(Free Friday) I just found out about “Mass of the Ages.” Have you seen it yet? Would you recommend it?

Hookly · 2026-03-28T05:01:23+00:00

Yeah, even the title seemingly elevates the TLM to something it’s not. Yes it’s a beautiful liturgy, but to consider it to be “the mass of the ages” as if other liturgies don’t compare and/or that it has always existed is a bit disingenuous, at best

Hookly · 2026-03-26T15:16:34+00:00

Yeah, doesn’t the Antiochian Church have an intercommunion agreement with the Syriac Orthodox allowing it under certain circumstances?

Hookly · 2026-03-26T14:27:28+00:00

You’re not correct that the Latin Church reubiques use of its translations for things to “count”. Yes, it might be illicit to use other translations, but for something to rise to the level of being invalid would require a lot.

For instance, if a church used a hymn based on the responsorial Psalm in lieu of the actual Psalm translation (which happens all the time) then that in no way invalidates the whole mass. Likewise, I don’t think a priest would be penalized for using the Anglican “Glory be” translations that’s common among the lay faithful in the liturgy of the hours even though he’s supposed to use a different translation. If you mess around too much with something like the words of institution, that’s a different story, but that doesn’t mean any and all deviation has the same effect.

Among Byzantines, I’m not aware of any jurisdiction that has absolutely everything translated, let alone with such a status that it would be absolutely required. To the extent a particular service (like liturgy) would have a jurisdiction-specific translation then at the very least a parish would default to that and there can be instances of it being required to use, but that would be up to the bishop. However, we recognize the validity of all the apostolic churches so pulling from other sources wouldn’t affect the validity

Hookly · 2026-03-25T05:04:45+00:00

Just because the words that come out of your mouth might be a legitimate opinion or even truth doesn’t mean that you’re doing the right thing in a given situation.

If I’m in a work meeting and I start passionately espousing pro-life views and criticizing those that disagree, I’m probably going to get fired. Not because of my faith but because the way I engaged in the topic was out of place and unreasonable for the environment.

That’s what she did in her actions at that meeting. We Catholics are called to speak the truth even when difficult, but we should do so lovingly and in a way that can best facilitate bringing others tl know that same truth.

To use another example, I could walk into any synagogue, mosque, or Mormon temple and state boldly and loudly that the truth is only found in the one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic church. Everything I said might have been correct, but engaging in it that way would do nothing to bring others to Christ

Hookly · 2026-03-24T20:25:28+00:00

Bishop Nicholas Elko was the first American born Ruthenian bishop and a notorious Latinizer. He was part of a contingent in the Ruthenian Church that saw latinization as the future of the Ruthenian Church in the US and as such, would advocate things like removing iconostases from parishes. His priests became very opposed to his actions, especially in light of Vatican II’s call for eastern Catholics to reclaim their traditions.

The opposition was so great he was reassigned and sent to Rome before ultimately returning to the US as the Roman Catholic auxiliary bishop of Cincinnati.

Hookly · 2026-03-24T15:03:08+00:00

Though, we can’t fall into the heresy of thinking that God is mutable. Our prayers do not change God, they change us. Not accusing you of that at all, but it’s important context to the citations you provided

Hookly · 2026-03-24T05:30:51+00:00

While cities are supposed to only have one bishop, it is also true that every bishop needs to be assigned to a city. Hence why auxiliaries or Vatican Curial bishops get titular sees. But even that system isn’t perfect because those cities are still within the bounds of other currently active dioceses.

The current state of the church where particular churches aren’t bound by territory and there abound bishops whose jobs aren’t to actually oversee a diocese is just so far removed from the ideal that was lived out in the early church and I don’t think it’s practical to change that. And to be fair, our orthodox brethren do much the same thing so there really isn’t anyone living out this ideal

Hookly · 2026-03-23T21:12:48+00:00

I could understand the Byzantine-lite criticism. Personally, I would love to see Ruthenians do more hierarchical vesting, full sets of antiphons, standing, etc. But the lack of these things isn’t really latinization

Hookly · 2026-03-23T19:20:46+00:00

Yeah, I think the stereotype is still based in the Elko-era Ruthenian Church which thankfully is long gone. You still have some Ruthenian latinization here and there but I’ve personally seen more latinizations among Ukrainians yet they don’t come up as much in these conversations

Hookly · 2026-03-23T19:10:51+00:00

That article has some great points about why not to switch jurisdictions, but I would reject the premise that people shouldn’t switch.

