In this definitive work, Thomas Talley draws on all the resources of historical scholarship to examine and unravel the complications brought to liturgical time by the blending of local traditions.

Liturgical time, like all ecclesiastical structures, has interacted with other traditions since the early centuries. Yet Doctor Talley found that the gospel tradition and its liturgical employment shaped the period that comprises the liturgical year.

His findings illustrate for the reader that every festival the Church celebrates - very Sunday - is centered primarily and finally in the Eucharist, which from the beginning and always proclaims the Lord's death until he comes.