Your One-Stop Guide to the Mass (Your One-Stop Guides)

Rating:
Summary: A Guide for New (and Old) Catholics
Review: This is a very easy read and packs a tremendous amount of explanation and Church history bearing on the Catholic mass. As a new Catholic, I was interested in the explanations of the various portions of the mass I have come accustomed to participating in. For example, I had never heard of an epiclesis o rknew that it was a part of the mass. I found the liturgical steps to be explained in a way that gave them new and significant meaning for me.

As I read more about the acknowledged Jewish roots of Christianity (which is touched on in this little guidebook), I am mystified at how there ever could have been an Inquisition and how any member of the Church could have felt anything but empathy for the Jewish people and thankfulness for the heritage they passed on to the world. It called to mind my Irish grandmother who was surprised when I told her Christ was a Jew. The Church's acknowledgment of its Jewish foundation is a positive development in Church history.

I highly recommend this little gem to anyone who wants a simple, straightforward handbook to the mass and what it should and can mean to Catholics today.

Rating:
Summary: A Guide for New (and Old) Catholics
Review: This is a very easy read and packs a tremendous amount of explanation and Church history bearing on the Catholic mass. As a new Catholic, I was interested in the explanations of the various portions of the mass I have come accustomed to participating in. For example, I had never heard of an epiclesis o rknew that it was a part of the mass. I found the liturgical steps to be explained in a way that gave them new and significant meaning for me.

As I read more about the acknowledged Jewish roots of Christianity (which is touched on in this little guidebook), I am mystified at how there ever could have been an Inquisition and how any member of the Church could have felt anything but empathy for the Jewish people and thankfulness for the heritage they passed on to the world. It called to mind my Irish grandmother who was surprised when I told her Christ was a Jew. The Church's acknowledgment of its Jewish foundation is a positive development in Church history.

I highly recommend this little gem to anyone who wants a simple, straightforward handbook to the mass and what it should and can mean to Catholics today.