The Liturgical Environment

What the Documents Say

Thousands of readers have found Fr. Mark Boyer’s The Liturgical Environment: What the Documents Say to be a useful compendium of the church’s law and guidelines on the liturgical environment. Rooted in the norm of active participation as the guiding principle for all liturgical celebration, each chapter considers the ecclesial documents that pertain to the particular objects under discussion, the theology found in the documents, and the praxis that flows from the theology. Now in its third edition, The Liturgical Environment has proven to be an essential resource for all those involved in planning, building, renovating, decorating, and worshiping in a sacred environment.

This new edition is significantly expanded and revised to take into account important material from the Third Edition of the Roman Missal, the new General Instruction of the Roman Missal, Pope Benedict’s apostolic exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis, and the Vatican’s Instruction on the Eucharist, Redemptionis Sacramentum. Additional material has been added on celebrating the parish feast day, principles involved in decorating, and fakery in the liturgical environment. New information on the font and various baptismal scenarios for the Easter Vigil is also included. Three new chapters focus on celebrating marriages, funerals, and anointing the sick; on the concept of progressive solemnity in the liturgy; and on liturgical furniture for conference use when Mass is not celebrated in a church. Finally, new discussion questions present opportunities for reflection and discussion.