This resource helps you prepare a reverent, artful, and interactive experience of the symbols of the liturgy followed by reflection on their meaning for groups of adults or teens.

How language works in the worship of the church has been vigorously debated during the period of liturgical revision in the twentieth century coming at the end of what is known as the Liturgical Movement. Focusing upon the Church of England and the Anglican tradition, this book traces the history of ‘liturgical language’ as it begins in the Early Church, but with particular emphasis upon the English Reformation liturgies, their background in the Medieval Church and literature and their long and varied life in the Church of England after 1662. Inter-disciplinary in scope, yet rooted in a literary approach, the volume provides a rigorous study of the effect of liturgy upon the theological and devotional life of the Church.

The Divine Liturgy is the name given in the Orthodox Church to the service of Eucharistic communion. This convenient pocket size sewn volume actually contains two books in one: All the necessary texts for the celebration of the liturgy by the priest and deacon, interpolated with comprehensive rubrical directions, and "Instructional Information" explaining how the clergy should prepare themselves to celebrate divine services. It also includes the thanksgiving prayer and three appendices with petitions for particular needs that may be inserted in the litany of fervent supplication, daily and festal dismissals. Traditional English is used throughout in the translation of service texts.

In 1921, Anton Baumstark delivered two lectures on the development of the Roman Rite to a gathering at the Abbey of Maria Laach. Abbot Ildefons Herwegen offered to publish those lectures, but Baumstark decided to write a book on the topic instead, which was published two years later as On the Historical Development of the Liturgy. It would be another sixteen years before he produced Comparative Liturgy, for which he is better known. Together the two books lay out Baumstark's liturgical methodology. Comparative Liturgy presents his method; On the Historical Development of the Liturgy offers his model. For nearly a century, On the Historical Development of the Liturgy has been valued by specialists in the field of liturgical studies, both for its description of comparative liturgy and for the portrayal of patterns Baumstark discerns in liturgical development. Also significant are the hypotheses Baumstark proposes and the evidence he brings to bear on problems in liturgical history. In this annotated edition, Fritz West provides the first English translation of this work by Anton Baumstark.

The Catholic Church teaches that the celebration of the liturgy is the “source and summit of the Christian life” (Lumen gentium, 11). Participating in the liturgy—the Mass, the Liturgy of the Hours, the sacramental rites, blessings, and other official rites—is the most important act of Catholic Christians, for it is through the liturgy that the faithful give praise to God, thank him for his blessings, and go forth strengthened and challenged to life as Christ’s disciples in the world. This easy-to-read resource explores what it means to call liturgy “source and summit.” It will help the Catholic faithful to understand the meaning of the liturgy and its importance to our life of faith, experience Christ’s four-fold presence in the various Church rites, come to a deeper relationship with God, and reflect on the transforming power of the liturgy to change the world.

By its very nature, hermeneutics?the art or science of interpreting?is interdisciplinary. It is equally important for scholars of literature, philosophy, biblical texts, and theology. In spite of the fact that interpretation has long been an important concern for Scripture exegetes and that in recent years liturgists have paid increasing attention to methods, there is no major work that specifically addresses the issues of hermeneutics for liturgy. Liturgy and Hermeneutics fills that void. In Liturgy and Hermeneutics Joyce Ann Zimmerman explains that all communication requires some interpretation, even everyday conversations in which we are hardly aware of it. But a great deal of communication is far more complex. Anytime we try to describe such things as an idea, a concept, or an experience, we are well beyond ordinary language use and into the realm of language as a symbol system. Since symbols have both a literal meaning and another level of meaning available only through interpretation, much of our communication is hermeneutical. Liturgy is no exception; it too is hermeneutical. In the past everything about liturgy seemed clear and understandable, and the rituals were denotative. However, Zimmerman argues, that lack of interpretation may have deprived worshipers of the richness proper to liturgy. A non-interpretive approach to liturgy tends to reduce it to rubrics or received grace. We must likewise be wary of an interpretation of liturgy that is too subjective. Only authentic interpretation examines liturgy's richness while remaining faithful to its tradition, doctrinal content, and ritual expressions. In Liturgy and Hermeneutics Zimmerman specifically addresses hermeneutics and its use in liturgy and liturgical studies. Her purpose is twofold: (1) to introduce readers to a complex body of literature so they can become literate in a technical field; and (2) to guide readers through the complex issues and strategies involved in interpreting liturgy (as text, as ritual, as life). Zimmerman does not promote a single hermeneutic approach, but instead points out the advantages and disadvantages of various approaches. Chapters are "What's at Stake?" ?Overview of Hermeneutical Theory and Issues, ? ?Critical Methods, ? ?Post-critical Methods, ? ?Hermeneutics and Liturgical Studies Today, ? and an epilogue that raises questions yet to be comprehensively addressed by liturgists.

