One of the biggest challenges that the newly ordained face is preparing to preside at the Eucharist for the first time. You may have sat through hundreds of such services, but mastering the liturgy, the actions, the postures, the silences, the private prayers, the gestures and at the same time choreographing the whole so that the entire congregation may participate, is truly daunting.

Some clergy are thorough in training their deacons for this; others less so, and many deacons are simply left to fend for themselves. This book uniquely meets this very real need and addresses in practical and reassuring terms all that it is necessary to understand for conducting each stage of the Eucharistic liturgy so that all may worship:

• The greeting and gathering
• The penitential rite
• The liturgy of the word
• The liturgy of the sacrament
• The blessing and sending out

In providing a thorough grounding in liturgical theology and practice, this volume will allow ministers to develop their own presidential style with confidence and understanding.