The Catholic Sanctuary: And The Second Vatican Council

Michael Davies fit into a small but growing number of Catholic (thanks, in part, to him): those who love tradition, are faithful to the Church including the current pontiffs but are not afraid to criticize said pontiffs, and who recognize that Vatican 2 did not call for the things modernists (and sedevecantists) think it did.A good companion to this book is "Liturgical Shipwreck." Where as LS focuses on the liturgy, this book focuses on the design of churches, specifically the sanctuary. (If you are unfamiliar with the term sanctuary, or if you think sanctuary means the whole inside of the church, the reason is for everything that happened after V2, but was not mandated by it.) It is not hard to see how liturgy and design go together. They complement each other. I went to a traditional Latin Mass celebrated at a church built after V2, and it was awkward. The altar and tabernacle and altar rails (temporary, of course), were all in different places.Mr. Davies uses primary sources (primarily those of the council, those after the council, and statements of leaders after the council) to show how changes, such as the removal of the altar rail, mass celebrated "versus populum" and the location of the tabernacle; were not only not mandated by the council, but in most cases forbidden by it.Once you read this book, ask yourself: will it bring God greater glory to worship like the great saints have done for centuries, or in a way constructed by a handful of men a couple decades ago?

This is an excellent little volume that explains the background to the current situation the Roman Catholic Church in the west faces, churches and liturgy that are simply not very catholic! Many people have said in the decades after the Council 'why did the Church Fathers & the Pope want such a major shift in how the church celebrated its highest form of prayer, the Mass. Well, it seems they didn't want such a major shift, but the liturgical experts and modernists, both clergy and laity (don't forget this started changing in the 1960's) grabbed the documents with both hands and the rest is history. They decided to rip out the old altars and poorly translate the mass in to english using such common language that there was nothing holy left. Over 1500 years of Catholic heritage was wiped out within a decade. If you are a lapsed Catholic read this and you will come to understand that it wasn't the true church you turned from but a man made version of what they wanted.

This booklet represents a brief discussion of the changes in the Church since the Council. It is a good first step for anyone wanting to understand what happened and what the results have been. It is easy to read and is not strident or lecturing. It is a distillation of the ordinarily complex and detailed classics of the Englishman Michael Davies. I can heartily recommend i.

Easy to read, and gives the truth about Vatican II. The book is very informative AND maddening. I converted to the Catholic faith and wondered why they "threw the baby out with the bath water". Always figured Vatican II was over-interpreted but didn't realize how badly. Makes me sick to think of people smashing altars and destroying the beauty, and also the reverence, of the Church.

Davies does it again! In this brief treatise, the well-known advocate of the Usus Antiquior digs into the documents of the Second Vatican Council to find that none of the mandated renovations (read "wreckovations") to the Catholic sanctuary that those who claimed to have been following Vatican II did actually exist. In fact the documents actually imply that the sanctuary should not have been tampered with in any way. Reading this pamphlet in conjunction with Davies'  A Short History of the Roman Mass  will provide an excellent overview of the present situation, and what caused it, for the common reader.

This book makes misunderstand the absolute devotion that was perpetrated on the faithful and helps us understand what we lost so we can reclaim it. Especially those of us who were born after Vatican II.

All Catholics should read this. Eye opener for those who think nothing has changed. Love Davies incite full writings 5 stars

Must read for Catholics to know what exactly happened. It's great info because theirs resources cited so you can research yourself and not just a "traditionalist" opinion.

very good little pamphlet on the changes after vatican 2.