Luigi Giussani 
Living the Liturgy [EPUB ebook] 

T
here is an ancient Christian saying from the Patristic Era which is known in its most concise form as
lex orandi, lex credendi
. As the
Catechism of the Catholic Church
translates it: “
The law of prayer is the law of faith: the Church believes as she prays.
”

 

While the elegant simplicity of the phrase contains an abundance of wisdom, the liturgy has always been subject to forces that threaten to reduce this understanding to partial interpretations. As several observers have noted, these reductions include the “archeological” approach—explicating the liturgy’s historical origins but in the process treating it as a dead letter—and the sociological approach—focusing on liturgy as little more than an expression of contemporary concerns.

 

In Living the Liturgy: A Witness, Father Luigi Giussani (1922-2005) restores a more balanced view, reminding us that (according to Roberto Braschi’s introduction) in the liturgy “God is its pres­ent subject and that the essence of every celebratory action is the possibility of a gaze toward Him—because it is always from Him that the dialogue with humanity moves.” The memorable, bracing insights in Living the Liturgy were taken from conversations that Father Giussani had with members of the international lay movement he founded, Communion and Liberation. 

Зміст

Introduction

 

Preface

 

Part I: The Mass

 

Part II: Liturgical Times And Feast Days

 

Chapter 1: Advent

Chapter 2: Christmas

Chapter 3: Lent

Chapter 4: Easter

Chapter 5: Ascension

Chapter 6: Pentecost

Chapter 7: Trinity

 

Appendix 1: Note on the First Edition of 1973

 

Appendix 2: Curator’s Note

 

Про автора

Monsignor Luigi Giussani (1922–2005) was the founder of the Catholic lay movement Communion and Liberation in Italy. His works are available in over twenty languages.