The Holy Eucharist: Studies on the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, its Celebration and Concelebration Joseph de Sainte-Marie, OCD

The discipline of the church after Sacrosanctum Concilium, up until the 1982 Code of Canon Law and the General Instruction of the Roman Missal for the third edition of the Missal, has always asserted the freedom of priests to celebrate Mass individually. Despite this assertion, the liturgical and theological atmosphere of seminaries and religious communities has rarely favored this freedom.

In light of this, The Holy Eucharist originally published in French in 1982, explores the practice of celebrating Mass with a single presider versus Mass celebrated through concelebration. This historical and dogmatic critique finds that the practice of concelebration, especially among priests without their Ordinary presiding, is in fact a new development and not a return to an ancient norm. While the author concludes that concelebration has its due place under practical guidelines, the multiplication of Eucharistic celebrations with a single presider would make better use of the infinite riches contained in the Holy Sacrifice.

Paperback, 472 pages