Let us bring our prayers to the Lord."

Each week when the community comes together for Mass, we gather to listen to the Word, to partake of the Eucharist, and to pray. The Prayer of the Faithful is marked by the same needs from week to week, but it is always an opportunity to approach God collectively in a way that reflects the richness of our particular celebration. This series of prayers by Father Michael Kwatera is rooted in the present moment: the liturgical season, lectionary readings, and the needs of the church. He draws on the readings, as well as the significance of feasts and of other celebrations. He is also attuned to the many ways we approach God, in language that is clear and attentive to the oral quality of the prayer.

"To place prayerful words on human lips and in human hearts is a most sacred work," writes Father Kwatera in the introduction. The fruit of this work is a set of texts that invites the community to draw near to God each week in prayer.

"The Collegeville Prayer of the Faithful-"a convenient compilation of the previously published volumes, with additional feasts added-includes a CD-ROM of intercessions that can be easily adapted for parish use. Each prayer is provided in a Word file that allows users to easily personalize the intercessions for their own parish.

"Father Michael Kwatera, OSB, PhD, is Director of Oblates and Director of Liturgy for Saint John's Abbey, Collegeville, Minnesota. He is also a teacher and practitioner of Christian Liturgy and is the author of several Liturgical Press books, including "Come to the Feast: Liturgical Theology of, by, and for Everybody "(2005), and the coauthor of "To Thank and Bless: Prayers at Meals "(2007).""

Myra Nagel has written a resource to help readers grow in their faith as they "journey to the cross" during the season of Lent. Using the Gospel of Mark, this thoughtful guide invites the reader to "Come to the Story", "Reflect on the Story", and "Live the Story". The themes for each week of reflections are as follows:

Week 1

Teacher, Let Me See!

Week 2

She Has Done What She Could

Week 3

You Will All Fall Away

Week 4

Do This, Remembering Me

Week 5

Not What I Want, but What You Want

Week 6

Crucify Him!

Week 7

Their Eyes Were Opened

This Lenten resource will inspire its users to recall the biblical story of Christ's death and resurrection in a new and engaging way. Study questions are provided for individuals and groups.

This first volume focuses on the basic order of service - the classic fourfold shape of gathering, word, sacrament and sending. In simple, non technical language leading writers in the field get to the heart of the matter and provide invaluable guidance to clergy, ordinands, Eucharistic ministers, study groups and individuals who wish to understand the Eucharist more fully. Subsequent volumes will focus on Engaging with Scripture, Entering into Communion, Modes and Moods of Prayer and Celebrating the Christian Year.

In a brief introductory chapter, the author addresses the question of why we need to confess our sins, and offers three reflections in response: Sin as Pride, Sin as Violation of Boundaries, Sin and the Possibility of Forgiveness. The book includes seventy prayers of confession and words of assurance, with accompanying liturgies and music suggestions (Scripture and hymn indexes included!). The prayers are offered in three sections, confession and pardon related to: The Human Condition, The Holy Scriptures, The Liturgical Year. The Just in Time! Series offers brief, practical resources of immediate help for pastors at an affordable price.

This is a quality prayer book in the tradition of Catholic primers and devotional manuals. For each day of the year there is a scripture reading and an inspiring example from the lives of the many men and women in history who have made holiness visible lead into prayers of thanksgiving and intercession. Each month has a particular focus and is introduced by the leading Catholic laywoman, the Duchess of Norfolk. The foreword is provided by Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor.

Nicholas Taylor provides an Anglican theological approach to the controversial questions surrounding the demand for allowing lay ministers to preside at the Eucharist. This is a pressing issue thoroughly reviewed and addressed.The demand for allowing lay ministers to preside at the Eucharist has become a pressing issue in many churches, not only in Anglicanism. Within the Anglican Communion, this issue seems to be potentially divisive as most provinces refuse to accept lay presidency, but some - as the Archdiocese of Sydney - are discussing schemes to introduce it.In "Lay Presidency at the Eucharist" an Anglican theological approach to controversial questions is articulated. Taylor investigates in particular what allegiance to Scripture entails, and how its authority is to be applied in the Church today. The evidence of the New Testament and early Church on the Eucharist and ministry, and how critical scholarship relates to the authority of Scripture in the life of the Church, are explored, whilst the Reformation and subsequent developments in Anglican theology and Eucharistic practice are considered. Pressure to authorize lay presidency is largely a response to a shortage of clergy to meet demand for Eucharistic worship, and alternative provision for this need is discussed, before going on to consider specific schemes. The theological issues, to do with the Church, the Eucharist, and the ministry, are reviewed, and outstanding questions identified."Affirming Catholicism" is a progressive movement in the Anglican Church, drawing inspiration and hope from the Catholic tradition, confident that it will bear the gifts of the past into the future. The books in this series aim to make the Catholic element within Anglicanism once more a positive force for the Gospel, and a model for effective mission today.

