Sacred And Great: A Brief Introduction To The Traditional Latin Mass by Joseph Shaw

Booklet: For Catholics used to the newer form of the Mass or Novus Ordo, experiencing the older form raises a lot of questions. 

Why has the priest got his back to me? 

Why is everything in Latin? 

Why is there so much chant, and so much silence? 

How am I supposed to participate in this liturgy? 

How might this seemingly strange, archaic ritual be spiritually fruitful for me? 

This booklet has been written to answer these and similar questions, as briefly, clearly, and serenely as possible:

1) How Do I Participate in the Traditional Mass?

2) What Does It Mean? Ceremonies and Prayers

3) Where Did It Come From? The Organic Development of the Liturgy

4) What Is It For? The Place of the Traditional Mass in the Church

Sacred And Great: A Brief Introduction To The Traditional Latin Mass (2023) ends with a helpful guide to readings and resources.

Sacred And Great: A Brief Introduction To The Traditional Latin Mass is available on Amazon (UK and USA) or directly from the publisher https://osjustipress.com/products/sacred-and-great.

About the author: Dr Joseph Shaw has a Doctorate in Philosophy from Oxford University, where he also gained a first degree in Politics and Philosophy and a graduate Diploma in Theology. He has published on Ethics and Philosophy of Religion and has edited The Case for Liturgical Restoration: Una Voce Position Papers on the Extraordinary Form (Angelico Press). He is the Chairman of the Latin Mass Society of England and Wales and President of Una Voce International. 

Shaw was also an early critic of Pope Francis’s motu proprio Traditionis custodes, which abrogated permissions for celebration of the Tridentine Mass. He teaches Philosophy at Oxford University and lives nearby with his wife and nine children.