The Future of Eucharist: How a New Self-Awareness Among Catholics Is Changing the Way They Believe and Worship

Rating:
Summary: New enlighting insights on grace, sacrament and faith.
Review: What a pity that such an interesting book has been printed before being finished ! It clarifies some of the most important guidelines from Vatican Council II by providing new or forgotten meanings to a number of basic concepts such as grace, sacraments, faith and eucharist itself. The author also rightfully insists on the need to read the signs of the times in order to discover the action and will of God and to be in a position to play our part in their implementation. He tries to do so in relation to the problem of eucharist and shows how the visible celebrant who embodies Christ, is in fact the community itself. The ordained liturgical leader is there to preside and should preferably do so as a member of the community, rather than as a person who stands between the community and God. This is in my view confirmed by the fact that the eucharistic prayer is written with "we" as the sole subject of the verbs. Meaning that it really is the community who is supposed to speak with one voice, as opposed to a particular individual. The author then makes it obvious that the future of eucharist cannot be separated from the future of priesthood and that a better or new understanding of eucharist cannot be reached without a simultaneously better or new understanding of priesthood. Unfortunately this carefully built and clearly explained work is prematurely stopped. And in the concluding chapter supposed to tell us "What to do", the only answer given to the problem of increasing shortage of ordained men is for the communities to accept celebrating eucharist only once a month ! I would have expected a solution in accordance with the data previously put forward by the author, for instance the fact that Christ instituted eucharist but did not ordain anybody. A solution which would also be in accordance with an obvious sign of the times, which is that the Holy Spirit has all but stopped calling for men to be ordained. We must remember that the persons given the responsibility to preside over the celebration of eucharist are meant to be there for the people and not the people for the presiders. I consider it totally unacceptable that the Christian communities be put in a situation where they cannot celebrate and hear a valid commentary of the Scriptures, because of a lack of priests. The more so as the priests are still ordained according to an understanding of eucharist which becomes obsolete inasmuch as it does not implement the reforms initiated by Vatican Council II. This book which breathes new life and new hope into Christian theology, has missed the opportunity to remind the institutional church that it is there to help the people of God do what Christ has asked to do in memory of him, and not to forbid doing it for questionable reasons

Rating:
Summary: New enlighting insights on grace, sacrament and faith.
Review: What a pity that such an interesting book has been printed before being finished ! It clarifies some of the most important guidelines from Vatican Council II by providing new or forgotten meanings to a number of basic concepts such as grace, sacraments, faith and eucharist itself. The author also rightfully insists on the need to read the signs of the times in order to discover the action and will of God and to be in a position to play our part in their implementation. He tries to do so in relation to the problem of eucharist and shows how the visible celebrant who embodies Christ, is in fact the community itself. The ordained liturgical leader is there to preside and should preferably do so as a member of the community, rather than as a person who stands between the community and God. This is in my view confirmed by the fact that the eucharistic prayer is written with "we" as the sole subject of the verbs. Meaning that it really is the community who is supposed to speak with one voice, as opposed to a particular individual. The author then makes it obvious that the future of eucharist cannot be separated from the future of priesthood and that a better or new understanding of eucharist cannot be reached without a simultaneously better or new understanding of priesthood. Unfortunately this carefully built and clearly explained work is prematurely stopped. And in the concluding chapter supposed to tell us "What to do", the only answer given to the problem of increasing shortage of ordained men is for the communities to accept celebrating eucharist only once a month ! I would have expected a solution in accordance with the data previously put forward by the author, for instance the fact that Christ instituted eucharist but did not ordain anybody. A solution which would also be in accordance with an obvious sign of the times, which is that the Holy Spirit has all but stopped calling for men to be ordained. We must remember that the persons given the responsibility to preside over the celebration of eucharist are meant to be there for the people and not the people for the presiders. I consider it totally unacceptable that the Christian communities be put in a situation where they cannot celebrate and hear a valid commentary of the Scriptures, because of a lack of priests. The more so as the priests are still ordained according to an understanding of eucharist which becomes obsolete inasmuch as it does not implement the reforms initiated by Vatican Council II. This book which breathes new life and new hope into Christian theology, has missed the opportunity to remind the institutional church that it is there to help the people of God do what Christ has asked to do in memory of him, and not to forbid doing it for questionable reasons