In his letter to liturgists meeting in Mainz, Germany, in 1964, theologian Romano Guardini asked: "Is ritual a forgotten way of doing things?" That question challenged Catholics to reevaluate the roots and roles of ritual. In an ongoing response to that challenge, liturgists have sought to reinterpret the multiple meanings of ritual using insights from the social sciences. In Liturgy and the Social Sciences, Nathan Mitchell examines the responses of liturgists to Guardini's famous question.

Liturgy and the Social Sciences (American Essays in Liturgy)

Religion & Spirituality

Mitchell, Nathan D.

Christian Books & Bibles

Liturgical Press

In the first part of this book, Father Mitchell traces the evolution within the Roman Catholic tradition of the cult of the Eucharist outside Mass, a change from holy meal to ritual drama that implied significant alterations of content, meaning, and interpretation.The second section comments on the mandates of Vatican Council II whose call to a return to proper praxis necessitated changes in then current pastoral practice and theological interpretation.

Cult and Controversy: The Worship of the Eucharist Outside Mass (Studies in the Reformed Rites of the Catholic Church, Vol 4)

In Toward Ritual Transformation renowned liturgist Robert W. Hovda, and other distinguished liturgists who have followed his lead, challenge the Church to continue a pilgrimage toward beauty and justice, the inseparable components of Christian liturgy and life.
Father Hovda's bishop once accused him of having a messiah complex." Hovda replied: *I thought we were supposed to. - Hovda's *messiah complex - was the idea of a church *never finalized or finished, never an accomplished fact but always on pilgrimage, seeking, growing, and helping the world grow toward what Scripture calls the reign of God. This faith community comes to realize gradually, with the help of the Word of God and the signs of the times, that its ministry in the world is the liberation and unification of the human race, because the God of the Bible is a God who is living, whose creative work is ongoing, and whose call beckons us always to move beyond where we are at any given moment. -
Essays and their contributors are *A Tree Planted by a Stream, - by Gabe Huck; *The Sacred: Silence and Song, - by Robert W. Hovda; *Liturgical Prayer: Twenty-five Years of Change, - by Virgil C.Funk; *Ritual Transformations: Principles, Patterns, and People, - by J. Michael Joncas; *Being Beautiful, Being Just, - by Nathan D. Mitchell; *The Transforming Power of Music: Tales of Transformation, - by James Savage; and *All at Once the Music Changed, - by John Foley, S.J.

Toward Ritual Transformation: Remembering Robert W. Hovda (Pueblo Books)

Huck, Gabe

Hovda, Robert W.

Funk, Virgil C.

Foley SJ, John

SAVAGE`, JAMES

The rosary has been nearly ubiquitous among Roman Catholics since its first appearance in Europe five centuries ago. Why has this particular devotional object been so resilient, especially in the face of Catholicism’s reinvention in the Early Modern, or “Counter-Reformation,” Era? Nathan D. Mitchell argues in lyric prose that to understand the rosary’s adaptability, it is essential to consider the changes Catholicism itself began to experience in the aftermath of the Reformation.
 Unlike many other scholars of this period, Mitchell argues that after the Reformation Catholicism actually became less retrenched and more open to change. This innovation was especially evident in the sometimes “subversive” visual representations of sacred subjects and in new ways of perceiving the relation between Catholic devotion and the liturgy’s ritual symbols. The rosary played a crucial role not only in how Catholics gave flesh to their faith, but in new ways of constructing their personal and collective identity. Ultimately, Mitchell employs the history of the rosary as a lens through which to better understand early modern Catholic history.

The Mystery of the Rosary: Marian Devotion and the Reinvention of Catholicism

History

Americas

NYU Press

Ever since its appearance in Europe five centuries ago, the rosary has been a widespread, highly visible devotion among Roman Catholics. Its popularity has persisted despite centuries of often seismic social upheaval, cultural change, and institutional reform. In form, the rosary consists of a ritually repeated sequence of prayers accompanied by meditations on episodes in the lives of Christ and Mary. As a devotional object of round beads strung on cord or wire, the rosary has changed very little since its introduction centuries ago. Today, the rosary can be found on virtually every continent, and in the hands of hard-line traditionalists as well as progressive Catholics. It is beloved by popes, professors, protesters, commuters on their way to work, children learning their “first prayers,” and homeless persons seeking shelter and safety.Why has this particular devotional object been so ubiquitous and resilient, especially in the face of Catholicism’s reinvention in the Early Modern, or “Counter-Reformation,” Era? Nathan D. Mitchell argues in lyric prose that to understand the rosary’s adaptability, it is essential to consider the changes Catholicism itself began to experience in the aftermath of the Reformation.Unlike many other scholars of this period, Mitchell argues that after the Reformation Catholicism actually became more innovative and diversified rather than retrenched and monolithic. This innovation was especially evident in the sometimes “subversive”; visual representations of sacred subjects, such as in the paintings of Caravaggio, and in new ways of perceiving the relation between Catholic devotion and the liturgy’s ritual symbols. The rosary was thus involved not only in how Catholics gave flesh to their faith, but in new ways of constructing their personal and collective identity. Ultimately, Mitchell employs the history of the rosary, and the concomitant devotion to the Virgin Mary with which it is associated, as a lens through which to better understand early modern Catholic history.

Book by Leonard, John, Mitchell, Nathan D., Brooks-Leonard, John

The Postures of the Assembly During the Eucharistic Prayer

Brooks-Leonard, John

Leonard, John K.

Liturgy Training Pubns

Jesus distinctive ministry of eating anything with anyone at any time redefined the religious and cultural meaning of dining. What is the path we take to arrive at the table that Jesus linked to the reign of God and that Christians connect with the death of Jesus? Anyone who is serious about understanding the meaning of the Eucharist will find much to ponder in this book. Great endnotes for further study. Published by Liturgy Training Publications.

Eucharist As Sacrament of Initiation (Forum Essays)

Reference

Encyclopedias & Subject Guides

'Meeting Mystery' is both an introduction to liturgy, worship, and sacrament for beginners and an adventure that guides the reader to the place where God's surprising self is revealed and the human soul is moved to awe and love.

Meeting Mystery: Liturgy, Worship, Sacraments (Theology in Global Perspective) (Theology in Global Perspectives)

Orbis Books

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Mitchell, Nathan D.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Mitchell, Nathan D.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Mitchell, Nathan D.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Liturgy and the Social Sciences (American Essays in Liturgy)

Cult and Controversy: The Worship of the Eucharist Outside Mass (Studies in the Reformed Rites of the Catholic Church, Vol 4)

Toward Ritual Transformation: Remembering Robert W. Hovda (Pueblo Books)

The Mystery of the Rosary: Marian Devotion and the Reinvention of Catholicism

The Mystery of the Rosary: Marian Devotion and the Reinvention of Catholicism

The Postures of the Assembly During the Eucharistic Prayer

Eucharist As Sacrament of Initiation (Forum Essays)

Meeting Mystery: Liturgy, Worship, Sacraments (Theology in Global Perspective) (Theology in Global Perspectives)