Liturgy in the Theology of St. Thomas

LITURGY IN THE THEOLOGY OF ST. THOMAS SINCE LITURGY became respectable there have been numerous attempts to write a theology of it. Obviously one can, and does nowadays, write a theology of almost anything-from history to revolution, from leisure to clothes, from sin to sport. But when liturgy is recognized to mean the substance no less than the shape of the Church's worship it becomes imperative to examine it on a theological level. In its program for liturgical studies Vatican II puts the theological aspect of the subject in the first place.1 The literary form of theological studies on the liturgy can be the theological monograph or some chapters in a book that also deals with liturgy on other levels-historical, pastoral, spiritual, ceremonial, aesthetic. These forms have, of necessity, to take a great deal for granted about theology. They apply theological categories, principles, and presuppositions to the subject in hand without having the time or space to analyze or evaluate them. Their theological assumptions are often unspoken or barely confessed. If theology were being done within a single tradition, where there is general agreement on principles and presuppositions, there might be no cause for concern here. But in an era of theological pluralism and inter-Church debate one cannot presume such agreement. If the writer on liturgy does not declare his standpoint and explain his theological horizon he will find it difficult to engage in theological debate about liturgy, as about anything else, with those who stand outside his tradition. And he will say nothing much of interest to those who stand outside the ground of faith and who would require the liturgical life of the church to be submitted to some kind of rational verification. 1 Constitution on the Liturgy, Saerosanctum Ooncilium, nn. 16, !'l8. 557 558 LIAM G. WALSH It might be claimed that contemporary theology of the liturgy avoids the pitfalls of pluralism by going back to categories that are predominantly biblical and patristic. Apart from the fact that these are the indispensible source categories of revelation, they predate the dogmatic disputes of the churches and the theological particularism of the schools and are generally accepted by all Christians. However, the course of contemporary theology surely shows that what is built from a common fund of biblical and traditional material is inevitably influenced by the dogmatic and philosophical stance of different writers. A theologian of the liturgy who is honest about his hermeneutical presuppositions will not be deceived by a convergence ' of terminology. In any case, the critical and rational function of theology and its task of building a bridge between faith and the capital of human thought require it to verify the ontological ground of revealed ideas. The fact that the Bible records the belief of a group of people in God and gives details of their worship is no guarantee that there is any such thing as God in reality; their belief that the mystery of salvation is embodied in certain events, persons or rituals is of itself no guarantee that the divine can be contacted by the human through created intermediaries. A theology of the liturgy that limits itself to a biblical and traditional explanation of the Church's worship offers a specious prospect for communication between religious men and can leave the liturgy defenceless and threatened with absurdity in the face of rational humanistic criticism. An alternative theological approach to the liturgy is to situate the subject within a comprehensive theology, a theology which is dealing in the broadest possible way with God and his relationship to the created order. Such a theology will have to analyze and justify its own basic assumptions about God and man. If it is Christian theology it will have to examine the historical working out of the relationship between God and man and explain how it culminates in Christ. Then, with its theological , anthropological, and christological presuppositions confessed and defended it will come to examine the place of the Church and its liturgy in the actual bringing about of that rela- LITURGY IN THE THEOLOGY OF ST. THOMAS 559 tionship. The fact that few contemporary theologians are prepared to attempt such a comprehensive...