Context and Text

Monsignor Kevin W. Irwin has been on the faculty of The Catholic University of America for over thirty years, where he held the Walter J. Schmitz Chair of Liturgical Studies (2000–2015), served as Dean of the School of Theology and Religious Studies (2005–2011), and is currently an Ordinary Research Professor. Msgr. Irwin has published eighteen books on liturgy and sacraments.

"This is a thorough reworking of an important book. The inclusion of scholarship, church teachings, revised translations and ecumenical voices from the past twenty-five years, added to an already substantial base of church tradition, makes this a significant revision. The addition of examples from liturgical history and the recently reformed euchology enhances and fleshes out key principles and premises. In an era when the blogosphere coverage of the liturgy often reflects ideology, division, and superficiality, this book lays out the terrain in a serene and careful manner. It is a book that deserves deep reflection and prayer."Abbot Jeremy Driscoll, OSB, Mount Angel Abbey and Seminary

• ContentsPreface  ixIntroduction: New Contexts  xiPart One—Relating Liturgy and TheologyChapter One: Tradition  3Chapter Two: Method  61  Part Two—Context Is Text: Theology of LiturgyChapter Three: Sacramentality  123Chapter Four: Word  187Chapter Five: Euchology  240Chapter Six: Time  328Chapter Seven: Arts  406  Part Three—Ongoing Texts and ContextsChapter Eight: Doxology  505Chapter Nine: Spirituality  556Conclusion: Always a New Event  621  Bibliography  626General Index  627Contemporary Authors Index  645