The central theme of this book is liturgical renewal. As Father Merton sees it, what is chiefly required to achieve liturgical renewal a anew spirit of openness, in which the priest is open to this people, and they are open to him and to one another. This means that the words of the liturgy should be spoken by a person, to person, and not just uttered abstractly in a sacred void…. It means discovering a new sense of sacred space, of community, of oneness in the spirit, as a result of a communication on a deep level with which we have long ceased to be familiar. It means learning to experience the mystery of oneness in grace.
Among the topics he discusses with fresh insight and brilliance are Liturgy and Spiritual Personalism, Time and the Liturgy, Advent: Hope or Delusion?, The Nativity Kerygma, Ash Wednesday, and Easter: The New Life. There are also a Homily on Light and the Virgin Mary, The Name of the Lord, In Silentio: A Note on Monastic Prayer, and Community of Pardon.