Angelico Press Brings Out New Edition of Guéranger’s Explanation of the Prayers and Ceremonies of Holy Mass

Dom Prosper Guéranger holds a lofty place in the history of the revival of the vita liturgica, the Roman Rite, and monasticism after the ravages of the anticlerical Enlightenment and the Age of Revolution. Many have found insight and inspiration in the pages of his multi-volume The Liturgical Year, which has never been out of print. Another work by Guéranger beloved to many is his compact yet penetrating commentary on the Mass, which has seen a number of English editions in recent decades.

Angelico Press has now brought out a newly typeset edition of this gem of a work, under a title that is less stuffy and more appealing to readers in the post-Summorum world.

On the left, the hardcover edition; on the right, the paperback.

It was an honor and pleasure for me to contribute a Foreword to this book, as it gave me a welcome opportunity to discharge a small part of the debt of gratitude I owe to this great Benedictine of the nineteenth century who opened the riches of the liturgy to countless millions of souls, and who can still guide us capably today as we dig up the hidden treasure that the crypto-Protestant reformers of the 1960s did their best to bury forever. Guéranger saw more clearly than anyone in his day, and certainly far more clearly than anyone in the period from ca. 1950 to 1970, the danger of what he called "the anti-liturgical heresy."

This new edition from Angelico is very handsome and would make not only a nice addition to one's personal library but also a thoughtful little gift for someone for Easter, Christmas, a nameday, a birthday, etc.

Available at Amazon.com in paperback ($14.95), hardcover ($20), Kindle ($5.99), and international affiliates.