Jesus’ saving Paschal work continues today in the liturgy and sacraments. They have the power to sanctify and beatify those who engage the liturgy with proper minds and hearts. In this comprehensive and accessible book, Christopher Carstens opens up the ritual elements mystagogically: that is, he leads participants from what they can sense—a calendar day, a musical instrument, and word—to what is otherwise undetectable: Jesus Christ. He examines the core meaning of each liturgical element in creation, in the culture, in the Old Testament, in Christ, and in heaven. This book is an excellent resource for pastors, seminarians, permanent deacons and deacon candidates, lay ministers, and parish liturgy coordinators.

Some think that liturgy is formal, public, and for ordinary people, while mysticism is uncontrollable, private, and for extraordinary saints. Is there a connection between the two? In this volume, David Fagerberg proposes that mysticism is the normal crowning of the Christian life, and the Christian life is liturgical. We intuitively sense that liturgy and theology and mysticism have an affinity. Liturgical theology should reveal liturgy’s mystical heart. Liturgical theology asks “What happens in liturgy?” and liturgical mysticism asks “What happens to us in liturgy?”, and perfects our interior liturgy. In Liturgical Mysticism, Fagerberg directs the reader to look fixedly at Christ, who is the Mystery present in liturgy, and who bestows his resurrection power upon his adopted children. “In a time where both too wild and too mild spiritualities abound, it is audacious to put forward a book on liturgical mysticism. [This book] continues to enrich liturgical theology by amplifying its horizon and solidifying the foundation on which it rests.” Joris Geldhof Katholieke Universiteit Leuven

Worship sets an assembly in motion movement towards God in response to God's movement towards humans thus creating a resilient and caring community. Worship as Body Language brings the African community's experience of the body and its gestures together with the Christian liturgy, since worship and social action are closely related. The body language" or gestures of praise, adoration, contemplation, ritual dance, and care of the neighbor are meaningful to the ethnic group; African Christians tune into these body motions to express the one Christian faith. In Worship as Body Language, Father Uzukwu details how patterns of African ritual assemblies and sacred narratives have merged with Jewish, gospel, and early Church traditions to create living Christian communities and liturgies. Using a socio-historical method, this book sheds new light on liturgical action and theology, and suggests more transition rituals. It also provides samples of emergent African Christian liturgies that emphasize intense community participation with appropriate gestures. These local liturgies attest to the patristic principle that different customs actually confirm the unity of our faith in Christ. Scholars teaching and researching the foundations of the liturgy and liturgical inculturation, graduate students, and those organizing workshops on the regional, diocesan, or parish level will find Worship as Body Languagea ready handbook on the liturgy. It is also a useful textbook for introducing college students and seminarians to the anthropological, historical, and theological dimensions of the liturgy. Elochukwu E. Uzukwu, CSSp, ThD, lectures in liturgy and African theology in seminaries and Catholic universities in Nigeria, Congo, Zaire, and France. He is the author of Liturgy: Truly Christian, Truly African,and the editor of Bulletin of Ecumenical Theology. "

One of the best liturgical-catechetical Mass books for young children. The writers have done an exceptional job of presenting the rituals of the Mass in a way that will engage children and enable them to reflect at their own level on the meaning of the parts of the Mass. Also throughout the text, children are presented with questions that will draw them into participation in the Mass and help them develop a Eucharistic spirituality.