Romano Guardini's The Spirit of the Liturgy "helped us to rediscover the liturgy in all its beauty, hidden wealth, and time-transcending grandeur, to see it as the animating center of the Church, the very center of Christian life.... We were now willing to see the liturgy as the prayer of the Church, a prayer moved and guided by the Holy Spirit himself, a prayer in which Christ unceasingly becomes contemporary with us, enters into our lives." — Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger In the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council wrote that liturgical reform and renewal must accord with what they called "the spirit of the liturgy". But what did they mean by this? Popes had written and spoken about this spirit in the decades before the council, but another important source is the 1918 book The Spirit of the Liturgy by Romano Guardini, which Pope Benedict XVI credits with sparking the liturgical movement in Germany. The Seven Gifts of The Spirit of the Liturgy is a study of Guardini's watershed text. With contributions from Bishop Arthur Serratelli, Cassian Folsom, O.S.B., Michon Matthiesen, David Fagerberg, Daniel Cardó, Bishop James Conley, Emery de Gaál, and Susan Benofy, as well as Christopher Carstens, it analyzes each of the seven core features of the liturgical spirit as Guardini defined it: objective, corporate, universal, symbolic, meaningful, beautiful, and logical. The Second Vatican Council saw each of these seven characteristics as integral to authentic liturgical reform. Too often they remain absent from liturgical celebrations even today, when subjectivism and individualism take the place of an objective, corporate spirit; when custom-made liturgies neglect the dimension of universality; when frivolous, anemic symbols stand in for a robust symbolism that truly manifests Christ; when beauty and seriousness fade into the background. We hold back the spirit of the liturgy if we don't know what it is, if we don't desire it, and if we don't work to let it animate liturgical prayer and practice. For this reason, nine experts on the liturgy recall in this book Guardini's key spiritual insights, showing how these can deepen our liturgical understanding and practice today.

"How has the liturgy of the Roman rite developed and changed in history before and after the Council of Trent? What principles have determined the boundaries of legitimate liturgical reform over the centuries? What was the Liturgical Movement? Did Gueranger, Beauduin, Guardini, Parsch, Casel, Bugnini, Jungmann, Bouyer and the Movement's other leaders know and respect these principles? And what is to be said of the not insignificant liturgical reforms carried out by Pope Saint Pius X, Blessed Pope Pius IX, Pope Pius XII, and Blessed Pope John XXIII in the course of the twentieth century?" "In The Organic Development of the Liturgy, Dom Alcuin Reid examines these questions systematically, incisively and in depth, identifying both the content and context of the principle of "organic development" - a fundamental principle of liturgical reform of the Second Vatican Council's Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy Concilium - making a significant contribution to the understanding of the nature of the Liturgical Movement and to the ongoing re-assessment of the reforms enacted following the Council."--BOOK JACKET.

"In this summary volume on the reform of the liturgy since the Second Vatican Council, Baldovin pinpoints and assesses - both sympathetically and critically - the objections to changes in the liturgy since the council, focusing on philosophical, historical-critical, and theological questions. After addressing each criticism in turn, in a final chapter he assesses the critique of post-Vatican II liturgy as a whole, affirming what is accurate and necessary, rejecting what is backward looking, and proposing a set of principles to guide future development. No one who studies or participates in liturgical action in the twenty-first century can afford to overlook this book."--BOOK JACKET.

Written by liturgists – pastoral and academic – who make up the Liturgical Formation Sub-Committee of the Department for Christian Life and Worship of the Roman Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, this studyguide offers an introduction to Catholic Liturgy.

An annual resource for parish ministers, liturgists, pastors, and planning committees, Living Liturgy offers a practical means for reflection on and celebration of Mass for Sundays and solemnities as well as select other days. Living Liturgy integrates spirituality and celebration, catechesis and pastoral practice, the ministry of the assembly and other ministries so that celebrating and living go hand-in-hand. Written by a pastorally experienced team with expertise in Scripture, spiritual direction, liturgy, and liturgical music, Living Liturgy teaches that we learn from each other of the fullness of God's mystery, and by learning and worshiping together we enrich each other. Living Liturgy helps people live a liturgical spirituality. This is a way of living rooted in liturgy, which opens their vision to their baptismal identity as the Body of Christ and shapes their living according to the dying and rising rhythm of the paschal mystery. The paschal mystery is the entire saving mystery of Jesus Christ--his life, mission, passion, death, resurrection, ascension, sending of the Spirit, and promised second coming--and our participation in this mystery. Liturgy enacts in the here and now Christ's mystery and sends each one of us forth to live this mystery. Anyone involved with liturgical planning and preparation will benefit from using this resource, including pastoral ministers, liturgy directors, musicians, and liturgy committee members. Living Liturgy also assists those who serve the community in the visible liturgical ministries--presiders, deacons, music ministers, hospitality ministers, altar ministers, lectors, extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion--because it clearly shows thateach ministry deserves not only practical preparation but, even more important, spiritual preparation. Further, catechumens, candidates, and sponsors use Living Liturgy to support and deepen their liturgical journey within the RCIA. Members of faith-sharing groups use this resource as the focus of weekly prayer and reflection together. Parents and teachers will find that Living Liturgy can be simplified and shared with younger members of the liturgical community.

Worship is at the heart of the Christian faith. This applies equally to all denominations. For that reason it is all the more important that the ordering of worship and its place in the life of the church is regularly rewritten and reinterpreted. This volume--based on the third, completely revised German edition from 2013 by two of the foremost liturgical scholars in Germany--offers a contemporary, comprehensive introduction to the foundations for the study of liturgy today, one from which scholars and students in the English-speaking world can also profit. Beyond appealing to students of liturgy and theology, this book reaches out to everyone who wants to know more about the liturgical essence and dimensions of the church.

This reference incorporates the insights and expertise of leading liturgists and scholars of liturgy at work today, comprising 200 entries on important topics in the field, from vestments and offertories to ordination and divine unction. It is systematically organized and alphabetically arranged for ease of use. It also includes comprehensive bibliographies and reading lists, to bring the work fully up to date and to encourage further reading and research.

A classic and accessible guide in the field of Episcopal liturgy. Originally published in 1979, Liturgy for Living remains a time-tested classic exploration of history, theology, and spirituality that shapes Anglican liturgy and specifically The Book of Common Prayer. Writing for all Episcopalians—pastors, seminarians, and laity—Professor Charles Price and Louise Weil uncover the riches of various liturgy, including Holy Baptism, Confirmation, the Daily Office, the Holy Eucharist, and the various pastoral offices. This edition contains an extensive and updated bibliography, a glossary of liturgical terms, and a list of internet website addresses that contain documents, further bibliographic information, and links to other websites—all related to liturgical studies. “The worship of the Christian community, properly understood and done, leads worshipers to act out in their lives the love of God, which is at the heart of our worship. Worship also provides the power and the sustenance which makes this style of living possible. This Christian style of living, moreover, drives those who are committed to it back to the worship of God, to find forgiveness and strength...When this interdependent relationship is understood, the power of worship is illuminated and the power to live increased.”—From the Preface