Liturgy Theurgy And Active Participation

Providing a metaphysical grounding for liturgical participation, this book argues that “active participation” in the liturgy must be understood principally as our participation in God’s act, particularly in the act of Christ, and only secondarily as our ritual involvement. Utilizing Neoplatonist philosophy, Kjetil Kringlebotten proposes that this should be understood in terms of theurgy, which is the human participation in divine action, which finds its consummation in the incarnation of Christ. Without the incarnation all acts will remain extrinsic and imposed but acts can become real and intrinsic precisely because the incarnation makes possible true union with the divine, a metaphysical union-in-distinction, without confusion, because this union is not extrinsic. Through union with Christ, as the one common focus of the divine-human relation, we can have true union with God and may offer true worship. In order to make sense of active participation, then, we need to understand theology in theurgic terms, where theurgy is understood not as a mechanical “coercion” of God but as a participation in His act, in creation and through Christ as the true theurgist, the “master theurgist,” Whose work transforms our act and the liturgy.

Half a century after the Second Vatican Council called for the active participation of the laity in the liturgy, a comprehensive theology of what liturgical participation actually means remains elusive. While most sacramental studies have highlighted the role and action of Christ, the conciliar reform and the theology that emanated from it call for a deeper trinitarian understanding of the liturgy and sacraments. In this fascinating new work, Gabriel Pivarnik identifies the major theological developments in the concept of active participation of the last century, most notably in Mediator Dei and the Vatican II documents. He also considers the reception of those developments. Drawing especially on the work of Cipriano Vagaggini and Edward Kilmartin, Pivarnik offers a lucid demonstration of how liturgical participation can be viewed in metaphysical, soteriological, and ecclesiological terms through the lens of a trinitarian narrative. R. Gabriel Pivarnik, OP, teaches theology at Providence College, where he also serves as director of the Center for Catholic and Dominican Studies.

This thought-provoking collection presents four different examinations of the concepts of active participation and the liturgy by four leading contemporary figures in liturgical and sacramental theology today. A thoughtful introduction by Cardinal George Pell leads into the essays by Cardinal Francis Arinze, Cardinal Francis George, and Cardinal Jorge Medina. This book also contains the document

Fifty-four years after the enthusiastic efforts at the implementations of the principle of active participation in the liturgy, certain disturbing signs abound with regard to the liturgy and how it is celebrated which do not conform with the positive effects that had been expected from the reception and implementation of this principle: More often than not the emphasis on what constitutes participation has centred more on the quantity and extent of what is done rather than the quality and content of what is done, which for me, is a false inversion. This is not in any way to relegate the role of doing something in the liturgy to the background-after all the soul always needs a body; but again, one must be able to go beyond just doing something to grasping the content of what is done or has been done. Is it possible that we have been looking at this principle from only one perspective-the external-without grasping the depths of it? Could we look at the other side: the internal and spiritual? This is what this book tries to achieve in a systematic and scholarly manner: to participate is to relate in a conscious, deliberate and active manner with Christ and all that He has revealed to us. Rev Fr Victor Usman Jamahh is a priest of the Catholic Diocese of Minna, Nigeria who holds an STD from the University of Innsbruck, Austria (2013) with specialization in Liturgy. He is presently a formator at the Good Shepherd Major Seminary in Kaduna where he is also the Dean of Studies and teaches Introduction to Liturgy, Theology of the Liturgy, Practical Liturgy, Homiletics and Medieval Church History.

2021 Catholic Media Association Award first place award in liturgy Commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the promulgation of The Roman Missal (1970), With One Spirit embarks on a significant investigation into the history of this text and the principles that impacted its development. In particular, Lamberts examines whether and how The Roman Missal encourages the active participation of the faithful in the liturgy demanded by the Second Vatican Council. Considering this pastoral and theological context, With One Spirit offers a commentary of the possibilities and limitations of the Missal’s encouragement of active participation, and formulates suggestions and improvements to realize true communal Eucharistic celebrations.

"A theology of liturgical prayer and participation"--Provided by publisher.