The Mass in My Life is the story of a Catholic laywoman's lifelong experience of the Mass. She recaptures childhood experiences, traces a path to adulthood, and in her elder years finds a wondrous gratitude for the Mass. Along the way, family, friends, pastors, favorite authors, and the Mass itself lighten her way as she seeks, in the words of an old missal, "the God who is the joy of my youth." Personal and family memories are recalled side-by-side with selected prayers of the Mass from her collection of missals that covers seven decades. The meaning of the Mass unfolds as the years go by, marked by ordinary days as well as rites of passage. Each chapter focuses on a milestone or period in the author's life and a prayer from the Order of the Mass. The two themes, life and Mass, interweave chronologically in a unique twofold structure. There are rich and sometimes troubling memories of personal and family life here, but always an attentive longing for the Mass which the author sees as the transforming experience of her life.

The Pharmacology of Synapses details the advancements in the understanding of synaptic pharmacology. The book examines the development in various areas of synaptic pharmacology research. The text first covers the basic concepts of synaptic pharmacology, and then proceeds to tackling the metabolism of acetylcholine. Next, the selection deals with monoamine in the central nervous system, and neuromuscular transmission in vertebrates. The text also discusses the pharmacology of autonomic ganglia. Chapters 7 and 8 detail the pharmacological studies on neurons in the brain and spinal cord. The ninth chapter deals with the neuromuscular transmission in invertebrates, while the 10th chapter deals with drugs, transmission, and molluskan neurons. The book will be of great use to researchers and practitioners of pharmacology, neurology, biological psychology, and psychiatry.

Colin Sparks provides a challenging reassessment of the impact of the collapse of communism on the media systems of Eastern Europe. He analyzes both the changes themselves and their implications for the ways in which we think about the mass media, while also demonstrating that most of the orthodox accounts of the end of communism are seriously flawed. There are much greater continuities between the old system and the new than are captured by the theories that argue that there has been a radical and fundamental change. Instead of marking the end of critical inquiry or the end of history, as some have suggested, Sparks argues that the collapse of the communist systems demonstrates how very limited and frequently incorrect the main ways of discussing the mass media are. He concludes with a provocative discussion of the ways in which we need to modify our thinking in the light of these developments.

Gregory Kasza examines state-society relations in interwar Japan through a case study of public policy toward radio, film, newspapers, and magazines.

The Catholic Lectionary guides us through the liturgical year, presenting Old and New Testament readings that together reveal God’s unfolding plan for our salvation. In The Word of the Lord: Reflections on the Mass Readings for Solemnities and Feasts, biblical scholar Dr. John Bergsma provides commentary alongside each celebration’s readings. Whether you are a homilist seeking insight into the meaning of difficult scriptural passages or a Catholic desiring a deepened understanding of the readings you hear at Mass, The Word of the Lord serves as an invaluable guide. This volume includes commentaries for liturgies that utilize the same readings across Cycles A, B, and C for The Season of Christmas The Season of Lent The Sacred Triduum The Season of Easter And Solemnities and Feasts of the Lord and His Saints Series Description The Lectionary guides our reading of Scripture through the liturgical year, presenting Old and New Testament readings that together reveal God’s unfolding plan for our salvation. In The Word of the Lord series, biblical scholar Dr. John Bergsma provides commentary on each Sunday’s selection of readings. Whether you are a homilist seeking insight into the meaning of difficult scriptural passages or a Catholic desiring a deepened understanding of the readings you hear at Mass, The Word of the Lord series is an invaluable guide.

Commentating on the Book of Revelation, Michael Barber explains that the heart of the book is a description of the Mass. John, in fact, describes in great detail the heavenly wedding feast of the Lamb, which is exactly what we celebrate every time Mass is said. As Barber says, “in the Mass, we are not merely imitating the heavenly liturgy – we are participating in it.” He shows how each element of the Mass we celebrate today, from the penitential rite to saying the Sanctus, corresponds exactly to this description of the heavenly celebration.

The mass is an extraordinary musical form. Whereas other Western art music genres from medieval times have fallen out of favour, the mass has not merely survived but flourished. A variety of historical forces within religious, secular, and musical arenas saw the mass expand well beyond its origins as a cycle of medieval chants, become concertised and ultimately bifurcate. Even as Western societies moved away from their Christian origins to become the religiously plural and politically secular societies of today, and the Church itself moved in favour of congregational singing, composers continued to compose masses. By the early twentieth century two forms of mass existed: the liturgical mass composed for church services, and the concert mass composed for secular venues. Spanning two millennia, The Origins and Ascendancy of the Concert Mass outlines the origins and meanings of the liturgical texts, defines the concert mass, explains how and why the split occurred, and provides examples that demonstrate composers’ gradual appropriation of the genre as a vehicle for personal expression on serious issues. By the end of the twentieth century the concert mass had become a repository for an eclectic range of theological and political ideas.