Standing Before God follows the order of the Liturgy itself. From the opening blessing to the dismissal, it traces what God does at each turn and what is required of those who remain in His presence: to stand, to hear, to keep silence, to offer, to receive, and to go. Those who enter the Liturgy do not come as observers or evaluators. They are placed before the King and bound by the terms of His commonwealth. The Liturgy does not wait for their assent. It acts, and to remain present is already to accept responsibility under His Instruction.
First delivered as a five-part teaching series in the context of the Divine Liturgy, this short volume speaks with the same plainness as the worship it serves. It offers no reflection, no interpretation, and no reassurance. It offers clarity about where the faithful stand and under whose authority their lives are ordered - an authority that does not recede when the assembly disperses, but abides.
For catechumens, inquirers, and those long within the Church alike, Standing Before God returns the reader to the Liturgy with sobriety, so that what has been given there may be lived under everywhere.
