From the Last Supper, to the Mass of the Apostles, from house churches to medieval cathedrals, from the Tridentine Mass to the sweeping reforms of Vatican II, the Mass has undergone many changes in two thousand years. Yet, for Catholics, the Mass is the source and summit of our faith and remains, at its core, eternally unchanged and unchanging. Alfred McBride expertly guides us through the history of the Mass—the meaning of each element, the saints who illumined our understanding of it, the Church and political influences that challenged it. With dozens of illustrations, McBride offers a clear explanation for those new to the Mass and a deep revelation for those well-acquainted with it.
This book is a short introduction to the development of the Roman Rite of Mass, the most widely used of the Church’s liturgical rites, from its origins in early Christianity until the present day. Over the centuries, the form of Mass most Catholics are familiar with has been shaped by the Apostolic See of Rome in contact and exchange with other local churches. Understanding this rich and complex history will help not only the clergy in their sacramental ministry, but all the faithful in participating consciously and fruitfully in the liturgy of the Church. In the wake of the liturgical reforms initiated by Pope Pius XII in the mid-20th century, fully embraced by the Second Vatican Council, and implemented in the postconciliar period, there has been an intense and often controversial debate on continuity and rupture in liturgical development. Amid this debate, the long and complex history of the Roman liturgy is not always sufficiently acknowledged. The refinement of the Roman Mass, as this book shows, has been marked both by continuity and by change. From its formative period in late antiquity, the ritual shape of the Roman Mass was affected by religious, social, cultural, political, and economic transformations. But changes are to be expected over such a long period of time and the wide geographical area where this rite has been used. It is the essential continuity that stands out. This work challenges the conventional narrative that the liturgy of the Western church moved from early dynamic development through medieval decline to early modern stagnation and was only revived in the wake of the Second Vatican Council – a narrative that still has considerable traction both in academic publications and among the wider public.
"Until 2004 and the publication of ""A Short History of Boston,"" there was no good short history of the city of Boston, not in print anyway. With economy and style, Dr. Robert Allison brings Boston history alive, from the Puritan theocracy of the seventeenth century to the Big Dig of the twenty-first. His book includes a wealth of illustrations, a lengthy chronology of the key events in four centuries of Boston history, and twenty short profiles of exceptional Bostonians, from founder John Winthrop to heavyweight champion John L. Sullivan, from ""heretic"" Anne Hutchinson to Russian-American author Mary Antin. Says the Provincetown Arts, ""A first-rate short history of the city, lavishly illustrated, lovingly written, and instantly the best book of its kind."" "
On the day of a royal wedding in a kingdom where everyone has grown careless in the practice of their Catholic faith, a poor widow helps reveal the true value of the Mass.
This unique book teaches children about our Faith and how to tell time all in one resource. The sweet illustrations engage the children, while the removable clock, with stand, helps them to learn about telling time. With padded cover. 12 pages.
Each time history repeats itself, so it's said, the price goes up. The twentieth century was a time of runaway growth in human population, consumption, and technology, placing a colossal load on all natural systems, especially earth, air, and water — the very elements of life. The most urgent questions of the twenty-first century are: where will this growth lead? can it be consolidated or sustained? and what kind of world is our present bequeathing to our future?In his #1 bestseller A Short History of Progress Ronald Wright argues that our modern predicament is as old as civilization, a 10,000-year experiment we have participated in but seldom controlled. Only by understanding the patterns of triumph and disaster that humanity has repeated around the world since the Stone Age can we recognize the experiment's inherent dangers, and, with luck and wisdom, shape its outcome.
