The Spirit of the Liturgy
by Joseph Ratzinger
Why do Catholics kneel? Why the incense, the silence, the calendar crowded with feasts? Joseph Ratzinger, the future Benedict XVI, wrote this book to dig down to the roots. The title nods to an earlier classic by Romano Guardini, and the thesis is the same: liturgy is not something we invent. It is something we receive.
Ratzinger starts with what worship is, drawing on the Old Testament, the Temple and the early Church. Then he covers sacred time and space, images and art, music, and the body at prayer: standing, kneeling, the sign of the cross. His concern throughout is that worship should turn us toward God, not toward ourselves admiring our own performance.
It suits inquirers who are curious or puzzled about Mass, catechists preparing sessions on the liturgy, and lovers of sacred art and music. Parts of it are scholarly, and some of its views on liturgical practice are debated among Catholics. Even so, a newcomer will walk into the next church with sharper eyes.
Key Takeaways
- Why liturgy is received, not invented.
- The roots of worship in the Temple and the early Church.
- Why Catholics use sacred time, space, images and music.
- What kneeling and other gestures mean.
It explains why Catholic worship looks and sounds the way it does.
