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In a Great and Noble Tradition - The Autobiography of Dom Prosper Gueranger (185-1875), Founder of the Solesmes Congregation of Benedictine Monks and Nuns (Paperback)
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In a Great and Noble Tradition - The Autobiography of Dom Prosper Gueranger (185-1875), Founder of the Solesmes Congregation of Benedictine Monks and Nuns (Paperback)
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The Benedictine abbey of Solesmes in France is famous for the
quality of its Gregorian chant, recordings of which are appreciated
throughout the world. Nevertheless, the life of its founder, Dom
Prosper Guranger (1805-1875) is still relatively unknown. This is
partly due to Guranger himself, who never sought to promote his
life story. While he published many liturgical and spiritual works,
this highly personal account of his early life and events
surrounding the foundation of Solesmes in 1833 was never intended
for publication, and indeed was never completed. For this reason,
the manuscript remained in the archives of the abbey of Solesmes
for well over a hundred years. Growing recognition of its wider
importance and interest led to its eventual publication in 2005,
the bicentenary of Guranger's birth. The book is far more than a
personal portrait of an interesting and innovative individual.
Through the prism of events surrounding his early life as a
seminarian, secular priest and then Benedictine monk, Guranger's
account illustrates many of the wider issues at play in early
nineteenth-century France and French Catholicism. Guranger's
first-hand account of various political events under the regimes of
Napoleon I, the Bourbon Restoration and Louis-Philippe has its own
historical value. Above all, however, the book shows how Guranger's
project to re-found Benedictine life in France, after its
disappearance in the wake of the French Revolution, stood in
relation to other currents of religious thought and monastic
tradition, notably Gallicanism, Ultramontanism, the Maurists and
the Cistercians. Those interested in monastic life and liturgical
spirituality will further draw inspiration from Guranger's
narration of the human relationships and mystical experiences that
inspired his Benedictine vocation and subsequent life's work.
Guranger's lively text is also enjoyable in its own right. His
optimism, determination, creativity, unwavering trust in divine
providence, capacity for friendship and often humorous (and
occasionally devastating) portraits of the many people whom he
encountered give a particular charm and colour to his writing.
Ultimately, however, this account of Guranger's spiritual and
intellectual awakening provides impetus for a renewed contemporary
appreciation of his convictions, which are of perennial value for
all who are seeking God. The monastic community founded by Guranger
bears witness to the transforming power of contemplative liturgical
spirituality lived in and for the Church and the world. As such,
monastic life serves as an exemplar of spiritual and human values
whose relevance extends far beyond the cloister. Extensive
footnotes, and an introduction by Dr Judith Bowen, whose recent
doctoral thesis is one of the most important studies on the unity
and significance of Guranger's liturgical and theological work,
further enhance this translation.
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