Resurrecting Tradition

This book provides a one-volume introduction to Catholic theology. Part I includes chapters on the major themes of Catholic theology. Topics covered include the nature of theological thinking, the Triune God, the Creation, and the mission of the Incarnate Word. Part I also covers the character of the Christian sacramental life and the major themes of Catholic moral teaching. The treatments in this first part of the book offer personal syntheses and perspectives, but each chapter is intended to be in accord with Catholic theology as it is expressed in the Second Vatican Council and the magisterial tradition. Part II focuses on the historical development of modern Catholic theology. An initial section offers chapters on some of Catholic theology’s most important sources between AD200 and 1870, and the final section of the book considers all the main movements and developments in Catholic theology since 1870.The writers include some of the best-known names in current Catholic theology from the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa, and all of the most vibrant schools in current Catholic theology are represented. The book should be of help to students of Catholic theology at all levels.

Reviewed by: Many Roads Lead Eastward: Overtures to Catholic Biblical Theology by Robert D. Miller II Andrew R. Davis robert d. miller ii, Many Roads Lead Eastward: Overtures to Catholic Biblical Theology (Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2016). Pp. x + 113. Paper $17. In this slim volume Miller distills decades of reflection and conversation on the relationship between exegesis and theology into a thoughtful and highly readable survey of different hermeneutical models, leading to his own proposal of a model that seeks to "actualize" the biblical text. [End Page 120] After an opening chapter that diagnoses the divide separating biblical scholarship from systematic theology, and a second chapter that provides a concise and instructive discussion of inspiration, M. arrives at the heart of the book. Adopting with some modification Avery Dulles's Models of Revelation (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1992) as a framework, he surveys five different hermeneutical models and some of their representative practitioners: Revelation as Expression, which locates meaning in the biblical text itself rather than in its authors and tends to focus on one or more unifying themes (H. D. Preuss, Walther Eichrodt, Gerhard von Rad); Revelation in Canon, which interprets individual texts within their larger scriptural context (Brevard S. Childs, Rolf Rendtorff, James A. Sanders); Revelation as Event, which focuses on God's saving actions (magnalia Dei) as the locus of revelation rather than the biblical narrative that recounts them (G. Ernest Wright, Bruce Vawter, Jean Daniélou); Revelation as Expectation, which finds meaning in the ways communities are transformed by engaging biblical texts in all their diversity (Walter Brueggemann, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Edward Schillebeeckx); and Revelation in Ecclesia, which sees meaning in the communities who put into practice the plain sense of Scripture (Hans Frei, George Lindbeck, Stephen E. Fowl). Assessing the strengths and weaknesses of each model, this survey provides an evenhanded synthesis of the ways exegetes engage Scripture as revelation. This survey culminates in M.'s own proposed model, which he terms "actualization." It begins with establishing the plain sense of a biblical text through literary and historical-critical methodologies and then involves situating this reading within the faith expressed elsewhere in the Bible. This intrabiblical hermeneutics is a kind of Traditionsgeschichte, which recognizes the contribution of individual texts to the development of this biblical faith. For M., this "tradition" is no different from Tradition, such that the historical background of a biblical text is linked to its "foreground" in the NT and history of interpretation. Both background and foreground are vital for theological exegesis, and, for Christians, both converge on Christ. But this convergence is seen only in hindsight, and M. insists that an OT text first be read "according to principles and categories intrinsic to that text" (p. 85). The last step of M.'s model returns us to his primary goal, namely, the intersection of biblical exegesis and systematic theology; he calls on biblical scholars "to examine ways in which modern theologians (Catholic and Protestant) appropriate the text's 'symbols'" (p. 88). The strengths of this book are numerous. First, it provides a timely argument for the indispensability of historical criticism for theological exegesis. M.'s training in the former and commitment to the latter enable him to bridge the divide he has diagnosed. An especially welcome feature of his analysis is his engagement with various church documents related to Scripture and with systematic theologians. Having called for theological exegesis that is more than "merely Wissenschaft plus pious reflection or parenesis" (p. 9), he models the hermeneutical engagement he has recommended. Lastly, I would highlight the book's readability, by which I mean its brevity and tone. M. has covered much ground in a short space, and his writing style is amiable and learned without being overly academic. For all of these qualities the book deserves a wide readership. As for weaknesses, M.'s proposal could benefit from an exegetical test case. Over a third of Dulles's book, which provided the framework for this book, is devoted to applying [End Page 121] his and other models of revelation to various theological topics. If M. had followed suit and applied his hermeneutical approach to a particular biblical text, he would have thickened...

