Speaking of Liturgy

From Latin to English: The work of ICEL

Fr Andrew Menke, the recently appointed Executive Director of the International Commission for English in the Liturgy (ICEL), outlines the work of ICEL undertaken on behalf of the English speaking Conferences of Bishops around the world. He describes some of the steps involved in translating Latin texts into English.
Rev Andrew Menke is a priest of the diocese of Lincoln, Nebraska and is a graduate of the Pontifical Liturgical Institute. He has served as an official in the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments and the liturgy office of the United States Conference of Bishops. In 2023 he was appointed the eighth Executive Director of the ICEL Secretariat.

The Music of Taizé: A Rich and Versatile Resource for Liturgical Prayer

Sr Judith Kubicki explores the significance and versatility of music from Taize, France, highlighting its ability to unify diverse groups and encourage the participation of all worshippers.   
Sr Dr Judith Kubicki CSSF is assistant professor emerita in the Theology Department of Fordham University, New York.  Currently she serves as provincial minister of the Felician Sisters of North America. Her major interests are liturgical theology, liturgical music, and ritual studies. 

Eucharist and Justice: Becoming what We Receive

Fr Ronald Raab C.S.C reflects on the connection between Eucharist and justice in light of his ministry. He invites us to be truly transformed by the Eucharist so that we can participate fully in the mission of Jesus Christ in the world.  
Rev Ronald Patrick Raab C.S.C. ministers among the vulnerable and marginalized of society and the Church. He speaks and writes about prayer and service and knowing the love of God through our common poverty.  He is active as a retreat director, blogger, award-winning author, and visual artist. He serves as Religious Superior, Holy Cross House, Indiana.

From Anglican to Catholic: The Development of the Ordinariate and Its Ritual Forms

Fr Stephen Hill discusses the treasures of Anglican patrimony and ecclesial unity, inviting us to learn more about the Ordinariate in Australia. 
Rev Dr Stephen Hill is Vicar General of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross in Australia. He ministered as an Anglican Priest from 2008 and was ordained a Catholic Priest in 2013. He holds a PhD in Catholic Theology from the University of Vienna, specialising in liturgical language. 

Hymnody - the faith we sing

Sr Delores Dufner, OSB explores the significance of hymn texts we sing in the liturgy, describing how they express and shape faith. She invites us to consider the characteristics of a well-crafted hymn text. 
Sr Delores Dufner, OSB is a member of St Benedict’s Monastery in St Joseph, Minnesota. An internationally composer of renown, and text writer, she is published in hymn collections in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Australia, and China. She holds Master's Degrees in Liturgical Music and Liturgical Studies and is the recipient of a number of awards. Her prodigious work includes 65 special commissions and 5 published collections featuring more than 230 hymns.

Women in the Liturgical Movement: shaping the liturgical life of the Church

Katharine Harmon reveals some of the women who were involved in the liturgical renewal since the 19th Century. Often missed in the narrative, she describes a number of women who sought to renew and shape the Church’s liturgy.  
Dr Katharine E. Harmon currently serves as project director of the Obsculta Preaching Initiative at Saint John's Seminary and School of Theology in Collegeville, Minnesota. She is the author of There Were Also Many Women There: Lay Women in the Liturgical Movement in the United States, 1926-1959 (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2012) and Mary and the Liturgical Year: A Pastoral Resource (Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications, 2023), which received third place for best scholarly book in the 2024 Catholic Press Association awards. She resides in St. Joseph, Minnesota, with her husband and two children, and co-edits the blog, Pray Tell.

The Preacher as Prophet, Proclaimer and Poet

Archbishop Mark Coleridge reflects on the role of the preacher as a prophet, proclaimer and poet. Each of these aspects are crucially important and interrelated in the liturgical act.
Most Rev Mark Coleridge was ordained in Melbourne and served in parishes before studying Scripture at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome. He taught Scripture in Melbourne and was Master of Catholic Theological College. In late 1997, he was appointed to work in the Holy See’s Secretariat of State. He is currently Metropolitan Archbishop of Brisbane, Australia. From 2018 – 2022 he served as President of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference.

How do we farewell the dead in the 21st Century?

Sam Wegner explores the uniqueness of the Christian funeral,  especially in relation to the lesser-known Funeral Vigil. 
Ms Samantha Wegner is a sessional academic at the ACU School of Theology. In 2017 she was awarded the ACU Centre for Liturgy’s Postgraduate Scholarship. Her continuing research explores the aesthetic and ethical aspects of Catholic liturgical rites surrounding death, as well as women in the Lectionary.   

After the Fire: Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris (in English)

Fr Gilles Drouin describes some of the liturgical issues associated with the restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris. 
Rev Dr Gilles Drouin is the Director of Institut Supérieur de Liturgie, at the Institut Catholique de Paris and advised the Archbishop of Paris on the restoration of Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral. He is President of the Societas Liturgica and a member of the Scientific Council of the Revue La Maison Dieu. His areas of research are the theology of liturgical space and the relationship between liturgy and politics.   

A la suite de l'Incendie: La rénovation de la cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris

Le Père Gilles Drouin nous décrit quelques considérations liturgiques, concernant la rénovation de la cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris
Le Père Gilles Drouin est le directeur de l'Institut Supérieur de Liturgie à l'Institut Catholique de Paris. Il a prêté conseil à l'Archevêque de Paris concernant la rénovation de la cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris. Il est le président de Societas Liturgica ainsi que membre du Comité scientifique de la Revue La Maison de Dieu. Ses domaines de recherches sont la théologie de l'espace liturgique et la relation liturgie et la politique.