Summary of the April 2023 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 quarterly in Collegeville, Minnesota. Subscribe to Worship here.
THE AMEN CORNER
Orthodoxy’s Kryptonite:
False Neutrality and Complicity on Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine
Nicholas Denysenko
ESSAYS
Damaged Goods
Antonio (Tony) Alonso
A range of works in and beyond liturgical theology share a conviction that the Eucharist has the capacity to shape ethical living and inspire cultural resistance. To the extent such works acknowledge a lack of correspondence between their Eucharistic ideals and Christian witness in the world, it tends to serve as evidence of the corruption of the Eucharist by external cultural forces or a lack of conviction among its participants. In this essay, I use the work of three scholars from outside the field of liturgical theology—Lauren Winner, M. Cecilia Gaposchkin, and Katie Grimes—to argue for more sustained attentiveness among liturgical theologians to the ways that even the goods of the Eucharist can deform its participants and extend damage in the world in spite of those goods.
“From My Head to My Toes, I Felt Like a New Body Was Created”: Lessons from Contemporary Lutheran Catechumenates
Kent Burreson and Rhoda Schuler
The authors present their research findings on the adult catechumenal process at four Lutheran parishes throughout the U.S. The research, funded by the Lilly Foundation through a grant from the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, suggests that incorporating theological images and practices from the early church catechumenate can foster a “missional habitus” in parishes for engagement with the post-modern world. Formation practices that encourage exploration of doubt as part of life experience, that involve the whole faith community in the formation process, and that use robust rituals to mark liminal moments in the process have the potential to reach post-modern generations. The research also suggests that one key to success is a flexible approach that contextualizes the catechumenal process to a particular culture and locale.
Jesus is Lifted Up: The Roots and Reform of the Adoration of the Cross on Good Friday in the Roman Rite
Michael Marchal
One of the most vivid parts of the Good Friday service in the Roman Rite is the Adoration of the Cross. Originating in Jerusalem, the rite spread because of the popularity of pilgrimages to the Holy City. Yet the rite has changed through the centuries. Originating in the veneration of a relic of the True Cross, it was soon adapted to become the veneration of any cross. In the mediaeval period, even though the rubrics always called for the use of a cross, a crucifix became the object venerated. The shifting currents of piety which led to this change affected not only the Holy Week liturgy but our sense of ecclesiology and of Eucharist. And so, we are challenged us to reconsider how we enact this core component of our celebration of Holy Week—especially because of the traditionalist influences of the last few decades.
Son of Man … Vindicated by Her Deeds
Isaac S. Villegas
Feminist sensibilities have led to the production of worship resources with gendered language that includes masculine and feminine imagery for God. This essay extends this trajectory of inclusion by arguing for the use of multiple gendered pronouns for Jesus Christ in our liturgical life in order to break free from the heteronormative confines of the male-female binary. My argument follows the lead of the genderqueer use of pronouns for Jesus in Matthew 11:19. I turn to the guidance of transgender insights to reorient our language—a reorientation which involves the empowerment of trans- people in worship leadership.
REVIEWS
Sarah Kathleen Johnson reviews Lester Ruth and Lim Swee Hong, A History of Contemporary Praise & Worship: Understanding the Ideas that Reshaped the Protestant Church (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2021).
Thomas A. Krosnicki, SVD, reviews Jozef Lamberts, With One Spirit: The Roman Missal and Active Participation (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2020).
Gerald O’Collins, SJ, reviews Lively Oracles of God: Perspectives on the Bible and Liturgy, edited by Gordon Jeanes and Bridget Nichols (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2022).
Katrina J. Olson reviews Matthew Kaemingk and Cory B. Willson, Work and Worship: Reconnecting Our Labor and Liturgy (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2020).
Stephen S. Wilbricht, CSC, reviews Liturgy with a Difference: Beyond Inclusion in the Christian Assembly, edited by Stephen Burns and Bryan Cones (London: SCM Press, 2019).
Julia Upton, RSM, reviews Mary E. McGann, The Meal That Reconnects: Eucharistic Eating and the Global Food Crisis (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2020).
Andrew Wymer reviews Adam Hearlson, The Holy No: Worship as a Subversive Act (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2018).