Reviewed by: Latin et latinité dans l’œuvre de Léon Bloy M. Martin Guiney Guyot, Gaëlle. Latin et latinité dans l’œuvre de Léon Bloy. Paris: Champion, 2003. Pp. 546. ISBN2-7453-0716-9 This volume in the series Romantisme et Modernités edited by Alain Montaudon lives up to the high standards characteristic of the Honoré Champion catalog, and is a boon to Bloy scholars. More difficult to assess is its value for those who are not interested in Bloy primarily, but rather in the broader question of the influence of Latin and of Classical and Christian Latinity on French literature. The deep yet narrow focus on one author supports the broader theme, given Bloy's particularly strong and conflicted relationship to Latin in all its manifestations, but also undermines it by failing adequately to address important nineteenth- and twentieth-century debates such as the role of Latin in education, as a sign of literary value, as the disputed province of the Church or of secular institutions. Parts i and ii concentrate on biographical, linguistic, and stylistic questions, iii and iv on historical and theological themes. Guyot excels at showing that Bloy's distorted [End Page 402] syntax, neologisms, recondite vocabulary, and taste for the grotesque are not simply inventions and quirks of style, but a conscious and systematic defamiliarization of contemporary literary French by exposing its hidden Latinity, the linguistic "other" at its core. The painstaking demonstration of the paradoxical claim that Bloy viewed Latin as incompatible with the pure, "classical" French that nineteenth-century pedagogy glorified as the legitimate heir to Greek and Roman antiquity, is the single most original aspect of Guyot's book. Unfortunately, she concentrates more on presenting detailed evidence in support of her case than doing justice to its implications. While the exhaustiveness of her treatment is admirable, the trees in this case tend to obscure the forest. The questions Guyot raises are indisputably of great interest, beginning with the ambivalence toward Latin instilled by French schools in their most gifted students. As for many of his contemporaries, Bloy's early exposure to Latin was a disaster. Rhetorical pedagogy in the Jesuit tradition taught students to mimic fragments of Classical authors taken out of context, ostensibly to allow them to think, write, and speak by themselves, but rarely attaining that lofty goal. Bloy's failure to learn or even appreciate Latin set the stage for a "second" classical education, personal rather than institutional. Guyot's meticulous reconstruction of Bloy's early Latin lessons, in-cluding the programmes of primary and secondary education during his childhood and adolescence, followed by his simultaneous rediscovery of Catholic faith and "authentic" Latin culture, constitutes a model study of linguistic and literary apprenticeship. Though Bloy never could write or even read Latin with ease, it exerted enormous power over his stylistic development and his conception of Christian theology emerging from the soil of a dead and putrefying Classical culture. Guyot shows that Bloy created a highly personal Latin that is neither the Classical archetype of Republican virtue, nor the hieratic sign of God's presence on earth, but rather a varied and flexible medium that, combined with French, more easily expresses a radical esthetic and apocalyptic theology. Her approach is typified by the many lists she has compiled, such as inventories of Bloy's library to establish which Latin texts influenced him most; inventories of his Latin citations, whether from Roman texts, the Vulgate, or from Catholic theology or liturgy; uses of Latinate syntax; and Latinate neologisms from his polemical essays and novels. "Latinisant" is the word used to describe Bloy's style, but its meaning in this context is surprising: far from giving form, clarity, and authority to his prose, Bloy's Latin is "monstrous," another recurring motif. Latin is largely responsible for the strangeness, dislocation, violence, and even deliberate ugliness of his style. Such stylistic qualities raise the difficult question of Bloy's modernity, another interesting avenue that Guyot unfortunately does not adequately explore. For example, similar questions about archaic and modernist esthetics arise concerning the painting of Georges Rouault, itself influenced by Bloy, and Guyot makes a tantalizingly brief mention of...