Based on the Revised Common Lectionary and broadly ecumenical, this addition tothe Just In Time " "series provides: Sitting with the Text: Scripture commentary for each of the three lectionary years; Worship and Preaching Themes; Creating the Environment: ideas for decorating and preparing the worship space; Shaping the Worship Service: prayers, liturgies, dramas, music suggestions; Scripture Index; and more.

Beginning with Ash Wednesday, "Lenten Services" aids the reader in planning and implementing transformative worship services throughout the Lenten journey."

In these pages Archbishop Piero Marini reveals the Vision, courage, and faith of the pastors and scholars who struggled to implement the Second Vatican Council's teachings on the liturgy. While in some circles it is fashionable to propose a reform of the liturgical reform, any such revision needs to take into account the history of the consilium 'the organism established by the Holy See to carry out the initial liturgical changes. This story of the work of the consilium offers a fascinating glimpse into the struggles and tensions that accompanied the realization of the council's dream to promote the full, conscious and active participation" of the faithful in Roman Catholic worship.

"Piero Marini was ordained on June 27, 1965. He became the personal secretary for Archbishop Annibale Bugnini in 1975 and in 1987 was appointed the head of the Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff, a position he currently holds. In 1998, Marini was appointed Titular Bishop of Martirano, Italy, and was ordained bishop the following month. In 2003, Marini was appointed Titular Archbishop of Martirano. He also served as the Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations from 1987-2007.""

"2009 Catholic Press Association Award Winner "

A decade after the untimely death of renowned Scripture scholar Father Raymond E. Brown, SS, he continues to inspire and inform scholars and preachers, students and pastoral ministers, lay and ordained. It was only days after Father Brown's death that his final book was published by Liturgical Press. That book, "Christ in the Gospels of the Ordinary Sundays, " completed his six-volume series on preaching the Scriptures, a series that had begun in the mid-1970s with the publication of his popular "An Adult Christ at Christmas." Those six volumes are collected here in one convenient commemorative edition to mark the tenth anniversary of Brown's death. Brown's work is left largely untouched, and readers will find that his wisdom is lasting. Yet Brown, being a scholar's scholar, would recognize the need for some enhancement in a work being republished some thirty years after the first volume appeared. Appropriately, then, this edition contains introductory essays by Brown's colleagues and friends John R. Donahue, SJ, and Ronald D. Witherup, SS, as well as useful indexes and a bibliography of resources for preaching the word of God in the context of the lectionary.

As Witherup notes in his preface, Brown had the rare capacity to simplify complex biblical studies in a manner that did not 'dumb down ' the material but allowed it to be understood by a wide audience. . . . He did this in a fashion that was both inspiring and educational. That very broad audience 'those who grew up with Brown, so to speak, as well as a whole new generation of readers and preachers of the word 'will find this book to be a source of inspiration and knowledge that they will turn to again and again.

"Raymond E.Brown, S.S., (1928 -1998) was the Auburn Distinguished Professor of Biblical Studies at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. He was author of some forty books on the Bible and past president of three of the most important biblical societies in the world. By appointment of two popes (Pal VI in 1972, John Paul II in 1996) Brown was a member of the Roman Pontifical Biblical Commission. "Time" magazine called him probably the premier Catholic Scripture scholar of the U.S."

From the rich tradition of the Anglo-Saxon Church of the sixth, seventh, and eighth centuries, Benedicta Ward has selected prayers and passages for meditation from both Latin and Anglo-Saxon sources. The mixture of Latin and Celtic Christian cultures, distilled and appropriated by the Germanic Anglo-Saxons, produced a distinctive English spiritual tradition which embraced kings and princesses, abbesses and monks, cowherds and poets, soldiers and beggars, and birds and animals. It is possible through these passages to walk with these men and women as friends and see how their lives became filled with the life of Christ, in pain and desolation as well as in wonder, love, and praise. '

"Benedicta Ward is Reader in Spirituality at Harris Mansfield College Oxford, and a member of the Community of the Sisters of the Love of God. Among her many books are "The Venerable Bede, "and"High King of Heaven, Aspects of Early English Spirituality.

