The Bones Reassemble: Reconstituting Liturgical Speech

by Catherine Madsen

An unorthodox, incisive and groundbreaking interdisciplinary critique of modern liturgical language. Madsen contends that modern liturgists, in spite of their effort to respond to contemporary concerns, have not produced a language in which those concerns are well served. Drawing on religious and literary studies, psychology, and cognitive science, she suggests how to create a new liturgical language with the weight and moral urgency of the old.

220 pages, Paperback

First published September 30, 2005

Reviews

[Ari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Madsen again proves really the definitive modern writer in the subject of liturgical speech. Coming from a combination of traditions, Jewish (current) and Episcopal (background), Madsen is daring enough to combine the best of both where speech and liturgical drama are concerned, with a strong cleaving to tradition. Unlike anything I've come across (except her other books), this one is worth owning if you're even peripherally associated with creation of religious liturgy (her points carry over to any religion, and to religious ritual in general). Caveat, the book reads like a dissertation and is at times extremely dense. Know what you're getting into. She's crammed around 500 pages of knowledge into 120. It's worth taking the time to stop frequently and unpack what she's saying. Highly recommended, not just to read but to own.