Monday, September 19, 2005

New Liturgy books available from Ignatius Press

[From Ignatius Press]

The History and Future of the Roman Liturgy

By Denis Crouan

Since the Second Vatican Council, the liturgy has become the source of conflicting opinions. This situation has given rise to disputes that continue to divide those who practice their faith. But what has created this state of affairs? Author Denis Crouan shows how the decisions made by Vatican II that aimed at restoring the Roman rite were presented poorly, applied incorrectly, and often not applied at all.

In many places the Mass has been turned into a permanent work-in-progress, in which the objectivity of the liturgy yields to the subjectivity of those who take part in it.

Where does the current unwillingness to apply the liturgical rules come from? Why have the directives of the last council been ignored or circumvented? This book offers answers to the questions asked by Catholics who want to understand their liturgy better, so as to put an end to deviant practices that threaten Church unity.

ISBN: 1586170155
Length: 324 pages
Price: $19.95 USD

The Mass and Modernity: Walking to Heaven Backward
By Fr. Jonathan Robinson, cong. orat.


Many in the Church have accepted modernity in their effort to speak to the modern world, and not nearly enough attention has been given to trying to disentangle the complex of ideas and half-formulated convictions that constitute this mind-set which is in fact contrary to Christianity.

The first aim of this book is to examine the origins and present day influence of modernity, and then to argue that there is nothing in the Christian's concern for the modern world that requires accepting this damaging mind-set in connection with the highest form of worship, the Mass.

The second aim of the book is to show that that the sources of a genuine liturgical renewal are to be found in a heightened sense of the centrality of the Mass and a return to a theology compatible with the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

“Fr. Robinson’s book is a philosopher’s gift to the Catholic liturgy. He provides a thoroughly lucid account of the climate of ideas which handicaps the celebration of Catholic worship in the modern world. This is a diagnosis which shows just how far reaching must be the cure.” -- Fr. Aidan Nichols

Availability: On Back Order
ISBN: 1586170694
Length: 380 pages
Your Price: $17.95

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