What is the proper method of receiving Communion?
Should those not receiving Communion come forward for a blessing?
In recent years the practice has been introduced of having those not receiving Communion (such as children, those who have failed to keep the Eucharistic fast, those conscious of grave sin, or guests who are not members of the Catholic Church) come forward in the Communion procession for a blessing. While well intentioned, this innovation leads to misunderstandings about the nature of the Communion procession and who is authorized to give blessings during the Mass.
Just as the other processions of the Mass do not include the entire congregation, the Communion procession is meant only for those coming forward to receive the Eucharist. Additionally, everyone present receives the principal blessing from the priest at the Concluding Rites, making a blessing during Communion redundant. For these reasons those not receiving, for whatever reason, should be encouraged to stay in the pews and make a spiritual Communion. (Obviously this does not include infants and children who must accompany their parents or guardians in the Communion procession.)
If someone not receiving Communion does come forward they should present themselves with their arms crossed over their chests and make the same reverence as those who will receive Communion (that is, they make a slight bow of the head both to the Body of Christ and to the Blood of Christ). If the person pauses in expectation of some response, as a matter of courtesy, they should not be ignored but should instead be invited to make a spiritual Communion. To do so the priest, deacon, or extraordinary minister of Holy Communion says, "Receive Christ in your heart." As this is an invitation to worship and not a blessing, no other gesture is made and no response is given.
If I attend a Confirmation Mass, wedding, or other Mass on Sunday instead of the regular Sunday Mass, is my obligation to attend Mass fulfilled?
Yes. The Code of Canon Law states:
On Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are obliged to participate in the Mass... A person who assists at a Mass celebrated anywhere in a Catholic rite either on the feast day itself or in the evening of the preceding day satisfies the obligation of participating in the Mass. (cc. 1247-1248)
Thus, the obligation is to participate in any Catholic Mass on Sunday. This includes ritual Masses and the Divine Liturgy celebrated in an Eastern Catholic Church.
Do adult catechists and liturgical leaders who take children out of the main worship space for the Children's Liturgy of the Word fulfill their Sunday Obligation?
There is no clear canonical answer to this question, in part because after the Second Vatican Council the Church hasn’t set a clear definition on the “minimum” requirements for fulfilling the Sunday obligation.
That having been said, it does seem that adults who teach/supervise during the Children’s Liturgy of the Word fulfill their Sunday obligation, based on the following principles:
In other words: it’s still the Mass, and since participation in any Mass on Sunday fulfills the obligation, it does too.
The above assumes that the adults who are teaching/supervising celebrate the Introductory Rites with the full community and return for the Liturgy of the Eucharist. If there are catechists/leaders/adults who are only there for the Children’s Liturgy of the Word, they would then need to attend another Sunday Mass to fullfill the obligation.
When using the Prayers over the People during Masses in Lent, are the people invited to bow?
While the invitation “Bow down for the blessing” is not spelled out for the Lenten prayers, its use for all Prayers over the People and Solemn Blessings at the end of Mass is indicated in The General Instruction of the Roman Missal:
“If a Prayer over the People or a formula of Solemn Blessing is used, the Deacon says, Bow down for the blessing. After the Priest’s blessing, the Deacon, with hands joined and facing the people, dismisses the people, saying, Ite, missa est (Go forth, the Mass is ended).” (GIRM, no. 185)
Thus, even when it is not specifically spelled out in the text, the deacon (or, in his absence, the priest) asks those present to “Bow down for the blessing” before the Prayer over the People is intoned.
Are Eucharistic processions within a church permitted if, for instance, it rains on Corpus Christi?
"Processions within the body of a church are no longer permitted.” (Order for the Solemn Exposition of the Holy Eucharist, no. 20). Eucharistic processions must go to another church, or go outside and then return to the church where they began. This was confirmed by the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship in 1975 (cf. Notitia vol. 11, no. 2 [1975], p. 64).
If incliment weather or another impediment causes the cancelation or postponement of the Corpus Christi procession, a period of Exposition and Adoration, followed by Benediction, may be observed instead.
