From USCCB Publishing, this revision of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) seeks to promote more conscious, active, and full participation of the faithful in the mystery of the Eucharist. While the Missale Romanum contains the rite and prayers for Mass, the GIRM provides specific detail about each element of the Order of Mass as well as other information related to the Mass.

Fr. Michael Kwatera, OSB, helps deacons comprehend, share, and effectively perform their ministry by providing both spiritual and functional support. This short work is directed to al deacons, both permanent and transitional, in the hope that it will promote their formation for service within the church's Eucharist, other sacramental rites, and communal prayer. Contents include explanations of the deacon's role in various church situations and liturgies - such as confirmation and marriage - as well as outside of the Mass setting, such as ministering to the sick. With Petitions for Deacons from Ancient Liturgies and historical background, this book provides an interesting and informative look at the deacon's role in the Catholic Church. Fr. Michael Kwatera, OSB, PhD, is director of Oblates for Saint John's Abbey, Collegeville, Minnesota. He's a teacher and practitioner of Christian liturgy and the author of several Liturgical Press books, including Come to the Feast: Liturgical Ministry of, by, and for Everybody.

From the Congregation for Catholic Education and the Congregation for the Clergy.

The national directory addresses the dimensions and perspectives in the formation of deacons and the model standards for the formation, ministry, and life of deacons in the United States. It is intended as a guideline for formation, ministry, and life of permanent deacons and a directive to be utilized when preparing or updating a diaconate program in formulating policies for the ministry and life of deacons. This volume also includes Basic Standards for Readiness for the formation of permanent deacons in the United States, from the bishops' Committee on the Diaconate, and the committee document Visit of Consultation Teams to Diocesan Permanent Diaconate Formation Programs.

As the number of available priests has declined, the Sunday Mass is becoming less and less available in some parishes and dioceses. Sunday Celebrations in the Absence of a Priest addresses this growing reality by providing the appropriate ritual to be used in the celebrating community. This revised ritual edition of Sunday Celebrations in the Absence of a Priest is fully bilingual, with Spanish and English printed side by side. It includes Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer, and two appendices, Directory for Sunday Celebrations in the Absence of a Priest and Gathered in Steadfast Faith. This beautifully bound ritual book includes three ribbons and is printed in two colors. It will be a welcome addition to the sacristy or library of every parish, school, convent, and religious house.

What is a deacon? More than fifty years since the restoration of the permanent diaconate by the Second Vatican Council, the office of deacon is still in need of greater specificity about its purpose and place within the mission and organizational structure of the Church. While the Church is more than a social reality, the Church nonetheless has a social reality. Our understanding of the diaconate therefore benefits from a theological discussion of the divine element of the Church and a sociological examination of the human element. Understanding the Diaconate adds the resources of sociology and anthropology to the theological sources of scripture, liturgy, patristic era texts, theologians, and magisterial teachings to conclude that the deacon can be understood as “social intermediary and symbol of communitas” who serves the participation of the laity in the life and mission of the Church. This research proposes the deacon as a servant of the bond of communion within the Church (facilitating the relationship between the bishop/priest and his people), and between the People of God and the individual in need. Thus authentic diaconal ministry includes a vast array of many concrete contexts of pastoral importance where one does more than simply serve at Mass.

In this volume in the Liturgy Documentary Series, the bishops reaffirm the distribution of the Holy Communion to the faithful under both kinds.

A child begs her father to take her to the baseball game, where she roots for the home team and eats peanuts and Cracker Jack.

Three related essays by experts on the diaconate that examine the concept of women deacons in the Catholic Church from Thistorical, contemporary, and future perspectives.