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Televised Masses

Answered by Legionary of Christ Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy and sacramental theology and director of the Sacerdos Institute at the Regina Apostolorum university.

Q: For many years my diocese has sponsored a televised Mass ministry. While it is clear to me that this ministry is well received by many homebound Catholics, there are some liturgical aspects of the production of these Masses that bother me. The Masses must strictly fit into a TV station’s half-hour time slot, so the celebrant and participants at the taping must be very aware of the clock. The real masters of the production are the members of the camera crew. Since the Masses are taped for future viewing, it usually happens that several Masses are taped at the same time and at the same site. By way of example, this may mean that Masses for the Twenty-third through Twenty-fifth Sundays of Ordinary Time might all be done at one sitting, weeks prior to those Sundays. The TV stations then show each Mass on the appropriate Sunday. I have such mixed feelings about this. As a priest who truly loves the liturgy, these hurried Masses that are out of sync with the liturgical calendar really bother me, but from a pastoral perspective, I see that they meet the needs of many people who are unable to worship with their parish families. What is your opinion about this? — W.M., Wisconsin

A: Fortunately, in this case, I am not limited to a personal opinion but can cite official norms. Much of what I offer below is taken from an earlier column from 2005, but since so much time has passed it bears repeating.

Praise the Lord

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