Understanding the General Instruction of Roman Missal

Here is the only book on the GIRM that offers a critical theological appreciation of the work, uncovering the various theological strands present, bringing out the key principles, and identifying some of the inner tensions. The text attempts to unlock the rich theological base of the GIRM, without avoiding its more difficult paradoxes. This critical perspective allows for a fuller interpretation of the text, and may provide something of an antidote both to rubricism and liturgical laxity. The book opens with an examination of the principles of interpretation that are found throughout the GIRM and inform its theology and practice. Chapter two looks at some of explicitly theological themes that can be found across the Instruction. Chapter three contains a review of the theology of church in the Instruction. This book is a perfect text for introductory liturgy course at undergraduate and graduate levels, and also for instructions for liturgy teams, seminary lectures, and deacon formation. It fits in with any study of the Roman Missal, of the Mass, and of liturgy in general.