Authentic Liturgical Renewal in Contemporary Perspective - by Uwe Michael Lang (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

The ongoing debates on the present state and the future of the Roman Catholic worship are not confined to specialists, but are clearly of interest to a wider public, as the responses to the Sacra Liturgia UK conference, held in London in July 2016, have shown.

This volume contains the proceedings of the conference and raises the question of how to bring to fruition the insights and instructions of the Second Vatican Council and its key document on the liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, in the life of the Church today. The initial contribution from Robert Cardinal Sarah, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, calls for a fuller implementation of Sacrosanctum Concilium. Following on from this other leading figures and liturgical scholars, such as Joris Geldhof, David Fagerberg and Alcuin Reid, examine Catholic worship from a variety of perspectives, including historical, pastoral, social, cultural and artistic themes. Taken together, these chapters present another crucial step along the route of authentic liturgical renewal in the contemporary world.

Review Quotes

"Stimulating essays from various perspectives -- theological, liturgical, pastoral, historical -- that will help deepen the Church's reflection on the reform of the liturgical reform, which is essential to the New Evangelization, and to the rebuilding of Christian culture in the religious wastelands of once-Christian Europe. How the Church prays has everything to do with what the Church does -- or doesn't -- believe, which is why it is so important that the Church worship in spirit and in truth. This volume makes an important contribution to the evolution of a 21st-century Catholicism that worships as its great tradition and the Fathers of Vatican II would expect." --George Weigel Distinguished Senior Fellow and William E. Simon Chair in Catholic Studies Ethics and Public Policy Center, USA

"This volume, drawing upon the research of scholars from different academic disciplines and from several different nations, explores the theological, spiritual and artistic treasures of the Catholic liturgical tradition. The book covers a lot of ground and is an important contribution to an ongoing debate that concerns not only specialists in the field, but is vital for the life and mission of the Church today." --Archbishop J. Augustine Di Noia, OP; Adjunct Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Vatican City

"The Liturgical Movement provided the foundatiosn for the Second Vatican Concil and inspired many of the greatest Catholic theologians of the twentieth century. Although Sacrosanctum Concilium is a notable fruit of the Liturgical Movement, the movement declined rapidly and precipitously after the Council. Uwe Michael Lang is arguably its most brilliant contemporary inheritor and interpretor, and in this volume he has assembled preeminient scholars from around the world for a full-orbed investigation of the liturgical renewal that, in our anthropocentric and often Christologically impoverished era, we urgently need today." --Matthew Levering, Mundelein Seminary, USA

"Liturgical renewal, as the title to this volume implies, is not an easy or automatic process. In an effort to uncover the grounds for differentiating authentic from spurious forms of renewal, distinguished prelates and scholars from around the world gathered at the 2016 Sacra Liturgia conference in London. Thanks to the editing of Fr. Uwe Michael Lang, their wisdom is now available to a wider audience. I highly recommend this volume to anyone interested in the health of sacred liturgy." --Michael P. Foley, Associate Professor of Patristics, Baylor University, USA

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