Celebrating Divine Mystery

Christians are identified by their participation in liturgy. In this primer, Catherine Vincie introduces readers to current liturgical theology by providing them with the foundational themes of the field. She explains that liturgy draws us into the paschal mystery of Jesus Christ, that it should create a space in which we attempt to name toward God by employing an abundance of metaphors and images, and that the sacraments are communicated and understood through the use of symbols. Vincie is grounded in the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council. As such, Celebrating Divine Mystery seeks to draw readers into full, conscious, and active participation" in the liturgy by informing them about recent scholarship and challenging them to enter the divine mystery as informed and engaged participants. Catherine Vincie, RSHM, PhD, is professor of sacramental and liturgical theology at the Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis. She is also author of The Role of the Assembly in Christian Initiation and many articles on initiation, Eucharist, and liturgy and justice. As a practicing liturgical musician, she is also interested in the role of the arts in past and current liturgical celebration. "

This book includes brief explanations of the primary emphases of the Christian or liturgical year as observed in Christian churches in the East and West. Following brief descriptions of the primary periods of the Christian year, poems highlight the diverse theological emphases. They punctuate the scriptural background and theological ideas with appropriate prayers. Though there are differences between the liturgical calendars of Western and Eastern Christianity, many of the emphases are in concert with one another, though dates may vary. In some Protestant churches, the primary events in the life of Christ are celebrated without strict adherence to a liturgical calendar. The poems included here emphasize how the celebration of the festivals of the Christian year address the divine mysteries that followers of Christ seek to understand through worship and study every year, and what it means to observe the Christian/liturgical year. To enhance the use of the volume by clergy and worship leaders, the final section includes at least one musical setting of a poem or text for the primary events of the Christian year.

What is the Christian response to developments in the hard sciences? What do discoveries at the macro and micro levels have to say about Christian theology, about a theology of God, Christology, pneumatology, and creation? How do the developments in systematic theology that do take the advances in cosmology and the New Sciences seriously come to bear on our worship life? These are the questions that are addressed in this text. It is an initial effort to bring cosmology and the New Sciences into dialogue with developments in systematic and sacramental theology. This book also suggests some ways in which these developments might appear in our worship. Overall, the author is concerned to reduce the cognitive dissonance between our scientifically informed everyday lives and our life of faith.

"The Mystery of Christ is always the same and always complete." These words of Odo Casel, show, as do many other sayings of his, that his thought did not focus exclusively on the celebration of the Eucharist. The intention of this great stimulator amongst the theologians of our century was that his theology of divine worship should embrase the whole of the Christian's liturgical and sacramental life.... He was no mere scholar and specialist theologians, but a spiritual leader and guide for all enquiring men and women; and yet, in spite of his amazingly vast output, he had to restrict himself for the most part to the essays which still command our respect.... Odo Casel, however, certainly felt that the feasts of the Christian Year and their proper celebration urgently required theological and spiritual exposition.

What is missing in modern life is the recognition of the sacred in life. Celebrate! is a resource book for individuals, families, and communities to integrate the sacred back into ordinary life through blessing ceremonies and rituals. Sacred ceremonies are the bridge between the material and spiritual worlds reconnecting us to wholeness. The ceremonies included in the book can be used by all cultures and all faiths, marking important life events for children and adults, as well as holidays. Some are familiar ceremonies, and some are new, especially created for times that give meaning to life in the modern world. The section on Creating Your Own Ceremonies assists readers to create personal ceremonies to mark their own life journeys.