The Dynamics of Liturgy. Joseph Ratzinger's Theology of Liturgy: An Interpretation by D. Vincent Twomey, S.V.D.

Abstract

Reviewed by: The Dynamics of Liturgy. Joseph Ratzinger's Theology of Liturgy: An Interpretation by D. Vincent Twomey, S.V.D. Roland Millare D. Vincent Twomey, S.V.D. The Dynamics of Liturgy. Joseph Ratzinger's Theology of Liturgy: An Interpretation San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2022 187 pages. Paperback. $19.95. One of the central contributions of Joseph Ratzinger has been his theology of liturgy, which will continue to inspire the Church for decades to come. This recent work of one of his former doctoral students is a great contribution to the growing literature on the topic. Fr. Vincent Twomey's experience and wisdom as a professor, a theologian, and as a priest-missionary is helpful in presenting Ratzinger's theology of liturgy. The unifying theme of the varying chapters of Twomey's book are the "dynamics" of grace, mission, and faith. Underlying these is the dynamism of human nature, which is oriented towards self-transcendence as expressed in ritual. Twomey's experience in the Major Seminary of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands was the impetus for his inquiry into a potential relationship between aboriginal and Christian rites (Chapter 1). Ratzinger helped Twomey to appreciate how the universal human experiences of birth, death, meals, and marriages "create community, fellowship, not only horizontally, with our fellows, but with God" (45). In all world religions, Ratzinger notes that "sacrifice, the core of worship, invariable involves a meal, communion with the Divinity and with those participating in the offering of sacrifice" (45). [End Page 131] Worship was transformed definitively within the New Testament via the logos. The Pauline understanding of worship as a logike latreia (Rom 12:1) is a central theme in Ratzinger's theology of liturgy, which Twomey underscores. The notion of liturgy or worship is no longer limited to ritual animal sacrifice. Christian worship extends to the transformation of everyday life in light of the Eucharist. According to Ratzinger, the liturgy leads us into a "dynamism of transcendence" that "tears us away from the visible, the present, the comfortable—and directs us toward the future city" (49). Pope Benedict understands the cosmic liturgy as the world itself transformed into "worship of God, an oblation in the Holy Spirit" (57). Twomey notes that in Ratzinger's theology of creation, the covenantal relationship between God and humanity is characterized by the centrality of worship by the entire cosmos. Further, the Temple worship transformed with the New Covenant of Christ as it was brought into Christian worship. Twomey comments that both the cosmic character of the liturgy and the roots of Christian liturgy in Temple worship have been "practically ignored" in the post-conciliar reforms of the liturgy, which has left the Church with a "truncated liturgy" (60). The brief exposition of the cosmic character of the liturgy (Chapter 2) is foundational for Twomey's discussion of sacred art and architecture (Chapter 3) and sacred music (Chapter 4). Beauty, truth, and liturgy are inherently related such that sacred architecture, art, and music should lift the faithful up into the dynamic of transcendent cosmic worship within the liturgy. In the name of post-conciliar reforms, the sacred and the beautiful have become displaced by a neo-iconoclasm governed by minimalism, functionality, and utility. The most striking principle of Ratzinger on sacred music is "A Church which only makes use of 'utility' music has fallen for what is, in fact, useless" (90). Utility music falls short of the spiritualization and glorification which are characteristics of an authentic cosmic liturgy. In the latter part of his work, Twomey returns to his focus on sacred ritual (Chapter 5) where he highlights the great wisdom that anthropologists such as Victor Turner have to offer in our understanding [End Page 132] of changes to the liturgy. Twomey maintains in his outlines of the significance of ritual in Turner's work: "The effectiveness of the ritual is due in great part to the regular repetition of the same rite that, apart from insignificant changes, is understood by all participants as unalterable by those responsible for conducting the rituals: all must abide by the (mostly unwritten) rubrics" (106). Authentic participatio actuosa allows for what Turner describes as communitas, that...