If an altar is moved during a church renovation, does it need to be consecrated during the dedication of the church building?
Altars lose their sacred character only when they "suffer major destruction or if they have been permanently given over to profane uses" (cf. Code of Canon Law, cc. 1212, 1238). Thus, if a previously consecrated altar is moved, it does not need to be consecrated when installed in a new location.
How are altar linens to be cleaned?
Altar linens, including purificators and corporals, are to be always kept clean. Once soiled, a first washing takes place by hand and the resulting water poured into the church’s sacrarium or into the ground in a suitable place. (Redemptionis Sacramentum, no. 120) Lipstick stains may be sprayed with a pretreatment; wine stains may be treated with salt and then doused with boiling water.
After this a second washing can be done in a washing machine and the linens ironed. Starch should be avoided, or at least lightly applied, as it impedes the absorbency of corporals and purificators and can cause altar clothes to drape awkwardly.
What is the canonical status of the SSPX? Are Catholics allowed to attend Mass at an SSPX chapel/church?
The canonical situation of the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) is irregular. When Archbishop Lefebvre ordained bishops in 1988 without the permission of the Holy See he and those he ordained incurred automatic (latae sententiae) excommunication. Pope St. John Paul II declared this to be an act of schism (Ecclesia Dei, no. 3). That same statement also established the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei to work towards the restoration of communion with the SSPX. (Ecclesia Dei, no. 6) In a 1999 letter the commission stated that “The priests of the Society of St. Pius X are validly ordained, but suspended, that is prohibited from exercising their priestly functions because they are not properly incardinated in a diocese or religious institute in full communion with the Holy See… Further, it is likely that these priests, after eleven years in a society whose head is now an excommunicated bishop, effectively adhere to the schism.” (Letter to Mr. Joseph E. Rebbert dated 28 September 1999, no. 1)
While the excommunications were lifted by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009, he also stated that “Until the doctrinal questions are clarified, the Society has no canonical status in the Church, and its ministers – even though they have been freed of the ecclesiastical penalty – do not legitimately exercise any ministry in the Church." (Letter Concerning the Remission of the Excommunication of the Four Bishops Consecrated by Archbishop Lefebvre). This situation was modified slightly when Pope Francis extended the faculty to hear confessions to SSPX priests during the Year of Mercy and, at the end of that period, extended that permission “until further provisions are made, lest anyone ever be deprived of the sacramental sign of reconciliation through the Church’s pardon.” (Misericordia et Misera, no. 12.) He also later gave bishops the authority “to grant faculties for the celebration of marriages of faithful who follow the pastoral activity of the Society… or if there are no priests in the Diocese able to receive the consent of the parties, the Ordinary may grant the necessary faculties to the priest of the Society who is also to celebrate the Holy Mass” (Letter to the Ordinaries of the Episcopal Conferences on the faculties for the celebration of marriages of the faithful of the Society Saint Pius X) so that the validity of marriages celebrated within the SSPX would not be in doubt.
But these faculties in themselves do not resolve the irregular canonical status of the SSPX. In 2017 Cardinal Müller, then head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, issued a letter to the SSPX reiterating that restoration of full communion depends on the members of the SSPX making a profession of faith, explicitly assenting to the teachings of the Second Vatican Council, and acknowledging the legitimacy of the revised liturgical rites of the Church promulgated after Vatican II. As of 2024 the members of the SSPX have not met those three requirements.
Concerning whether Catholics should attend the liturgies of the SSPX, the 1999 letter from the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei cautioned:
“The situation of the faithful attending chapels of the Society of St. Pius X is more complicated. They may attend Mass there primarily because of an attraction to the earlier form of the Roman Rite in which case they incur no penalty. The difficulty is that the longer they frequent these chapels, the more likely it is that they will slowly imbibe the schismatic mentality which stands in judgement of the Church and refuses submission to the Roman Pontiff and communion with the members of the Church subject to him. If that becomes the case, then it would seem that they adhere to the schism and are consequently excommunicated. For these reasons this Pontifical Commission cannot encourage you to frequent the chapel of the Society of St. Pius X.”