Encountering Christ in the Eucharist: The Paschal Mystery in People, Word, and Sacrament by Bruce T. Morrill, S.J. (review)

110 ANTIPHON 17.1 (2013) Bruce T. Morrill, S.J. Encountering Christ in the Eucharist: The Paschal Mystery in People, Word, and Sacrament New York: Paulist Press, 2012 v+134 pages. Paperback. $16.95. Among liturgical theologians, it has become de rigueur to speak of the manifold presence of Christ in the Eucharistic liturgy, drawing from Sacrosanctum Concilium, no. 7. Such theologians, rather than seek a deeper understanding of what constitutes Eucharistic presence , tend to employ what might loosely be called “the doctrine of the fourfold presence”—at best, as a corrective to an exclusive focus on the real presence of Christ; at worst, as a way of dismissing the doctrine of transubstantiation in toto. Bruce Morrill’s Encountering Christ in the Eucharist is an important exception to this trend. Locating his understanding of presence in the Paschal Mystery of Jesus Christ, a move that situates him within the domain of the early liturgical movement and Pauline theology, Morrill provides a biblically grounded, patristic, and theologically sophisticated treatment of Sacrosanctum Concilium, no. 7. Christ’s presence in the assembly is unfolded according to the sacramental logic of baptism, of the patristic sacramental seal, a biblical account of covenant, and the interruptive and latent Christological presence manifested in the assembly. The same presence is treated anew in the proclamation of the Scriptures themselves, attentive to the manner in which the liturgical ordering of the lectionary interrupts the human imagination, our own meaning structure, and reveals to us glimpses of the kingdom of God’s advent—what Morrill calls the “paschal imagination.” Morrill develops Christ’s abiding presence in the Eucharist through the union of Word and sacrament, an evaluation of the Trinitarian basis of sacrifice, a Christology of self-gift based in the biblical narrative, an account of Jewish anamnetic prayer forms focusing particularly on the communion sacrifice, and the “eucharistizing” effect of the Eucharistic prayer. Lastly, Morrill acknowledges Christ’s presence in Christian leadership (a term chosen because of its ecumenical nature), building his argument from the priestly and prophetic charism bestowed in baptism, a history of priestly ministry, an ecumenical theology of Eucharistic presidency, and an acknowledgement of other forms of liturgical leadership. 111 BOOK REVIEWS Morrill’s Encountering Christ in the Eucharist, an especially valuable text for parish study groups, ecumenical gatherings on the Eucharist, and undergraduate courses on the sacraments, is an icon of a form of liturgical studies so rarely practiced in the academy. He treats biblical and sacramental theology alongside liturgical history and the social sciences, and through this methodological diversity, engages in a refined evaluation of the manifold presence of Christ. To speak of the fourfold presence of Christ in the Eucharistic liturgy, for Morrill, is only sensible if the theologian attends to the particularities of the act under examination—what it means for a Christian to assemble, to proclaim the Scriptures according to the mind of the Church, to participate in the Eucharistic sacrifice , and to lead liturgical prayer. Such a move, a sign of LouisMarie Chauvet’s influence upon Morrill, may be conceived as an application of Chauvetean sacramental theology in an American context. Likewise, Morrill demonstrates his pastoral sensibility, interspersing narrative throughout the text in a way that elucidates even complex theological concepts. Encountering Christ is a work that only a teacher of undergraduates and liturgical practitioner could pull off. Nonetheless, there are two small lacunae that need to be addressed. First, at several places in the text, Morrill falls into a common, albeit too simplistic narrative regarding liturgical history , namely, that the Second Vatican Council rescued Catholicism from a form of medieval piety through a reclamation of the biblical and patristic approach to liturgy. While undoubtedly the Council did seek to promote a renewal of the liturgical life of the Church through a ressourcement of the biblical and patristic vision, medieval Catholicism also enabled a unique form of participation in the manifold presence of Christ through the sanctoral cycle, liturgical devotions, drama, and other forms of art (see in particular Eamon Duffy, The Stripping of the Altars: Tradition Religion in England 1400–1580, 1992). In fact, Morrill’s attention to particularity in the fourfold presence of Christ may inspire a...