To know the liturgy, practice is necessary, but so is reflection. With this need in mind, we started open liturgical seminars for people interested in an intellectual understanding of the sacramental life of the Church through the texts of the most important authors, such as Romano Guardini, Odo Casel and Joseph Ratzinger.

We deal not only with the classics of the Liturgical Movement, but also devote much attention to the most recent texts reflecting current debates. In the seminars so far we have discussed, among other things, the dispute over the reform, the tensions connected with the coexistence of different forms of the Roman Rite, and the liturgy from a cultural perspective.

A critical reading of texts is an excellent opportunity to shape one’s own point of view and to practise noticing the theological and philosophical nuances of liturgical thought. The seminars take the form of an open, moderated discussion in a stimulating atmosphere, which makes it possible to confront one’s own position with the views of other participants. At the same time we make sure that the heat of the discussion does not spoil the atmosphere of openness, so we try to foster integration and good relationships in our group.

From time to time we hold meetings with invited guests representing very different ways of thinking about the liturgy. Our guests have included Fr. Mateusz Przanowski OP, Prof. Waldemar Dudek and Prof. Bartłomiej Dobroczyński. Summaries of the discussions held at these meetings can be found on Liturgia.pl.

Series of meetings so far:

• 2009/2010 – Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy Sacrosanctum Concilium
• 2010/2011 – Romano Guardini, The Spirit of the Liturgy.
• 2011/2012 – Odo Casel, The Mystery of Christian Worship; the series “Around the liturgical reform”.

The seminar project was led by Michał Koza.