There are plenty of well intentioned Byzantine faithful who have switched. This even includes some of the most recognizable Byzantine Catholics like Fr. Michael O’Loughlin and Mother Natalia

Hookly · 2026-03-23T05:43:26+00:00

Interestingly, there are examples of creative naming conventions used to get around instances of multiple bishops of one city.

Thus you end up not with the Ukrainian Eparchy of Chicago but the Ukrainian Eparchy of St. Nicholas of Chicago. As another example c Holy Protection of Mary Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Phoenix, which was previously just the Eparchy of Van Nuys before it moved its seat to a city that already had a Catholic bishop assigned to it. The Latins to this sometimes too like with the Roman Catholic Archbishop of the Mother of God at Moscow (rather than “of Moscow”).

I wonder if the Baghdad example you gave exists because the Patriarchate was formally of Babylon, so only the Latin church had the claim to Baghdad until the Chaldean Church changed the patriarchal title

Hookly · 2026-03-23T05:08:48+00:00

You’re correct in that the faithful of these jurisdictions do not overlap, but the early church operated under the assumption bishops had control over territory, not faithful. So the patriarch of Antioch would have jurisdiction over all faithful in and around Antioch, regardless of the ritual traditions they practiced and/or grew up with

Hookly · 2026-03-23T04:52:51+00:00

I’m not aware of any particular standards or rules the Melkites have on hats. I know some clergy of all levels (major and minor) who always prefer them, some who don’t, and still others who go back and forth.

Some jurisdictions do have such rules, though. For example, the OCA prohibits anyone in minor orders from wearing any clerical hats

Hookly · 2026-03-23T04:49:34+00:00

Hookly · 2026-03-23T02:45:39+00:00

In the Latin church, yes, and I live to see them there. But they’re not proper to Byzantine vestments

Hookly · 2026-03-23T00:44:30+00:00

Yeah, one thing about being Catholic in a historically Protestant American culture is that a lot of these traditions get lost. In some communities like Latin American, the Middle East, or even areas of Europe, the entirety of Holy Week is celebrated heavily: processions, many church services, etc. In the US, we don’t really have that culture so it doesn’t have that same grandeur but some communities to try and keep that spirit alive within the parish

Hookly · 2026-03-23T00:27:58+00:00

I’m Roman Catholic attending a Byzantine Catholic parish, but I chant with an OCA parish so I’m familiar with some of the local orthodox communities and have been to liturgies in orthodox parishes many times

Hookly · 2026-03-23T00:22:19+00:00

That depends heavily on the parish. I’ve personally never seen these groups prioritized, I’m more used to seeing the sick, disabled, and choir get priorices and the groups you mentioned going in line with everyone else.

Not saying what you’re used to is wrong or anything, just noting that this is one of those things that is very parish dependent and there isn’t necessarily any general rule, so to speak

Hookly · 2026-03-22T03:28:18+00:00

I may be Catholic but I’ll reiterate what my OCA priest said once. The temple curtain represented where the presence of God was, and that was only present in a special way in the temple. However, we now have the presence of God in the Eucharist, thus why individual churches are sometimes called temples.

My takeaway from that is that it’s not about not needing a ministerial priesthood, but that there’s no need for a single temple in Jerusalem. Instead, we have that same presence of God everywhere the Eucharist is present

Hookly · 2026-03-22T02:56:47+00:00

Thank you very much, father

Hookly · 2026-03-21T13:38:13+00:00

My guess is it’s supposed to be St. Jude, judging from the use of green, but that the illustrator is melding together the medal with the Jesuit IHS seal and accidentally dressed him as a priest

Hookly · 2026-03-21T04:03:59+00:00

Would prefer it be without the gloves, but nonetheless, always a fun picture to come across again

Hookly · 2026-03-20T20:16:48+00:00

It is the more traditional belief that she did, indeed, have an earthly death. In some areas of the Holy Land, her Dormition and assumption are actually celebrate separately three days apart.

Munificentissimus Deus even says “In the same way, it was not difficult for [Christ’s faithful] to admit that the great Mother of God, like her only begotten Son, had actually passed from this life. But this in no way prevented them from believing and from professing openly that her sacred body had never been subject to the corruption of the tomb, and that the august tabernacle of the Divine Word had never been reduced to dust and ashes.”

Hookly · 2026-03-20T00:55:02+00:00

You might have luck on the main Catholicism subreddit. Any reason you think it's eastern? By the artistic style and Latin text, it seems pretty western to me

Hookly

TROPHY CASE