Synopses & Reviews
We somehow think that during the eucharistic prayer at Mass we are expected to be quiet, prayerful, and attentive-if we can be, with our children or other neighbors in the pews distracting us. In this inviting book Barry Hudock shows us that the eucharistic prayer is indeed the most dynamic and explosive" moment of Christian worship-in fact, of Christian life. Hudock takes us back to the beginnings of formal eucharistic worship in the early church, then forward to Vatican II and beyond, unpacking and exploring the eucharistic prayers old and new in words and concepts accessible to al of us. He also offers us, as the fruit of the journey, a set of points for a eucharistic prayer spirituality to prepare us for the explosion into life that is the whole purpose of our being.
Barry Hudock is publisher for the parish market at Liturgical Press. He is the author of Faith Meets World: The Gift and Challenge of Catholic Social Teaching (Liguori). He received an STL in sacramental theology from The Catholic University of America. He lives with his family in Albany, Minnesota."
Review
Written from the pew, The Eucharistic Prayer has proved a fine study for lay people without background in liturgical things
. Every study of liturgy struggles to show its connection with the rest of life. Hudock is especially successful in uniting the two
. Hudock has distilled the finest theological research on the eucharistic prayer and made it available to the average person who wants to know more.Pastoral Music
Review
[The Eucharistic Prayer] can draw many non-academic readers into a new discovery of the richness of the eucharistic prayers and their structure, meaning, history, theology, and praying. It would be especially helpful to put in the hands of neophytes and used for mystogogical catechesis.Joyce Ann Zimmerman, CPPS, Liturgical Ministry
Review
Every now and then you hope for a book that will be scholarly, easy to read, pastoral, witty, very historical, practical, and helpful to a wide audience, especially on a very important topic. Barry Hudock has written such a book
. This book would be helpful for a self-study or group sharing. I highly encourage every priest, deacon, and layperson to purchase this book to see how they participate in the eucharistic prayer and how they may grow in their understanding and awareness of the high point of the entire celebration of Mass.John Thomas Lane, SSS, Emmanuel Magazine
Review
Barry Hudock rightly points out that the most fundamental thing the church has to say to God is thank you” (p 43). The churchs great prayer of thanksgiving is often perceived, however, as a low point at Mass, often because priest and people have not reflected on the meaning, history, and content of the eucharistic prayers. With his perspective of this prayer as a doxological proclamation of the gospel (p 5), Hudock provides a well-documented, yet quite readable study of the history and component parts of the Roman Rites multiple Eucharistic prayers, and offers reflections on the special thrust of each of the prayers currently in use. To conclude, Hudock links liturgy with life and offers his thoughts on developing an authentic contemporary spirituality based on the Eucharistic prayer.Dennis C. Smolarski, SJ, Chair, Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Santa Clara University
Review
A first-rate piece of work. This treatment of the eucharistic prayer is both respectable and very accessible. It should be very helpful in catechizing for the new translation of the Mass.John F. Baldovin, SJ, Professor of Historical and Liturgical Theology, Boston College School of Theology and Ministry
Review
Especially helpful in this book is the section in which Hudock relates the history of each of the four major Eucharistic Prayers and explains the differences between them.Our Sunday Visitor
Synopsis
We somehow think that during the eucharistic prayer at Mass we are expected to be quiet, prayerful, and attentiveif we can be, with our children or other neighbors in the pews distracting us. In this inviting book Barry Hudock shows us that the eucharistic prayer is indeed the most dynamic and explosive moment of Christian worshipin fact, of Christian life. He also offers us, as the fruit of the journey, a set of points for a eucharistic prayer spirituality to prepare us for the explosion into life that is the whole purpose of our being.
About the Author
Barry Hudock is the author of Faith Meets World: The Gift and Challenge of Catholic Social Teaching and The Eucharistic Prayer: A User’s Guide. His articles have appeared in America, Commonweal, Our Sunday Visitor, U.S. Catholic, and elsewhere. He works as a publisher at Liturgical Press and lives with his family in Albany, Minnesota.