In 1923, Romano Guardini’s Liturgie und Liturgische Bildung was published in German and later in Italian. For the first time, this overlooked but foundational resource is available in English. In Liturgy and Liturgical Formation, Guardini presents the specific task of the liturgy, and by extension, the ways in which the liturgy forms us to respond to sacramental signs and to understand our place in the community. Pope Francis drew upon Guardini’s insights from Liturgy and Liturgical Formation in his recent apostolic letter, Desiderio Desideravi, highlighting how, as Guardini wrote, the liturgy forms us “to relate religiously as fully human beings.” Guardini’s efforts to shine a light on liturgical formation continue to this day. The ongoing formation and education of the assembly is essential, and Liturgy and Liturgical Formation provides a lens through which this formation can be realized. Despite the changing times, Guardini’s insights continue to have value for how liturgical formation can enrich our celebration and participation in the liturgy.

What concepts must one have in order to understand and explain the nature and purpose, the plan and actualization, and the relational character of the liturgy? Volume 2: Fundamental Liturgy addresses this question in three parts - epistemology, celebration, and human sciences - which develop the foundational concepts of the liturgy. It leads the reader to a deeper understanding of the liturgy by examining the basic concepts that belong to its definition. Articles and their contributors are Theology of the Liturgy," by Alceste Catella;"Liturgical Symbolism," by Crispino Valenziano; "Liturgy and Spirituality," by Jesus Castellano Cervera, OCD; "Pastoral Liturgical Ministry," by Domenico Sartore, CSJ; "Catechesis and Liturgy," by Domenico Sartore, CSJ; "Liturgy and Ecclesiology," by Nathan Mitchell; "The Liturgical Assembly," by Mark Francis, CSV; "Participation in the Liturgy," by Anna Kai-Yung Chan; "Liturgical Ministries," by Thomas A. Krosnicki, SVD; "The Psychosociological Aspect of the Liturgy," by Lucio Maria Pinkus, OSM; "Liturgy and Anthropology: The Meaning and the Method of the Question," by Crispino Valenziano; "The Language of Liturgy," by Silvano Maggiani, OSM; "Liturgy and Aesthetic," by Silvano Maggiani, OSM; "Liturgy and Music," by Jan Michael Joncas; "Liturgy and Iconology," by Crispino Valenziano; and "Liturgy and Inculturation," by Anscar J. Chupungco, OSB and Silvano Maggiani, OSM "

In recent years there has been a groundswell of interest on how Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can best be harnessed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Catholic liturgy. Accordingly, the book discusses the future of worship at a time of digital explosion in the Christian Churches, as expended through the lenses of the Second Vatican Council's interdisciplinary document titled Inter Mirifica 13. While the nexus between ICT and Liturgy may seem obvious, the deep connections and the many possibilities for the 21st century e-worship are yet to be significantly explored. When not handled well, they will lead to cataclysmic destruction of liturgical heritage and patrimony. Nonetheless, exploring ICT for e-worship, the book advocates for adherence to guidelines in liturgical celebrations. Hence, the book discloses the meaning, theology, types, prospects, uses, and abuses in ICT for digital worship. This book will make a vital contribution not only to scholarship in liturgical studies in Africa but also as a catalyst towards a simplified consolidation, to the practice of Christian worship in the world today.

Evangelicals, Simon Chan argues, are confused about the meaning and purpose of the church in part because they have an inadequate understanding of Christian worship. He calls evangelicals to develop a theology of worship that is grounded in a theology of the church. He guides the reader through worship practices and their significance for theology, spirituality and the renewal of evangelicalism in the postmodern era.

