Fullness of Divine Worship
The Sacred Liturgy and its Renewal
Edited by Uwe Michael Lang
Imprint: Catholic University of America Press
This volume offers a selection of essays from the pages of Antiphon: A Journal for Liturgical Renewal, the official organ of the Society for Catholic Liturgy. The Society was founded in 1995 as a multidisciplinary association of Catholic scholars, teachers, pastors, and ecclesiastical professionals in the Anglophone world, with the aim of promoting the scholarly study and practical renewal of the sacred liturgy.
This collection is inspired by the confident affirmation of the Second Vatican Council, taking its cue from an ancient prayer of the Roman Rite, that in Christ, "the fullness of divine worship was given to us" (Sacrosanctum Concilium, no. 5). The contributions gathered in this single volume cover a range of topics and offer different perspectives. They are united by their grounding in the rich history of Catholic worship, by their theological awareness and reflection, and by their concern for the liturgical life of the Church today.
Alcuin Reid considers the role of liturgical law in the twenty-first century and explores the theological dimensions of ars celebrandi. Ryan J. Marr relates the seminal thought of René Girard to contemporary discussions on the sacrificial character of the Eucharist and on liturgical reform. Uwe Michael Lang offers a fresh reading of Augustine’s conception of sacrifice in City of God, Book X, a historically charged text that continues to generate interest among theologians and liturgists. Michael P. Foley sheds light on the origins of the rite of peace in the Roman tradition and discusses its significance and practice in contemporary liturgical celebrations. Madeleine Grace, C.V.I. makes a compelling case from biblical, liturgical and canonical sources to recover the spiritual benefits of Eucharistic fasting. Daniel G. Van Slyke compares and contrasts the current Order for Blessing Water Outside of Mass with its immediate predecessor. Clinton Allen Brand presents the language of the liturgical books approved for the Ordinariates according to the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus as an idiom of worship that resonates with Anglophone culture and provides an opportunity for evangelization.
Uwe Michael Lang, CO is the editor of Antiphon: A Journal of Liturgical Renewal.
"This collection of essays makes a significant contribution to contemporary discussion on sacred worship by balancing academic rigor with pastoral applicability and an overarching concern for true growth in holiness."—"
~Most Rev. Steven J. Lopes, Bishop of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St Peter
"For more than twenty years Antiphon – the journal of the Society for Catholic Liturgy – has sought to make an intelligent and reasoned contribution to liturgical formation and renewal in our day. Its editors and contributors are to be commended for doing so with a critical fidelity to liturgical tradition and to the authentic renewal of the Church’s liturgical life called for by the Second Vatican Council. The seven thought-provoking articles by leading scholars that The Fullness of Divine Worship collects serve to inform us and instruct our faithful celebration of the Church’s liturgy as it has been handed on to us. If the sacred liturgy is truly to be the source and summit of our Christian life and mission (Sacrosanctum Concilium 10), it is essential that we ourselves continue to be formed by its daily, beautiful celebration and that our celebration itself is informed by those whose vocation is the study of the liturgy. For this reason I wholeheartedly recommend this book, and Antiphon itself, as an important resource for clergy and religious and all lay men and women involved in liturgical ministry. -"
~Robert Cardinal Sarah, Prefect, Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments