The Royal Road to Joy: the Beatitudes and the Eucharist / David Bird

This profound book contains two commentaries: one on the Beatitudes and the other on the Mass, which make clear the intimate connection between the spirituality of the Beatitudes and the Eucharistic celebration. Dom David draws from a lifetime's reading of scripture and the Fathers to bring out the meaning of each Beatitude and each part of the Mass, often using his pastoral experience among the poor of Peru for illustration.

At the end of each commentary on the Beatitudes he examines the lives of Saint Seraphim (an Orthodox hermit) and Saint John Vianney (the 'Cure d'Ars') to show the Beatitudes at work in the lives of these two great saints. His section-by-section commentary on the Mass is invaluable.

This book is relevant to every Catholic who is looking to live the life of the Gospel. Living the beatitudes will deepen the understanding of what it means to be a eucharistic people.

Dom David Bird entered Belmont Abbey in 1955 at the age of eighteen. He studied theology at Belmont and at Fribourg University in Switzerland, and taught in the school and monastery. A keen participant in ecumenical gatherings and theological discussions, in this context he first encountered the orthodox Church. In 1981, after two years on the parish in Whitehaven, he was sent with two others to make a monastic foundation in Tambogrande in northern Peru. In the event, he spent all his time in parishes in the dioceses of Peru and Cajamarca. Only since July 2002, has he been living in the monastery where he helps in the formation of twelve enthusiastic young Peruvian monks. Published by Liturgy Training Publications.