Liturgy 101: Sacraments & Sacramentals by Daniel G. Van Slyke

Abstract

322 Antiphon 15.3 (2011) Ultimately, the Leader’s Edition says a lot, but cannot seem to sustain a level of depth beyond what is already included in Fr. Turner’s booklet. It may prove a useful resource for an organizer who has no theological background, and who must approach this task alone and from scratch at the parish level. Ideally, however, parishes would have priests or laity with the requisite training or vision to spearhead a catechesis on the new translation - people who would not be reliant upon a guide, but who could use something like Fr. Turner’s booklet as a springboard for developing a profound and captivating program of study on the sacred liturgy. Brian MacMichael Office of Worship Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend Daniel G. Van Slyke, Liturgy 101: Sacraments & Sacramentals Liguori, Missouri: Liguori, 2010 143 pp., $14.99 In 2008, the Redemptorist press Liguori began publishing a “101 Series” designed to educate readers from high school age to adult on the basic truths and practices of the Catholic Faith. The series began with Christopher M. Bellitto’s Church History 101: A Concise Overview and continued with William J. Parker’s, Scripture 101: An Intro to Reading the Bible (2009), Mary Ann Zimmer’s Mary 101: Tradition and Influence (2010), and John L. Gresham’s Jesus 101: God and Man (2010). The series’ latest installment, which first appeared on December 31, 2010, is Daniel G. Van Slyke’s Liturgy 101: Sacraments and Sacramentals . Readers of Antiphon and members of the Society for Catholic Liturgy are no doubt familiar with Van Slyke’s expertise in the field of liturgy: he has not only contributed several important articles to this journal but worked on it in various editorial capacities from 2003 to 2007. Van Slyke’s penchant for precision and balance is evident in Liturgy 101. He begins with a chapter on basic terminology, explaining terms such as ex opere operato, “sacrament,” and “liturgy.” Along the way, Van Slyke also clears up misunderstandings common in our time, such as the true meaning of “active participation,” why “liturgy” does not mean “work of the people,” and the difference between having a right to grace and having a right to the rites of the Church faithfully enacted (the baptized faithful, we learn, possess the latter but not the former). 323 Book Reviews The rest of the book devotes a chapter to each of the seven sacraments, with the chapter on the Eucharist understandably being as twice as long as the others. The book evinces a strong desire on the author’s part to communicate the Church’s timeless teachings on her sacraments, but it brings the reader up to speed on the latest magisterial documents as well. Liturgy 101 is also sensitive to the contemporary context: formulae from both the ordinary and extraordinary forms are quoted and analyzed, and prevalent abuses and errors, such as the overuse of general absolution and dissenting theologies of sin, are gently corrected. Throughout the work Van Slyke is careful to tailor his words to the nonspecialist without sacrificing accuracy, and he covers not only the bare essentials of each sacrament (matter, form, minister, and recipient) but its underlying theology. The latter he finds principally in the “sacramentals” surrounding each sacrament, that is, the nonessential ceremonial elements instituted by the Church for the celebration or conferral of this or that sacrament . Finally, reflecting the series’ pastoral focus, each chapter ends with two helpful sections: Discussion Questions and Further Reading. Liturgy 101: Sacraments & Sacramentals is an ideal and succinct primer on sacramental theology and the basic facts that every Catholic should know about the seven visible channels of invisible grace instituted by Christ for our justification. I can easily envision its use in a wide variety of venues, from high school and introductory undergraduate courses to RCIA to private study. Michael P. Foley Baylor University ...