Journey into the Heart of God: Living the Liturgical Year

by Philip H. Pfatteicher

Overview

Journey into the Heart of God is a captivating exploration of the history and evolution of the Church Year: the cycle of seasons in the Christian tradition that begins with Advent and culminates with Easter and is marked by the celebrations of saints, feast days, and the reading of Scripture as appointed by the Church.

Primarily through deft examination of the Western Church, Philip H. Pfatteicher reveals how the liturgical calendar has been transformed over thousands of years. It is a work of art—the collaborative achievement of generations of hands and minds. He shows how the church year dramatizes and grounds the strange complexity of the human experience and how it encourages honesty, humility, growth, and maturity in those who live by it.

Pfatteicher also offers insight into the liturgical texts of the Eucharist, the less familiar Daily Office, and the people's theology voiced in hymns from a broad spectrum of ancient and modern traditions. It will be an indispensable resource for both clergy and laity in the liturgical denominations, including Catholicism, Lutheranism, and Anglicanism.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199997121
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	10/23/2013
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	432
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.50(d)

About the Author

Philip H. Pfatteicher was a parish pastor in South Philadelphia and in the South Bronx. For thirty years he served concurrently as Professor of English and Religious Studies and campus pastor at East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania. He returned to parish ministry as Associate Pastor of First Lutheran Church in Pittsburgh and taught liturgics and hymnology at Duquesne University. He and his wife now live in Melrose, Massachusetts, and he is a member of the staff of the Church of the Advent in Boston.

Table of Contents

Contents

Preface
Introduction
Chapter 1. Anno Domini: Time and History
Chapter 2. Advent
Chapter 3. Christmas
Chapter 4. Epiphany
Chapter 5. Quadragesima. Lent
Chapter 6. The Great and Holy Week
Chapter 7. Pascha: The Pentecost
Chapter 8. Ordinary [ordered] Time
Chapter 9. The Sanctoral Calendar
Chapter 10. Into the Heart of God
Bibliography
A Short Glossary
Notes
Index

Editorial Reviews

"Extraordinary! That's the only conclsuion I can come to about this informative, yet extremely devotional work...This work is worth reading and rereading as one anticipates each new liturgical season of sermon and service preparation or seeks inspiration for proclamation or choral presentation."—Concordia Theological Journal

"It is a book that one should read from cover to cover and then let sit. ...make it your companion, journeying with God through the cycle of faith. Highly Recommended."
—The Journal of the Association of Anglican Musicians

"An excellent book, which merits wide readership and use not only by students and teachers of the liturgical year but by pastors, preachers, and other leaders responsible for the celebration of the church's feasts, fasts, and seasons. There are many riches to be mined and I am very pleased to give it a high recommendation."—Maxwell E. Johnson, Worship

"What is offered in this book is a unique blend of liturgical history with quite profound devotional and theological commentary on the liturgical year as it is currently practiced in Roman Catholic, American Episcopal and Lutheran traditions. Particularly valuable is the inclusion of reference to hymns commonly sung at the various seasons, together with extracts from patristic homilies and other material that illuminate the relevant liturgical texts." —Canon Paul F. Bradshaw, Professor of Liturgy, University of Notre Dame

"Philip Pfatteicher, a Professor of English and liturgical scholar, begins and ends his book with literature - from Rudyard Kipling to John Bunyan. In the pages between he takes us upon an extraordinary pilgrimage, followed by the Church each year and yet ever renewed in its life. This is a work of mature liturgical scholarship, which wears its learning lightly and never loses the wonder of the journey of the spirit, brought to life most vividly in familiar hymns to which it repeatedly returns and brings to life afresh as the Christian drama of salvation unfolds from Advent to Advent." —Professor David Jasper, Professor of Literature and Theology, University of Glasgow; Distinguished Overseas Professor, Renmin University of China

"Christians are a pilgrim people on the journey of faith. They are also a forgetful people who need constant reminders of their identity as God's people. In this detailed and helpful resource that utilizes liturgical texts, classic hymns, descriptions of customs, and commentary, Pfatteicher shows how the liturgical year is a reminder of the events of the Gospel, yet also makes them present as a living reality for the church today." —Karen B. Westerfield Tucker, Professor of Worship, Boston University

"Journey into the Heart of God views the liturgy through a musician's (or worship leader's) eyes. This book will be an indispensible resource for leaders in the liturgical tradition and those in non-liturgical traditions wanting to recapture some of the rich historical tradition of the liturgy. Students and laypeople wanting to better understand the liturgy will also find it a tremendous tool." —Artistic Theologian

"Extraordinary! That's my conclusion about this informative, yet extremely devotional work. Pfatteicher drew me into the conversation and liturgical pilgrimage with his winsome writing style an ddeeply spiritual commentaries. I found myself singing the hymns he so revently noted as I gathered sermonic ideas for future preaching opportunities. This work is worth reading and rereading as one anticipates each liturgical season of sermon - and service-preparation or seeks inspiration for proclamation or choral presentation." —Lutheran Quarterly

From the Publisher