Well, maybe not just yet…
OVER THE past few months since the publication of Work of Human Hands, we’ve received a great number of positive comments about the book. Below is a representative sample taken from short reviews posted on Amazon, as well as from e-mails we’ve received.
A traditional Catholic priest: Nowhere have I seen such an exhaustive and well-researched analysis of just exactly what the Modernists did to the Catholic Mass, step by step.
A university professor: The work of a scholar… An outstanding example of scholarly research… the most informative and comprehensive study I have seen of the post-Vatican II Mass.… knife-sharp logic… a must for seminarians and Church historians.
A Catholic priest: I was a student of liturgy at the “Catho” [the Catholic university] in Paris from 1973 to 1975. My professors are frequently mentioned by the author. There is much in his analysis that squares with my experience. The Jungmann-Bouyer-Bugnini troika stands behind much of the Mass of Paul VI. His thesis is systematically argued. For me, it was a satisfying visit to a liturgical “whodunit.”
A Catholic wife: A wealth of information and enjoyable to read… I’ve been a traditional Catholic for 15 years and I thought I’d read and learned all there was to know about “what happened and why” but this book really opened my eyes.
A “former litnik”: Outstanding. Highly readable, fascinating, humor, scary realities, Father Cekada pulls it all together. A book that could not have been written until now. Extensive interesting research. Very convincing. This is going to be a quotable book and I bet is being read by every Vaticanist who can get his hands on it. Probably every seminarian as well. Willing to bet it will be widely discussed and debated. In some modernist seminaries will be cause for dismissal if found on your bookshelf. Great job Father, I am not a sede but you hit the nail on the head, over and over and over and…
A traditional Catholic priest: … a masterpiece of research and a detailed exposé of the plots and scheming of the modernists.… clear and concise with a bit of humor added to help the reader travel more easily through deep theological issues.
A Catholic father: If you are new to the traditional movement, or are just curious about the traditional Mass, this book is for you. It sticks to the topic at hand, the problems with the Novus Ordo Mass, and does not dwell on any of the topics that divide traditionalists.
A traditionalist “from way back.” When I learned that Fr. Cekada was writing a book on the New Mass, the thought kept recurring, “After forty years, what could Fr. Cekada say on this subject that hasn’t already been said?” Well, as Paul Harvey used to say, “Now we’ll hear the REST of the story!” A glance at the Table of Contents or the Index ALONE go a long way toward answering the question above, not to mention the handy chapter summaries. By the end of the second chapter, you will KNOW.
A former chapel coordinator: .… a well researched book that takes from the Holy Week changes in the 1950’s and all the frequent changes that followed until the Novus Ordo Mass in 1969. At the time these frequent alterations in the liturgy left us confused and discouraged. His book gives us a clear picture of what happened and why.
A Catholic author: Full of new findings… Virtually every important theological and historical consideration is represented… immense scholarly apparatus.… an ideal gift for friends and family who are beginning to think seriously about the issues… sober erudition and elegance of style.… a work of history and Thomistic philosophy all rolled into one.… a natural and easy-to-read complement to Dom Guéranger’s Liturgical Year.
A Catholic couple: Thank you for this fine work. We have often wished for a history of how our wonderful faith could have been destroyed.
A former Novus Ordo priest: Everything you describe is exactly like what I was taught and saw in my Novus Ordo seminary and parish. I hope it gets into the hands of many of the “conservative priests” in the New Church.
A Dutch traditionalist priest: A tremendous achievement.
It seems we are regularly getting orders from across a wide spectrum — not only from traditionalists, but also from priests in the Novus Ordo milieu, as well as from Catholic seminary and university libraries.
This is very encouraging on several counts: First, we have done very little in the way of publicity thus far, so it appears that people are finding out about the book by word of mouth, always a good sign.
Second, one of the main considerations which prompted me to finish Work of Human Hands was the interest a younger generation of clergy has taken in the pre-Vatican II liturgy, and the problems many of them sense in the Mass of Paul VI. WHH, I hope, will aid in enlightening them on both counts.
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