Praying the Mass, Vol. II: The Prayers of the Priest by Jeffrey Pinyan (review)

236 Antiphon 16.3 (2012) greater depth to the author’s own voice. A more complete exposition of Sacrosanctum Concilium and its ongoing interpretation would also add authority to the volume’s arguments. The bibliography is narrow and indicates the book’s overall range of sources. These limitations, however, speak more to its audience than its thoughtful content. This book would be a welcome supplement to larger catechetical efforts in a parish, campus ministry, or small faith-sharing setting. The volume’s reflection questions promote discussion of its treatment of the prayers of the people, and making it ideal for group study. Shawn Colberg Saint John’s University Collegeville, Minnesota Jeffrey Pinyan Praying the Mass, Vol. II: The Prayers of the Priest Charleston SC: Jeffrey Pinyan, 2011 iii+239 pp. Paperback $16.00 Treatments of the full, active, and conscious participation of the laity at Mass often focus on the specific roles played by faithful participating in the liturgy. This emphasis can have the unintended consequence of suggesting that the roles played by others, most especially the celebrant , are not worthy of the same attention and study for the laity. Jeffrey Pinyan’s self-published work provides some balance on what it means to “pray the Mass” by unpacking the liturgical action of the celebrant at Mass. This second volume, “The Prayers of the Priest,” follows a first volume that focused on “The Prayers of the People.” Paired with the first, this second volume allows readers to progress more deeply into the fullness of the Divine Liturgy and the mysterium that it conveys by giving useful commentary on the verbal and nonverbal actions of the priest at Mass. The book’s introduction provides a useful orientation to what it means to belong to a “priesthood,” and to the role played by the ordained minister at Mass. It notes that an awareness of these prayers is integral to full participation in the Mass because the priest offers his prayers “‘in the name of the entire holy people and of all present’ (SC 33), so that the whole congregation can pray the Mass with the priest” (4). This sense that the entire people can pray with the celebrant through a proper disposition towards the priest’s prayers offers new ground for formation and catechesis concerning the Mass. Pinyan’s book takes the introduction of the new English translation of the Missale Romanum as an occasion to familiarize readers with 237 Book Reviews the changes they may hear in the priest’s prayers, and form readers through the practice of liturgical catechesis. Pinyan anchors this latter task of catechesis in the ancient practice of mystagogy, which he divides into the work of, first,”interpreting” the liturgical rites in light of salvation history, secondly, “explaining” the signs and symbols used in the rites, and, thirdly, “relating” the rites to all dimensions of Christian life (15). The author carries this tripartite exercise into each of the book’s eight chapters. For example, each chapter culminates in a set of reflection questions arranged into these three categories. The first two chapters, “Preparing for Prayer” and “Ceremonial Actions ,” address specific topics that precede the Mass itself, such as vesting. The remaining six chapters follow the Introductory Rites, Liturgy of the Word, Offertory Prayers, Eucharistic Prayer, Communion Rite, and Concluding Rites, respectively. Throughout these chapters, the volume helpfully provides the texts for all the prayers said by the celebrant in the Ordinary Form of the Mass, including the Latin text for comparison to the English translation. Also helpful are regular scriptural references to both the prayers and the larger liturgical significance behind the prayers. Frequent and apt excurses follow particular prayers, gestures, or other liturgical action in a given chapter. For example, in Chapter Three, Pinyan offers an extended treatment of the ways in which Jesus may be appropriately thought of as an “altar.” These explanations illumine the reason behind the priest’s approach and reverencing of the altar in the opening procession . In these ways, Praying the Mass offers helpful points for reflection as it proceeds through the liturgy’s rites. This book’s strengths lay in its thorough attention to the words of the priest’s...