Dom Prosper GuérangerCritiques

Understand the Liturgy

Great book for understand the deep history of the Catholic Liturgy. It goes into great depth explaining the historical reasons and theological reasons for certain prayers and movements.

There has never been a book that so well elucidates how the active participation in the Holy Sacrifice, which is the duty of all the laity, can best be accomplished. This was written after the Liturgical Year and was the last book translated by Dom Laurence Shepard, Guéranger’s disciple, before his own death. This book is meant to be a companion volume to the Liturgical Year,

A neat reprint of a 1900's text on all the prayers and liturgy for each day of the year. A useful meditation tool, although awith sometimes 5-6 pages per day it can get tedious if you are time constrained. Features the original Church Latin side by side with an English translation.

These volumes written by Dom Gueranger are well written and a must read by every Catholic. Dom Gueranger was abbot of the great Benedictine monastery of Solesmes. He restored, almost single-handedly, the tradition of Gregorian Chant to its original purity and it can still be heard today at Solesmes and Fontgombault.

Dom Gueranger's purpose in compiling these fifteen volumes was to arouse the faithful from their spiritual torpor by familiarizing them with the official prayer of the Church as developed in the liturgical periods of the year. The first part is devoted to Advent; the second contains the explanation of the divine service from Christmas to the Purification; the third takes us from the Purification as far as Lent and is called Septuagesima; the fourth comprises the first four weeks of Lent; the fifth consists of Passion Week and Holy Week; the sixth includes the Office of the Church from Trinity to the end of July; the eighth gives August and September, and the ninth finishes the year by giving the Liturgy of October and November.

The year thus planned for us by the Church herself produces a drama, the sublimest that has ever been offered to the admiration of men. Cardinal Manning, referring to Dom Gueranger's commentary, called it "a prelude to a better world and an avenue to the Vision of Peace". These volumes are worth their weight in gold.