WORSHIP Volume 73, Number 5    September 1999

Summary of Articles

Walter J. Burghardt
Just Word and Just Worship:
Biblical Justice and Christian Liturgy, pp. 386 - 398.

Summary. Walter J. Burghardt speaks to the necessary but seemingly underdeveloped relationship between liturgy and justice. He first poses two questions which reflect needs that have arisen inside and outside the church community. First, how can full, active engagement in liturgical celebrations be promoted in a culture most familiar with entertainment models of participation? Second, how can our people come to services with a yearning to generate and to nourish when the dominant cultural dynamics are individualism and consumerism? Burghardt insists that in responding to these questions, we must recognize the brokenness in the life of the church and the world and exhibit a passion for justice.

By way of background for the justice-liturgy problem, Burghardt refers to Bryan Hehir, who noted nearly two decades ago that "the historical relationship of the liturgical movement and social ministry in the United States during the first half of this century illustrates the potential for one dimension of the Church's life to enrich the other." The problem, according to Burghardt, is that this potential for a style of worship with a strong social consciousness remains largely unfulfilled. To remedy this problem, Burghardt advocates the need for a richer understanding of justice, one which is grounded biblically. According to Burghardt, biblical justice demands something which ethical and legal justice do not, that is, love. He then offers insights on how this richer concept of justice might influence, and be influenced by, the church's liturgy.

In conclusion, Burghardt comments that we are servants of justice, provided we do not sever social action from the liturgy. He also insists that social activists and practitioners of God's justice on the one hand, and liturgists and worshipers at God's liturgy on the other hand, dare not constitute two separate organizations. To be men and women of biblical justice, liturgists and worshipers must actively respond to the needs of those who suffer injustice. To do justice to their activism, social-justice practitioners must draw their power from the liturgy.

Daniel Shin
Some Light from Origen:
Scripture as Sacrament, pp. 399 - 425.

Summary. Daniel Shin observes that there is a growing interest in the retrieval of classic approaches to interpreting the Christian Scripture, an interest he believes issues from ambivalent feelings after years of assiduous application of the historical-critical method to Scripture. He then proposes that Origen's hermeneutics is particularly important to consider in the retrieval of patristic hermeneutics because of its influence in the patristic and medieval periods.

Shin then sets out to explore Origen's hermeneutics and show that at the heart of his approach is a sacramental understanding of Scripture. Shin offers a critique of the historical-critical method, followed by a rationale for classic hermeneutics. He then analyzes Origen's sacramental understanding of Scripture. He also explores Karl Rahner's sacramental understanding of Scripture, in an effort to shed light on why Origen perceived the word of God sacramentally and how the word mediates divine presence in the Eucharist.

After responding to the past and present criticisms directed against Origen's allegorical method, Shin proposes guidelines for sacramental interpretation of Scripture. He concludes by commenting that Origen's approach to Scripture teaches us the importance of inner dispositions in understanding Scripture, which requires contemporary Christians to return to Scripture with our hearts to encounter the presence of Christ.

Jozef Lamberts
The Abbey of Mont-César in Louvain
One Hundred Years Young, pp. 425 - 442.

Summary. One hundred years ago, the Benedictine abbey of Mont-César was founded in Louvain (Belgium). Jozef Lamberts reports that the abbey was founded with the intention of giving Benedictine monks the opportunity to continue their studies at the university. Very soon the Abbey of Mont-César became an important center of church renewal, especially in the domain of liturgical life.

Lamberts sees the centenary of the foundation of Mont-César as an ideal opportunity to recount certain milestones in the abbey's history and to remember those from this monastery who made significant contributions to the liturgical renewal effort. In particular, Lamberts summarizes the life and work of Lambert Beauduin, Bernard Capelle, Bernard Botte, and Ambroos Verheul.

At the end of his essay, Lamberts notes that the abbey of Mont-César, now the community of Keizersberg, consists of only nine monks. But, Lamberts says, they all believe and invest in the future. He expresses his hope that the abbey will catch a second breath and continue to be an inspiring center at the service of an authentic liturgy.

Michael G.L. Church
The Law of Begging:
Prosper at the End of the Day, pp. 442 - 453.

Summary. Too often today, theological discussion is a combative exercise, a display of verbal and intellectual one-upsmanship. Michael Church argues that even at its best, such carrying on by Christians is a public scandal. From this scandal, he says, comes the beloved phrase lex orandi, lex credendi, a formula drawn from the writings of St. Prosper of Aquitaine and rooted in the semi-pelagian controversy. Church comments that although Prosper is generally treated as a theoretician, laying down an abstract principle to determine the relationship between worship and doctrine, this is no more than half right. According to Church, Prosper was a partisan, deeply involved in one of the most vexing theological controversies of his day. If viewed in context and read more closely, Church believes that Prosper lays out a model of just action in conflict among Christians.

To advance this theory, Church first reviews the historical context of the fifth-century semi-pelagian controversy and details Prosper's involvement in the conflict. Next, Church comments on modern-day theological uses of Prosper, none of which speaks directly to the semi-pelagian controversy, or much else having to do with Prosper. Church adds that Prosper's contribution is usually restricted to four Latin words – words which he never wrote. According to Church, what Prosper did in fact write was "ut legem credendi lex statuat supplicandi" – the law of begging may set down the law of believing. Church then considers the place of these words in Prosper's overall argument.