In his recent study of the sources of the modem identity, Charles Taylor coined the phrase, ‘the affirmation of the ordinary life.’ He argues that modem culture has been marked not only by a growing recognition of the dignity and worth of human beings but also by a growing recognition of the dignity and worth of the ordinary life—the life of production and reproduction, of work and family. Taylor calls this affirmation of ordinary life ‘one of the most powerful ideas in modem civilization.’ It has certainly become one of the predominant themes in Catholic theology in the second half of this century.Taylor notes, however, another ‘extremely important fact about modern moral consciousness. . . . We are in conflict, even confusion about what it means to affirm ordinary life.’ So for example, Catholics may, almost unanimously, describe the post-Vatican II era as the age of the laity, but particular attempts to live the Gospel in the modem world and to theologize about that experience create storms of controversy. The debates surrounding liberation theology, which with its turn to the economic, social and political life of man is nothing if not an affirmation of ordinary life, are one such example.One particularly illuminating instance of the debates surrounding the affirmation of ordinary life and liberation theology is Juan Segundo’s Theology and the Church: A Response to Cardinal Ratzinger and a Warning to the Whole Church (Minneapolis, 1985). In it Segundo responds to the ‘‘Instruction on Certain Aspects of the Theology of Liberation’ issued by the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

The Synod on Synodality (2021–2024), through its deepening of the concepts of communion, participation, and mission, has generated reflections and debates concerning the revision of relationships within the Church. Naturally, the synodal process could not overlook an analysis of the relationship between bishops and priests, viewed within a horizon of fraternity and humanity. The relationship between bishops and priests constitutes a fundamental aspect of the Church’s structure and life, being essential for ecclesial communion and the effectiveness of pastoral mission. However, the significance and implica- tions of this relationship, so crucial in practical terms, are not exhausted by canonical and administrative regulations, as they are rooted in Revelation and in the very being of the Church, as well as in the humanity created by God and sanctified by grace. This is precisely the theme of our article, which seeks to explore a theological and spiritual perspective specific to the priesthood. The structure of the article will include a brief reflection on the development of this theme in Catholic theology, followed by an exposition of the theological foundations of fraternity between bishops and priests and an emphasis on the importance of human values in the concrete experience of this fraternity.

The precise definition of covenant (Heb. b’rith, Gk. diatheke) is a matter of scholarly debate, but many contemporary scholars would agree that it denotes a sacred relationship of obligation established by means of an oath. The oath could be expressed in words, rituals, or both. The resulting obligations were sometimes expressed as laws in a text documenting the covenant relationship. Many are also convinced that covenant was, in essence and origin, a legal means to extend kinship bonds to a party not related by blood. Therefore, familial language (“father,” “son,” “brother”) and affective terms (Heb. ahaba, “love”; hesed, “faithfulness”) were often used to describe or prescribe the relationship of the parties. Other scholars would define covenant in a more limited fashion, as a “solemn promise made binding by an oath,” or even merely as a synonym for “duty” (German Pflicht) or “obligation” (German Verplichtung). Covenant is certainly a central theme in biblical literature, biblical theology, and biblical religions. A series of covenants between God and central figures of sacred history (Noah, Abraham, Moses, David) structures the so-called “Primary History” of the Hebrew Bible (Genesis through Kings). Covenant themes and motifs are significant, even dominant, in the Psalms and (Latter) Prophets. Only in the wisdom literature is the covenant theme muted, though it is often present subtly and implicitly. The New Testament presents Jesus as the anticipated “anointed one” come to establish the new covenant promised by the prophets (cf. Jer. 31:31; Luke 22:20). Rabbinic thought everywhere presupposed (and presupposes) a covenant between Israel and God, as discussed in Sanders 1977 (cited under Covenant in Paul Generally). Likewise, various early Church Fathers recognized the divine economy (i.e., salvation history) as divided into stages marked by covenants with key biblical figures. Explicit discussion of the covenant or covenantal concepts faded in the medieval period, but again became a major theological topos in the Reformation, especially within the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition, which continues to produce a disproportionate amount of scholarship on biblical covenants. The Dispensationalist movement in American Protestantism likewise takes great interest in covenant as an organizing principle for the stages of salvation history. Within Catholic theology since the mid-20th century, there has been a revival of interest in the covenant and its significance for biblical studies, sacramentology, and liturgy. There was a flurry of interest in covenant in critical scholarship in the mid-20th century, when parallels between ancient Near Easter covenant texts and those in the Old Testament were first recognized. Enthusiasm has since waned, but research continues steadily, albeit more slowly.

