This profound book contains two commentaries: one on the Beatitudes and the other on the Mass, which make clear the intimate connection between spirituality and celebration. Dom Bird draws from a lifetime's reading of Scripture and the Fathers to bring out the meaning of each Beatitude and each part of the Mass, often using his pastoral experience among the poor of Peru for illustration. At the end of each commentary on the Beatitudes he examines the lives of St. Seraphim (an Orthodox hermit) and St. John Vianney (the Curé d'Ars) to show the Beatitudes at work in the lives of these two great Saints. His section by section commentary on the Mass is invaluable.

This title is part of the Hillenbrand Books imprint, studies series.

Dom David Bird, OSB, entered Belmont Abbey in 1955 at the age of eighteen. He studied theology at Belmont and at Fribourg University in Switzerland, and taught in the school and monastery. A keen participant in ecumenical gatherings and theological discussions, in this context he first encountered the orthodox Church. In 1981, after two years on the parish in Whitehaven, he was sent with two others to make a monastic foundation in Tambogrande in northern Peru. In the event, he spent all his time in parishes in the dioceses of Peru and Cajamarca. Only since July 2002, has he been living in the monastery where he helps in the formation of twelve enthusiastic young Peruvian monks.

Paperback, 6 x 9.