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Document Details :

Title: The Liturgy at the Crossroads of Christian Living and Thinking
Subtitle: The Incarnational Dynamic at Work within Vatican II
Author(s): QUISINSKY, Michael
Journal: Louvain Studies
Volume: 38    Issue: 2   Date: 2014   
Pages: 149-164
DOI: 10.2143/LS.38.2.3073479

Abstract :
With its dual emphasis on communicating Christological and ecclesiological truth, the performance of the liturgy is the 'summit' and 'font' of the Church (SC 10). It is the primary 'means whereby the faithful may express in their lives, and manifest to others, the mystery of Christ and the real nature of the true Church' (SC 2). A similar reciprocal dynamism, or dialectic relationship, also exists with respect to the 'mystery of Christ' and the 'mystery of Man', identifying not only the nature of Christology but also the nature of anthropology (GS 22) and ecclesiology (LG 8). The question thus arises whether and in what sense the Christological link between liturgy and life can be understood as the ecclesial expression of the unity of the universal and concrete dimensions of faith, expressing and exploring thus the 'mystery of faith'. This contribution analyses how this link is realized in the documents of Vatican II, and claims that this link serves a criterion for the further evaluation of the Council’s reception as a part of a fundamental research on the nature of contemporary and future Catholic theology. Furthermore, this contribution reconsiders the link between 'pastoral' and 'dogmatic', which is essential for a 'salvation-economical' understanding of the 'mystery of faith' and indicates the opening of new theological horizons for the Church by the 'de-limitations' that occur because of this very 'mystery'.

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