This essay considers Catholic theology between 1500 and 1700. Theology of this period was an essential point of reference for such theologians as Cardinal Newman, but is today unfortunately neglected. This was the period that saw the flowering of the great schools of Thomistic interpretation, as well as much important mystical writing, especially by Carmelites. Disciples of Duns Scotus made significant contributions to Christology and Mariology. During these centuries scholars laid the foundations for modern study of the Patristic period, and developed detailed reflection on the nature and purpose of interreligious dialogue. Many of the distinctive themes of twentieth century theology--from Thomist to those of the ressourcement school--find their roots in this period.

This article focuses on one specific theological controversy, which pertains to the kataphatic—apophatic debates as a framework for New Testament theology. In the year 1998, theologians from Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a refutation of teaching of Anthony De Mello, SJ. The analysis of the Congregation’s refutation and the consequent debate led to the following hypothesis: Although the teaching of De Mello can be understood as following the apophatic line of thought in Christology and other important topics of New Testament theology, it is also bringing several distinctly Indian ideas and emphasis into the debate. Whereas apophatic theology is concerned with the problem of intellectual knowledge about God, the Indian view is concerned with the question of practical role of language in human attempts to experience the Divine. In both approaches, debates about the role of human thought, as expressed in language, are crucial, but for different reasons and with different aims.

This chapter turns Christian mystical theology toward the empowering experiences of divine union in Black women’s quotidian lives. It features the womanist novelist and theorist Alice Walker and the Catholic womanist theologian M. Shawn Copeland and puts them into dialogue with other scholars who reflect on intersecting racial, gender, and socioeconomic conditions within African American mystical traditions. It engages with Black studies discourses that offer mystical interpretations of Black “nothingness.” It argues that the mystical conversion stories of nineteenth-century Black female preachers such as Maria Stewart, Zilpha Elaw, Jarena Lee, Sojourner Truth, Rebecca Cox Jackson, and Henriette Delille ought to be included in the Western mystical canon. It demonstrates that mysticism—the union of the divine and the flesh—is a central theme of womanist literature and theology. It highlights the distinctive womanist emphasis on mystical experiences of the body, particularly involving suffering, joy, and freedom. It concludes that the motif of divine darkness in the Christian mystical tradition ought to be rethought in relation to such experiences.

