At last, a complete ceremonial manual for the celebration of the Eucharist and the Liturgy of the Hours. Faithful to the renewal of worship authorized by the Second Vatican Council, Ceremonies combines precise guidance to these rites with a pastoral and spiritual approach. A high ideal of noble Catholic worship is consistently maintained, respecting the "continuity of our tradition". Ceremonies sets out the liturgical duties of bishops, priests and deacons, acolytes and servers, lectors and eucharistic ministers etc., hence it is invaluable for clergy and seminarians and all who teach or study the liturgy. Ceremonies includes a wide range of guidance on such useful themes as: vessels and vestments, how to carry out ceremonial actions, the deacon, ministering the Eucharist to the sick, children's liturgy, Eucharistic adoration, Eucharistic processions, celebrating vespers in a parish, eucharistic ministries and the laity, the location of the tabernacle, etc. However, Ceremonies is primarily a book to be used; a practical manual for clergy, MC's, sacristans, liturgical committees and all planning worship in parishes. "Ceremonies is a timely work. It corrects mistaken interpretations with precise guidance and reasoned arguments. It also provides rapid access to official sources." -Msgr. Peter Elliott

The authors trace the distinctive order of the modern Roman liturgy to the custom of the Lateran Palace, and its adoption by the Franciscan order in the thirteenth century. In presenting their results, the authors reveal the thirteenth century as like our own, a time of a Liturgical Movement arising out of the ferment of the age.

On July 7, 2007, Pope Benedict XVI issued his long awaited motu proprio, Summorum Pontificum. In this document he granted permission "to celebrate Mass following the typical edition of the Roman Missal promulgated by Bl. John XXIII in 1962 as an extraordinary form of the Liturgy of the Church." Because of this motu proprio, there has been much interest in viewing the Paul VI missal as a continuation of the Bl. John XXIII missal. Understanding the earlier ritual expression is essential if we are to deeply understand the ordinary expression of the Mass of Paul VI. This book is a collection essays from the proceedings of the 11th International CIEL (International Centre for Liturgical Studies) Colloquium held at Merton College, Oxford, September of 2006. CIEL is an academic school of Liturgy founded in 1994 in Paris to form an academic school to instruct priests, seminarians, religious and the laity in the riches of Catholic liturgical history and development of the liturgy.

The liturgy of the Catholic Church is the action by which Jesus Christ unites the members of the Church in glorifying God. It makes people holy through words, music, action and signs. The Eucharist is intended to be the most powerful means of union with our God, with the saints in heaven and with each other, and is to be a foretaste of the praise of God given in joy by the saints in heaven. As we move through the whole of the year, the Church is united with the mysteries of Christ's earthly life so as to come closer to her Lord and Saviour. Monsignor Peter Elliott provides scholarship and many years' experience and love of the liturgy. His previous work Ceremonies of the Modern Roman Rite has helped many people to celebrate our liturgy with attention and devotion. This present work is a guide to the most important moments of the Church year from Advent and Christmas to Holy Week, Corpus Christi and to the Solemnity of Christ the King. His book has been a long-awaited guide to those who wish to celebrate the events of the Church year with dignity, devotion, and deep faith. "Monsignor Elliot is one of the most insightful and reliable liturgists writing today. The rubrics of the Roman Rite are not self-explaining, but with Elliot's work safely in reach, a generation of liturgists raised without a rich training in tradition can confidently approach the Ritual and be more respectful of the faithful's fundamental right to sound worship." -Dr. Edward Peters Institute for Pastoral Theology, Ave Maria University