Tag: Mediator Dei

Pastor Column: Mediator Dei VI

Posted on by Father Albert
[N.B. This is not the Sunday Homily. It is an article from the bulletin of October 9, 2022]      All liturgy - that includes Mass, the Sacraments, the Liturgy of the Hours, adoration - points us to the mysteries of Jesus Christ and helps us take part in those mysteries which redeem and sanctify us. To do this, the liturgy has seasons which point us to different aspects of these mysteries. At this point in the letter (around paragraph 154) Pope Pius XII starts to highlight these seasons briefly.      Advent is the start of the Liturgical year and, according...Read More

Pastor Column: Mediator Dei V

Posted on by Father Albert
[Note: This is not the Sunday Homily. It is an article for the bulletin of October 2, 2022]      After last week’s financial report, we return to our journey through Mediator Dei by Pope Pius XII, written in 1947. We left off with the pope’s reminder to spend time in personal prayer after the Mass. Again, I encourage everyone to make this a regular practice and to observe reverence inside the Church so that people can pray (you can talk in the vestibule/foyer, just try not to talk in the middle of the Church).      Now Pope Pius moves onto...Read More

Pastor Column: Mediator Dei IV

Posted on by Father Albert
[Note: This is not the Sunday Homily. It is an article for the bulletin of Sept 18, 2022]      Continuing our journey through Mediator Dei, we pick up with the pope teaching us that it is good for the lay people to become familiar with the Roman Missal. The missal is the book which the priest uses for Mass. In particular, he means it is good for the laity to have some grasp of what is going on and that various resources can be used to help them do that, including the use of books to help follow along. Remember...Read More

Pastor Column: Mediator Dei III

Posted on by Father Albert
[Note: This is not the Sunday Homily. It is an article for the bulletin of Sep 11, 2022]           Focusing in on the Eucharist, Pope Pius XII notes that “the nature of men requires” a “visible sacrifice.” This sacrifice is “no mere empty commemoration of the passion and death of Jesus Christ, but a true and proper act of sacrifice.” Each celebration of the Mass is the same sacrifice offered by the same person: the once-for-all sacrifice of Christ who offers himself on the Cross. The manner of the offering is different in that the Mass is the unbloody re-presentation...Read More

Pastor Column: Mediator Dei II

Posted on by Father Albert
[Note: This is not the Sunday Homily. It is an article for the bulletin of September 4, 2022]      Picking up on the Church’s guidance of the liturgy, Pope Pius XII stresses that a proper understanding of the liturgy factors in both the objective, external reality and the internal, subjective reception of that reality. The Sacraments give grace. That is an objective fact. But receiving that grace requires a person to be properly disposed. He quotes St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians about examining ourselves before receiving communion, lest we eat and drink damnation on ourselves. The salvation offered by...Read More

Pastor Column: Mediator Dei I

Posted on by Father Albert
[N.B. This is not the Sunday homily. It is an article for the bulletin of Aug 28, 2022]      “The Mediator between God and Men.”  That is the opening line of the next document in our series and where we get the title Mediator Dei (Mediator of God). Written in 1947 by Pope Pius XII, this document addresses the Sacred Liturgy. The “Sacred Liturgy” refers not only to Mass, but to all of the public, formal acts of worship performed by the Church. This includes the other 6 sacraments as well as the many blessings and rituals that populate our...Read More