The Spiritual Meaning of the Liturgy : School of Prayer, Source of Life

Introduction to mystagogy -- Mystagogy of the penitential act -- Mystagogy of the liturgy of the word -- Mystagogy of the presentation of the gifts -- The sacrament of the assembly -- Presbyters formed by the liturgy -- The Missal, book of the prayer of the church -- The liturgy, school of prayer -- A liturgy for the Christianity that lies ahead of us -- Liturgy and love for the poor -- Liturgy and the transmission of the faith -- Conclusion : the liturgy is the most efficacious action of the church.;"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. Goffredo Boselli is a monk of the community of Bose in Italy. He is a member of the organizing committee of the International Liturgical Congress held annually at Bose and serves as an advisor on the liturgy to the Italian Bishops Conference. He is also on the editorial board of the journals Rivista Liturgica and Arts Sacres. (Provided by publisher). Music and liturgy seem inseparable, yet we seldom pause to ponder their relationship in depth. In this volume, Kathleen Harmon offers her own insights by creatively exploring the complex interplay between congregational singing and the liturgical celebration of the paschal mystery: ' Harmon asserts that liturgical music, in the form of communal singing, is a vehicle through which the ritual reenactment of the paschal mystery is effected. ' She addresses concrete and practical pastoral applications of the relationship between music and liturgy. She focuses on how the liturgical singing of the assembly creates the collective consciousness of church as the Body of Christ. ' Music, then, is much more than just a component of liturgy; it is, in Harmon's view, absolutely constitutive both of liturgy's deepest essence and its fullest realization. Professional music scholars, graduate students, music directors, and anyone else seeking a sophisticated analysis of liturgical music will find this volume a rich sourcebook of new ideas. Kathleen Harmon, SNDdeN, is the music director for programs of the Institute for Liturgical Ministry in Dayton, Ohio and contributor to Living Liturgy: Spirituality, Celebration, and Catechesis for Sundays and Solemnities, an annual resource published by Liturgical Press. She is also a columnist for Liturgical Ministry and serves as director of music for St. Paul Parish in Englewood, Ohio. '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, readers 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 "Music and liturgy seem inseparable, yet we seldom pause to ponder their relationship in depth. In this volume, Kathleen Harmon offers her own insights by creatively exploring the complex interplay between congregational singing and the liturgical celebration of the paschal mystery. Harmon asserts that liturgical music, in the form of communal singing, is a vehicle through which the ritual reenactment of the paschal mystery is effected. She addresses concrete and practical pastoral applications of the relationship between music and liturgy. She focuses on how the liturgical singing of the assembly creates the collective consciousness of church as the Body of Christ. Music, then, is much more than just a component of liturgy; it is, in Harmon's view, absoltely constitutive both of liturgy's deepest essence and its fullest realization." -- Back cover