The Liturgical Year: The Spiraling Adventure of the Spiritual Life - The Ancient Practices Series [Paperback]

Joan Chittister (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 28, 2010 | Series: Ancient Practices

A journey of the soul through the map of Christian time.

The liturgical year, beginning on the first Sunday of Advent and carrying through the following November, is the year that sets out to attune the life of the Christian to the life of Jesus, the Christ.

What may at first seem to be simply an arbitrary arrangement of ancient holy days, or liturgical seasons, this book explains their essential relationship to one another and their ongoing meaning to us today. It is an excursion into life from the Christian perspective, from the viewpoint of those who set out not only to follow Jesus but to live and think as Jesus did.

And it proposes to help us to year after year immerse ourselves into the sense and substance of the Christian life until, eventually, we become what we say we are—followers of Jesus all the way to the heart of God. It is an adventure in human growth; it is an exercise in spiritual ripening.

A volume in the eight book classic series, The Ancient Practices, with a foreword by Phyllis Tickle, General Editor. 

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Sister Joan Chittister, OSB, is a Benedictine nun and international lecturer who has been a leading voice in spirituality for over 30 years. She has authored 40 books, including her most recent, the critically acclaimed The Gift of Years.  

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (December 28, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0849946077
• ISBN-13: 978-0849946073
• Product Dimensions: 5.6 x 0.7 x 8.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (174 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #342,616 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Joan Chittister, OSB (1936- ) is a Benedictine Sister of Erie, PA. She is the author of over 45 books--twelve of which have won Catholic Press Association Awards--two in 2012: Monastery of the Heart and Happiness. Her three books released in 2012 are: Following the Path from Random House and The Art of Life and Aspects of the Heart from Twenty-Third Publications . Her book, The Monastery of the Heart: an invitation to a meaningful life, is prelude to a movement for all seekers: Monasteries of the Heart, recently begun by her Benedictine community. Sister Joan is an international speaker who inspires both her audiences and readers with her passion for justice, for equality and for peace, especially for women in both society and the church. She is a regular web columnist for the National Catholic Reporter (ncronline.org) and Huffington Post (Huffingtonpost.com). Her PhD is from Penn State University in Speech-Communication Theory, her masters from the University of Notre Dame. She serves as Executive Director of Benetvision, a research and resource center for contemporary spirituality. (joanchittister.org)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 36 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars The Why of Liturgy November 17, 2009

By Jennifer Gerhardt

Format:Hardcover

A few months ago I signed up to review books for Thomas Nelson. It's not prestigious or anything--anyone with a blog can do it. I thought I'd enjoy it because in exchange for a review I get a free book. Nothing motivates me like free books.

This last book I read (The Liturgical Year by Joan Chittister) was totally outside my paradigm. I'd heard of liturgy, but I really didn't know what it involved, what it looked like, or why people did it. After reading this book, I'm fascinated.

According to Chittister, "The liturgical year is the year that sets out to attune the life of the Christian to the life of Jesus, the Christ. It proposes year after year, to immerse us over and over again into the sense and substance of the Christian life until, eventually, we become what we say we are--followers of Jesus all the way to the heart of God."

She had me at "attune."

This book is a powerful explanation of the why of liturgy. It mines layer upon layer of meaning in even the most simple acts. Chittister won't let Christmas be about gifts or Easter about a historical event--she repeatedly emphasizes the importance of seeing Jesus' immediate presence and impending return in every commemoration of the past.

I love this book because it emphasizes the importance of living in concert with the life of Jesus, of allowing Jesus' life to inform and transform mine. I love, too, the idea of experiencing the full spectrum of life with Christ--uncontainable joy at Easter, deep sorrow on Good Friday, anticipation at Christmas, selflessness at Lent.

I like the idea of on-purpose emotion, of crafted experiences. I've often wondered if in an effort to avoid being emotion-driven (in the churches I attend regularly), we've stripped the life of Christ of much of its power. By refusing to craft emotional experiences in our worship services aren't we missing something? Anyway, that's definitely a tangent. :)

Chittister writes beautifully. Every other sentence demands a highlighter. Consider these quotes:

* "In the liturgical year we walk with Jesus through all the details of His life--and He walks with us in ours."

