Celebrating the Eucharist - Sacrifice and Communion
edited by Gerard Deighan
Sacrifice and communion are central concepts in any serious discussion of the Eucharist, but have seldom been without controversy, either in themselves or in relation to each other. The essays in this book, originally delivered as papers at the fifth Fota International Liturgical Conference, seek to re-examine both these aspects of the Eucharist. The authors come from a wide range of academic backgrounds, and the subject-matter is treated from a scriptural, patristic, liturgical, dogmatic, spiritual and canonical point of view. Taken as a whole, the contributions demonstrate not only the historical importance but also the abiding relevance of these essential eucharistic categories.
Gerard Deighan is a priest of the Archdiocese of Dublin, Ireland, and pastor of the city parish of St Kevin. He lectures in Sacred Scripture at the Mater Dei Institute.
Further details available here
edited by Gerard Deighan
Sacrifice and communion are central concepts in any serious discussion of the Eucharist, but have seldom been without controversy, either in themselves or in relation to each other. The essays in this book, originally delivered as papers at the fifth Fota International Liturgical Conference, seek to re-examine both these aspects of the Eucharist. The authors come from a wide range of academic backgrounds, and the subject-matter is treated from a scriptural, patristic, liturgical, dogmatic, spiritual and canonical point of view. Taken as a whole, the contributions demonstrate not only the historical importance but also the abiding relevance of these essential eucharistic categories.
Gerard Deighan is a priest of the Archdiocese of Dublin, Ireland, and pastor of the city parish of St Kevin. He lectures in Sacred Scripture at the Mater Dei Institute.
Further details available here
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Reviews of "Celebrating the Eucharist - Sacrifice and Communion"
...These essays represent distinguished and excellent work by a wide variety of scholars and writers. They will prove of lasting value in many fields. Yet how their insights can be made to connect with the social and religious reality facing the parishes remains a disquieting problem. The scholars involved are right, of course, to explore these issues, especially at a time when one often feels that the theology involved, to many people in the parishes, is increasingly obscure and the real nature of liturgical acts through which the sacraments are performed, is lost. Peter Costello, The Irish Catholic, 22 May 2014. The list of contributors to this collection is very impressive...Celebrating the Eucharist: Sacrifice and Communion...just published, is a worthy successor to its predecessors in the well established and acclaimed Fota Liturgy Series. Its subject is central to Catholic life - the Eucharist as sacrifice and communion. In the preface, Fr. Deighan cuts to the chase with the observation "the sacrificial nature of the Eucharistic celebration is often neglected or misunderstood". This book is a significant step towards redressing the balance. Neglect of an adequate appreciation of the Mass as sacrifice is the root of many theological and liturgical misunderstandings. One could say that "all practical liturgical problems in the Church in the post Vatican II era come down to this very question". ... Sacrifice is at the heart of all worship... [It]...is not so much about destruction as it is about surrender to God and union with him. It is about losing oneself and so finding oneself...The sacrifice of Christ did not end on the Cross. It transcends all time and is present to us now...What is offered in the Mass is what Christ himself offered, his flesh and blood. ...[Thus] a clear idea of sacrifice is necessary if we are to understand communion in sacrifice and to realize that this is much more than an amicable gathering of the community for a shared meal...Mediator Dei, one of the most important liturgical documents on the eve of the Council,...makes clear...that the meal of communion does not make up the essence of sacrifice. This book presents us with a rich understanding of Eucharistic sacrifice...[and] helps us rediscover the heart of the Eucharistic Sacrifice. Fr. Joseph Briody, St. John's Seminary, Brighton, Massachusetts The Catholic Voice, 29 June 2014. The [Fota] Series provides a rich tool for a more in-depth study of the many aspects of the great mystery of God's actions in our midst through the Sacred Liturgy. Volume Five, entitled Celebrating the Eucharist: Sacrifice and Communion, is an especially important volume in the whole Series, both because it addresses the highest and most perfect act of Divine Worship, the Mystery of the Eucharist, and because its individual essays open our eyes and hearts to see and love the Mystery, the Sacrifice of Christ made sacramentally present on our altars, in order that we may receive the incomparable fruit of the Sacrifice, His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, as the spiritul sustenance for our earthly pilgrimage and the pledge of the final destiny of our pilgrimage in the Kingdom of Heaven. Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke Book Launch, Cork, 6 July 2014. Die Fota-Konferenzen verorten sich in der theologisch-spirituellen Tradition Joseph Ratzingers/Benedikts XVI. Sie sehen die Liturgie weniger als Gegenstand der Pastoralreform und Ritenkunde, sondern mehr als theologische Quelle und sakramentalen Lebensvollzug der Kirche in ihrer Geschichte. Die 5. Tagung wurde nun von Gerard Deighan herausgegeben... Der Band wurde... verlegerisch von Smenos Publications exzellent betreut: Schutzumschlag, Hardcover, Fadenbindung, Register).... [Er] vereinigt 13 Vorträge von hohem Niveau und zu Themen, die in die theologische Tiefe gehen, die Wurzeln der kirchlichen Eucharistielehre und -praxis ausloten und Einsichten bieten, die man vergeblich in anderen Veröffentlichungen des liturgischen Büchermarkts finden wird... Römisches Institut der Görres-Gesellschaft 8 August 2014 "This is a timely and necessary contribution, because in the last half-century the understanding of the Mass as a sacrifice has diminished considerably not only in pastoral practice but also in theological reflection...However, articulating the sacrificial character of the Eucharist is not a straightforward undertaking and less accessible to contemporary minds than the aspect of communion. Hence it is not surprising that most of the papers [in the book] face the question of the Eucharistic sacirfice. By doing this from a variety of perspectives, the book takes a significant step towards redressing the balance between sacrifice and communion...The volume contains highly informative presentations on more recent theological reflection on the Eucharist...The multi-disciplinary character of this scholarly volume makes a stimulating contribution to an ongoing theological conversation with significant practical implications and a valuable resource for further research". Uwe Michael Lang Heythrop College University of London Antiphon, vol. 18, no. 3, 2014 |