In this collection of weekly reflections on the Sunday Lectionary for Year B, Verna Holyhead draws us into the inspired texts of both the Old and New Testaments. Through a rich tapestry of literary forms, historical contributions, and life experiences, Holyhead gives us surprising perspectives and carefully constructed contexts, which are sure to enrich our appreciation for the Word of God. In addition to following St. Benedict's admonition to glean a harvest by attending mindfully to the pages and passages of the inspired books of the Old and New Testaments, Holyhead generously layers her commentary with insights distilled from the Rule itself. As a sourcebook for pastoral ministry or a reference for personal or communal reflection, this volume will assist believers who desire to engage more deeply with the Word. Verna Holyhead, SGS, is an Australian Sister of the Good Samaritan of the Order of St. Benedict. She leads retreats, lectures, and writes, all with an emphasis on biblical scholarship, liturgical insight, and pastoral challenge.

This is a probing study on the history and meaning of the liturgy that also questions how Christian worship will change in the future.The publication by Benedict XV1 of the motu proprio has put the question of the history and meaning of the liturgy back into centre stage, not just for Catholics but for many Christians as well. Dr Hemming seeks to provide an intelligent background to the Pope's decision, addressing himself to a number of questions about the nature and character of Catholic worship that opens a wide-ranging historical discussion which will inform and persuade a wide audience.The chapter on liturgy and revelation is the turning point in the book and shows how an understanding of time that is presumed in all modern philosophical thought is challenged by the understanding of divine self-revelation. This is something the young Fr Joseph Ratzinger focussed on early on in his career. This forces us to ask what our relation to liturgical events are and how we experience them. Dr Hemming therefore advocates a 'high' theology of the liturgy with the profoundest understanding of the numinous and the mysterium of faith. How will Christian worship change now, asks Dr Hemming in his concluding chapter? He offers a sketch of what may happen in the coming decades and long after the Papacy of Benedict XV1.

This title presents a detailed study of the development of Thomas Cranmer's theology of the Eucharist in context of his sacramental theology and the reform of the liturgy.The development of Thomas Cranmer's theology of the Eucharist has often been studied and debated. This book places that development in the context of his sacramental theology and overall policy towards the reform of the liturgy. The first part of the book describes the traditional practice and perceptions of the Eucharist and Baptism (a somewhat different picture from that presented e.g. by Duffy's Stripping of the Altars). It then follows the evidence for liturgical reform and the development in Cranmer's thought through the reign of Henry VIII and the beginning of Edward VI's reign leading up to the two Prayer Books.Detailed examination of the 1549 Prayer Book confirms scholarly consensus that its theological standpoint is identical to that of 1552, the fullest and clearest liturgical expression of Cranmer's standpoint; however there are sections in it which (along with the Order of Communion of 1548) suggest the influence of a less radical sacramental and Eucharistic theology. It is suggested that the 1549 Prayer Book was originally drafted as a liturgy to accompany the King's Book of 1543 but was hurriedly changed as Cranmer's thought developed through 1548.

In Peculiar Crossroads, Farrell O'Gorman explains how the radical religiosity of both Flannery O'Connor's and Walker Percy's vision made them so valuable as southern fiction writers and social critics. Via their spiritual and philosophical concerns, O'Gorman asserts, these two unabashedly Catholic authors bequeathed a postmodern South of shopping malls and interstates imbued with as much meaning as Appomattox or Yoknapatawpha. O'Gorman builds his argument with biographical, historical, literary, and theological evidence, examining the writers' work through intriguing pairings, such as O'Connor's Wise Blood with Percy's The Moviegoer, and O'Connor's A Good Man Is Hard to Find with Percy's Lancelot. An impeccable exercise in literary history and criticism, Peculiar Crossroads renders a genuine understanding of the Catholic sensibility of both O'Connor and Percy and their influence among contemporary southern writers.

The definitive guide to the meaning of today s most popular praise and worship songs.
Few things influence Christians understanding of the faith more than the songs they sing in worship. The explosion of praise and worship music in the last fifteen years has profoundly affected our experience of God. So what are those songs telling us about who God is? In what ways have they made us more faithful disciples of Jesus Christ? In what ways have they failed to embody the full message of the gospel?
Working with the lists of the most frequently sung praise and worship songs from recent years, the authors of this book offer an objective but supportive assessment of the meaning and contribution of the Christian music that has been so important in the lives of contemporary believers.

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Based on the Revised Common Lectionary and broadly ecumenical, this addition tothe Just In Time " "series provides creative liturgies, sermon helps, and prayers for Easter Vigil, Easter Sunday, and the 40 days of Easter."

