With Christ Through the Year

The Liturgical Year in Word and Symbols

In his Motu Proprio on sacred music issued in 1903, the saintly Pope Pius X urged a deeper understanding and an "active participation in the most holy mysteries and in the public and solemn prayer of the Church" (that is the liturgy of the Church).

The word liturgy is of Greek origin and means public work or service. In Greece it was used to designate every citizen's contribution to the welfare of his country, work for which he was obligated according to his position or office and responsibilities.

In the language of the Christian Church also, liturgy means a public service. It is that service or worship which Christians, members of the Mystical Body baptized in the name of Christ our Savior, owe to the Triune God, man's Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier.

Liturgy is neither play nor recreation nor artistic enjoyment. It is a service, and service is a matter of duty. Therefore, the more we enter into a loving appreciation of the life of the Church as it is brought before us in the course of the liturgical year, the more complete and efficient will be our service.

With Christ Through the Year is an explanatory and inspirational guide to the spirit of the liturgy. It is meant to take the reader to the meaning behind external appearances. The book contains a definition of the liturgy, an explanation of its role in man's life, the outline of the Church year according to its Temporal and Sanctoral cycles, and more than 60 liturgical symbols illustrated and explained.