The Necessary Authors

I'm quite sure that I am an incessant junkie for all things liturgical and I sincerely doubt that my abiding passion for such will ever abate. Nothing has ever fascinated me more than the study of Catholic liturgy in all of the various forms it has taken both throughout the history of the Roman Rite and in each of the other equally majestic Eastern Rites. I've been particularly blessed by having at my disposal works long out of print from that era in which the Liturgical Movement first began. I've also had at my fingertips various copies of the Ordinaries of various liturgical rites. Now many of these things are becoming reprinted or being made available via the Internet, and so much the better. I think it extremely worthwhile to have at our hands the works of Fr. Fortesque, Dom Cabrol, Fr. Parsch, Dom Gueranger, and the other masters of the original liturgical movement for the knowledge of the liturgical rites was thorough and breathtaking. I also find myself much indebited to recent scholarship which is equally rich in precious data and commentary as well as being so very relevant to the liturgical debate, and I dare say crisis of our own time. With that in mind the following list, though being by no means exhaustive, are works which I consider to be indispensable for those interested in liturgy today whether they be the uninitiated or those who are unable to spend the time or resources in a do-it-yourself study and for those who in fact have done or intend to do such study. One word of caution however: purchase these at your own risk as you may find yourself hopelessly enthralled by both the subject and the authors!

• The History And The Future Of The Roman Liturgy by Denis Crouan
• The Mass And Modernity by Fr. Johnathon Robinson
• The Organic Development Of The Liturgy by Fr. Alcuin Reid
• Turning Towards The Lord by Br. U.M. Lang
• The Spirit Of The Liturgy by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger
• Reform Of The Reform? by Fr. Thomas Kocik
• Looking at the Liturgy by Fr. Aidan Nichols
• The Wellspring of Worship by Fr. Jean Corbon

Liturgical Resources At Archive.org

I recently was introduced to an excellent site: The Internet Archive, by way of the blog in illo tempore (biretta tip to Mike). I found the following goodies available there:

• Liturgica Historica,1918 by Edmund Bishop
• History of the Roman breviary., 1898 by Pierre Batiffol
• Antiphonale Romanum 1912
• Vesperale Romanum 1913
• Office of Holy Week 1687

There's quite a bit of other vintage liturgical and Catholic treasures to be had so poke around a little - you'll be pleasantly surprised, I know that I was.

O bone Iesu, fac ut sacerdos fiam secundum Cor tuum.

O good Jesus, grant that I may become a priest after Thine own Heart.

I wish to share my joy with all who read this blog or perhaps will have only just happened upon it by accident, and also to implore you for your prayers on my behalf, that I have been recently accepted as a seminarian for the Diocese of Phoenix by His Excellency, Bishop Thomas Olmstead. I will be attending the Pontificium Collegium Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio beginning the end of this month. I desire to thank all those, some of whom are readers of this blog, who encouraged me in my process of discerment up to this point either through their words to me, example of Christian virtues, and through prayers for vocations in general or for mine in particular.