Principles of Sacred Liturgy: Forming a Sacramental Vision

Jesus’ saving Paschal work continues today in the liturgy and sacraments. They have the power to sanctify and beatify those who engage the liturgy with proper minds and hearts.In this comprehensive and accessible book, author Christopher Carstens:Explains the Church’s teaching on the sacred liturgy.Shows the meaning of ritual, the characteristics of liturgical rituals, and why men and women today may find ritual challenging.Clarifies the place signs and symbols have in liturgical worship.Provides a mystagogical explanation of the liturgical rites of the Church and various elements of the rite, leading the readers from what they can sense—a calendar day, a musical instrument, and word—to what is otherwise undetectable: Jesus Christ. Carstens does so with the paradigm established by the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which looks to the core meaning of each liturgical element in creation, culture, the Old Testament, Christ, and heaven.Explains the Church’s use of liturgical language, time, ministers, music, and architecture, and the theology that informs each.Principles of Sacred Liturgy not only introduces pastors, seminarians, permanent deacons, diocesan directors of worship, and liturgical ministers and coordinators to the laws and rubrics of the liturgy, but also to the theological, liturgical, and pastoral rationale that informs them. Read more