The question of Mass intentions received a good deal of theological scrutiny in the course of the... more The question of Mass intentions received a good deal of theological scrutiny in the course of the twentieth century, especially in the work of Maurice de la Taille, Karl Rahner, and Edward Kilmartin. Each of these theologians criticized the widely accepted Scotist three-fold division of the fruits of the Mass. Combined with the post-Vatican II reform of the Catholic liturgy and further contemporary reflection in Eucharistic theology, these advances provide the basis for a proposal to re-think the practice of Mass intentions as well as monetary offerings (stipends) associated with them. [Editor’s note: This is the second of two parts. This first was published in the December 2020 issue.]
The Roots of Reform: Context and Background for Vatican II
IntroductionIn his book, The Contagion of Jesus, Sebastian Moore tells the story of a young Domin... more IntroductionIn his book, The Contagion of Jesus, Sebastian Moore tells the story of a young Dominican friar preaching in England about St. Thomas Aquinas on the Eucharist. Apparently a woman in the pews, shocked at St. Thomas' theology, which is quite sophisticated and carefully avoids talking about the real presence of Christ's body in a physical sense, was heard to say "he's a black Protestant." We have come a long way in the decades after Vatican II, and I suspect that today such un-ecumenical views, even if someone harbored them, would probably not be voiced aloud.This very ecumenical gathering under the banner of church music is a tribute to the tremendous ecumenical strides that we have all taken. Our focus is "The Blossoming of Song Since Vatican II." The task you've given me is to provide some context and color with regard to how we got to the landmark liturgy constitution of Vatican II, whose fiftieth anniversary we mark on December 4th t...
I am delighted to take part in this colloquium on the ‘Worship wars’. At times people have strong... more I am delighted to take part in this colloquium on the ‘Worship wars’. At times people have strong reactions to the notion that Catholic can be at war over worship, but I think that the current situation warrants this kind of language. If one has any familiarity with the Internet on these matters, it is difficult not to come to the conclusion that a very serious battle is being fought for the soul of the Catholic Church and that this battle takes it most visible form in debates about the liturgy. Given the number of books that seem to appear weekly criticizing the sad state of the reform, given the difficulties that have been raised by Pope Benedict’s liberalization of the use of the pre-Vatican II rite, and (at least especially in the United States at present) the concerns over the viability of the new translation of the liturgy into English, it seems to me that ‘Worship wars’ is a very apt title indeed. Clearly a number of people are dissatisfied with Catholic liturgy as it is. But...
L'article est consacre au sacramentaire prepare de 1981 a 1998 par l'International Commis... more L'article est consacre au sacramentaire prepare de 1981 a 1998 par l'International Commission on English in the Liturgy catholique (ICEL). L'A. decrit le processus de revision propose pour le sacramentaire, etudie la traduction anglaise du missel romain, la musique, les introductions pastorales et les ameliorations.
The “Classic” Age of Christian Worship, 4th–6th Century
Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion
The 4th–6th centuries can be considered a classic period in the development of Christian worship.... more The 4th–6th centuries can be considered a classic period in the development of Christian worship. During this time many of the liturgical forms that are still recognizable today were consolidated: the architectural disposition of church buildings, the shape of the Eucharist and the various traditions of the eucharistic prayer, the rites of initiation, the annual liturgical cycle (calendar), and the rites associated with ordination, weddings, the anointing of the sick, penance, and the burial of the dead. This was the period in which the great diversity and variety that characterized the first Christian centuries gradually settled into the basic structures that are familiar today. At the same time, it was the period of the development of the great rites of Christian worship that were centered on the major cities of the Roman Empire: Antioch, Alexandria, Constantinople, Edessa, Jerusalem, and Rome. The new diversity of these rites often corresponded to the various languages in which t...
Book Review: T&T Clark Companion to Liturgy. Edited by Alcuin ReidT&T Clark Companion to Liturgy. Edited by ReidAlcuin. New York, NY: T&T Clark Bloomsbury, 2016. Pp. xix + 561. $172
Theological Studies
and graduate students of practical theology who are eager to know more about the theological, pol... more and graduate students of practical theology who are eager to know more about the theological, political and ecclesial figures and movements that shaped Francis’s pastoral perspective, especially in his episcopate, and that are folded into the pope’s writings and speeches. Pastoral counselors and spiritual directors will find in this text cogent and teachable descriptions of the “steps in the process of discernment” (27) as D. subtly and efficiently leads the reader through them in the course of his analysis of Francis’s pastoral vision. Since the papacy continues and the vision is still emerging, D. considers implications of Francis’s vision for pastoral aspects of ecclesial life in the United States, especially with respect to priestly formation, and the role of the parish and the sacraments, among others. This section of the text is less analytical, yet creative and evocative such that it could be expanded to a book of its own, placed in closer connection or contrast to current pastoral realities of the church in Argentina and elsewhere in Latin America.
