American Essays in Liturgy – serie

In recent years a new interest in the Eastern Churches has emerged in the Western Churches both Catholic and Protestant. The reader of this work will find answers to such fundamental questions as Who are Eastern Catholics?" "How did the Eastern Catholic Churches originate?" "Who are Orthodox Christians?" "How do Orthodox Christians differ from Eastern Catholics?" "Why do so many diverse Eastern Churches exist?"While it cannot answer all these questions thoroughly, this concise booklet can help interested laity, theological students, and ministers come to understand and respect Eastern Catholicism for its many contributions to the universal Catholic Church.

Much has been written regarding the western liturgy; the same cannot be said of the Byzantine liturgy. Father Taft contributes to a remedy of that shortfall through this work. In it he traces the origins of the Byzantine Rite during its period of formation: from its earliest recorded beginnings until the end of Byzantium (1453 c.e.). While the rite has undergone some change in the period since then, its outlines remain essentially the same.

"Liturgical language" denotes those words used by Christians in their communal praise and prayer. Liturgical language is often metaphoric, as metaphors help us explain the unexplainable they help the human mind contemplate the divine. Problems with liturgical language occur when these metaphors exclude some Christians when their aim should instead be to bring all Christians into communion with God. Recognizing that both metaphoric and inclusive language are necessary in Christian worship, Ramshaw clarifies how these need not be contradictory criteria for forming liturgical language.Through a review of the history of language, Ramshaw illustrates the difficulties of forming texts from words that have undergone numerous translations and whose primary meanings have also changed throughout the centuries. An examination of trends in generic American English, the vernacular on which liturgical texts are to be built, reveals two tasks for liturgists: the arduous work of retranslating liturgical texts and the creative work of crafting intercessions, hymns, and homilies that are inclusive in language. Her discussion of symbolic imagery and theological language illustrates how essential it is that words be evaluated and chosen with understanding and care.Ramshaw writes for those who find beauty and truth in metaphor and for those who strive to invite everyone to the Eucharistic banquet. She encourages all who formulate liturgical language to contemplate with seriousness and Vision the ultimate objective of this language so that it can speak with meaning and beauty to all.

Justice has been an urgent concern of twentieth-century hymn writers, but are they the first to place such an emphasis on it? In Let Justice Sing, Paul Westermeyer offers an answer with the hope that it will stimulate dialogue, future studies, and an understanding of the past that can be applied to the present.Let Justice Sing explores the content, context, and importance of justice within the warp and woof" of hymnody. By analyzing these aspects and past hymnic repertoires, it suggests to the Church and others who wish to join the moral deliberation it presumes, that not only have Christians always sung about justice, but the message transcends the messengers.The perspective and dialogue fostered by Let Justice Sing is directed to students in college or seminary courses where hymnody, Church music, or ethics is the topic; adults in forums or classes where questions about music and justice arise; and anyone with an interest in hymnody, justice, or the relationship between the two.Chapters are "Content: The Twentieth Century": "Content: Before the Twentieth Century, I"; "Content: Before the Twentieth Century, II"; "Context"; and "Hymnody and Justice."Paul Westermeyer, PhD, is Professor of Church Music at Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota. He teaches, directs music, and administers a master of sacred music degree program with St. Olaf College. His writing includes numerous articles and books."

