{Book Club: The Spirit of the Liturgy}
Let's continue our reading, shall we, and move on to the next book?
We can take our time. No pressure.
If you are wondering whether this, of all books, is the one you should be spending your limited “reading energy” on, let me make a little pitch to you.
Maybe you'd like to tackle something meaty in your St. Gregory Pocket get-togethers — this would make a great couples' discussion book.
And… you don't want me to be just talking to myself, do you? Read along with me!
But, more seriously: it's on your mind, isn't it, how to teach your children to pray?
Well…
The crisis of our time is the question of what worship is. Having detached from the certainty of objective truth in the modern epoch, we find that it's easy to think of worship as our feelings about God rather than an objective participation in worshiping God, apart from our preferences and circumstances.
Romano Guardini (whose book we studied during Lent, but of course you can start now if you like by following the links here) had one theme, which is that the Liturgy must be universal and grounded in Truth. Its chapters are ways of looking at that theme from different angles.
In this book, Joseph Ratzinger (who, of course, became Pope Benedict XVI) offers three considerations that will help us see the reality of worship —
- history (what the Bible records about worship!)
- man himself in his nature
- and the cosmos (the actual created universe, including time).
Then he examines sacred art and music, which I think is where these somewhat abstract ideas intersect with the ordinary parish life of the ordinary Christian — namely, us and our children.
In his Preface (which is only a couple of pages — you can read it now), Ratzinger compares the Liturgy of Guardini's time to a fresco, preserved from damage but whitewashed. Its true splendor was hidden by “instructions for and forms of private prayer” — that is, those devotions and rules that, while they can be good, tend to feed personal preference rather than universality. Worship needed rediscovery.
Perhaps at that point a restoration could have been accomplished, simply removing what obscured the prayer of the Church. However, things are never that easy, fallen man being who he is — the master complicator.
Not only was the liturgical movement sparked by Guardini not able to bring about that restoration, but in the ensuing years between him and our time, much more happened to endanger that “fresco.” Ratzinger speaks of possible “destruction” and “irreparable loss” — stark words that really strike fear in the heart of the believer, since if true worship perishes, so will we.
So, we need to scramble, to man our stations, to find “the right way of celebrating the liturgy, inwardly and outwardly.”
And, of immediate concern, I happen to think that we will do a much better job of transmitting our faith to our children if we know what our faith is. We desperately want them not only to believe but to worship. We consider ourselves failures (no matter how we try to console ourselves) if they do not.
And that means that we need to be clear on what it means to worship: in short, what is the spirit of the Liturgy?
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- I hope you will read along in this book club (or just read my posts, that's okay): Joseph Ratzinger's The Spirit of the Liturgy This edition I am linking to includes the Guardini “Spirit” as well.*
- Click here to see our previous discussion of Romano Guardini’s The Spirit of the Liturgy, which you can read free, online. You can also purchase it here, although be warned, this edition does not have the footnotes, which stinks. EDITED: From the preview, I think this edition I am now linking to does have the footnotes, but it's hard to be sure.
- (When you buy something via our Amazon affiliate link, a little cash rolls our way… just a little. Thanks!)
- I’ll post on Fridays, although for this longer book, perhaps not every Friday. I’ll give you your homework, I’ll talk about what we read, we’ll discuss in the comments. You can do this study at any point, but if you want to stay current and join in the convo, that’s how it will go.
Homework: Read the Preface and Chapter One of Part I. Know that Chapter One will make a lot more sense to you if you have read this chapter of Guardini, or at least this post.
There are twelve chapters, so I do anticipate this taking a nice long time. So worth it, though!
*I have permission from Fr. Fessio, the publisher, to quote from the book at will.
Kevin McDermott says
This is such a wonderful book, Leila — God bless you for making it more widely known. Pope Benedict is such a remarkable thinker; and the liturgy was the lens through which he saw pretty much everything. Here, like a highly-distilled spirit, those very powerful thoughts are presented in short, clear sentences which can be savored and meditated upon for a long, long time. It’s impossible to think anyone who reads it will ever look at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass — or any other liturgy — the same way.
Mrs. B. says
I couldn’t agree more with your last sentence, sir!
Leila says
Thank you, Kevin! I appreciate it.
Lisa G. says
I look forward to it.
Leila says
Thanks for reading along, Lisa!
sibyl says
Auntie Leila, I am so looking forward to this. I came to the Guardini book discussion late, but after finishing it, went through the Ratzinger book at top speed. So now it will be wonderful to go back and read each section with a more contemplative spirit.
This is a stellar book discussion and I look forward to reading others’ thoughts.
Leila says
So happy you persevered, Sibyl. And yes, both books can be read many times. Thanks for joining!
Wendy says
I want to thank you for always showing us the way to do something instead of just talking about doing something. You see a need, you find a place, a thing you can do. Great inspiration. Also, on another note, maybe it is common place in your community to honor copyright laws and such, but often I see that it is not done. Thank you for doing it, and again leading the way with your example.
Leila says
Thanks, Wendy.
And yes, it bothers me when people don’t try to respect copyright. The Guardini book is online and can be quoted at length with no problem, but of course, the Ratzinger one is not. I am not sure how up for typing out chunks of text I am (with Guardini, I could just copy and paste, although none of the versions I found were formatted correctly, so that was tedious) — we shall see!
At least with this text, I can cite a page number!
Mary Eileen says
Looking forward to rereading this after several years.
Been working slowly through David Clayton’s “way of beauty” and it’s all going to parallel so well!
Jennifer Gregory Miller says
I’m looking forward to reading along. I was behind on the Guardini in sharing my thoughts, but loved reading every single word. I need to read it over and over again.
Sara says
Thank you for the series on Guardini – it was very edifying! I found myself reflecting on it throughout the Triduum as we happened to attend three quite different liturgies at three different parishes. I’ve been wanting to read the Ratzinger for years, and I hope to be able to keep up with and participate in the discussion.
Ivy says
My husband and I are ready! So excited after just reading the preface!
Clara says
I am joining a little late, but looking forward to reading this along with a group. I missed out on the Guardini book; I’ll have to go back later and read it or read pertinent chapters along with the Ratzinger book. I own both books, not sure when/where they were purchased, but it is a pleasant surprise.
So, I will commence reading the Ratzinger book today. 🙂 Leila, thank you for doing this book study with us. It is so nice to have someone to read a meatier book with and discuss the content.
AJ says
The links to both the purchased book or the free book online both do not work. I am wanting to find this book to buy but when I type it in on Amazon or Abebooks.com I can see there are about 3 or 4 different covers…is there one that is the right one? Would there be one with the footnotes in it like the one you mentioned online? I do not see the one with the cathedral on the front as yours.
Leila says
Hi, I have now updated the links and hopefully they work for you. The Ratzinger book is available from Ignatius (and is on sale) — and includes the Guardini “Spirit.” FYI the book is also contained in this volume of works of that author as one selection (the whole book, within a larger book): https://ignatius.com/joseph-ratzinger-collected-works-jrw11h/