No Catholic can be unaware of the crisis in Catholic liturgy. Even priests are often bewildered by the contradictory information put out by liturgical "experts." This one-of-a-kind book cuts through the confusion because it makes liturgical issues understandable for the laity. "Mass Confusion" empowers priests and laity alike to deal with the "liturgical elite." It explains what the Church does and doesn't allow in the liturgy. It gives you answers to your questions on hundreds of liturgical issues, distilled from a mountain of liturgical documents. It silences personal "interpretation" of the Church's liturgical law. And it documents your right to have Mass celebrated as the Church intended. Best of all, it provides this information in a clear and concise way. "Priests are pulled to the 'left' and to the 'right' by groups with different agendas. This book cuts through the agendas and helps us steer a course toward a liturgy that is valid, licit, joyful, and focused on God rather than on the 'community.'" -Mitch Pacwa, S.J., author of "Father, Forgive Me, For I Am Frustrated" "James Akin has assembled texts that govern the Church's life of worship and has done so in 'user-friendly' style. We should hope and pray that this effort to end 'Mass Confusion' will bring about genuine 'Mass Appeal.'" -Very Reverend Peter M.J. Stravinskas, S.T.D., Editor for The Catholic Response "[T]his book is essential reading for any faithful Catholic who wishes to vindicate his right to true and proper worship." -- Charles Wilson, Executive Director, St. Joseph Foundation Written by Jimmy Akin--a leading religion writer, Catholic apologist, and contributing editor to "This Rock" magazine--"Mass Confusion" is a well-respected source of clear, concise answers about today's most common questions concerning the liturgy (especially liturgical abuses). In this book, you'll discover the answers to these commonly asked questions: -What are the proper times to stand, sit, or kneel? -Are we supposed to hold hands at the Our Father? -How much liberty does the priest have with the words of the Mass? -Where does the tabernacle go, and should there even be one? -What about altar girls--not to mention dancing girls? -Can the priest refuse to give you Communion on the tongue? -Can Communion be given to Protestants at weddings and funerals? -May lay people stand around the altar during the Consecration? These and many other questions are clearly and authoritatively answered for you--once and for all--in the pages of "Mass Confusion." Jimmy Akin was born in Texas and raised in Arkansas. He grew up nominally Protestant but at age 20 experienced a profound conversion to Christ. Planning on becoming a Protestant pastor or seminary professor, Jimmy started an intensive study of the Bible, but the more he immersed himself in Scripture, the more he found it to support the Catholic faith. Eventually, he was compelled in conscience to enter the Catholic Church, which he did in 1992. His conversion story, "A Triumph and a Tragedy," is published in the book "Surprised By Truth." Jimmy is director of apologetics at Catholic Answers, a contributing editor to "This Rock" magazine, a weekly guest on the global radio program, "Catholic Answers Live," and the author of several books, including "Mass Appeal: The ABCs of Catholic Worship" and "The Salvation Controversy." The starting point for understanding liturgical abuses is understanding why they are liturgical abuses and whom they abuse. A liturgical abuse--an instance where the liturgy is conducted out of accord with the Church's liturgical law--is not merely a misuse of dead text on a page in a lectionary or a sacramentary. It is an abuse of a living person, or rather, a group of living persons--the faithful who attend the liturgy--and it is an abuse of the sanctity of the Church, which requires its rituals to be performed in a certain way. This is because the faithful have a right to experience the liturgy as the Church has designed it and intended it. If those who plan or conduct a liturgy tamper with the Church's design for it, they are abusing the faithful by denying their right to an authentic liturgy. Used Book in Good Condition