In his letter to liturgists meeting in Mainz, Germany, in 1964, theologian Romano Guardini asked: Is ritual a forgotten way of doing things?" That question challenged Catholics to reevaluate the roots and roles of ritual. In an ongoing response to that challenge, liturgists have sought to reinterpret the multiple meanings of ritual using insights from the social sciences. In Liturgy and the Social Sciences, Nathan Mitchell examines the responses of liturgists to Guardini's famous question.In the first chapter Mitchell focuses on Aidan Kavanagh, OSB, a noted U.S. liturgist that undertook the challenge of answering Guardini's question. He explains how Father Kavanagh's innovative call for a new discipline - a "political science" of behavior - was taken up by American liturgists in a "classical" or "high church" mode that emphasized ritual action as traditional, authoritative, repetitive, conservative, and "canonical."The second chapter examines how the "high church consensus" began to unravel as a result of critical work done on "emerging ritual" by Ronald Grimes and David Kertzer. These scholars argued that new categories were needed to understand how ritual connects with social life and explained the characteristics of "emerging ritual" as innovative, untraditional, unpredictable, playful, and short term.In the third chapter Mitchell explores some of the proposals that a new generation of anthropologists have made for interpreting ritual. He gives attention to the research of Talal Asad, who suggests that rituals are a "technology" aimed at producing "virtuous selves." Michel Foucalt's "technologies of the self" is also discussed in this chapter.Although written for directors of liturgy, Liturgy and the Social Sciences will also appeal to DREs, clergy and religious, directors of adult formation, persons working with candidates in RCIA, and students and teachers of liturgy who want to look beyond what we do to understand why we do it.

The first verse of Psalm 24 declares that the earth is the Lord's" because it was God who "founded it on the seas and established it over the waters." In The Earth Is the Lord's Dianne Bergant explains that if the rich and elaborate religious tradition in that statement misunderstood, it can deepen our appreciation of God's creative power. She examines the relationship between humans, the earth, and worshiping the Lord by focusing on ancient and contemporary beliefs as well as key passages from the Bible. Chapter one, A New Worldview, discusses the connection between humans and earth, an open and critical dialogue between science and theology, and the idea that humans are not the center of the universe. Chapter two, Creation and Re-creation, focuses on the Sabbath, the sanctuary, a sacred time and place, and the image of God. Chapter three, Nature: Friend or Foe?, examines nature. Chapter four, Creation and Morality, takes a close look at morality. The final chapter, On That Day, discusses the day of the Lord, a new heaven and a new earth, and the Messianic Age.Sister Dianne Bergant CSA, is Professor of Old Testament studies at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. The general editor of TheCollegeville Bible Commentary (Old Testament), she was editor of The Bible Today from 1986-1990."

Lay preaching - preaching rendered by a baptized Christian who has not been ordained a deacon, priest, or bishop - has been a growing issue of concern since the mid-1980s. Along with this concern, a new emphasis on the important role of the laity in spreading the Gospel has emerged. This emphasis has seen lay preaching develop into a common practice in many parts of the country. But if the needs of God's people to hear the Word are to be met, a systematic approach must be taken to this timely and urgent issue. In Lay Preaching Patricia Parachini provides that approach.Preaching is a broad category (orgenus) which includes different types (or species) of preaching including pre-evangelistic preaching, evangelization, catechetical preaching or catechesis, preaching in church, and liturgical preaching. Although Parachini briefly discusses lay preaching in general, her primary focus in Lay Preaching is the most frequently debated type of preaching and the only type from which laity are regularly excluded: liturgical preaching.In the past ten years there has been a growing interest in the ministry of liturgical preaching among Roman Catholic men and women that are not ordained but minister in the Church. In Lay Preaching Parachini pays attention to that growing interest, while maintaining that people need to hear the Word preached to them well and effectively. She begins by highlighting significant moments in the history of lay preaching and addressing some of the major theological and liturgical concerns that are key to a discussion of preaching. Then, Parachini explains the pertinent canons on preaching from the 1983 revised Code of Canon Law. Finally, she describes current practices throughout the U.S. regarding lay preaching and raises fundamental questions that provide direction for the future.Chapters are A Historical Survey," "Mapping the Theological Terrain," "Perspectives of the 1983 Code of Canon Law," and "Present Realities, Future Possibilities."Patricia A. Parachini, SNJM, DMin, has been involved in the preaching ministry for 18 years as a Professor of Homiletics; a workshop facilitator; and a resource person for liturgical preaching at St. Mary's Seminary and University, the Catholic University of America, Aquinas Summer Preaching Institute, and St. Paul's College."