Mass in Time of War

In times of great national crisis, composers and artists have responded by producing some of the greatest works known to us. No less an artist than writer Barbara Cawthorne Crafton has risen to the challenge in our time. In this elegant and provocative book, she confronts us with the language of the liturgy, the prayer of the Church, in a world at war with itself. What does it mean to sing, “Glory to God in the highest, and peace to all people on earth,” while those same people are killing each other, often in the name of God? What does it mean to pray, “Lord have mercy,” in a world where mercy seems in all too short supply? Using the framework of the Mass, Crafton challenges us to become peacemakers, not simply peacelovers. The reader will often likely be caught off guard with the “presumption of coming to this table for solace only and not for strength, for pardon only and not for renewal.” There is great wisdom here for women and men who desire to pray their lives and to pray the life of the world with greater depth and integrity.