A Short History of the Roman Mass

by Uwe Michael Lang

Czy Ostatnia Wieczerza była pierwszą mszą w historii?
Jak sprawowano Eucharystię w czasach późnego średniowiecza czy w przededniu reformacji?
W jakich okolicznościach powstał mszał?
Jaki wpływ na kształt liturgii mieli ostatni papieże?

Msza święta ma wielowiekową tradycję. W swej istocie niezmienna, podlega jednak pewnym przekształceniom. Michael Uwe Lang pomaga uchwycić tę złożoną relację stabilności i zmiany. Przybliża historię rytu rzymskiego od jego początków aż do współczesności, przypominając, że dzisiejsza liturgia nie ma sztucznie skonstruowanej formy, lecz jest owocem intensywnego i wieloaspektowego wzrostu, kształtowanego w ciągu wielu stuleci przez Stolicę Apostolską w kontakcie z Kościołami lokalnymi. Głębsze poznanie i zrozumienie bogatej oraz złożonej historii mszy pomoże bardziej świadomie i owocnie uczestniczyć w liturgii. Jest ona bowiem, jak uczy Katechizm Kościoła Katolickiego, naszym uczestnictwem w modlitwie Chrystusa skierowanej do Ojca w Duchu Świętym . W niej cała modlitwa chrześcijańska ma swoje źródło i swój kres.

Genres: Theology, Catholic, History

146 pages, Paperback

Published October 10, 2024

About the author

Fr. Uwe Michael Lang, a native of Germany, is a priest of the Congregation of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri in London. He holds a Mag. Theol. in Catholic theology from the University of Vienna and a D.Phil. in theology from the University of Oxford. Fr. Lang is a staff member of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, a Consultor to the Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff and Academic Coordinator of the Master program in “Architecture, Sacred Art and Liturgy” at the Università Europea di Roma. Turning towards the Lord has been published in several languages, including German, Italian, French, and Spanish. Recently, Fr. Lang has edited the volume Die Anaphora von Addai und Mari: Studien zu Eucharistie und Einsetzungsworten (2007).

Reviews

[Clare]

capstone book 2 ✅

this was interesting and will hopefully be helpful for my paper but idk yet

[Fr. Zachary Galante · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short work is a great introduction to the history of the Catholic liturgy as most people in the West experience it today. Naturally the last 65 years have been tumultuous for the liturgy, and his writings on the contemporary situation was lacking. But all the same, the earlier chapters give a great overview of the development.

[Sarah Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned a lot about the history of the liturgy, and I'd definitely recommend this book for anyone seeking to learn more! I also appreciate the way the author leaves the end of the book someone open for further development and gives a bit of practical insight into that.

[Conor · Rating 5 out of 5]

A tremendous overview of the development of the liturgy. This short book packs a powerful punch.

[David Szatkowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an ok into to the liturgy and history of the bass. But I’m not convinced by all the arguments made.

[Ben Kercheval · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this to be a concise, readable, and even-handed account of the development of the Catholic Church's Mass, beginning with the early Church and ending amid the current, post-Vatican II liturgical debates. It's concision means it examines only the tip of a very large iceberg, which sometimes led to its account feeling simply like a string of discrete historical events whose relationship with each other is not immediately clear. This is probably unavoidable, though, in reducing a 2,000-year history into less than 150 pages, and Lang does inject some intriguing interpretative comments that have led me to want to read more of his work. He also ends with a brief, diplomatic assessment of the Church's current liturgical landscape that I found clarifying in comparison with the heated polemics that this topic often inspires. Lang's position seems most aligned with Pope Benedict XVI's notion of a "reform of the reform", beginning with a return to the broad principles of Vatican II's Sacrosanctum concilium, with an eye to gradual, organic, and even decentralized development rather than sharp breaks with tradition by decree.

[Paul Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book contains many interesting historical details but I found it difficult to track a thread running throughout the book. Then, Father's perspective on the New Mass is disappointing: he sees it as more or less in continuity with the past but just going too far. So, while he critiques it, it seems he believes it can be fixed.

[Br. John Mary Lauderdale OFM Cap · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic condensed history of the liturigical development of the Roman Mass. Scholarly and accessible. The final chapters are about where the Church stands since the Second Vatican Council. Has a glossary of terms in the back.