The Thomist 66 (2002): 133-47 CATHOLIC BIOETHICS: THREE RECENT STUDIES1 BASIL COLE, 0.P. Dominican House of Studies Washington, D.C. THERE IS A LAW that goes into effect when buying a new computer: it will be outdated and cheaper to buy six months later. Something similar happens when a theologian writes a book on the subject of medical moral theology: some new moral problem will emerge after the book is sent to the printers. It is also very difficult to explain and defend the Church's teaching on medical moral questions and much easier to create one's own norms while criticizing the Church for being obstinate or behind the cultural times. This article discusses three recent books that attempt to do the former rather than the latter.2 I. Two TEXTBOOKS: ASHLEY AND O'ROURKE AND MAY A) Complementary Approaches Since 1978, Benedict Ashley, O.P., and Kevin O'Rourke, O.P., have published four editions of their Healthcare Ethics: A Theological Analysis. The first edition ran 14 chapters and 506 1 The author of this article wishes to thank Bro. Nicanor Austriaco, 0.P., for his timely criticisms of this manuscript. 1 Benedict M. Ashley, O.P., and Kevin D. O'Rourke, O.P., Health Care Ethics: A Theological Analysis, 4th ed. (Washington D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 1997), pp. 530 + xiv. William E. May, Catholic Bioethics and the Gift ofLi(e (Huntington, Ind.: Our Sunday Visitor, 2000), pp. 340; Peter Cataldo and Albert Moraczewski, O.P., eds., Catholic Health Care Ethics: A Manual for Ethics Committees (Boston: National Catholic Bioethics Center, 2001). 133 134 BASIL COLE, O.P. pages; the latest revision has 15 chapters and 520 pages. It would be very valuable for the community of scholars and students who have specialized in this field if someone would write an overview of all these editions. It must be noted that the theology and moral conclusions of Ashley and O'Rourke evolved over the years, yet newer and newer medico-moral problems confronted the Church and world just as the latest of their editions came out. It was not their fault, for example, that when this edition was finally printed (1998) it contained nothing on Alan Shewmon's latest scientific doubts about brain death, the human genome project, or ethical questions concerning the separation of Siamese twins; the book was being printed when these issues surfaced. Similarly, when William May's Catholic Bioethics and the Gift ofHuman Life was finally printed, it contained nothing either on the Siamese question or on Pope John Paul's assertion that there is a moral certainty that total brain death can still be used as a criterion for true death. It is presently impossible to write the definitive and complete text in this field because scientific and medical advances or moral problems occur very quickly, and new moral perplexities emerge sometimes it seems on a monthly basis. Still, both books, each in its own way, are invaluable tools for learning the basic principles of this theological and philosophical science. What may not be found in one text can often be discovered in the other. They are in agreement for the most part on the mainline problems associated with medical ethics but also disagree on several key issues, including the use of artificial hydration and nutrition for permanent-vegetative-state (PVS) cases and the use of methotrexate as a method for coping with tubal pregnancies. These issues have not yet been settled by the Church's magisterium, so lively disagreement is reasonable. On other controversial issues both resolved and unresolved by the magisterium, they manage to agree but from different perspectives. Ashley and O'Rourke come from a long Thomistic natural-law tradition in their analysis of the field of Catholic medical moral theology, but they also attempt to synthesize, coordinate, and criticize a whole gamut of authors who have written in the field CATHOLIC BIOETHICS 135 of medical moral ethics both within and outside the Thomistic and even the Catholic tradition. Their guiding light is called "prudential personalism." Many moral answers to medical problems are not moral absolutes. The virtue of prudence is necessary to solve these problems (e...

One of the most persistent questions in modern theology has been that of how we can adequately acknowledge the stranger. Drawing upon the work of post‐Heideggerian theorist of language and death, Jacques Derrida, and his own creative re‐reading of Martin Heidegger and Emmanuel Levinas, the Catholic theologian and phenomenologist Jean‐Luc Marion has attempted to reconstruct what he regards as a genuinely Husserlian phenomenology. In so doing he has mapped out a phenomenology of love and a phenomenology of that divine gift as ‘being given as givenness’; that is, a condition of life itself. In fact, as I will argue, this rests on the boundary between theology and thanatology (the philosophy of our encounter with that most radical stranger, death) and in his recent reflections upon ‘saturated phenomena’ Marion has explored the interplay between traditional theological topics such as hope and death and contemporary arguments on meaning, symbol and ritual. Christian hope resides in an act of remembrance and Marion argues for the eucharist – in its recollection of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ – as the site of human hope; only this crucial eucharistic move upwards and outwards can overcome the burden of Western metaphysics. It is a literary move which takes us some way towards elevating the language which we use in talking about and recognising the other beyond that of the narrow model offered to us by some commentators of Levinas and one which encourages us to look again at poetry, hymn and Scripture.