* "For Christians, Sundays arrive like moments out of time, bringing in their invisible mist, the sight of another way to be human."

* "We must do more than simply go through the Advent calendar; we must develop in us an Advent heart."

As good as her writing is, this tendency toward the abstract and toward sentences that stand alone as well as they do in context actually bogs down the book. You never really feel like you're hearing a story or like you're on a journey. It's more like riding the subway than riding a train--if that makes sense.

My other big beef with this book is that it's being marketed to a diverse "Christian" audience and yet the author assumes a rudimentary understanding of liturgy from her reader. Most Evangelicals have little to no familiarity with the concept. I wanted an appendix with the actual calendar or a list of feast days and their significances.

Overall, the book was not very practical. It told me why to observe the liturgy and even how on an intellectual level, but it didn't tell me how in a practical, get my hands dirty way. I don't really know what observing the Advent would look like. Would I buy gifts? Would I read certain scriptures? I definitely would have benefited from specifics.

Still, I'm so glad I read this. And, as I gear up for Christmas, I have a lot to think about.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars The Liturgical Year by Joan Chittister November 17, 2009

By T. Kerns

Format:Kindle Edition

The Liturgical Year-the spiraling adventure of the spiritual life by Joan Chillister
I was eagerly anticipating this book, the second from Thomas Nelson Publishers for Book Review by bloggers. I have a thirst for knowledge about the church and the liturgical year because I grew up in a baptist church and only recently began incorporating practices from the churches calendar into my life. I was somewhat disappointed with this book however.

It is written by Joan Chittister who is a nun, a member of the Benedictine sisters of Erie, Pennsylvania. She is also a lecturer and has authored many award winning books. I found this book to be very textbook like and didn't find many practical ways to put into practice the liturgy she writes about. I think that was what my heart was seeking.

Advent will be here very soon. I relish the idea of waiting for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Chittister said " The real power of the liturgical year is its spiritual capacity to touch and plumb the depths of the human experience, to stir the human heart." I think the advent season is where this begins. The beauty of advent is that it is a season of JOY.

Most of us celebrate Christmas, without giving any thought to the church calendar or how it fits into it. I have been studying the names of God so I found this quote on page 83 to be especially meaningful " He is Wisdom, Adonnai, Flower of Jesse's Stem, Key of David, Radiant Dawn, God of All the Earth, Emmanuel-God with Us."

One chapter that I did learn from was Chapter 16- Asceticism. The vestments at church are not something I am familiar with. This was interesting. The idea of Lent and how you can grow spiritually is very intriguing and challenging.

This is a very easy & quick read. I wish it were a little more informative. But it has whetted my spiritual appetite to seek out more info, I guess that is a good thing.

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars if you don't have any use for liturgy, you need this book November 8, 2009

By jaigner

Format:Hardcover

ancient practices: yes, please
My newest review in the Thomas Nelson Blogger Book Review program is by a Benedictine nun, Joan Chittister. It is called The Liturgical Year: The Spiraling Adventure of the Spiritual Life and it is from "The Ancient Practices Series" which encourages Christians to draw upon the

It is not that I agree with Chittister at every detail, but that I strongly believe modern Christianity yearns for connection with the long tradition of faith and the freedom that is found in liturgy. Our church is fragmented and segregated by a pervasive pragmatism and hyperactive stimulus. We need the devotion and discipline Chittister outlines in this book.

When we participate in the practices of the liturgical year, our hearts participate in the life of Christ. We are connected more deeply with all who have heard His voice throughout the ages. A wholehearted, yearly revisiting of this cycle renews us, increases our faith and brings us face to face with the love of Christ and can make us more like him.

The framework of the liturgical year can actually bring us to the place in which we can meet Christ. Chittister gets this right. Exactly right. You will not find many specific ideas and methods, but that's not the point. If you're like me and were raised in a tradition that had little use for the richness of historical Christian faith, this book is for you. You need it, even if you don't think you do.