Resurgent in the Midst of Crisis: Sacred Liturgy the Traditional Latin Mass and Renewal in the Church

SINCE THE TIME of the Second Vatican Council the Catholic Church has experienced an unprecedented crisis of identity symbolized and propelled by the corruption of the greatest treasure of her tradition: the sacred liturgy. The result has been confusion dismay devastation. To the surprise of some however the same half-century has witnessed a growing counter-movement of Catholics who find in the Churchs traditional liturgy a perennial witness to the orthodox faith a solid foundation for the interior life an ever-flowing source of missionary charity and a living embodiment of the true Catholic spirit. In this book Peter Kwasniewski presents a fearless critique of the path of liturgical novelty and a detailed apologia for liturgical tradition in all its beauty richness and profundity addressing such topics as solemnity sacredness the language of symbols contemplation participation the symbiosis of lex orandi and lex credendi silence music worship in Latin and Gregorian chant. He confronts the humanism rationalism utilitarianism and modernism so prevalent in the liturgical reform assesses the prospects and limitations of a Reform of the Reform and reflects on the great gift of Summorum Pontificum. In the end Kwasniewski argues for a zealous recommitment to Catholic Tradition in its fullness starting with divine worship and embracing the whole realm of faith and morals including integral Catholic social teaching. I heartily recommend Peter Kwasniewskis new book for those struggling to come to terms not only with what happened to the liturgy of the Catholic Church but with why those changes have had such disastrous consequences. As he shows in one aspect after another of the Mass the changes have taken us further away from that inner transformation of the worshipper which is a secondary purpose of the liturgy after the worship of God.--JOSEPH SHAW President of the Latin Mass Society of England and Wales To come out of the present crisis we need to restore the liturgy in all its sacredness. Resurgent in the Midst of Crisis is a very important work that leads us to meditate in depth on the permanent value theological centrality and beauty of the traditional liturgy of the Church.--MSGR. IGNACIO BARREIRO Executive Director of HLIs Rome Office Peter Kwasniewski is one of a handful of 21st-century Catholic authors really in touch with our tradition who can at the same time carefully explain what is at stake in both the Catholic intellectual world and the culture as a whole. He is devastating in delivering his points which he makes without wasting a word.--ROGER A. MCCAFFREY President of Roman Catholic Books Combining deeply human insight with supernatural faith Prof. Kwasniewski presents a compelling case for the continuing necessity of the traditional Latin Mass for the Churchs life and mission. Without questioning the validity of the modern rite he illuminates in many ways how the older liturgy more clearly expresses the Faith and more richly nourishes the faithful.--FR. THOMAS KOCIK author of Reform of the Reform? A Liturgical Debate: Reform or Return Peter Kwasniewski has taught and written on a wide variety of subjects especially the thought of Saint Thomas Aquinas sacramental and liturgical theology the history and aesthetics of music and the social doctrine of the Church. After teaching at the International Theological Institute in Austria he joined the founding team of Wyoming Catholic College where he currently serves as Professor of Theology and Choirmaster.