Summary of the January 2019 issue of Worship
Worship is a peer-reviewed, international ecumenical journal for the study of liturgy and liturgical renewal. Founded in 1926 by Virgil Michel, OSB, and the monks of Saint John’s Abbey, Worship is published six times a year in Collegeville, Minnesota. Subscribe to Worship here.
Essays
Longing for Communion Fifty Years after Unitatis Redintegratio: Envisioning a Ministry of Hospitality and Healing in a Wounded Body of Christ
Elizabeth T. Groppe
This article notes the important role of ecumenical hospitality in the event of the Second Vatican Council, surveys both the remarkable ecumenical fruits of Unitatis Redintegratio and the current state of stagnation in the ecumenical movement, and proposes the development of a new ministry of interdenominational ecclesial hospitality that could open us anew to the gift of the Holy Spirit of Christ who calls us to full communion.
Vagaggini Remembered
Ernest Skublics
The great 20th century pioneer of Liturgical Theology, Cipriano Vagaggini, OSBCam, would be 110 years old this year, sixty years after his Theological Dimensions of the Liturgy was published in English. This article, by one of his former students, sketches the life and work of the Master, whose genius can be discovered behind the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy by the Second Vatican Council. His theology was drawn principally from the Liturgy as its living source. He was deeply involved in the Council, while lecturing at Sant’Anselmo, eventually becoming its Rector.
Seminar on the Way
Introduction by John Baldovin SJ, and Thomas H. Schattauer
Eucharistic Fellowship: An Autobiographical Approach
Paul Westermeyer
Without minimizing the importance of confessional differences or the importance of theological thought with words, and without suggesting a vague gnostic spirituality or idolatry, Westermeyer argues here for Eucharistic Fellowship between Christians—communion that does not necessitate union. The assumption is that God’s grace in Christ at the table is more merciful and gracious than anything we can say or think about it and that we are called to live out that grace as the church has done in its bounteous crafting of sounds, art, and architecture for all sorts and conditions of humanity beyond anything words can convey. Westermeyer begins with an autobiographical sketch that points to the separation of Protestant and Catholic communities in their divisive histories, rhetorics of opposition, and avoidance of central issues and discussions. He notes that Protestants have embraced as much sacrificial works righteousness as Roman Catholics even though it comes in different packages.
Shared Communion …Revisited
Virgil C. Funk
This article contributes to the conversation regarding shared communion in the Catholic Church by Lutherans. It presents the present law, a discussion of the present “exceptions” to the law, and raises some questions regarding the basis of the law in Eucharistic theology and Ecclesiology. It serves primarily as a resource document.
Symbol and Sacrifice: Problems in Roman Catholic Theology and Practice, Official and Popular
Bruce T. Morrill, SJ
Declaration on the Way, a review and analysis of official Lutheran-Catholic dialogues, in its concluding section on the Eucharist not surprisingly makes sacrifice the first problematic topic that has seen progress yet requires further consideration. While progress toward agreement on sacrifice has been realized through scholarly theological (biblical, historical, doctrinal) study and word craft, the task force acknowledges the need for educating and forming the clergy and laity in both traditions, first concerning their own theology but also that of the other. This article demonstrates something of the formidable challenge entailed in forming and educating Roman Catholic clergy and laity on the topic of the Eucharist as sacrifice. Having laid out that challenge, the author gives an account of his own educational effort with university students before moving on to a critical theological analysis of one current Roman Catholic liturgical document.
BOOK REVIEWS
- -Gordon W. Lathrop reviews Introduction to the Study of Liturgy by Albert Gerhards and Benedikt Kranemann. Translated by Linda M. Maloney. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2017. Pages, xiv + 400. Paper, $44.95. ISBN: 978-0-8146-6312-7.
- -Michael Leonard Hahn, OSB reviews The World as Sacrament: An Ecumenical Path toward a Worldly Spirituality by Michael P. Plekon. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2017. Pages, 252. Paper, $24.95. ISBN: 978-0-8146-4556-7.
- -Alan J. Hommerding reviews The Song of the Singing Assembly: A Theology of Christian Hymnody by Judith M. Kubicki. Bedford Park, IL: GIA Publications, 2017. Pages, 232. Softcover, $27.95. ISBN: 978-1-62277-234-6.
- -Delores Dufner reviews A Functional Art: Reflections of a Hymn Writer by Timothy Dudley-Smith. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017. Pages, 174 + 20. Paper, $39.95. ISBN: 078-0-19-340871-5.