Sacred Liturgy: The Source and Summit of the Life and Mission of the Church ed. by Alcuin Reid (review)

For obvious reasons, theologians, philosophers, apologists, and ecclesial authorities have long looked at the declining number of actively involved Catholics since the reforms of the Second Vatican Council. Many insist that the cause of this unprecedented flight from the pew is a failure to recognize the centrality of the sacred liturgy. The liturgy, either in theory and/or practice, has not been the source and summit of the Christian life. In other words, there have been corrupting "shadows" in the ritual reforms of Venerable Paul VI that have prevented the sacred liturgy from being what it ought, and needs, to be (cf. St. John Paul II, Ecclesia de Eucharistia, §10).

Aware of these shadows and desirous to recentralize the sacred liturgy in the service of belief and evangelization, in June of 2013, during the year of Faith (2012–2013), an international conference was held at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome. Participants at the 2013 Sacra Liturgia conference gathered to perform what Don Alcuim Reid called an honest "liturgical examination of conscience" of the post-conciliar liturgy (10). Thankfully, all of the papers presented at the conference have been collected and made available in the text Sacred Liturgy: The Source and Summit of the Life and Mission of the Church, edited by Alcuin Reid.

The text, consisting of twenty-three contributors discussing various elements of the Church's liturgical life since the reforms of Sacrosanctum Concilium, is bound to either encourage or frustrate, depending upon which side of the liturgical camp one is situated. The text is no less than a robust, theologically rich apologia for the new liturgical movement called for by then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (cf. Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, The Spirit of the Liturgy [San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2000]). As one may expect, topics covered include: the mis-application and weaknesses of the reforms of Vatican II, the importance of sacred music and church architecture, and the relationship between liturgical formation and catechesis. Also discussed are questions about the proper "art of celebrating," the role and responsibility of the bishop in promoting right worship, and the relationship between liturgy and the Church's social doctrine.

Having not the requisite space to comment upon all the fine essays presented in this volume, I will limit myself to remarking on some of the more intriguing and insightful contributions. The brief introductory address by Bishop Dominique Rey of Fréjus-Toulon, France (13–17) effectively sets the tone for the entirety of the text. He emphasizes that the sacred liturgy "is not a peripheral matter" and, as such, it needs to be at "the center of any renewal of the Church" (15). Referencing Sacrosanctum Concilium, he explains that the centrality of the liturgy in ecclesial renewal is due to the "singular efficacy" of the liturgy to foster an encounter with the saving action of Christ. When the liturgy is not what it should be, when it lacks beauty, the encounter with Christ is impeded. Thus, according to Bishop Rey, "liturgical formation is crucial" (16).

Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, Archbishop of Comlombo, Sri Lanka, provides a sapiential articulation of worship in general, tracing its heavenly origin and man's progressive participation in this perennial divine act. Entitling his essay "The Source and Summit of the Life and Mission of the Church" (19–39), Cardinal Ranjith argues that the very existence and mission of Israel as revealed in the biblical narrative is ordered to a cultic end. This end, which is a call to worship the one true God and lead others to the rightful worship of that one true God, is ordered to, and perfected by, Christ's self-offering on the Cross and the Church's continuation of that offering in the sacred liturgy. The cardinal's Christocentric reading of man's liturgical activity allows one to avoid many of the "erroneous ideas" that have seeped into...