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Views from the Choir Loft

Liturgical Reflections of a Papal Master of Ceremonies

Fr. David Friel · June 12, 2017

ULL-TIME graduate studies have left me little time for non-assigned readings over the last year. Nevertheless, I took advantage of a free evening last week to read a short book that I only recently discovered. A collection of writings by Msgr. Guido Marini, the book is entitled Liturgical Reflections of a Papal Master of Ceremonies.

This slim volume (111 pages) gathers together a number of essays composed by Msgr. Marini during his time as Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations, a post he has held since 2007. Collected and translated by Rev. Nicholas Gregoris of Newman House Press, these essays offer insights into the theological outlook of Msgr. Marini and his rationale for a variety of papal liturgical practices. Msgr. Marini continues to serve as papal MC for Pope Francis, but these essays, published in 2011, pertain more directly to the pontificate of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.

Concerning his role as papal master of ceremonies and the consequent meaning of his own liturgical reflections, Msgr. Marini writes this:

I consider it a pleasant and urgent duty for me to be the faithful interpreter and echo of his authoritative liturgical orientation, which does not pertain to the realm of “personal taste” (although such personal taste is more than respected while not necessarily shared by all), but rather to a true and proper Magisterium to be shared with a spirit of faith and a genuine ecclesial sense. (Guido Marini, Liturgical Reflections of a Papal Master of Ceremonies, trans. Nicholas I. Gregoris [Pine Beach, NJ: Newman House Press, 2011], 14)

The best part of this book is the substantial first section, which was originally delivered as an address to a 2010 liturgy conference in Milan. The title of this address is “Entering the Liturgical Mysteries through the Rites and Prayers.” The remainder of the book is also interesting and insightful, and it covers such topics as: the distribution of Holy Communion, the pallium, the pastoral staff, the placement of the crucifix upon the altar (the so-called “Benedictine arrangement”), the Greek Gospel, silence, Latin, beauty, and the wearing of the dalmatic by cardinal deacons. Each of these issues is presented with theological, historical, and practical perspective.

Msgr. Marini teaches that “Christ the Eternal High Priest . . . is at the center of the liturgical action of the Church. The liturgy must be the celebrated transparency of this theological truth” (Marini, 67). He also gives a good perspective on the spirit of faith and obedience with which we must approach the liturgy and its reforms:

True fidelity to the reform willed by Vatican II demands . . . an ecclesial spirit . . . without ideologically preconceived notions. It is one and the same love that must animate everyone—love for the Lord and His Church, love for the liturgy, which is the action of Christ and the Church. (Marini, 43)

Y FAVORITE memory of the World Meeting of Families held in Philadelphia in 2015 is the opportunity I had to hear Msgr. Marini’s final encouragement to the servers before Mass in our cathedral and on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. I have tried to capture his profound reflections on that occasion here. I recommend reading these reflections just as highly as I am pleased to recommend this small book.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Msgr Guido Marini, Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Francis Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Fr. David Friel

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel is a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and serves as Director of Liturgy at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary. —(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    “Yahweh” in church songs?
    My pastor asked me to write a weekly column for our parish bulletin. The one scheduled to run on 22 June 2025 is called “Three Words in a Psalm” and speaks of translating the TETRAGRAMMATON. You can read the article at this column repository. All of them are quite brief because I was asked to keep within a certain word limit.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • Pentecost Sunday
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for Pentecost Sunday (8 June 2025). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. Because our choir is on break this week, the music is relatively simple.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Truly Great Processional” • (Pipe Organ)
    I stumbled upon this live recording of a PROCESSIONAL I played on the pipe organ in 2002. It’s an excerpt from a much longer composition by Sebastian Bach. In those days, there weren’t sophisticated recording devices allowing one “fix” wrong notes. (Perhaps they existed, but we didn’t have machines like that.) So it was necessary to play the entire piece from beginning to end. If you’re a church organist, feel free to download the PDF score. I suppose it’s only a matter of time until some joker uses “artificial intelligence” to play music at church … but there’s something so satisfying about playing an organ in real life.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    When to Sit, Stand and Kneel like it’s 1962
    There are lots of different guides to postures for Mass, but I couldn’t find one which matched our local Latin Mass, so I made this one: sit-stand-kneel-crop
    —Veronica Brandt
    The Funeral Rites of the Graduale Romanum
    Lately I have been paging through the 1974 Graduale Romanum (see p. 678 ff.) and have been fascinated by the funeral rites found therein, especially the simply-beautiful Psalmody that is appointed for all the different occasions before and after the funeral Mass: at the vigil/wake, at the house of the deceased, processing to the church, at the church, processing to the cemetery, and at the cemetery. Would that this “stational Psalmody” of the Novus Ordo funeral rites saw wider usage! If you or anyone you know have ever used it, please do let me know.
    —Daniel Tucker

Random Quote

“Now we are aware of the fact that during recent years some artists, gravely offending against Christian piety, have dared to bring into churches works devoid of any religious inspiration and completely at variance with the right rules of art.”

— Ven. Pope Pius XII (25 December 1955)

Recent Posts

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  • “Music List” • Pentecost Sunday
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  • “Breathtaking Photographs” • First Mass of Father Michael Caughey, FSSP (Muskegon, MI)
  • “Truly Great Processional” • (Pipe Organ)

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