To a deplorable extent, Christians accept Church rituals as sacred but baffling heirlooms from the Church's past. It is to remedy this situation that Father Danielou has written this book. The Bible and the Liturgy illuminates, better than has ever before been done, the vital and meaningful bond between Bible and liturgy. Father Danielou aims at bringing clearly before his reader's minds the fact that the Church's liturgical rites and feasts are intended, not only to transmit the grace of the sacraments, but to instruct the faithful in their meaning as well as the meaning of the whole Christian life. It is through the sacraments in their role as signs that we learn. So that their value will be appreciated, Danielou attempts to help us rediscover the significance of these rites so that the sacraments may once again be thought of as the prolongation of the great works of God in the Old Testament and the New.

About the Author

Jean Danielou, S.J. (1905-1974) was the author of numerous works, including Why the Church?, The Angels and Their Mission: According to the Fathers of the Church, and Prayer: The Mission of the Church.

Reviews

"No serious student of the Liturgy, no cleric especially, will want to miss the depths of meaning conveyed by the sacramental signs which this book reveals." -The Catholic World

"Danielou examines the sign-language of the Sacraments and of the Feasts...as this language is explained by the Fathers, who, in turn, based their interpretration on those given in the New Testament and in Tradition. The present study is published in the hope, therefore, that it will prove of great value to all who are interested in learning, and in instructing others in, the meaning of Christianity." -Michael A. Mathis, C.S.C., Editor, Liturgical Studies

"Father Danielou shows a life-long, intimate friendship with the early fathers of the church. With an amazing ease and dexterity he will call upon these holy writers to explain the early origin as well as the deeper and more primitive meaning of the sacramental rites. . . . [The Bible and the Liturgy] will provide a much deeper understanding of our principal liturgical rites in themselves and in their relation to the Passion. . . . There is much profit and inspiration in this book, so wonderfully rich in patristic lore." -The Passionist

"Danielou offers us a rich synthesis of the profound meaning of the sacramental rites and feasts. The book is written most properly for a wide public; its contents are intended for the members of God's people who, whether in parishes or cloisters, celebrate the feasts of the Church and take part in her sacraments. It is of high importance for pastoral liturgy and catechetical instruction." -Worship

"[T]he book awakens the reader to the depth and dimension and unity that characterize divine activities." -Religious Education

Book Information
ISBN 9780268003739
Author Jean Danielou
Format Paperback
Page Count 384
Imprint University of Notre Dame Press
Publisher University of Notre Dame Press
Weight(grams) 563g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 152mm * 22mm