Various Authors
From the Mar/Apr 2011 Issue of Lay Witness Magazine
The Mass: The Glory, the Mystery, The Tradition by Cardinal Donald Wuerl and Mike Aquilina (Doubleday, 2011)
In their first book collaboration, noted authors Cardinal Donald Wuerl and Mike Aquilina express the hope that their effort will “help readers to make the Mass a more regular and even necessary part of their days.” The authors “in turn, will share their renewed fervor with others.” In The Mass: The Glory, The Mystery, The Tradition they succeed in this admirably, as they, in the words of Cardinal Francis George in the Preface, “help us grow in our knowledge and understanding of the Mass” and thus encourage more “active participation in this mystery.”
Importantly, this work also provides the opportunity for the authors to highlight the changes in the new English translation of the Roman Missal, which will be implemented in Advent 2011.
The authors approach their task in two parts. Part One (“What Makes the Mass: People, Places, Words, and Things”) covers the Mass’s roots in Scripture as well as an overview of its nearly 2,000 year history; provides explanation and insight into Church furnishings, vessels, cloths, vestments, and books; and details the parts of the Mass, various roles of Mass participants, terminology related to the Mass, and the Church’s calendar.
Part Two (“The Mass as It Is: A Closer Look”) follows the celebration of the Mass from the entrance procession to the blessing and dismissal. The significance and importance of each distinct part of the Mass are explained in separate chapters. Photographs of the Cardinal throughout, performing various actions of the Mass, are a nice addition.
—Richard J. Grebenc
Beyond a House Divided: The Moral Consensus Ignored by Washington, Wall Street, and the Media by Carl Anderson (Doubleday, 2010)
In a time when many speak of our country as deeply divided on political and ideological lines, Carl Anderson in Beyond a House Divided aims to penetrate beneath the thicket of public discord to an implicit and often unrecognized root within which lies the public consensus of the American people on truth and morality.
In this very accessible and relevant book, Anderson comments on polling data from a worldview seeing certain basic truths as nearly ineradicable from the heart of man and from the heritage of the American people in particular. Anderson presents a recognition of this basic public consensus as essential for authentic dialogue within American democracy as well as a starting point for Catholics and other Christians to make inroads towards the greater recognition of truth within that consensus.
Anderson begins by showing how although much is wrong with our society, the vast majority of Americans recognize this. The author shows how religion has historically influenced public discourse in America without risking theocracy. Digging beneath polling results, Anderson then offers unconventional insight into the American consensus within a sampling of today’s most controversial issues including business ethics, politics, abortion, and marriage and family.
Beyond a House Divided identifies a key problem impeding our national conversation and is a must-read for those discouraged by the darkness within society who strive to be
everyday witnesses to the light.
—Michael J. Ruszala
To Save a Thousand Souls: A Guide for Discerning a Vocation to Diocesan Priesthood by Fr. Brett A Brannen (Vianney Vocations, 2010)
One evening in 1985 I spent the night in prayer, wrestling with the idea of becoming a priest. By morning, I had concluded that I possibly had a vocation to the priesthood. I was clueless as to how to proceed, despite the many good friends and spiritual advisors in my life. What I really needed at the time—and I surely wasn’t alone in this—was an A-Z handbook on discerning the priesthood.
Twenty-five years later, there is such a book. Fr. Brett Brannen’s To Save a Thousand Souls is aptly described on the cover as a guide for discerning a vocation to the diocesan priesthood. This practical handbook walks the reader through the entire process of discernment, from “Am I called?” to ordination.
Fr. Brannen combines sound spiritual theology with solid pastoral guidance, as he draws heavily upon his own experience as a diocesan vocation director and seminary vice-rector. The book has many useful, engaging sections, such as “20 Signs of a Vocation to Priesthood” and “Seven Stages of a Diligent Discernment.”
The author’s pastoral skills are particularly evident in the way he uses real-life examples to provide clear guidance to young men who have had particular difficulties in the area of chastity.
This book is a must for all young men considering the priesthood and those involved in their formation. But vocations are everyone’s business, and because it’s an uplifting presentation of the priesthood, this book is recommended for all Catholics, especially parents and religious educators.
—Leon Suprenant.
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