Praying the Mass

EWTN is broadcasting a Divine Liturgy from the eparchy of Lebanon this morning at 9 AM (ET).  I look forward to watching it while I work!

I donated three copies of Praying the Mass: The Prayers of the People to the Sisters of Life in New York City, and recently received a letter from them.  Sr. Mary Gabriel, S.V., wrote in part:

Here at the novitiate of the Sisters of Life, we are particularly grateful for your donation of three copies of your book Praying the Mass.  This is a most welcome addition to our library.

I met two of the sisters many months ago at Princeton, when they visited for the afternoon to talk about their vocation and apostolate.  One of them, Sr. Miriam, is very interested in the liturgy, and we talked briefly after the Q&A session.

This book is a quick and easy read explaining not only which translations are changing next year but more importantly, why they are changing. It also doubles as a walk through of the mass explaining the sacred liturgy in a rich way. I've been to many seminars and have read several explanations on the mass but the book has several nuggets that I've never heard. I'd recommend this book especially for RCIA classes and those being introduced to the mass for the first time, for those who want to get an idea of the new mass translations, and even for those who are familiar with the mass but might need a refresher on why we do what we do.

I've been adding a fair amount of content to the Introduction, Chapter 1 ("Preparing for Prayer"), Chapter 7 ("Profession of Faith"), and Chapter 9 ("Offertory Prayers"). Look for a second edition of Praying the Mass: The Prayers of the People in early 2010 (at the same low price of $12). All new content will be made available digitally, free of charge, for people who've already bought the first edition.