Includes bibliographical references and index.

From USCCB Publishing, this revision of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) seeks to promote more conscious, active, and full participation of the faithful in the mystery of the Eucharist. While the Missale Romanum contains the rite and prayers for Mass, the GIRM provides specific detail about each element of the Order of Mass as well as other information related to the Mass.

This book is a historical-theological commentary on the approved, postconciliar, Eucharistic prayers of the Roman Rite. The author, Father Enrico Mazza, traces each prayer to its root time and gives the reader the cultural-theological climate of those times before analyzing the theological principles as translated in the prayers today.

Everyday worship practices—from praying the rosary to moments of recognizing the beauty of God's creation, from being moved by the power of music to praying Vespers on an iPad—not only take place at different locations and during different days of the week but also dynamically interact with one another. The Liturgy of Life examines the interrelationship between the practice of Sunday Eucharist and the many nonofficial worship practices that mark the everyday lives of Christians who continually negotiate the boundaries of official teaching on liturgy. Drawing on the writings of theologians and sociologists of lived religion and data from an ethnographic research project, this timely work stretches the contextual horizon of liturgical scholarship and presents a provocative and dynamic paradigm of Christian worship for the twenty-first century.

The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy says "The Church earnestly desires that Christ's faithful, when present at this mystery of faith, should not be there as strangers or silent spectators. On the contrary, through a good understanding of the rites and prayers they should take part in the sacred action, conscious of what they are doing, with devotion and full collaboration." What is needed and what the author offers here is that "good understanding" of the meaning and value of the Mass. After examining its historical development, Professor Adam explains each part of the Mass as it is currently celebrated. He uses understandable terminology and a form of presentation designed to increase appreciation of the Mass among the faithful and to provide the knowledge and impetus to achieve this in family and group discussions, in catechetical instruction, and in preaching.

In this book, updated with the texts of the third edition of the Roman Missal, Kevin Irwin reflects on the jewel in the crown of Catholicism—the celebration of the Eucharist. His book—theological, pastoral, and contemporary—is essentially concerned with issues about the Eucharist that face us today, decades after the truly historic and unprecedented revisions that took after the Second Vatican Council. Some of these concerns are the result of unforeseen developments about the Eucharist resulting from other factors, for example the decline in numbers of clergy, which has led in some places to Sunday celebrations without the Mass. Other concerns arise from a lack of proper catechesis about the Mass and a keen desire to understand why and how the Eucharist is at the center of Catholic life. In addition to being expressly theological, this book is also expressly pastoral in that it is a reflection on the life lived by the church as it enacts the Eucharist and seeks to live out what the Eucharist celebrates. The book is aimed at the audience of educated Catholics who seek a deeper appreciation of what the Eucharist is and who want to appropriate that understanding in the way they live their lives. This book will be of particular interest to pastoral ministers, both those present and those in training, and the communities of faith whom they serve.

The Catholic Church teaches that the celebration of the liturgy is the “source and summit of the Christian life” (Lumen gentium, 11). Participating in the liturgy—the Mass, the Liturgy of the Hours, the sacramental rites, blessings, and other official rites—is the most important act of Catholic Christians, for it is through the liturgy that the faithful give praise to God, thank him for his blessings, and go forth strengthened and challenged to life as Christ’s disciples in the world. This easy-to-read resource explores what it means to call liturgy “source and summit.” It will help the Catholic faithful to understand the meaning of the liturgy and its importance to our life of faith, experience Christ’s four-fold presence in the various Church rites, come to a deeper relationship with God, and reflect on the transforming power of the liturgy to change the world.