Book Review: Jesus and the Last Supper. By Brant PitreJesus and the Last Supper. By PitreBrant. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2015. Pp. xiv + 590. $37.53
Sacred Games: A History of Christian Worship by Bernhard Lang
The Catholic Historical Review, 1998
Lang divides the subject into six "games" or basic components in which he finds "t... more Lang divides the subject into six "games" or basic components in which he finds "the essential meaning of Christian worship" (p. xi). These games are: praise, prayer, sermon, sacrifice, sacrament, and ecstasy. The book thus provides six interpretive essays in an attempt to uncover theological meaning through an investigation of historical and contemporary forms of worship. In the process Lang is most attentive to popular culture as well as to the general philosophical milieu in which forms of worship developed. An example of the former can be found in a number of illustrations that are interspersed through the book and especially the book jacket which portrays an early twentieth-century street procession of young girls approaching their first holy communion. An example of the latter is the extensive use that Lang makes of neo-Platonic philosophy in analyzing the theurgic aspects of the development of Christian worship forms. The result is a series of vignettes of both the origins, historical instances, and contemporary realizations of Christian worship tied together by a clear argument.
The Eucharist is a liturgical meal of bread and wine, which is almost always preceded by a servic... more The Eucharist is a liturgical meal of bread and wine, which is almost always preceded by a service of reading the Scriptures. Christians attribute the origin of the Eucharist to Jesus Christ himself at the Last Supper on the night before he died. Many Christians regard the Eucharist as a sacrament and as their central ritual, and many celebrate the Eucharist weekly or even more often. This sacred meal has had various names throughout history: the Lord’s Supper, Holy Communion, the Offering, the Divine Liturgy, the Mass. The most common name in the early 21st century, however, is Eucharist, which derives from the Greek word Eucharistia, a thanksgiving. What we know since the 3rd century as the basic form of the Christian Eucharist is most probably the result of a number of trajectories from the first 150 years of Christianity coming together, including: fellowship meals in remembrance of Jesus, celebrations of his passion and resurrection, and the tradition of his significant meals s...
The question of Mass intentions received a good deal of theological scrutiny in the course of the... more The question of Mass intentions received a good deal of theological scrutiny in the course of the twentieth century, especially in the work of Maurice de la Taille, Karl Rahner, and Edward Kilmartin. Each of these theologians criticized the widely accepted Scotist three-fold division of the fruits of the Mass. Combined with the post-Vatican II reform of the Catholic liturgy and further contemporary reflection in Eucharistic theology, these advances provide the basis for a proposal to re-think the practice of Mass intentions as well as monetary offerings (stipends) associated with them. [Editor’s note: This is the second of two parts. This first was published in the December 2020 issue.]
The Roots of Reform: Context and Background for Vatican II
IntroductionIn his book, The Contagion of Jesus, Sebastian Moore tells the story of a young Domin... more IntroductionIn his book, The Contagion of Jesus, Sebastian Moore tells the story of a young Dominican friar preaching in England about St. Thomas Aquinas on the Eucharist. Apparently a woman in the pews, shocked at St. Thomas' theology, which is quite sophisticated and carefully avoids talking about the real presence of Christ's body in a physical sense, was heard to say "he's a black Protestant." We have come a long way in the decades after Vatican II, and I suspect that today such un-ecumenical views, even if someone harbored them, would probably not be voiced aloud.This very ecumenical gathering under the banner of church music is a tribute to the tremendous ecumenical strides that we have all taken. Our focus is "The Blossoming of Song Since Vatican II." The task you've given me is to provide some context and color with regard to how we got to the landmark liturgy constitution of Vatican II, whose fiftieth anniversary we mark on December 4th t...
I am delighted to take part in this colloquium on the ‘Worship wars’. At times people have strong... more I am delighted to take part in this colloquium on the ‘Worship wars’. At times people have strong reactions to the notion that Catholic can be at war over worship, but I think that the current situation warrants this kind of language. If one has any familiarity with the Internet on these matters, it is difficult not to come to the conclusion that a very serious battle is being fought for the soul of the Catholic Church and that this battle takes it most visible form in debates about the liturgy. Given the number of books that seem to appear weekly criticizing the sad state of the reform, given the difficulties that have been raised by Pope Benedict’s liberalization of the use of the pre-Vatican II rite, and (at least especially in the United States at present) the concerns over the viability of the new translation of the liturgy into English, it seems to me that ‘Worship wars’ is a very apt title indeed. Clearly a number of people are dissatisfied with Catholic liturgy as it is. But...
