James Hitchcock gives an extradorinarily incisive analysis of the lilturgical abuse and destructive liturgical reforms brought about by professional liturgists and other 'experts' over the last thirty years. Hitchcock chronicles the havoc wreaked by modern liturgists who abandoned the noble purpose of the classical (pre-1965) Liturgical Movement whose aim was to deepen people's appreciation of the inexhaustible mystery of the liturgy by elevating the practice of the liturgy to incorporate neglected riches of earlier centuries, especially the Patristic Age. Instead of seeking a deeper understanding of the great traditions of the Church through the ages, liturgists have sought 'relevance' by means of continued adaptation to contemporary culture." -- back cover.