Despite what the back cover suggests about the book reflecting on pneumatologyand issues from justice to interfaith relations, this book actually offers preciselywhat its title promises: a tightly focused study of invocations of the Holy Spiritwithin eucharistic prayers from early Christian communities and from the twentiethcentury. Even if narrower than advertised, however, Anne McGowan’s workaddresses another profound question: she explores the way in which the past influencesthe present, examining the impact research into ancient liturgical texts had onthose who revised eucharistic prayers from the 1960s onwards. So let us forget themarketing copy and evaluate the book for what it is.McGowan herself outlines two goals: the first as mentioned above, and thesecond to propose ways that more recent liturgical research might help the variousChurches ‘to articulate and incorporate a more expansive understanding of theconnection between the Holy Spirit and the Eucharist’ (p. 12). She begins with asurvey of epicleses and related components within ancient eucharistic texts, intertwinedwith the tale of liturgical historians’ evolving understanding of the genealogiesof the prayers. McGowan then presents the history of modern revision, usinginvocations of the Holy Spirit to illuminate the theologies of Western Churchesengaged in worship renewal. The last half of the book compares the multitude ofepicleses in select modern denominational worship books, before concluding with ashort speculative chapter.But while the aims are clear, at times the volume feels like several books in one.The first section is a painstaking comparative textual analysis of epicleses withinrepresentative eucharistic prayer types; the later examination of modern prayersoffers similar detail. Chapters on the history of liturgical scholarship are morenarrative, however, while the studies of modern traditions each end in theologicalcritique. Essentially, the book functions best as a handy reference volume, potentiallyuseful both to those interested in the history of scholarship and to those morespecifically curious about liturgical revision.In this, McGowan underlines areas for further development. For example, in thelast section she observes that, while the twentieth-century prayers feel exceedinglysimilar – thanks to ecumenical cooperation and different revisers finding inspirationin the same ancient sources – a closer investigation demonstrates that differentchurches nonetheless shaped liturgies congruent to their own traditions. Presentingthis diversity as a strength, McGowan suggests that the way forward lies inencouraging variety within each tradition too, thus broadening overall Christianappreciation of the Holy Spirit’s role (pp. 269–70). The embrace of diversity thenturns beyond Western Churches towards Christianities elsewhere.Though McGowan here works exclusively with prayer texts, she acknowledgesthat keeping actual practice outside the work’s scope means she cannot provide acomplete portrayal of the lived understanding of the sacrament (pp. 21, 273). Whilethis decision is comprehensible, given the ease of using official liturgical resourcescompared with the incredible plurality of devotional practice, the neglect of theembodied nature of eucharistic prayer remains a missed chance to put the discussedtexts into stronger context: if the nuances of language demonstrate the differencebetween, say, a Roman Catholic and a Methodist prayer, then pondering particularitiesof practice, even if only generally, would no doubt strengthen McGowan’sargument concerning diversity. Similarly, it would have helped readers if the authorhad explained her selection of modern denominations – as it stands, the choicesseem somewhat random.McGowan sets out to demonstrate a very specific argument and to reflect theologicallyon her observations. The weight of detail unfortunately threatens to overwhelmthe course of that argument, and makes the theological reflection seem almostan afterthought. McGowan does a good job describing how research into ancientliturgy influenced contemporary liturgical composition, but leaves unasked the theologicalquestion of why revisers thought it important to do so. By bringing so manydifferent strands of liturgical study together, from ancient epicleses to the process ofrevision creating modern prayers, however, the book provides a valuable resource.