'Because the Sacred Liturgy is truly the font from which all the Church's power flows...we must do everything we can to put the Sacred Liturgy back at the very heart of the relationship between God and man... I ask you to continue to work towards achieving the liturgical aims of the Second Vatican Council...and to work to continue the liturgical renewal promoted by Pope Benedict XVI, especially through the post-synodal apostolic exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis...and the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum... I ask you to be wise, like the householder...who knows when to bring out of his treasure things both new and old (see: Mtt 13:52), so that the Sacred Liturgy as it is celebrated and lived today may lose nothing of the estimable riches of the Church's liturgical tradition, whilst always being open to legitimate development.' These words of Robert Cardinal Sarah, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, underline the liturgy's fundamental role in every aspect of the life and mission of the Church. Liturgy in the Twenty-First Century makes available the different perspectives on this from leading figures such as Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, Abbot Philip Anderson, Father Thomas Kocik, Dom Alcuin Reid, and Dr Lauren Pristas. Considering questions of liturgical catechetics, music, preaching, how young people relate to the liturgy, matters of formation and reform, etc., Liturgy in the Twenty-First Century is an essential resource for all clergy and religious and laity involved in liturgical ministry and formation. Bringing forth 'new treasures as well as old,' its contributors identify and address contemporary challenges and issues facing the task of realising the vision of Cardinal Sarah, Cardinal Ratzinger/Benedict XVI and the Second Vatican Council.

"The Sacred Liturgy is not a hobby for specialists. It is central to all our endeavors as disciples of Jesus Christ. This profound reality cannot be over emphasized. We must recognize the primacy of grace in our Christian life and work, and we must respect the reality that in this life the optimal encounter with Christ is in the Sacred Liturgy." With these words Bishop Dominique Rey of Fréjus-Toulon, France, opened Sacra Liturgia 2013, an international conference in which he brought together over twenty leading liturgists, cardinals, bishops and other scholars from around the world to emphasize the centrality of liturgical formation and celebration in the life and mission of the Church. "The New Evangelization must be founded on the faithful and fruitful celebration of the Sacred Liturgy as given to us by the Church in her tradition - Western and Eastern," Bishop Rey asserted. Sacra Liturgia 2013 - the proceedings of which this book publishes - explored questions of liturgical art, architecture, music, the ars celebrandi, the importance of ritual in human psychology, truly pastoral liturgy, the place of the older liturgical rites in the New Evangelization, liturgical formation, liturgical law, the role of the diocesan bishop in respect of the liturgy, and more. Sacred Liturgy - The Source and Summit of the Life and Mission of the Church is an important resource in ongoing liturgical formation for clergy, religious and laity, and makes a significant contribution to that renewal promoted in the Pontificate of Benedict XVI. That is the renewal which embraces the riches of liturgical tradition as valuable treasures, seeks to read the Second Vatican Council according to a hermeneutic of continuity, not rupture, and is in no doubt that, as Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger once wrote, "the true celebration of the Sacred Liturgy as the center of any renewal of the Church."

Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the promulgation of Sacrosanctum Concilium, this volume assembles the liturgical documents needed by students and pastoral ministers to understand the theological, historical, and pastoral significance of this influential liturgical document.

What concepts must one have in order to understand and explain the nature and purpose, the plan and actualization, and the relational character of the liturgy? Volume 2: Fundamental Liturgy addresses this question in three parts - epistemology, celebration, and human sciences - which develop the foundational concepts of the liturgy. It leads the reader to a deeper understanding of the liturgy by examining the basic concepts that belong to its definition. Articles and their contributors are Theology of the Liturgy," by Alceste Catella;"Liturgical Symbolism," by Crispino Valenziano; "Liturgy and Spirituality," by Jesus Castellano Cervera, OCD; "Pastoral Liturgical Ministry," by Domenico Sartore, CSJ; "Catechesis and Liturgy," by Domenico Sartore, CSJ; "Liturgy and Ecclesiology," by Nathan Mitchell; "The Liturgical Assembly," by Mark Francis, CSV; "Participation in the Liturgy," by Anna Kai-Yung Chan; "Liturgical Ministries," by Thomas A. Krosnicki, SVD; "The Psychosociological Aspect of the Liturgy," by Lucio Maria Pinkus, OSM; "Liturgy and Anthropology: The Meaning and the Method of the Question," by Crispino Valenziano; "The Language of Liturgy," by Silvano Maggiani, OSM; "Liturgy and Aesthetic," by Silvano Maggiani, OSM; "Liturgy and Music," by Jan Michael Joncas; "Liturgy and Iconology," by Crispino Valenziano; and "Liturgy and Inculturation," by Anscar J. Chupungco, OSB and Silvano Maggiani, OSM "