L'article est consacre au sacramentaire prepare de 1981 a 1998 par l'International Commis... more L'article est consacre au sacramentaire prepare de 1981 a 1998 par l'International Commission on English in the Liturgy catholique (ICEL). L'A. decrit le processus de revision propose pour le sacramentaire, etudie la traduction anglaise du missel romain, la musique, les introductions pastorales et les ameliorations.
The “Classic” Age of Christian Worship, 4th–6th Century
Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion
The 4th–6th centuries can be considered a classic period in the development of Christian worship.... more The 4th–6th centuries can be considered a classic period in the development of Christian worship. During this time many of the liturgical forms that are still recognizable today were consolidated: the architectural disposition of church buildings, the shape of the Eucharist and the various traditions of the eucharistic prayer, the rites of initiation, the annual liturgical cycle (calendar), and the rites associated with ordination, weddings, the anointing of the sick, penance, and the burial of the dead. This was the period in which the great diversity and variety that characterized the first Christian centuries gradually settled into the basic structures that are familiar today. At the same time, it was the period of the development of the great rites of Christian worship that were centered on the major cities of the Roman Empire: Antioch, Alexandria, Constantinople, Edessa, Jerusalem, and Rome. The new diversity of these rites often corresponded to the various languages in which t...
Book Review: T&T Clark Companion to Liturgy. Edited by Alcuin ReidT&T Clark Companion to Liturgy. Edited by ReidAlcuin. New York, NY: T&T Clark Bloomsbury, 2016. Pp. xix + 561. $172
Theological Studies
and graduate students of practical theology who are eager to know more about the theological, pol... more and graduate students of practical theology who are eager to know more about the theological, political and ecclesial figures and movements that shaped Francis’s pastoral perspective, especially in his episcopate, and that are folded into the pope’s writings and speeches. Pastoral counselors and spiritual directors will find in this text cogent and teachable descriptions of the “steps in the process of discernment” (27) as D. subtly and efficiently leads the reader through them in the course of his analysis of Francis’s pastoral vision. Since the papacy continues and the vision is still emerging, D. considers implications of Francis’s vision for pastoral aspects of ecclesial life in the United States, especially with respect to priestly formation, and the role of the parish and the sacraments, among others. This section of the text is less analytical, yet creative and evocative such that it could be expanded to a book of its own, placed in closer connection or contrast to current pastoral realities of the church in Argentina and elsewhere in Latin America.
Book Review: Jesus and the Last Supper. By Brant PitreJesus and the Last Supper. By PitreBrant. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2015. Pp. xiv + 590. $37.53
Sacred Games: A History of Christian Worship by Bernhard Lang
The Catholic Historical Review, 1998
Lang divides the subject into six "games" or basic components in which he finds "t... more Lang divides the subject into six "games" or basic components in which he finds "the essential meaning of Christian worship" (p. xi). These games are: praise, prayer, sermon, sacrifice, sacrament, and ecstasy. The book thus provides six interpretive essays in an attempt to uncover theological meaning through an investigation of historical and contemporary forms of worship. In the process Lang is most attentive to popular culture as well as to the general philosophical milieu in which forms of worship developed. An example of the former can be found in a number of illustrations that are interspersed through the book and especially the book jacket which portrays an early twentieth-century street procession of young girls approaching their first holy communion. An example of the latter is the extensive use that Lang makes of neo-Platonic philosophy in analyzing the theurgic aspects of the development of Christian worship forms. The result is a series of vignettes of both the origins, historical instances, and contemporary realizations of Christian worship tied together by a clear argument.
The Eucharist is a liturgical meal of bread and wine, which is almost always preceded by a servic... more The Eucharist is a liturgical meal of bread and wine, which is almost always preceded by a service of reading the Scriptures. Christians attribute the origin of the Eucharist to Jesus Christ himself at the Last Supper on the night before he died. Many Christians regard the Eucharist as a sacrament and as their central ritual, and many celebrate the Eucharist weekly or even more often. This sacred meal has had various names throughout history: the Lord’s Supper, Holy Communion, the Offering, the Divine Liturgy, the Mass. The most common name in the early 21st century, however, is Eucharist, which derives from the Greek word Eucharistia, a thanksgiving. What we know since the 3rd century as the basic form of the Christian Eucharist is most probably the result of a number of trajectories from the first 150 years of Christianity coming together, including: fellowship meals in remembrance of Jesus, celebrations of his passion and resurrection, and the tradition of his significant meals s...
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