Liturgy and Worship Reflections

On Friday, we traveled 200 miles to the northeast to a small town overlooking the Adriatic Sea to visit the Basilica of the Holy House in Loreto, where Fr. Robert celebrated Mass. This Basilica is built around and protects a very special building located right in its center, that being the Santa Casa.

Today in Rome on our young adult pilgrimage, Fr. Robert is celebrating Mass at the Mamertine Prison, the oldest prison in Rome. It sits directly adjacent to the Roman Forum on the northeastern slope of the Capitoline Hill, and Tradition holds that at separate times, St. Peter and St. Paul were once imprisoned here in the prison's subterranean dungeon during their trial before their martyrdom.

Hanging above the altar at OLMC is a large crucifix, with a 6-foot-tall corpus of Christ painted in the Ionic style. As I'm sure you know, OLMC is not alone in having a crucifix, as every Catholic Church is required to have a crucifix on or near the altar for the Mass. But why is that?