Fr. Uwe Michael Lang on how gesture, art, music, and architecture make present the sacred in the liturgy

San Francisco, December 29, 2015 – An inspiring new book from Ignatius Press, Signs of the Holy One by Uwe Michael Lang, shows that Catholic liturgy is far more than its texts. It is a synthesis that also includes several other elements—gesture, music, art, and architecture—which are aspects of the non-verbal language of the sacred and are what make the liturgy beautiful.

Father Lang’s consideration of the beauty of the liturgy addresses the modern notion that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, that the experience of beauty is entirely subjective. This idea makes it difficult to articulate criteria for what is beautiful, yet sacred liturgy does indeed have objective measures for evaluating its principal elements. Reflecting upon these and quoting from authoritative Church documents, Father Lang discusses sacred music, art, and architecture, and demonstrates how the beauty of these elements makes present the sacred.

Pope Benedict XVI said, “The greatness of the liturgy depends—we shall have to repeat this frequently—on its non-spontaneity.” Continuous liturgical experimentation is unable to induce a sense of meaning or peace, writes Father Lang, because novelty does not satisfy the yearning for the Transcendent within the human psyche, which is rarely far from the surface.

Cardinal George Pell, the Prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy, says, “In this wonderful book, Fr. Lang explores the beauty of sacred symbols and actions in the Catholic liturgy and explains why their rediscovery is important in our modern age. Deserves to be widely read.”

“There are many reasons to recommend this book, including its convenient gathering together of many sources and documents of the Church, its ample footnotes and bibliography, its concise summaries of key issues, and its evaluation of various viewpoints concerning the sacred in contemporary theology,” says Fr. Samuel F. Weber, O.S.B., author of The Office of Compline.

Dom Alcuin Reid, author of The Organic Development of the Liturgy, says, “Fr. Lang reminds us that the liturgy is first and foremost the action of Christ Himself. He provides a welcome resource for that formation in the spirit and power of the liturgy for which the Second Vatican Council called.”

Milton Walsh, author of In Memory of Me: Meditations on the Roman Canon, explains, “Fr. Lang urges us to think about liturgy as an event, not merely a collection of texts. After providing a comprehensive anthropological and theological foundation for sacred worship, he invites his readers to reflect on how the liturgy is performed.”

“This is an original synthesis, based upon a sound grasp of modern anthropological and theological foundations, showing the intrinsic connection between the beautiful and the sacred,” says Stanford University Professor William Mahrt,
 
About the Author:
Uwe Michael Lang has an M.A. in theology from the University of Vienna and a Ph.D. in theology from the University of Oxford. A priest of the Oratory of Saint Philip Neri in London, he is currently Lecturer in Theology at Heythrop College, University of London, and on the Visiting Faculty at the Liturgical Institute in Mundelein, Ill. Among his publications are Turning Towards the Lord and The Voice of the Church at Prayer, both published by Ignatius Press.
 
Uwe Michael Lang, the author of Signs of the Holy One, is available for interviews about this book.   
   
To request a review copy or an interview with Fr. Lang, please contact: Rose Trabbic, Publicist, Ignatius Press at (239)867-4180 or rose@ignatius.com
 
Product Facts:
Title: SIGNS OF THE HOLY ONE
Liturgy, Ritual, and Expression of the Sacred
Author: Uwe Michael Lang
Release Date: October 2015
Length: 180 pages
Price: $17.95
ISBN: 978-1-62164-007-3 • Softcover
Order: 1-800-651-1531 • www.ignatius.com