Rating: 
Summary: Not Thrilled
Review: I'm sorry not to be able to agree with the other reviews of Mass Confusion. I found it too technical, and without Spirit! I tried reading different chapters, thinking maybe if I read about The Eucharist, that would help, or the liturgy of the Word. But I could not find one chapter in this book that impressed me. I give the 2 stars simply for the fact that Mr. Akin went to the trouble to write the book! There are much better Catholic books out there, I recommend you save your money on this one. I also noticed that the reviews don't really talk about the contents of the book, only that it is a MUST read for every Catholic. My personal recommends are "Crossing the Tiber", by Steven Ray, the Catecism of the CAtholic Church, or "The Lamb's Supper" by Scott Hahn.
Rating: 
Summary: Few books this good
Review: In the current days of problems in the American Catholic Church, this book answers important questions in plain english.I was sponsoring my sister when she joined the Church and had many questions that I could not answer (I was raised just post- VII and when I was sponsoring her we had a liberal priest at our church). This book was given to me as a gift. Although I did not write my bishop over the abuses, I was able to use this book to teach her about the rights and wrongs of our church. And to be honest, I was suprised at some of the "rights". More importantly, when we switched parishes I knew what to expect. I highly recommend this book for any regular Catholic. I learned a lot from it. And it never hurts to learn!
Rating:
Summary: Mass Confusion
Review: James Akin did an excellent job of summarizing and answering some of the common questions concerning the Catholic Mass. If you have specific questions about how Mass should be celebrated, or if you just want more knowledge and a deeper appreciation for the parts of Mass this is an excellent book. James Akin used many credible sources and was not pushing his own agenda. The book was neither touchy-feely, nor was it leaning towards radicle conservatism, and was written with much charity. As a lay person I found this book easy to understand while having my questions answered. I highly recomend it.
Rating:
Summary: The best overview of liturgy available for laity.
Review: James Akin has brought order out of the confusion that marks so much of Catholic worship these days. Akin is not a liturgist, but he is very effective teacher, which means that he can explain the Do's and Dont's of the Mass in ways most convenient for lay readers. This is an easy book to read, completely faithful to the various reforms the way they were meant to be applied. It is, in brief, the No. 1 book I can (and do) recommend to thoughtful Catholics with questions on liturgical life. I did a fuller review of Akin's work for the National Catholic Register, 23-29 August 1998, p. 8. I know the publishing house as well, "Catholic Answers, Inc." here in San Diego, and I know that it has recently replenished its own supplies of Akin's text, so it should be available
Rating:
Summary: A crisp summary of Roman Catholic canon law on the Mass
Review: The Mass has suffered much at the hands of dabblers and busybodies since Vatican II, and this book sets out to present Roman Catholic canon law on the Mass in a form accessible to ordinary people. The author does this beautifully, with good writing, intuitive organization, and coverage of every aspect of the Mass: readings, music, vestments, servers, the bread and the wine, rubrics, the altar, homily, the works. One thing you can't expect, however (at least in a book of barely 250 pages) is any detailed discussion of why things are the way they are, or how they were before, typically in the Tridentine era prior to Vatican II. If you're a student of the history of the Eucharist, you'll have to look elsewhere. Also, keep in mind that this book focuses on Roman Catholic canon law. The Orthodox and the Anglicans have their own body of canon law on the Mass, as do the Old Catholics. I learned a lot reading this book; for example, that the veiling of statues with purple cloth during Holy Week is no longer permitted in the United States--I always assumed that the practice was simply abandoned as anachronistic, which is a shame. Silver chalices are prohibited, as corrosion prone, whereas glass chalices are allowed. (This isn't to say that glass chalices are necessarily good practice. Canon law simply says that they are allowed.) Baskets may not be used to hold consecrated hosts. The book steps systematically through all aspects of the Eucharistic celebration, with special attention to "problem areas" where communities deviate from canon law. I also learned to my surprise that a lot of practices commonly engaged in by Roman Catholic parishes are prohibited--notably the use of blue vestments during lent and advent, which has become almost universal at the Roman churches I have attended in recent years. The author is more conservative than I would be on many of these points, but to be fair, he's only summarizing what Rome has laid down. Overall, it's a superb summary of Roman practice and an excellent reference, which should be on every Catholic liturgist's shelf.