The Cambridge History of Reformation Era Theology explores the key developments in both Protestant and Catholic theology ca. 1475-1650. Exploring the various settings and schools in which theology was formulated and taught, and the social backgrounds of its exponents—including women and non-university-trained men, as well as writers both in and outside Europe—it establishes how the major denominations took their positions and participated in a broader discourse. The volume examines specific theological themes from different denominational perspectives, demonstrating how theology affected the lives of believers via pastoral theology, canon law, and spirituality, and how theological ideas were linked to politics, warfare, science, and the arts. Written by an international team of leading scholars in the field, this History expands the range of theological discourse by introducing new topics and spokespersons, as well as global and ecumenical perspectives. It will remain the definitive place to begin any further study of theology during this period for years to come.

Since the publication of Gustavo Gutierrez's 1973 groundbreaking work, A of Liberation, much has been written on liberation theology and its central premise of the preferential option for the poor. Arguably, this has been one of the most important yet controversial theological themes of the twentieth century. As globalization creates greater gaps between the rich and the poor, and as the situation for many of the world s poor worsens, there is an ever greater need to understand the gift and challenge of Christian faith from the context of the poor and marginalized of our society. This volume draws on the thought of leading international scholars and explores how the Christian tradition can help us understand the theological foundations for the option for the poor. This passionate collection gives testimony to the continued vitality of the option for the poor in Christian theology, and the necessity for all theology to have a political edge in the era of globalization. Many major names in theology are gathered here as well as a wonderful diversiity of perspectives on the topic: North America, Latin American, African-American, Latino, African, Asian, and Jewish. this volume will be excellent for classroom use, while also challenging scholars to broaden their horizons and their imaginations. Lisa Sowle Cahill, J. Donald Monan Professor of Theology, Boston College The contributors to this volume include some of the most important names in Catholic social theology of recent decades. This points to the book s significance for scholars and students in theology, ethics, justice, and peace studies. Nearly all of the authors come out of their experience as people of color, people of the Third World, or people committed to the poor in their lives and lifestyle. I think the volume presents high-caliber scholarship rooted in the reality it tries to probe. Stephen Bevans, Louis J. Luzbatek Professor of Mission and Culture, Catholic Theological Union All who believe that Liberation was just a fad must read this book. Groody gathers foundational voices of the Liberation movement to demonstrate that where ever the poor exist, a theological option exists for them. By focusing the discussion on the poor of the world, Groody forces all of us to interpret our Christian faith through their experiences, and whatever one chooses to call that interpretation, it will in the final analysis be liberationist! Miguel A. De La Torre, Iliff School of Theology

ABSTRACT: French Catholic theologian Yves Congar (1904–1984) is associated with major renewals of the Catholic church in the twentieth century. His theology is deeply and consistently conscious of the internal and external struggles of the church in the world. My thesis proposes that development of the theology of the Holy Spirit in his later work and these early sensitivities are directly connected. This implicit relation of the Holy Spirit and the world, my argument goes, is essential to understanding Congar’s work as a whole, but is not so far explored by Congar scholars. Set vis-à-vis concerns and sensitivities, this growing appreciation of the role of the Holy Spirit, I contend, allows to better understand and give space to the world and humanity in the tripartite dialogue God-world-humanity. To achieve this, I provide a historical-theological reading, which shows this dialogue as continuing in the whole of Congar’s work and I focus on three major stages of his work. The accumulation, maturation and rifts in his work on the reform in the church, tradition and the Holy Spirit are analysed. Following Congar and key to my argument, history is viewed as a locus of theology, and milieu (the ecclesial life), method (the theology of tradition) and theological themes (incarnation and the Holy Spirit) are shown as interweaving. Gradually Congar’s implicit sapiential view of the relation God-world-humanity, sustained by a Trinitarian theology of two divine missions, emerges. The development of the theology of the Spirit beside that of the Son leads to a conclusion that, thanks to the activity of the Spirit, human and free activity in the world might be viewed at the same time as the activity of God. Congar’s attempts to achieve greater intimacy and integrity, and more intimately reconnect God and the world, do not lose their pertinence. However, a more pronounced and affirmed view of the Spirit’s activity in the world as such would be necessary to better address contemporary concerns.

