SSPX Podcast

Today in the Catholic Mass Series, we begin a new section examining the externals that surround the Mass, like vestments, the church building, and starting today, sacred music. From antiquity, music has been a part of worship. In fact, even false religions recognize the importance of music in their respective devotions and rites. Today in the first of two episodes on music and the Mass, we explore the history of music in sacred worship, starting with Jewish ceremonies and the Psalms, leading up to the present day. We also start to examine the various kinds of music in a sung...

We continue the section of the podcast series where we go step by step through the Mass to examine the various sections of the Liturgy. In this week’s episode, we discuss the Canon, the Communion, and the Conclusion of the Mass. What is the meaning of the symbolism of the liturgical actions? What are the prayers of the Canon expressing? What is the meaning of the priest’s reception of the Eucharist and the purpose of the prayers after Holy Communion is distributed?

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Today we continue the section of the podcast series where we will go step by step through the Mass to look at the various sections of the Liturgy. In this week’s episode, we discover the richness of the Offertory prayers and rubrics. What are the various prayers said and what are they for? And which of the prayers perfectly encapsulates the entire reason for the Mass? We also examine the symbolism of various actions, such as placing a few drops of water with the wine, the hiding of the paten, and even details such as where the priest is su...

In today’s episode, we continue the section of the podcast series where we will go step by step through the Mass to look at the various sections and rubrics of the Liturgy. Now we turn to the Lessons, that is, the portion of the Mass that centers on the Epistle and Gospel. This also includes important elements such as the Alleluia or Tract and the Sermon. Moreover, we also examine the role of deacons and subdeacons during this part of the Mass.  

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We are continuing the section of the podcast series that proceeds step by step through the Mass to look at the various sections and rubrics of the liturgy. In this week’s episode, we focus on the section from the Introit up to the Collect. These prayers and the symbolism of the liturgical gestures have a deep history, which is apparent when we open our hand Missals to see phrases like “The Mass of the Catechumens” and “Stational Churches.” What do these terms mean? And what is signified during this beginning portion of the Mass? https://angeluspress.org/products/the-life-of-st-francis-de-sales  

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We’re continuing the section of the podcast series where we will go step by step through the Mass to look at the various sections and rubrics of the Liturgy. Today we’ll look at the beginning part of the Mass – but we won’t look immediately at the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar, like you might think. Before we do that in this episode, we’ll start by learning about the Asperges, the blessing of the church, the priest and ministers, and the faithful with Holy Water, as is done on every Sunday’s sung Mass. Why do we have t...

We now begin the section of the podcast series that proceeds step by step through the Mass to examine the various sections and rubrics of the liturgy, starting with the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar through the Conclusion. Before we look at the individual ceremonies, however, we must explicate the proper method for approaching the Mass. The ceremonies of the Mass are very ancient, and their origin is often lost in the mists of history. How can we go about discovering why the Mass is arranged as it is along with the meaning of its constituent parts?  

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This week on The Catholic Mass Series, we finish our discussion at the Theology of the Mass with an episode about the reception of the Holy Eucharist. In the contemporary Church, the practice of receiving Holy Communion has changed. Why? What did the reception of the Eucharist look like throughout history? Did faithful in the early Church receive Our Lord on the tongue, and kneeling? Why did this practice change – and then why has the practice reverted back in the last fifty years? What about the priests’ reception of Communion?  

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This week on The Catholic Mass Series, we look at mysteries and the nature of the Blessed Sacrament. There is a lot that we cannot comprehend fully about the Eucharist, but examining this great mystery of the Church, we can deepen our devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. In this episode, examine questions concerning Our Lord’s real presence in the Eucharist. Then we discuss transubstantiation, and finally, the effects that Our Lord’s presence can have on the soul of the recipient.  

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This week, as we approach Christmas, we examine the three ways in which our Lord is present at every Mass. This will help to deepen our faith as we understand how He is present not just in a poetic or imaginary way, but in a real - yet sacramental and mysterious – manner. We see how he is present as both the high priest and victim. Finally, we consider how He comes to us sacramentally through the Eucharist.

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Last week’s episode covered the fundamental nature of the Mass while answering Protestant objections. Today, we consider the question of the Mass's nature, including its relationship to the Holy Eucharist. What does it mean to refer to the Eucharist as a “sacrament” and how does this relate to the sacrificial nature of the Mass itself? Moreover, in recent decades, a greater emphasis has been placed on the idea that the Mass is a “memorial meal” or a “gathering.” Is it wrong to speak of the Mass—and the Eucharist—this way and, if so, why?  