Rating:
Summary: A crisp summary of Roman Catholic canon law on the Mass
Review: The Mass has suffered much at the hands of dabblers and busybodies since Vatican II, and this book sets out to present Roman Catholic canon law on the Mass in a form accessible to ordinary people. The author does this beautifully, with good writing, intuitive organization, and coverage of every aspect of the Mass: readings, music, vestments, servers, the bread and the wine, rubrics, the altar, homily, the works. One thing you can't expect, however (at least in a book of barely 250 pages) is any detailed discussion of why things are the way they are, or how they were before, typically in the Tridentine era prior to Vatican II. If you're a student of the history of the Eucharist, you'll have to look elsewhere. Also, keep in mind that this book focuses on Roman Catholic canon law. The Orthodox and the Anglicans have their own body of canon law on the Mass, as do the Old Catholics. I learned a lot reading this book; for example, that the veiling of statues with purple cloth during Holy Week is no longer permitted in the United States--I always assumed that the practice was simply abandoned as anachronistic, which is a shame. Silver chalices are prohibited, as corrosion prone, whereas glass chalices are allowed. (This isn't to say that glass chalices are necessarily good practice. Canon law simply says that they are allowed.) Baskets may not be used to hold consecrated hosts. The book steps systematically through all aspects of the Eucharistic celebration, with special attention to "problem areas" where communities deviate from canon law. I also learned to my surprise that a lot of practices commonly engaged in by Roman Catholic parishes are prohibited--notably the use of blue vestments during lent and advent, which has become almost universal at the Roman churches I have attended in recent years. The author is more conservative than I would be on many of these points, but to be fair, he's only summarizing what Rome has laid down. Overall, it's a superb summary of Roman practice and an excellent reference, which should be on every Catholic liturgist's shelf.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointed in this one
Review: The title of this book was tantalizing, yet I was disappointed when actually digging into it. I found the long passages of Church documents on the liturgy tedious. I got the impression of someone who was stuck in the past and had sour grapes because he wasn't getting his way now. Many of his points were nit-picking and arbitrary, when the Liturgy needs to speak to the people and is done by the people. I would not reccommend this to anyone working on a liturgy committee or interested in learning about the liturgy. There are better resources out there.
Rating:
Summary: MUST HAVE! MASS CONFUSION
Review: This book is an invaluable resource for Roman Catholics confused about what is going on in our parishes today. James Akin's indepth research and references are to be applauded. He gives clear and unbiased information, using authentic liturgical documents. This is a MUST HAVE for every Catholic layperson's home library. Do yourself a favor, get informed and make a difference in preserving the authentic Liturgy you deserve as a Roman Catholic. Consider buying an extra copy for your local pastor!
Rating:
Summary: A must for priests who are butchering the Liturgy!
Review: This book, along with Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger's "Spirit of the Liturgy" should be manditory reading for all Roman Catholic priests. After 20 years absence from holy mother Church, I was amazed to see all of the "changes" in the mass; changes like omitting the Profession of Faith on Sundays, omitting the Lavabo, standing (as opposed to kneeling) during the Eucharistic Prayer, not wearing a chasuble or wearing the stole over the chasuble, holding hands during the Our Father, and so on. Was I ever surprised to learn that these were NOT accepted changes, but liturgical abuses by renegade priests! This book addresses all of these abuses and much, much more. Mister Akin does a superb job of giving references for his statements on each individual abuse, whether he is quoting the GIRM (General Instructions of the Roman Missal), the Lectionary, or any other authoritative Church document pertaining to the Mass. He even gives a list of these at the beginning of the book, and most of them are easily available on the web. That makes this book an excellent study guide on the do's and don'ts of Catholic worship. Some might consider this material as nothing but strict conformism, but not so. All of the symbolism in the Liturgy has meaning. The Catholic Mass does what it symbolizes, and it symbolizes what it does, so the symbolism must be performed properly. Read this book and see how good a job your priest is doing. "The faithful have a right to a true Liturgy ..." says the Inaestimabile Donum, and it is time we started holding our priests to this!
Rating:
Summary: A must for priests who are butchering the Liturgy!
Review: This book, along with Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger's "Spirit of the Liturgy" should be manditory reading for all Roman Catholic priests. After 20 years absence from holy mother Church, I was amazed to see all of the "changes" in the mass; changes like omitting the Profession of Faith on Sundays, omitting the Lavabo, standing (as opposed to kneeling) during the Eucharistic Prayer, not wearing a chasuble or wearing the stole over the chasuble, holding hands during the Our Father, and so on. Was I ever surprised to learn that these were NOT accepted changes, but liturgical abuses by renegade priests! This book addresses all of these abuses and much, much more. Mister Akin does a superb job of giving references for his statements on each individual abuse, whether he is quoting the GIRM (General Instructions of the Roman Missal), the Lectionary, or any other authoritative Church document pertaining to the Mass. He even gives a list of these at the beginning of the book, and most of them are easily available on the web. That makes this book an excellent study guide on the do's and don'ts of Catholic worship. Some might consider this material as nothing but strict conformism, but not so. All of the symbolism in the Liturgy has meaning. The Catholic Mass does what it symbolizes, and it symbolizes what it does, so the symbolism must be performed properly. Read this book and see how good a job your priest is doing. "The faithful have a right to a true Liturgy ..." says the Inaestimabile Donum, and it is time we started holding our priests to this!
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