Introduction to Christian liturgy

Introduction: What Is Pastoral Liturgics? 1
Chapter One. Liturgy—A Practical Science 3
1. Why do we worship? 3
2. What is liturgy? 5
3. What does it mean to do liturgy “decently and in order”? 6
4. How do we discern meaning in liturgy? 10
5. How is the people’s work the work of God? 13
Chapter Two. History and Culture 17
1. What are the main periods of liturgical history? 17
2. What characterizes liturgy in each of these periods? 24
3. How does liturgy relate to culture in each of these periods? 31
4. What are the strategies of relating liturgy to culture? 38
5. How does inculturation work? 40
Chapter Three. The Principal Order of Service 43
1. What are the names of the principal order of service? 43
2. How did this order develop throughout history? 44
3. What is the lectionary and how does it work? 64
4. What are the parts of a eucharistic prayer? 67
5. What is the difference between a “High Mass” and a “Low Mass”? 71
Chapter Four. The Liturgy of Time 75
1. What does it mean to sanctify time? 75
2. Where did the liturgy of the hours come from? 76
3. What’s the difference between cathedral and monastic prayer offices? 78
4. How did the liturgy of the hours develop throughout history? 81
5. How might daily prayer offices become daily once again? 94
Chapter Five. The Church-Year Calendar 97
1. What is the fixed day of Christian worship? 97
2. What are the principal festivals and seasons? 99
3. What are the lesser festivals, days of devotion, and commemorations? 102
4. What do we do the rest of the time? 104
5. What is the difference between a feast and a fast? 104
Chapter Six. The Church Year: Advent through Lent 107
1. Advent: Why do we begin at the end? 107
2. Christmas: What are the options for celebration? 113
3. The Epiphany: What are the riches of the observance? 119
4. Time after the Epiphany: Is there an Epiphany season? 122
5. Ash Wednesday and Lent: How do we practice penitence and catechesis? 123
Chapter Seven. The Church Year: Holy Week 127
1. How did the rites of Holy Week develop? 127
2. Palm/Passion Sunday: What is the relationship between palms and the passion? 130
3. Maundy Thursday: What is the relationship between foot washing
and the Lord’s Supper? 131
4. Good Friday: What is the difference between liturgy
and paraliturgical devotions? 133
5. Holy Saturday: How might the Great Vigil be structured? 136
Chapter Eight. The Church Year: Easter and Beyond 141
1. Easter: How can a fifty-day celebration be maintained? 141
2. Pentecost: What happens on “the last and great day” of the feast? 144
3. Time after Pentecost: Should lesser festivals replace Sundays? 145
4. The Sanctoral Cycle: How do we commemorate the faithful departed? 148
5. Christ the King: How does the church year end? 154
Chapter Nine. Life Passages 157
1. How does the church make new Christians? 157
2. How do Christians affirm and live out their baptism? 164
3. How does the church make ministers? 167
4. How does the church solemnize marriages? 169
5. How does the church militant transfer members to the church triumphant? 172
Chapter Ten. The Liturgical Arts 177
1. What are “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs”? 177
2. How are hymns and other music selected for worship? 182
3. What is the role of bells? 183
4. How is the liturgical space arranged? 184
5. What do ministers wear for the liturgy? 186
Chapter Eleven. Participation in Worship 189
1. How is the body used in worship? 189
2. What are some standard ceremonies in the Western liturgical tradition? 195
3. How do processions facilitate popular participation? 200
4. What should the people have to support their participation? 204
5. How are children formed into the liturgy? 206
Afterword: In Lieu of a Bibliography of Current
Denominational Worship Books 211
Chronology of Events and Documents 213
Glossary of Liturgical Terms 223
Notes 231
Index 241