Enter more deeply into the Church’s season of preparation for the coming of Christ.
Volume 1 of Dom Prosper Guéranger’s monumental The Liturgical Year is devoted entirely to Advent, the opening season of the Church’s liturgical year.
Dom Guéranger guides the reader through the history, meaning, prayers, and ancient traditions of Advent while explaining how the Church prepares her children for the coming of Our Lord at Christmas. Far more than a collection of seasonal reflections, this volume follows the actual prayer of the Church through the four weeks of Advent, combining spiritual meditation with the texts and traditions of the sacred liturgy.
Readers will explore:
- The history and development of Advent
- The spiritual mystery and purpose of the season
- Traditional Catholic practices for Advent
- Morning and evening prayers
- Guidance for assisting at Mass and receiving Holy Communion during Advent
- Vespers and Compline
- The Masses, prayers, and meditations for each Sunday and weekday of Advent
- The Church’s growing expectation of the Nativity as Christmas approaches
Dom Guéranger shows how Advent is not merely a countdown to Christmas, but a profound season of longing, penance, hope, and preparation—uniting the Church’s remembrance of Christ’s first coming at Bethlehem with her expectation of His coming again.
Originally written to help Catholics enter more fully into the prayer and worship of the Church, The Liturgical Year became one of the great devotional and liturgical works of Catholic tradition. Across the complete fifteen-volume series, Dom Guéranger leads the reader through the entire ecclesiastical year, explaining Catholic doctrine, the mysteries of the Faith, the history of the Church, ancient liturgical traditions, feasts, devotions, and the lives of the saints.
Volume 1: Advent is an ideal companion for anyone who wants to experience Advent according to the mind of the Church and arrive at Christmas spiritually prepared to celebrate the birth of Christ.
By: Dom Prosper Guéranger, O.S.B.
Translated by: Dom Laurence Shepherd, O.S.B.
Series: The Liturgical Year, Volume 1 of 15
