New Book: THE PEOPLE’S CELEBRATION OF THE EUCHARIST by Fintan Lyons OSB

Who celebrates the Eucharist and what are they celebrating?

An exploration of the simple, yet tough questions that can deepen our 
understanding of this fulcrum of the Mass

Who, exactly, are ‘the people’? Who is it that celebrates the Eucharist – a presiding priest in the presence of a congregation or the gathered People of God incorporating both ordained and non-ordained? And finally, what is the Eucharist – a meal, a sacrifice or both? These three fundamental questions form the theme of a new book, The People’s Celebration of the Eucharist by Fintan Lyons OSB.

Deceptively simple questions, to which our initial responses can reveal our perception of the structure of the Church and the performance of its sacraments as hierarchical, with an active presider and a passive congregation looking on and responding. 

This book addresses the celebration of the Eucharist from the perspective of the people’s participation, using the Constitution on the Liturgy of Vatican II in an attempt to give a more profound and comprehensive account than is usual. It discusses such pastoral issues as how the mass may be seen as both a sacrifice and a shared meal and what practical arrangements are needed in today’s world for an authentic celebration.  Concentration on this broader perception of participation gives rise to ecumenical implications, as does the book’s discussion of the Orthodox Church’s theology of the Eucharist.

About the author
Fintan Lyons OSB is a monk of Glenstal Abbey. He has a doctorate in Reformed theology and has taught in the Pontifical Liturgical Institute and in the Angelicum University, Rome, in Beeson, Southern Baptist Divinity School, Alabama, and in Mary Immaculate College, Limerick. His publications include Martin Luther: His Challenge Then and Now, Food, Feast and Fast: From Ancient World to Environmental Crisis and The Persistence of Evil: A Cultural, Literary and Theological Analysis.

FURTHER DETAILS HERE

For further information, please contact Carolanne Henry at
c.henry@messenger.ie or on +353 87 637 6067


Paperback, 112 pages, 9781788126892, €12.95/£10.95, published November  2024

Carolanne Henry
Communications and Marketing Executive
Messenger Publications
Milltown Park, Dublin D06 W9Y7
IRELAND
E: c.henry@messenger.ie
T: +353 1 7758 542

M: +353 87 637 6067

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