.” In this essay, I want to explain why, and suggest...
A particular theme stood out among the comments on my recent article. Some critics claimed that the Vatican II liturgy downplayed sacrificial symbolism in the liturgy in favor of meal symbolism, and so is inferior to the older forms of...
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