{"product_id":"9781594711701","title":"Seasons of Celebration: Meditations on the Cycle of Liturgical Feasts","description":"\u003cp\u003eForty years after his death, fans of Thomas Merton—from a wide array of faith traditions—continue to consult the spiritual wisdom found in his voluminous writings. \u003cbr\u003eMerton called Seasons of Celebration his \"Liturgy book\" and this edition includes a new foreword by renowned Merton scholar William H. Shannon. These essays remain timely in view of the ongoing liturgical renewal initiated by Vatican II and are a must-read for those seeking to deepen their grasp of the liturgy and the cycles of the Church year.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEndorsements: \u003cbr\u003e\"Merton has accomplished what we continue to struggle to do: reunite liturgy and spirituality, and make liturgy the fountain of life.\"\u003cbr\u003eDavid Fagerberg\u003cbr\u003eAssociate Professor of Theology, Liturgical Studies\u003cbr\u003eUniversity of Notre Dame\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A quiet joy echoes from its pages, the alleluia of a man who has sensed the glory of the coming of the Lord.\"\u003cbr\u003eThe Catholic World\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMerton's writings are as important today as when they were originally published. Merton is concerned with showing how the liturgy breaks down dichotomies between temporal and spiritual worlds. In doing so, Merton makes clear that liturgical renewal is not something that can be imposed or legislated. Real liturgical renewal belongs to all members of the Church. It is the participation of every part of our lives in God's one cosmic liturgy. The more Merton's prose is formed by monastic life, the more it engages with the world beyond the monastery, combining the most realistic view of the world's ills with the greatest hope for redemption in the unfathomable depths of God's love.\u003cbr\u003eWilliam T. Cavanaugh\u003cbr\u003eProfessor of Theology\u003cbr\u003eUniversity of St. Thomas, St.Paul, MN\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA rich and remarkably relevant collection! Merton challenges Christians to be and become a community of worship, a community of pardon, a community called to ongoing reform and renewal in liturgy and life. For Merton, celebrating the seasons of the liturgical year is an invitation to enter ever more deeply into the mystery of life in Christ.\u003cbr\u003eChristine M. Bochen\u003cbr\u003eProfessor of Religious Studies\u003cbr\u003eNazareth College \u003cbr\u003eEditor of Thomas Merton: Essential Writings\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWriting as a monk of a contemplative order and as a man fully alive to his times, [Merton] is able to combine, as in so much of his writing, the deep insight of a man of prayer with a keen and vigorous appreciation of liturgy as renewed today. In these essays he considers the major liturgical themes from Advent to Easter so that their eternal meaning and relevance is made clear. It is a book that belongs to the monastic life which experiences liturgy as the pivot of daily life wherein the community continually realizes the mysteries of the Kingdom as \"God in Christ reconciling the world to Himself.\" It is the essential function of the monk to live the liturgy in this way; when a monk is also able to communicate this interior heart of the liturgy to his contemporaries, as Fr. Merton does here, he offers a way in which new and unfamiliar liturgical forms can become again \"wells of living water, springing up into eternal life\" (John 4:14).\u003cbr\u003eCardinal Basil Hume\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe book is full of useful, helpful, valuable, penetrating comments.\u003cbr\u003eRev. Robert W. Hovda\u003cbr\u003eThe Critic  \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ave Maria Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47031190323440,"sku":"9781594711701","price":17.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781594711701_p0.jpg?v=1763810965","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781594711701","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}