In late 2011 the Catholic Church changed the Mass from the clear modern English of the Novus Ordo Mass to an obtuse literal translation from the Latin. By a long established theological principle known as "Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi" (As we pray so we believe) this change in the prayer of the Church also brought with it a change in the belief of the Church. Here in a series of "Faith and Reason" blogs author John C. Wilhelmsson, through the filter of his study of both theology and philosophy, shares his thoughts on the translation change and the effect it is having on Catholic belief. He also details the little known backstory of the new Mass. The strange combination of forces that brought it all about and just what their agenda might really have been. If you are wondering why the Mass has changed, or just wish to further reflect upon what that change means, "Faith, Reason, and the New Mass Translation" will be of great interest to you (Chaos To Order Publishing books are in easy to read large print).

The Christian's worship, praise, and adoration of God transcend the gathering together in churches. It extends into everyday life. The call to worship, praise, and adoration is not only for religious ceremonies and for assemblies, but it also has to characterize the believer's lifestyle and existence. In this book, we will discuss the various dimensions of worship. Through the examination of biblical and religious terminology, a proper understanding of the believer's Call to Worship is established.

This invaluable guide helps all who plan worship to appreciate the rich possibilities and spiritual depth of the seasonal material for All Saints to Candlemas in Common Worship: Times and Seasons. It focuses on All Saints to the Eve of Advent Sunday, Advent, the Christmas Season and the Epiphany Season. The main part of the guide provides a range of practical tips and illuminating case studies to encourage creative use at a local level. It also gives succinct background information both for seasons and individual major seasonal occasions as well as for all the liturgical texts. John Sweet's introduction explains the raison d'etre of 'Times and Seasons' and provides a helpful brief introduction to the history and theology of the Christian Year.

This report is the result of a study and consultation of the House of Bishops, asking how firmly grounded is the Church of England's inherited tradition that the person who presides at the Eucharist must be an ordained priest. It discusses the ministry of the whole people of God, the distinctive ministry of the ordained, the place of the Eucharist in the life of the Church, and the role of the person who presides at it.

Contains all the advice, guidance and resources a church needs to discuss admitting children to Holy Communion before confirmation Includes a ready-to-use preparation course for the whole family Also includes answers to the most common objections from parishes and an outline admission service Authors have many years' experience of advising and resourcing parishes on this issue

Helps readers appreciate how liturgical texts are written and heard: why some texts work in worship and others don't

The seasons of the soul are the seasons of the liturgical calendar. The liturgy is about a relationship, and Sr. Carla Mae's gorgeous images, poetry and prose describe how the liturgy is a means of deepening our relationship with God communally. The material comes highly recommended by RCIA coordinators as a perfect introduction to how the liturgy is the place where a loving God invites us - individually and as a body - into an ever more intimate experience of the Trinitarian relationship. This series of nourishing meditations on the liturgical seasons is written by an excellent theologian. In addition to the Introduction, which is simply flabbergasting, readers will be taken by the bodily, indeed the womanly character of her spirituality, her associating the whole cosmos with the Incarnation, and her adroit, poetic play with symbols. A profound, short book, which deserves to be read more than once.

With the twelve-volume series Feasting on the Word, Westminster John Knox Press offers one of the most extensive and well-respected resources for preaching on the market today. When complete, the twelve volumes will cover all of the Sundays in the three-year lectionary cycle, along with moveable occasions.The page layout is truly unique. For each lectionary text, preachers will find brief essaysA'aEURO"one each on the exegetical, theological, pastoral, and homiletical challenges of the text. Each volume will also contain an index of biblical passages so that nonlectionary preachers may make use of its contents. The printed volumes for Ordinary Time include the complementary stream during Year A, the complementary stream during the first half of Year B, the semicontinuous stream during the second half of Year B, and the semicontinuous stream during Year C. Beginning with the season after Pentecost in Year C, the alternate lections for Ordinary Time not in the print volumes will be available online at feastingontheword.net.

In Liturgy and the New Evangelization, Timothy O'Malley provides a liturgical foundation to the church's New Evangelization. He examines questions pastoral ministers must treat in order to foster the renewal of humanity that the New Evangelization seeks to promote. Drawing on narrative, as well as theological concepts in biblical, patristic, and systematic theology, O'Malley invites readers into a renewed experience of the liturgical life of the church, learning to practice the art of self-giving love for the renewal of the world.

With the twelve-volume series Feasting on the Word, Westminster John Knox Press offers one of the most extensive and well-respected resources for preaching on the market today. When complete, the twelve volumes will cover all of the Sundays in the three-year lectionary cycle, along with moveable occasions.The page layout is truly unique. For each lectionary text, preachers will find brief essaysA'aEURO"one each on the exegetical, theological, pastoral, and homiletical challenges of the text. Each volume will also contain an index of biblical passages so that nonlectionary preachers may make use of its contents. The printed volumes for Ordinary Time include the complementary stream during Year A, the complementary stream during the first half of Year B, the semicontinuous stream during the second half of Year B, and the semicontinuous stream during Year C. Beginning with the season after Pentecost in Year C, the alternate lections for Ordinary Time not in the print volumes will be available online at feastingontheword.net.