As Christianity has boomed in the non-Western world, several significant questions have emerged regarding how worship and culture relate. Charles Farhadian here presents a timely investigation of the interaction between culture and worship.

Leading scholars ? experts in history, mission, culture, and liturgy ? offer diverse essays addressing worship in the context of worldwide Christianity. At the heart of Christian Worship Worldwide are several case studies from Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Pacific that explore the contours of particular nations, cultures, and liturgical actions. These essays show how Christian plurality is most vividly exemplified in the context of worship, where language, song, culture, and indigenous theology come together.

Contributors: M. L. Daneel
Samuel Escobar
Charles E. Farhadian
C. Michael Hawn
Seung Joong Joo
Ogbu U. Kalu
Thomas A. Kane
Miguel A. Palomino
Robert J. Priest
Dana L. Robert
Lamin Sanneh
Bryan D. Spinks
Andrew F. Walls
Philip L. Wickeri
John D. Witvliet

This book provides ready-to-use worship and preaching resources for themes related to Advent and Christmas. It offers ready-to-use worship and preaching resources for the four Sundays in Advent including Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. It includes biblically-based sermon briefs, suggested Scriptures, hymns, prayers, and litanies for lighting the Advent Wreath. It intends to help pastors minister more effectively during this important church season. The contents include: Introduction: The Ways We Know Jesus; First Sunday in Advent: Emmanuel; Second Sunday in Advent: Son of Man; Third Sunday in Advent: Example; Fourth Sunday in Advent: Lord; Christmas Eve: Son of God; and Christmas Day: Word of God.

Many churches today are caught in the worship war. Services are split into styles--contemporary, traditional, liturgical. Discussions and sometimes arguments arise over whether or not to have a pulpit, use drums, sing hymns, or use movie clips for illustration. These varying styles and preferences have caused many to change churches or even skip worship all together. This division of the Body of Christ is a cause for great concern and is jeopardizing the true meaning of worship for future generations. In The Worship Plot, Dan Boone exposes the distorted motives of battling over worship styles. Instead, he attests we should strive to combine our diversity to celebrate our common story. Boone explains that worship is not about personal preference or platform performance. Worship flows from the heart of God through His Son and His Spirit. Worship invites us to step into this flowing stream of celebration, thanksgiving, and love--a stream that connects us to God and to each other. Boone encourages churches to use the differences of their people to tell and celebrate the story God has plotted for us--the unifying story of the love of Christ. He affirms that when we move through worship together, through specific stages that have been plotted out to follow, we can go out with blessing and boldness, empowered by grace--ready to serve the people of the world and share with them God's amazing story.

When we think about the intersection of religion and politics, few people think of liturgy. Yet it is the contention of many theologians that our liturgical texts and rituals have important implications for our public life together. The latest volume in the Radical Traditions series, Liturgy, Time, and the Politics of Redemption advances a timely conversation about the place of religious reasoning in public discourse by attending to the way the scriptures are liturgically performed in Jewish and Christian communities. It includes diverse examinations of liturgy, from Peter Ochs's contention that reciting Jewish Morning Prayer can reorient our view of the world to Oliver Davies's illumination of the silence of the cross through two Russian words for silence. Of interest to theologians, philosophers, and clergy, Liturgy, Time, and the Politics of Redemption brings Jewish and Christian thinkers into conversation, showing parallels in these traditions' liturgical reasoning and opening new possibilities for Jewish-Christian relations.

Although originally intended for use by Catholics, "Preaching the Lectionary" has become truly ecumenical in intention and tone. It is based on the "New Revised Standard Version" and integrates the Revised Common Lectionary to enhance the versatility of the preacher's task of proclaiming the Word of God as effectively and as broadly as possible.

This third edition of "Preaching the Lectionary" will appeal to homilists and others who have a ministerial or preparatory role in the Sunday liturgy. Written with the needs of the active pastor, homilist, and liturgist in mind, it offers brief, technical discussions balanced with practical insights and reflections. This new edition of a classic approach to the Lectionary has been updated to reflect the thinking of a wide range of biblical scholars and theologians.

"Reginald H. Fuller, STD, DD, a former parish priest and seminary professor with a specialty in New Testament literature, has written numerous books. He lives in Richmond, Virginia."

"Daniel Westberg, D Phil, is a former parish priest who teaches moral theology and Christian ethics at Nashotah House Episcopal Seminary in Wisconsin. He is the author of "Right Practical Reason," a book on the ethics of Thomas Aquinas."