What is Prosper's message for us today? Church believes the message concerns conflict among Christian people, and especially among Christian teachers. It concerns the way that we conduct ourselves and conduct our disputes. Church insists that what Prosper has to teach us is not about authority, but about the condition of Christians before God, and the conduct of Christian theologians when they disagree.

Gerard S. Sloyan
"The Playing of the Merry Org',
Sweet Singing in the Choir," pp. 453 - 457.

Summary. According to Gerard Sloyan, suitable music in the worship act has been a problem in the U.S. Catholic Church since colonial days. Sloyan contends that this problem is attributable, in part, to the usurpation of the people's responses by the choir. The Catholic faithful, he says, have been reduced to silence long enough. It is the people's song that is primary. Excellent choir work is both encouraging and supportive of the people's song when it remains that.

Sloyan proceeds to make specific comments aimed at retaining the people's song as primary. For instance, he says applause for renditions of a choir, soloist or organist are out of place, because these are simply their prayer as part of the people's prayer. Sloyan also suggests that a choir should face outward but unobtrusively so as never to threaten the action at the altar. Further, the musical character of congregational song should be such that it avoids difficult intervals or sharps and flats that take people by surprise. Sloyan also comments on what features of a hymn text make for a bad hymn.

In conclusion, Sloyan states that music is such an important part of worship that the poor quality of its rendition is doubly tragic. He adds that it can lift the spirits to laughter, reduce it to tears, or set to gnashing the teeth of those with any feel for it. In fact, Sloyan says, what music in the worship act ought to do is cause people to emerge from the celebration singing in their hearts and perhaps even in their cars.

Nathan Mitchell
The Amen Corner, pp. 457 - 465.

Summary. Nathan Mitchell offers readers a look at The Ancrene Riwle, a rule of life written about the year 1200 for a young Christian woman who wanted to live as a solitary. The Ancrene Riwle provides one of the earliest descriptions of what today would be called "eucharistic adoration" or "private devotion in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament." The rule's content makes clear that eucharistic adoration is an activity that arises from within the liturgy of the Mass and that devotion to the Eucharist cannot be separated from devotion to the poor and the suffering.

This leads Mitchell to identify and expound upon several basic facts which emerge from the origins and early development of eucharistic devotions. One, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament outside Mass can never be construed as a "substitute" for the liturgy or for service to the poor. Two, in the Eucharist, the assembly is the agent, the subject – and not merely the object – of the liturgical action. Three, in our Catholic tradition, eucharistic devotions are never seen as "competitors" or "rivals" to the celebration of Mass. Four, the assembly's eucharistic action is "consecratory" and credal, in that just as it transforms bread, wine and us, it also expresses who we are and what we believe.

Mitchell then reviews the criteria for eucharistic devotions outlined in Holy Communion and Worship of the Eucharist Outside Mass. He concludes by suggesting that to help people better understand eucharistic devotions, we need to stay focused upon two fundamental criteria: 1) Do our proposals for eucharistic adoration arise from the liturgy and flow back into "full, conscious and active participation" in the liturgy?; and 2) Does the act of eucharistic devotion spring from a love of God's people and lead participants to the service of the poor?

Book Reviews

And Now I See . . . A Theology of Transformation. By Robert Barron. New York: Crossroads 1998. Pages, 224. Paper, $19.95. ISBN 0-8245-1753-9. Review by Richard Chiola, pp. 466 - 468.

The Temple, the Church Fathers and Early Western Chant. By James McKinnon. Brookfield, Vermont: Ashgate Publishing Company 1998. Pages, xii + 300. Cloth, $89.95. ISBN 0-860786889. Review by R. Todd Ridder, pp. 468 - 471.

Real Presence: The Work of Eucharist. By Nathan Mitchell. Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications 1998. Pages, 135. Paper, $12.00. ISBN 1-56854-265-8. Review by Christopher J. Walsh, pp. 471 - 472.

The Breaking of the Bread: The Development of the Eucharist according to the Acts of the Apostles. By Eugene LaVerdiere SSS. Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications 1998. Pages, 249. Paper, $12.00. ISBN 1-56854-148-1. Review by Andrew McGowan, pp. 472 - 474.

Anglican Spiritual Direction. By Peter Ball. Cambridge, Mass.: Cowly 1998. Paper, $12.95. ISBN 1-56101159-2. Review by David Keller, pp. 474 - 475.

Remembering the Women: Women's Stories from Scripture for Sundays and Festivals. Compiled by J. Frank Henderson. Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications 1999. Pages, 384. Cloth, $25.00. ISBN 1-56854-174-0. Review by Gail Ramshaw, pp. 476 - 478.

Hymnology: A Collection of Source Readings. By David W. Music. Lanham and London: The Scarecrow Press 1996. Pages, xix + 235. Cloth, $24.95. ISBN 0-8108-3148-1. Review by Paul Westermeyer, pp. 478 - 479.