Eternity Today, Vol. 1: On the Liturgical Year: On God and Time, Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Candlemas

Description

According to Dom Gregory Dix, the basic shape of the Christian liturgy has remained the same "ever since thirteen men met for supper in an upper room at Jerusalem" some two thousand years ago. According to Martin Connell, the same cannot be said for the liturgical year. The Triduum, or three days of Easter, only emerged in the fourth century. So, too, did Christmas. Earlier, Epiphany was the birthday of the Savior. Although a pre-Easter fast of variable length was observed since earliest times, the precise Forty Day span only appeared, once again, in the fourth century. And that foundational fourth century also saw the beginnings of the observance of Advent, which actually took centuries to catch on. As Connell demonstrates in this fascinating book, the varieties of Christian observance emerged in local communities stretching from Gaul to India and were often born in the struggles that were define orthodoxy and heresy. Eternity Today is a vade mecum for anyone who wishes to observe the liturgical year with intelligent devotion. Throughout, Connell aims to recover the theology and spirituality of the Christian year. As an aid to reflection, he incorporates numerous selections of contemporary poetry, thereby demonstrating how secular poets can often hit upon a point that finds its echo in Christian life and ritual. Eternity Today: The Liturgical Year, Volume 1 covers Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Candlemas, and Ordinary Time.

Martin Connell is assistant professor in the School of Theology of Saint John's University, Collegeville, Minnesota. He is the author of 7 previous books, including An Introduction to the Liturgical Year and Workbook for Lectors and Gospel Readers 2005 and 2006.

"Martin Connell, a liturgical scholar trained at the University of Notre Dame and now a professor at St. John's University in Collegeville (Minn.), makes available the latest research on the liturgical year through these two volumes...When he deals specifically with church history...his solid scholarship comes through clearly and is of much value to all readers. While he has designed the order of the volumes to coincide with the liturgical year, he also advises readers that they might prefer to read the chapters in the order in which the liturgical year actually developed (e.g., Easter before Christmas)." -Eileen D. Crowley, Catholic Library World, December 2008 "This book presents liturgical scholarship in an accessible style, but it is far from being anodyne. Connell's social critique, such as his acount of the consumer-driven conflation of the infant Christ and Santa Claus, is astringently written, and evenly balances the challenges as well as the possibilities for those who would promote the observance of the seasons of the Christian year." - Theology "The book is a valuable resource: it inspires, and captures the changing moods of the seasons from Advent to Candlemas, and proposes practical ways of celebrating these related times of the year. Connell is a foremost scholar of the history of the Christian year, and the serious student of liturgy will gain from his critique of the work of Thomas Talley."Theology, November 2008