The Spirit of the Liturgy

Commemorative Edition

De: Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, Romano Guardini

Narrado por: David Sanborn

In honor of its 40th anniversary (1978-2018), Ignatius Press presents a special Commemorative Edition of one of the most important works written by Joseph Ratzinger: The Spirit of the Liturgy.

This edition includes the earlier classic work with the same title by Servant of God Romano Guardini, a book that helped Ratzinger to "rediscover the liturgy in all its beauty, hidden wealth and time-transcending grandeur, to see it as the animating center of the Church, the very center of Christian life".

Considered by Ratzinger devotees as his greatest work on the liturgy, this profound and beautifully written treatment of the "great prayer of the Church" will help listeners to deepen their understanding of the rites of the Church. The cardinal discusses fundamental misunderstandings of the Second Vatican Council's intentions for liturgical renewal, especially about the priest's orientation of prayer to the Father, the placement of the tabernacle in churches, and the posture of kneeling.

Other important topics are the essence of worship, the Jewish roots of Christian prayer, the relationship of the liturgy to time and space, sacred art and music, and the active participation of the faithful in the Mass.

"How much we owe Cardinal Ratzinger for what has come to be known as 'the new Liturgical Movement'. ... The Spirit of the Liturgy is a singularly rich resource and guide in our day, as are the other personal liturgical writings of the Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, and indeed his liturgical magisterium as Supreme Pontiff which retains its validity." (Cardinal Robert Sarah, from the Foreword)

©2018 Ignatius Press (P)2022 Ignatius Press

Joseph Ratzinger was one of great Theologians of our time.

A must read for any Catholic or Christian seeking a deeper insight of the Catholic Liturgy.

Poetic and deep

I love Pope Benedict writing. I feel one day he will be among the Doctors of the Church.

A wonderful book

A great book that I found to be developmental and maturative for a young man coming of age such as myself. I found this book to be highly relatable personally and I further highly recommend this book.

philosophy and the liturgy

The last chapter helped me better understand that a cleric who does not understand how philosophy connects to the liturgy makes a bad theologian

Incredible

A celebration of everything true and beautiful, the high point of redeemed humanity and the incredible grace of the perfect God

A Must Read by all Catholics

“The Spirit of the Liturgy” is a must read for the “Catholic in the Pew”. This excellent presentation of the Catholic Church Liturgy by Pope Benedict also provides the original predecessor work, originally written in 1918, with the same name, by Father Romano Guardini. This book provides an in-depth look at the “Catholic Church Liturgy” without being an academic tome only understandable by scholars. The Mass is the primary focus of the Catholic Church and Pope Benedict describes why and how.

Excellent books on Catholic liturgy . . .

. . . and while the narrator is very talented, he's just not appropriate for these works. The insights are many and deep; the dramatic reading of them isn't necessary - it sounds like "overselling" which detracts from the impact of the books.

Make sure you sample the audio first!

The narrator reads this work in a manner and cadence that would be fitting for a verse of poetry, albeit he brings a slight touch of over dramatic thespianism to it.

That could be tolerable for a simple limerick, but not for a whole theological work of exposition on the central reality of Christian life and worship! Each sentence read has the effect of obscuring the one that came before it. All the more so with paragraphs.

It's like the experience of reading those old Platonic dialogues or philosophical works where the editor doesn't indent or break paragraphs for pages on end and you think to yourself, "What did I just read? Why isn't anything sticking?! This is, apparently, English! Why?!"

Now, this is just *one* reader's experience, and the hang up is the performance, not the content itself. Shame, too, since other works by Ratzinger/Benedict XVI have been so rewarding.

And note this is one of Benedict's heavier works.