"Short, sample homilies based on the two-year weekday cycle of the Catholic Lectionary for Mass"--Provided by publisher.

This new resource gathers in one convenient volume those additions or changes that have been made to the current four-volume Lectionary for Mass published between 1998 and 2002. Additions or modifications made to the Lectionary affect the Proper of Time, the Proper of Saints, Ritual Masses, Masses for Various Needs and Occasions, and Votive Masses. Notable Changes: The Proper Psalms for the Extended Form of the Vigil Mass for Pentecost have been added. The four Old Testament Readings are provided in their appropriate sequence, with the properPsalm following each Reading. The Readings and Psalms for the Mass for Giving Thanks to God for the Gift of Human Life, previously located throughout the four-volume Lectionary, are now collected altogether. They may be used on the Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children (January 22) or on other occasions.

The publication of The Roman Missal, Third Edition offers an opportunity for homilists to explore the relationship between the Sunday readings and the new Roman Missal. Between the Ambo and the Altar is the final book (Year C) in a three-volume series that presents scriptural, liturgical, and preaching commentary for Sundays, solemnities, and feasts throughout the year. Each Sunday's resources are presented in three sections: exploring the Scripture, connecting the Lectionary with the liturgy, and a homiletic strategy. DeBona takes the preacher through a meditation on the language of the Missal, suggests parallels to the Sunday Lectionary, and gives practical homiletic strategies using core themes and images. It is hoped that the commentary advances a framework for homily preparation so that preachers might "savor the deep meaning of the word of God which unfolds each year in the liturgy" (Benedict XVI,Verbum Domini 52).

Assemblies recognize the difference between a lector who simply reads and one who truly proclaims the Word of God. They perk up and take special notice when they sense that the lector has worked to get inside the text, to express the meaning authentically, and to draw them into the story. Douglas Leal has spent decades as a lector, lector trainer, actor, and director. He knows how to coach lectors beyond reading so they can become proclaimers of the Word. The conversational, spirited style of the book recreates the sense of a live training session with the author. In a magazine format, with running text surrounded by boxes that focus on a particular subjects and techniques, a tool from the actor’s toolbox, or an encouraging story from the world of acting, the book presents a wealth of wisdom and practical instruction that can carry a lector far beyond basic training. Chapter by chapter, Leal guides lectors to Understand their role as sacred storytellers Learn how to study the text closely: understand its style; notice its literary devices; consider its context in the Bible, the liturgical year, and the lectionary; use Scripture resources to arrive at its meaning; practice the text; and pray it Work with their voice: articulation, tempo, rhythm, pauses, volume, and inflection Develop comfort with nonverbal skills: eye contact, posture, and facial expression Choose an intention appropriate to the text and responsive to the needs of the community Understanding and expressing the true emotional content of the text Staying focused on the text, cultivating authenticity and humility, and seeking feedback Overcoming nervousness, mistakes, colds, and other unexpected problems Developing a plan for practice and preparation

Recently published as Foundations for Preaching and Teaching, this resource is a compilation of selected Scripture backgrounds for Year A. It provides commentary for every Sunday and Holyday, feast and solemnity that may supersede a Sunday. This book is useful for parish ministers, such as homilists, catechists who work with Christian Initiation and religious education, and those who write notes on the readings for parish bulletins or newsletters.

This commentary, which uses the lectionary approved by the NCCB in 1998, is a literary-liturgical reading of the four lections, including the psalm response, of each Sunday and major feast of the liturgical year cycle C. It explicitly situates the interpretation of each day within the theology of its respective liturgical season, theology that is drawn from the specific themes of the readings of that particular year rather than from general theological themes otherwise associated with the season. The lections are also read in sequential order, from the first Sunday of that season to the last, thus providing another way of interpreting the riches of the readings. Book jacket.