The Spirit of the Liturgy

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Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger

Considered by Ratzinger devotees as his greatest work on the Liturgy, this profound and beautifully written treatment of the "great prayer of the Church" will help readers rediscover the Liturgy in all its hidden spiritual wealth and transcendent grandeur as the very center of our Christian life.

In his own foreward to the book, Cardinal Ratzinger compares this work to a much earlier classic of the same title by Romano Guardini because Ratzinger feels that his insights here are similar with what Guardini achieved in his time regarding a renewed understanding of the Liturgy.

"My purpose here is to assist this renewal of understanding of the Liturgy. Its basic intentions coincide with what Guardini wanted to achieve. The only difference is that I have had to translate what Guardini did at the end of the First World War, in a totally different historical situation, into the context of our present-day questions, hopes and dangers. Like Guardini, I am not attempting to involve myself with scholarly discussion and research. I am simply offering an aid to the understanding of the faith and to the right way to give the faith its central form of expression in the Liturgy."

—Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger

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A must read book for anyone with an interest as to what the Liturgy truly is at its heart.

Spirit of the Liturgy is a must read and a must buy. Pope Benedict, writing as Cardinal Ratzinger, did a masterful job of not only explaining what the Liturgy is but also what it should be. It is completely orthodox and is as instructive as it is informative.

This book is so important in terms of its cathechesis regarding the Liturgy that Msgr. Guido Marini, the Pontifical Master of Liturgical Ceremonies, used it as the basis for his speech at the Year for Priests Clergy Conference in Rome this past January. 

The book explains the purpose, meaning, and history behind the various features of the Liturgy. Specifically, the term LITURGY is used because Pope Benedict explains how it is the eternal, or "once for all", prayer of the Church. Everything from the music, to the posture of the people, to the history of the procedure are e Full Review...

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