The Forgotten Language: How Recovering the Poetics of the Mass Will Change Our Lives

by Michael Rennier

Poetics represents the art of living. For the Christian, it also demonstrates the art of learning to live as a saint, exploring what it means to claim that God is remaking us through grace. This delicate and delightful book serves as a poetic confession. It's the meditation of a man moving uncertainly from chaos toward beauty who is seeking to connect earth to Heaven--and who found the poetry hidden in the form and beauty of the Mass, and of life itself. With profound insights, Fr. Rennier illuminates the things of earth with the eyes of Heaven. He will help you add shape, structure, and heart to your prayer life as he reflects upon the meaning behind the actions in the Mass, the sacred objects, and the sacramentality we find in daily life. Through Scripture and his own reflections, Father
You will learn how to develop a listening heart, rightly order your priorities, and experience joy in completing even the humblest daily tasks. Fr. Rennier offers methods to "let go" of your desire to master everything, grow in contemplation, and find your true self. Most assuring, he convinces you that in whatever you are going through or have experienced, God is there with you drawing you to His Heart. Father also explains your vocation during Mass and the most efficacious way to inflame your Eucharistic love. In page after page, you will see how you are healed and transformed through the Mass and learn ways to participate in the Sacred Mysteries more attentively and lovingly. You will find tips on how to appreciate the splendor and meaning of the Mass until it becomes pure poetry, a personal relationship, a conversation between your soul and God. Every life is a story, a single, unified poem waiting to be told, listened to, and fully lived. Fr. Rennier brilliantly relates how by being still and aware of the details of the Mass your faith will be reawakened, and you will be reminded of Christ's victory on the Cross. The Mass forevermore will remind you of your lasting home and provide a glimpse of the Heavenly rest that awaits you.

Genres: Catholic

208 pages, Paperback

Published March 20, 2023

Reviews

[Gina]

Fr. Rennier’s writing is beautiful and poignant. He captures the Mass, life, and poetry in a very “real” and tangible way. Reading it made me want to slow down, recognize God reaching out to me through beauty in the most simple moments of life, and ultimately through the Mass. This book has been faith-changing for me.

[Larry Denninger]

It is difficult to describe this book. It's not a treatise on the Mass, nor a purely catechitcal exploration of the liturgy, its rubrics, and its symbolism. It is much more than that. It is beautifully written, partly as poem in terms of its phrasing, structure, and depth. And like poetry, uncovering the meaning and fully understanding the truths being conveyed will take multiple readings.

This is a profound meditation on Beauty - as specifically found in the Mass - and thus it is also a meditation on sacrifice and love, and how all build upon and support each other.

I will write a more in depth review at a later date. The words and imagery are seeping into me like gentle rain upon a parched soil, working deep and silent.

[Char]

Fr. Rennier aims to remind us of the beauty of, and drastic need for, the language of “poetics,” (especially in our faith life). Even better, he guides us to an understanding of poetry in the Church, and the poetics of the Mass, itself. He uses the word poetics as a broad term which includes all God-inspired and authentic art. It’s an insightful guide to all that we miss out on during Mass, when we are not orienting our thoughts to the poetic richness surrounding us. And also a reminder that the Mass is God’s poem to us, not a poem for us to edit, but God-composed poetics that we must humble ourselves before, and open our hearts to. I highly recommend this book for people of all faiths!

[Robbie Melton]

Even better than I was anticipating. Such a refreshing and inspiring read that stays away from all the polemics.