The Light of the World : Liturgical Meditations for the Weekdays and Sundays of the Ecclesiastical Year, Volume I: Advent and the Christmas Cycle
Type
Book
Authors
Category
Liturgical Year
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Publication Year
1958
Publisher
B. Herder, United States
Pages
278
Tags
Description
The Light of the World qualifies as one of the most popular works of contemporary liturgical and spiritual literature both in the original language and in its English translation. Eight editions of the work have been exhausted - evidence of the enduring appeal of the work.
To accommodate the liturgical changes of recent years, the learned Benedictine author has meticulously revamped the entire work, and the result is a profound tribute to the deep spirituality and scholarship of the Archabbot.
In its original English dress The Light of the World appeared in two volumes. The revised translation appears in smaller format in three volumes, as follows:
Vol. I Advent and the Christmas Cycle
Vol. II The Easter Cycle
Vol. III Time after Pentecost
Archabbot Baur in his preface to this edition states that one of the compelling reasons for his revision was to integrate the feats of the saints with the liturgical year. He added another volume to Werde Licht which has been published in a two volume English translation with the title, Saints of the Missal.
The Light of the World has won a unique place among the mass of books for meditation and spiritual reading. The title provides a clue to the plan of the author. Christ's Church is the city of light which the faithful enter through participation in her liturgy. Liturgical piety is the sure way to the contemplation of the brilliance of Christ. His teaching is mirrored in the liturgy, in the feasts of the Church and in the missal. Hence the liturgy provides a rich background for mental prayer, and at the same time is a bulwark and an aid to the development of the perfect Christian life.
In the whole of the liturgy nothing is more inspirational than the Mass formulas. Their spiritual food content is inexhaustible. hence the author places greatest emphasis on the Sunday Masses, to which he devotes a more detailed liturgical treatment. The meaning of the Sunday Mass thus provides a pattern of spirituality which pervades the ensuing weekdays. There follow meditations for each day of the week, in which the thematic spiritual doctrine of the Sunday Mass is extended and applied to the practical needs of individual spirituality.
Such is the versatility of Archabbot Baur that his liturgical meditations are not restricted to any group of the faithful. They are of immense help to the directors of souls, to priests, religious, and to layfolk for private meditation. More and more the children of Christ are being brought back to the realization that in order to live a supernatural life, a life with Christ and in Christ, we must participate in His liturgical life. The unfailing source of inspiration is the daily Mass. Here the power of the Master flows into every member of His mystical body and directs them infallibly to the climax of Christian perfection.
Taken from the inside flaps.
Translated by Edward Malone, OSB.
To accommodate the liturgical changes of recent years, the learned Benedictine author has meticulously revamped the entire work, and the result is a profound tribute to the deep spirituality and scholarship of the Archabbot.
In its original English dress The Light of the World appeared in two volumes. The revised translation appears in smaller format in three volumes, as follows:
Vol. I Advent and the Christmas Cycle
Vol. II The Easter Cycle
Vol. III Time after Pentecost
Archabbot Baur in his preface to this edition states that one of the compelling reasons for his revision was to integrate the feats of the saints with the liturgical year. He added another volume to Werde Licht which has been published in a two volume English translation with the title, Saints of the Missal.
The Light of the World has won a unique place among the mass of books for meditation and spiritual reading. The title provides a clue to the plan of the author. Christ's Church is the city of light which the faithful enter through participation in her liturgy. Liturgical piety is the sure way to the contemplation of the brilliance of Christ. His teaching is mirrored in the liturgy, in the feasts of the Church and in the missal. Hence the liturgy provides a rich background for mental prayer, and at the same time is a bulwark and an aid to the development of the perfect Christian life.
In the whole of the liturgy nothing is more inspirational than the Mass formulas. Their spiritual food content is inexhaustible. hence the author places greatest emphasis on the Sunday Masses, to which he devotes a more detailed liturgical treatment. The meaning of the Sunday Mass thus provides a pattern of spirituality which pervades the ensuing weekdays. There follow meditations for each day of the week, in which the thematic spiritual doctrine of the Sunday Mass is extended and applied to the practical needs of individual spirituality.
Such is the versatility of Archabbot Baur that his liturgical meditations are not restricted to any group of the faithful. They are of immense help to the directors of souls, to priests, religious, and to layfolk for private meditation. More and more the children of Christ are being brought back to the realization that in order to live a supernatural life, a life with Christ and in Christ, we must participate in His liturgical life. The unfailing source of inspiration is the daily Mass. Here the power of the Master flows into every member of His mystical body and directs them infallibly to the climax of Christian perfection.
Taken from the inside flaps.
Translated by Edward Malone, OSB.
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