By Lambert Beauduin, O.S.B.

“Such is the nature of man, that, without external helps, he cannot easily be raised to the meditation of divine things,” declared the Council of Trent in 1562. In his providence, God has given to his Church “certain rites”: the liturgy of Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The formulation of those rites, the manner of their celebration, the occasion of their development—all of these and more are subject as much to scrutiny as they are to devotion and appreciation. 

The aim of the liturgy is the glorification of God and the sanctification of the Christian faithful. (Pope St. Pius X)

Hence the twentieth-century Liturgical Movement, in which Lambert Beauduin, O.S.B., figured prominently. Liturgy, the Life of the Church, his only book-length work, first appeared in 1914, with an English translation following in 1926. Here he proposes a theological vision of the liturgy and a slate of practical measures for liturgical renewal in both worship and piety, including encouragement of engaged participation in the Mass and sacraments, establishment of parish celebrations of Sunday Vespers and Compline, and emphasis on the importance of the High Mass and popular use of Gregorian chant, as well as the restoration to places of honor for the Church’s seasons and feasts and the recovery of domestic liturgical traditions which affirm the bond made by Christ between heaven and earth.

Lambert Beauduin, O.S.B. (1873–1960) was a Belgian Benedictine monk and a leader of the twentieth-century Liturgical Movement. Ordained a diocesan priest in 1897, he then entered the Benedictine monastery of Mont-César, where he developed (thanks to the example and influence of its prior, Blessed Columba Marmion) his deep love for and interest in the liturgy. In the Liturgical Movement, he sought to inspire that love and interest in laity and clergy alike.

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Paperback: 158pp.

ISBN: 978-1685954185