Handbook for Liturgical Studies: Introduction to the Liturgy (Handbook for Liturgical Studies)

Rating:
Summary: A good resource for the advanced study of Catholic liturgy
Review: The first in a series of books edited by Fr. Anscar Chupungco, this book offers a fine resource to the student interested in the serious study of Catholic liturgy. I have used this book as a required text in my graduate level course in Sacred Liturgy and found it to be very helpful in both framing much of the class and lecture discussion and as a supplement to the discussion as well. The article by Fr. Chupungco on the translation of liturgical texts is excellent. I would also highlight the article by Cassian Folsom on the liturgical books of the Roman Rite, Keith Pecklers' article on the history of the Roman Liturgy from the sixteenth century onward and the informative article by Frederick McManus on liturgical law. I do, however, only offer four stars because of the weakness of a few of the articles and the fact that the text is, at times, a bit over the head of the average reader. This is especially true of the articles by Renato De Zan. While they are full of all kinds of information and superb material, the text is too technical and full. It is almost as if he was trying to fit too much into his short articles. As a result, a number of my students did find it a struggle to get through these and some of the other articles. Overall, though, this is book is a welcome addition to the English language resources for the study of liturgy. I look forward to making use of the other volumes in the series.

Rating:
Summary: This book is concise and a wealth of bibliography.
Review: This is a collection of articles about the history, meaning and development of the liturgy of the Roman Church. But, this book is not limited to the interests of only Roman catholics. This book appeals to all denominations interested in Christian worship and its developement.