Come to the Feast

Name: Come to the Feast
Author: Michael Kwatera, OSB

Liturgical Theology of, by, and for Everybody

Michael Kwatera, OSB

ISBN: 9780814615218, 1521

Details: 72 pgs, 5 3/8 x 8 1/4
Publication Date: 12/01/2005

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One of the strong vital signs of the assembly today is the prevalence of lay persons exercising ministerial roles within it. Such welcome developments as promoting liturgical life within our communities through an adequate formation of ministers and of all the faithful has helped make the liturgy the people's work once again. In Come to the Feast, Michael Kwatera, OSB, celebrates and affirms the valuable, necessary ministry of lay persons in the liturgy.

As an introduction to liturgical ministry or as a means of renewal in such ministry, Come to the Feast offers reflections on why liturgical ministry is important, and comments on the spirit and attitudes that can best shape such ministry. A selection of meditations and prayers drawn from various Christian traditions is included. These texts may be used for personal, prayerful preparation before liturgy.

Chapters are The Church Door Speaks, Come to the Feast! An Invitation for Guests and Servants, Changing Water into Wine, Making the Liturgical Ministry Quilt, The Waiting Lord, In Company with Angels and Archangels . . . ., Hospitality's Bed, Table, Chair and Lamp: God Really Loves to Have Us, Chosen Race, Royal Priesthood, Holy People: A Place for Us, We Have Seen the Lord! and Lift Up Your Hearts: Meditations and Prayers.

Fr. Michael Kwatera, OSB, PhD, is director of Oblates for Saint John's Abbey, Collegeville, Minnesota. He's a teacher and practitioner of Christian liturgy and the author of several Liturgical Press books, including Come to the Feast: Liturgical Ministry of, by, and for Everybody.

ISBN: 9780814615218, 1521

Details: 72 pgs, 5 3/8 x 8 1/4
Publication Date: 12/01/2005

Reviews

As an exploration of baptismal commitment in love and service, Come to the Feast provides both a practical and a spiritually formative guide for the lay minister within the parish. Through lists, prayers, and images, Kwatera collects the elements of his `theology of the liturgical minister,' and offers a resource for parish ministers seeking to enhance their own and their fellow ministers' living out of their baptismal call.

Notre Dame Center for Liturgy Bulletin

[T]he content of this book should foster helpful conversation for any group that values lay ministry and hopes to see this important ministry strengthen and grow.

Pastoral Music

Obviously, the author of Come to the Feast not only is experienced in liturgy but has reflected on it as well.

Liguorian

The primary focus of Come to the Feast is liturgy as a place of hospitality.

Liguorian

. . . offers lay ministers and priests a powerful tool in deepening understanding of everyone's place in the Mass.

Crux Exchange

This concise reflection and instruction would be extremely useful in training and renewal programs for lay ministers.

WritingWorks

In Come to the Feast Father Michael Kwatera offers liturgical ministers words that speak to their individual experiences, recognize their weaknesses, and encourage greatness in their ministries. In language which draws comfortably from Scripture and everyday life, Fr. Michael invites readers to ponder in their hearts such important topcs as hospitality, reverence, and the assembly as primary liturgical minister. Having been challenged to discern their call, liturgical ministers are asked to be `responsible for the liturgy, but not possessive of it.' The concluding chapter of meditations and prayers is specifically meant to help liturgical ministers prepare well to serve the gathered community, but readers are certain to find the whole of this little book a valuable resource for both formation and reflection.

Bea Callery, Director, Office for Lay Ministry, Diocese of Raleigh