[Book Review]; The Mass-It's What We Do

The Mass:

The Glory, the Mystery, the Tradition

Cardinal Donald Wuerl and Mike Aquilina

Image Books 2011

Mike Aquilina and Cardinal Donald Wuerl are two names that should be familiar to most Catholics in America. Cardinal Wuerl was the Bishop of Pittsburgh for 18 years before moving in 2006 to Washington D.C. where currently resides as the Archbishop of Washington. Aquilina is the Executive Vice President for the Saint Paul Center for Biblical Studies, and is a well-known author and speaker and a frequent guest on EWTN. 

Okay, so I pretty much took those descriptions from inside the book. What I know is this: Cardinal Wuerl is well-known and well-loved by many for his leadership of the Church in Pittsburgh and Washington, and for his ability to teach the faith. Aquilina is well-known because his books are very easy to read and informative, while not lacking in scholarship and depth of information. 

What this book sets out to do is to walk the reader through Holy Mass in a way that is understandable and informative, drawing from the tradition of the Church as well as the experience of two devout Catholics, one a lay man and another a priest and bishop of the Church. They're purpose for writing, they explain, is that "The Mass is what Catholics do," and yet they "find the experience more rewarding...when [they] understand the Mass as [they] pray it" (pages 21, 23). As Cardinal Francis George, OMI, Archbishop of Chicago, says in the Preface, "active participation in the Mass is the very soul of participation in the life of the Church"; Cardinal Wuerl and Aquilina use the pages of this book to try and help each person find that active participation in his or her own life. 

What I really liked about this book is that it simply and briefly takes the reader through every part of the Mass, not dwelling too long on any small detail but explaining the Church's reasoning for every single part. Whether you are a person who has never studied the Mass or even really paid much attention at Mass, or you are a person who has studied the Mass extensively, this book is a good resource. For those faithful Mass-goers and well-studied Catholics, this book will probably not change your life; but it will certainly help you enter more fully into the Mass the next time you attend. 

In my own life, I have already seen this book pay off. Since starting the book, every Mass I have attended has called to mind certain aspects of what the authors explained. Whether it was the reminder to come early and reflect before Mass, the chapter explaining the importance of the readings, or the beautiful reflection on the Holy, Holy, Holy, this book has already helped me get more out of Mass. This book didn't change my perspective on the Mass, but it certainly helped increase my desire to go to Mass, to receive Him, and to adore Him. 

To know Jesus is to love him. To gaze upon him is to be overwhelmed by that love. Knowing what we know--about his memorial, about his real presence--how can we help but adore him? (p.169)

If you want to learn more about this book or to find the book through Image Books' website, you can visit it here: The Mass. If you want to learn more about the Authors, visit the bio page: Cardinal Wuerl Bio and Mike Aquilina Bio

"I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review as a part of their blogging for books program; you can learn more about this by visiting the program's website here Blogging for Books."