“For something’s lost and something’s gained in living every day” Both Sides Now. Joni Mitchell

For centuries, the liturgy of the Catholic Church, the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM), was renowned for its elegance, profound sacredness and transcendent beauty. With Pope John’s “aggiornamento” as realized by the Second Vatican Council, the faithful were presented with the “Novus Ordo” (new order) mass, a liturgy designed to be more down to earth and involve the congregation more. For Ed Korczynski,—and many other Catholics—with this decision, the Church trashed a magnificent liturgy and replaced it with a mundane, not-too-special, somewhat holy social gathering. In recent years, the crime has been compounded by Pope Francis’ motu propio, Traditionis Custodes, clearly intended to deprecate the TLM in favor of the Novus Ordo. In Part One of the book, Korczynski reports that this was never the intent of the Council fathers. The Dogmatic Constitution on the Liturgy makes it clear that the Council intended to retain the TLM.

But Ed takes matters a step further: he argues that the TLM should be given prominence of place in Catholic worship. In this vein, he goes on to address Church architecture, the recovery of long-standing Catholic traditions and the role of the laity in the liturgy. In Part Two of the book, Korczynski addresses the current state of Catholic theology and moral teaching, and questions the validity of what some bishops are offering as guidance for today’s Catholics. All in all, Magnificent to Mundane offers a thought provoking and challenging read for anyone who cares about the Church, its worship and its moral direction in our time.