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Today, we continue exploring the Theology of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass by focusing on its fundamental purpose and addressing key errors about it. We examine the parallels between minimizing Protestant hostility toward the Mass and efforts to justify the New Mass. Additionally, we consider historical objections to the Mass, such as the claim that faith and personal contact with Our Lord are sufficient for salvation, that a hierarchical priesthood is unnecessary, and that the Sacrifice of the Cross is distinct from the Mass celebrated on altars throughout Christendom.

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Today, we start a new section of The Catholic Mass Series. We have been looking at the history of the Mass, from the Old Testament, to the Last Supper, on to the Liturgical Movement. And now we move onto exploring the rubrics and theology of the Mass. In this episode, we begin by asking some basic questions, ”Why is the sacrifice important? Why are victim, priest, and the offering so difficult to comprehend without a proper context?”  

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Today, we bring our third and final episode on the “Liturgical Movement.” Last time we saw how World War II impacted the Roman Liturgy and its reform. Today, we delve into how the French and German clergy, emboldened by the lack of censures for their Modernist ideas, pushed for more radical changes that broke from the original spirit of the Liturgical Reform. We also explore what led these liturgical radicals to become more vocal, and how their planning made its way into the Second Vatican Council’s official documents. Finally, close by exposing the movement's true intention: the creation of the No...

Today, in our second episode on the Liturgical Movement we focus on origins of the movement and we examine how it went awry. We also focus on the inter-war period and see how it corrupted the liturgy and the indirect of modernism had a detrimental effect on the war we worship. We still have not recovered from it today.

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Today we start a series of three episodes, all looking at the period from the Council of Trent up to the Second Vatican Council. Specifically, we focus on what’s called “The Liturgical Movement.” This was a movement for the restoration of the Liturgy; renewing its discipline; and broadening the education of both the faithful and the clergy about the Mass itself. In the beginnings of the movement, it had a positive purpose, and it started out well. What we explore is what went wrong with the movement and the social, political, and ecclesiastical forces that disrupted an otherwise noble enterp...

Today we’ll trace the development of both the Divine Office and the Mass over 1,000 years, beginning with St. Gregory the Great in the 6th century and concluding with the reforms of the Council of Trent. We'll discuss how St. Gregory helped shape the liturgical framework and preserved unity while allowing local traditions to thrive. Moving forward, we’ll trace how these traditions evolved, influencing lots of different rites across Europe. We’re not used to thinking that lots of rites are good – but what was good about them? And why did these ultimately lead to the standardization by Pope St. Pius...

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Last episode, we saw what Christ intended to leave us in the Mass – how He is both priest and victim, God and man. In this episode, we’ll investigate what happened after the Last Supper – after Our Lord Ascended into Heaven. Did the Mass celebrated by the first bishops look like the Tridentine Latin Mass we have today? How did the early Eucharist ceremonies develop, and how did various regions influence the way that the ceremonies of the Liturgy were practiced? We’ll also take a look at the immense influence that the Jewish synagogue ceremonies played in the early developm...

We have examined the Old Testament sacrifices, and how they all pre-figure the Mass. But instead of offering lambs, in the New Testament we offer bread and wine. Instead of the priest and victim being separate beings, today, they are one. Why? Why did God wish to have a sacrifice done this way? Why did Christ institute the Mass at the Last Supper, before His Sacrifice? We will look at the Last Supper and the Passion from a theological, historical, and anthropological perspective. We will see that Jesus knew full well what any first-century Jew would have known: when it...

This week on the SSPX Podcast, we’ll pause the Catholic Mass series for an episode of Questions with Father an a recent document that was released from the Vatican. The document is commonly known as “The Bishop of Rome” document, and is titled, “To Find a Way of Exercising Primacy.” In it, the Holy Father makes some curious remarks about ecumenism, referring to himself, for instance, as “the gravest obstacle on the path of ecumenism.” So what are we to think of this? What is the answer to ecumenism, and has the teaching of the Church changed?

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The Old Testament is foreign to modern people in many ways. And one of the most striking examples of a “weird” practice has to do with the very specific, and often very messy practices surrounding ritual sacrifice. Last episode, we saw how sacrifice is required by God. But we’ll continue with this conversation, and look at the specific sacrifices in the Old Testament in different occasions. There were sin-offerings, peace-offerings, and holocausts, which are burnt-offerings. They also made use of bread, wine, food – and very often, whole animals, blood, fat – why? And more interesting to us today, what does this all r...

When did mankind begin to make sacrifices to God? What did they look like? As we have seen already in this series, the concept of making a sacrifice, or of putting something aside for the worship of God, is nothing new and it is not exclusive to the Judeo-Christian tradition. Man understands that he has duties to his creator. So today we will look back at our ancestors, specifically the practices of the Chosen People and how they worshipped God. In part two of this subject, we’ll see how it all connects to the Mass. But this week, let’s se...