René Girard and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass: Re-Assessing the Twentieth-Century Liturgical Reform Ryan J. Marr (bio) After being exposed to the writings of René Girard, it came as no surprise to me to learn that he supported the movement to provide for a wider use of the “Tridentine Mass.”1 Given the centrality of Christ’s sacrificial self-offering to Girard’s later work, it makes sense that he would have been sympathetic to a ritual form that, perhaps more than any other Christian liturgy, involves a re-presentation of Christ’s Passion.2 Unfortunately, nowhere in his published writings did Girard directly comment on the theological significance of the older form of the Roman rite. In fact, for the most part, Girard kept his distance from discussions of liturgical matters. Thus, while his work has made significant waves in the fields of anthropology and systematic theology, the field of liturgical studies remains ripe for a deeper engagement with Girard’s work. The underlying contention of [End Page 191] the following study is that Girard’s scholarship can provide a fuller understanding of the mystery of the Eucharist in relation to Christ’s sacrificial work on the cross, thereby providing a fuller appreciation of the particular strengths of what is now known as the Extraordinary Form of the Roman rite.3 The first section of the article will examine how Girard’s thoughts concerning sacrifice provide a helpful grammar for talking about atonement, while the second section will bring his work into conversation with Catholic Eucharistic theology, specifically, with the notion of the Eucharist as an unbloody sacrifice. The third section of the paper will be more polemical in nature, arguing that certain aspects of the liturgical reform following the Second Vatican Council, in particular the Novus Ordo Missae, obscure the sacrificial character of the Mass, thereby blunting the force of the rite to communicate the way in which Christ’s sacrifice frees us from the cycle of violence that has plagued human culture from its very beginnings. My comments in this section of the paper will focus on the Ordo Missae strictly speaking. A broader analysis of the reform of the Missal could examine its different aspects—e.g., the structure of the liturgical year, the various prayers, lectionary readings, etc.—but this article will limit itself to an assessment of the Order of Mass. Finally, the conclusion will set forth a constructive proposal for concretizing Benedict XVI’s hope that the two forms of the Roman rite might be mutually enriching. Violence and the Sacred: Sacrifice in the Thought of René Girard Before getting to the heart of my argument, some brief comments on Girard’s theory of mimesis and its application to a Christian understanding of atonement are in order. In Girard’s view, human beings do not possess “natural” desires; rather, we learn what to desire by observing what others desire. While on the surface this mimetic desire seems harmless enough, it has a [End Page 192] darker side in that shared desire inevitably leads to violence.4 Mimetic conflict represents a crisis not only in the relationships between individuals, but also at a societal level, due to the contagious nature of violence.5 Because of the human propensity to seek revenge, acts of violence tend to escalate into heightened levels of conflict, until the very structures of social order reach the brink of destruction. As a means of resolving this crisis, primitive societies often fell back upon the scapegoat mechanism, in which the anger and hostility of the community were directed against a randomly chosen victim. Just as two rivals can find solidarity through a shared enemy, so also this dynamic appears to work at the societal level. In a very real sense, social cohesiveness is constructed around the lynched body of a sacrificial victim.6 Throughout most of human history, it seems, societies have operated according to the principle of Caiaphas, that it is better for one man to die for the people than that the whole nation should perish (see Jn 11:50).7 Building on this idea of the scapegoat mechanism, Girard...