Too many Christians still think that worship is only a Sunday-morning activity done inside the church, while mission involves how the church engages the outside world. But Ruth Meyers argues that a dynamic relationship exists between worship and mission -- that gathering as God's people includes at its heart our being sent out into the world in God's name. Meyers explores this relationship by taking readers through the various parts of the worship service: gathering, proclaiming the Word, praying for the world, celebrating the Eucharist, and going forth to continue participating in God's mission in the world. In each chapter Meyers includes stories of worship practices in different churches and considers how the actions of worship relate integrally to mission. Missional Worship, Worshipful Mission emphasizes that missional worship is not a set of techniques but rather an approach to worship and congregational life in which God's mission permeates every aspect of what the church does.

'The persistent voice of Richard Giles, author of Repitching the Tent and Creating Uncommon Worship amongst other things, has been almost unique in the Anglican tradition in this generation in insisting that it is how you do church - how the liturgy is celebrated and how this is expressed in the way the community gathers in and moves through the building - that challenges and changes the people of God, and offers them the chance of actually becoming the body of Christ in a particular place. Sometimes this voice must have felt like one crying in the wilderness, and it was to Philadelphia in the USA that Richard was eventually called as Dean rather than to an English cathedral. But his writing and speaking as well as what this former town-planner turned priest achieved in the buildings he re-ordered have witnessed to his single-minded determination to share his vision for what might be. This volume marks his considerable achievement with a mixture of reminiscence, reflection and re-envisioning from some of his distinguished colleagues and fellow-practitioners. As Bishop Stephen Cottrell says: 'Richard's vision ... was never just about reordering buildings; it was about reordering Christian communities ...', and the breadth and range of contributions indicate the variety of ways in which he continues to re-imagine, stimulate and encourage the task of making the Body of Christ a reality in a world that takes refuge in words. This book is a real antidote.' David Stancliffe, former Chair of the Liturgical Commission and former Bishop of Portsmouth The Art of Tentmaking honours Richard Giles as a liturgical pioneer. It will appeal to all who practice presidency in Christian worship and have responsibilities for shaping Christian assembly: architects, artists, musicians, as well as clergy and others with focal roles. The international range of contributors come from Anglican, Lutheran, Roman Catholic and Uniting Church traditions: Rosalind Brown, Stephen Burns, Stephen Cottrell, Steven Croft, Carol Doran, Rick Fabian, Dirk Lange, Gerard Moore, Rod Pattenden, Martyn Percy, Melinda Quivik, Richard Vosko and Ian Zass-Ogilvie, and they tackle themes like interpreting space, engaging the arts, shaping ceremonial scences, being hospitable, making for ritual transformation, and liturgical celebration in the service of mission. STEPHEN BURNS is Research Fellow in Public and Contextual Theology in United Theological College, Sydney.

* All the most exciting readings - in all three years - come from the Gospel of John

Resurrection Power is a devotional book that deeply examines the events and conversations surrounding Jesus from Resurrection until Pentecost. Each chapter opens with a beautiful photograph of the morning sunrise, then delves into the narratives that transformed the history of the world. Music producer-turned-worship pastor Rob Still shares a down-to-earth perspective converging divergent sources of inspiration, from theological commentaries to modern song lyrics. Anyone desiring a fresh viewpoint to grow deeper in their faith will benefit from this book.

"I am increasingly convinced that the decisive question that demands an answer from us is not so much how believers experience the liturgy, but whether believers "live from" the liturgy they celebrate."With these few words Goffredo Boselli captures the essence of this present work.Believers can celebrate the liturgy throughout their lifetimes without ever really drawing their lives from it. And this is true of "all" believers--laity, clergy, or monastics. More than a century after the start of the liturgical movement and half a century after the start of the postconciliar liturgical reform, we must ask the difficult question of whether the liturgy has or has not become the source of the spiritual life of believers. For only by living from the liturgy can they receive the nourishment necessary to maintain a life of faith in today's world.In "The Spiritual Meaning of the Liturgy," Goffredo Boselli--one of Europe's foremost liturgical theologians--offers an accessible and important guide for both scholars and interested laypeople to understand the meaning that permeates the liturgy and its implications for daily living. Readers will find here a resource to help understand the liturgy more fully, interiorize it more effectively, and live it more authentically.

How would the history of Roman Catholic worship look if it were viewed first from the perspective of the "people in the pews" rather than through the deliberations of popes and church councils or the writings of theologians? How did the "common people" down through the ages understand what they were doing when they came together in worship--and was this understanding always the same as the "official" interpretation of the church authorities? In Local Worship, Global Church, Mark Francis explores the history of the liturgy from "the bottom up" rather than from "the top down" and comes to conclusions that complement our understanding of the history of the liturgy and its relationship to faithful Christians from the first century CE to our own time.

Owen Cummings insightfully reflects this awareness through his intuitive, right-brain approach to liturgical theology, as he offers us a kaleidoscope of snapshots viewed through the lenses of a great cloud of witnesses that includes but is not limited to poets, novelists, and preachers.