How to Be A Living Sign of Beauty in the Desert of Secular Culture

Prof. David Fagerberg on Beauty and Asceticism

Beauty is the apex of an invisible pyramid of virtues; it is the flower on a stalk of living habits, habits which you cannot see, but which are necessary for beauty to exist.

I recently had the great pleasure of attending the annual conference of the Institute for Religious Life. There were many highlights; all the speakers were excellent, but one in particular stood out for me. Dr David Fagerberg’s lecture entitled Beauty and Asceticism was perhaps the best talk at an event of this type I have ever heard. It was inspiring and enlightening, theoretical and practical, and for all the weightiness of the subject matter, light and entertaining to listen to.

Drawing on the wisdom of the collection of texts written between the 4th and 15th century called The Philokalia, a Greek word which means “love of beauty”, he spoke of how the beautiful life is one that is transformed supernaturally in Christ. Through the Christian life, we partake of the divine nature, we are reborn and walk the Way of Beauty, a path of virtue and Christian asceticism.

The audience was largely religious, and so he had that in mind when he gave this talk. As he points out, all of us are called to live an ascetic life to some degree. We might not be called to a life as a hermit in the desert or on a mountain top, but rather to a life where we are in the world, but not of it - an urban anchorite praying to the family icon corner in his suburban skete (an apartment block or cul-de-sac maybe). What Dr. Fagerberg does is point out the special role of the religious in the Church in cultivating this “ascetic aesthetic.”

He gives us an image of the beautiful life as a flower on a stalk of virtue. This is flower power, but not an imaginary one borne of self-indulgence of the 1960s, but one rooted in the Christian life which has the force of the divine.

It is the liturgy and the culture that cultivate such a transformation and by which we are deified. That is how we become people whose lives and work speak beautifully of Christ and how we become creative artists of the New Evangelization.

Dr. Fagerberg, who is a professor in the Department of Theology at the University of Notre Dame was kind enough to send to me the text of his talk, which I give to you here. He writes:

In the 18th century, two Greek Orthodox scholars named Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain and Makarios of Corinth compiled a collection of writings they found in the libraries of monasteries on Mount Athos. They selected from among texts written between the 4th and 15th century for the guidance and instruction of monks in the contemplative life, and they titled their collection The Philokalia. Probably even our rudimentary Greek recognizes the first half of the word: philia is one of the Greek words for love, alongside eros and agape. The second half of the word is probably less familiar to us: kallos basically means “beauty,” so they were calling this collection The Love of Beauty. What might it be about? What might five volumes on the “love of beauty” contain? What topics would you include? Would a convenient search on Amazon books for “beauty” give us a hint? I find a literature book that explains the lyrical vision of tragic beauty; I find a cookbook by ‘the beauty chef,’ who can tell us about food for radiant well-being; I find a pop psychology book on radical beauty whereby you transform yourself from the inside out; and I find a philosophy book treating beauty in art, nature, and the human form.

But when we crack open the Philokalia we find some unexpected sentences. Although this is a book about beauty, the first sentence of the first book of the first volume reads “There is among the passions an anger of the intellect, and this anger is in accordance with nature. Without anger a man cannot attain purity: he has to feel angry with all that is sown in him by the enemy.” The next book is by Evagrius of Pontus, who sketches his topic by saying,

“Of the demons opposing us in the practice of the ascetic life, there are three groups who fight in the front line: those entrusted with the appetites of gluttony, those who suggest avaricious thoughts, and those who incite us to seek the esteem of men. (You might recognize the three temptations of Jesus in the wilderness, given in sequence 1, 3, 2.) All the other demons follow behind and in their turn attack those already wounded by the first three groups.”

He offers these bits of advice: “Do you desire, then, to embrace this life of solitude, and to seek out the blessings of stillness? If so, abandon the cares of the world… .” “With regard to clothes, be content with what is sufficient for the needs of the body.” “Keep a sparse and plain diet, not seeking a variety of tempting dishes.”

Flipping back to the table of contents, we see this is not an ordinary book on beauty. John Cassian writes about the eight vices, Mark the Ascetic offers 200 texts on the spiritual law, Hesychios the priest speaks of watchfulness and holiness. Maximus the Confessor takes up the most space in the five volumes, and he begins by saying “Dispassion engenders love, hope in God engenders dispassion, and patience and forbearance engender hope in God; these are the product of complete self-control, which itself springs from fear of God. Fear of God is the result of faith in God.”

I hope I have startled you into appreciating the juxtaposition in my title: asceticism and beauty. (We might call it an ascetic aesthetic.) The spiritual and monastic tradition of both east and west have united the two, and so Makarios and Nicodemus title their five volumes dealing with fasting, vigils, self-discipline, constant prayer, contemplation, and the struggle between vices and virtues “a love of kallos.” Perhaps that word has a thicker meaning than our simplistic understanding of beauty. A Greek concordance reveals additional dimensions of the word, and, sure enough, kallos can be defined as

• beautiful to look at, shapely, magnificent
• good, excellent in nature, well adapted to its ends, pure
• praiseworthy, morally good, noble, becoming
• honorable, or conferring honor
• affecting the mind agreeably, comforting and confirming
• valuable, virtuous, fair

Philo-kalia is a love of these goods. And a quick online search shows the appearance of the word in the following Scripture verses, and I think you would agree with the translator’s choice to render kallos as “good”:

• Matthew 3,10 : that which does not bear good [kalon] fruit is cut down.
• Matthew 5, 16 : that they may see your good [kala] works and give glory to your Father
• Mark 9, 5 : Rabbi, it is good [kalon] for us to be here
• John 2, 10 : everyone serves the good [kalon] wine first, and then the cheaper wine
• and, indeed, John 10, 11 : I am the good [kalos] shepherd

My purpose in calling out these examples from Scripture is to make us conscious of an additional meaning resonating in those verses. For example, that which does not bear beautiful fruit is cut down

• that they may see your beautiful works and glorify your heavenly Father
• Rabbi, this is a beautiful place to be
• and Jesus is the Beautiful Shepherd

Beauty, goodness, morality, nobility, honor, and virtue are inseparable from asceticism. Why would that be? I take this opportunity to try and think that through with you.

Let’s invite Chesterton to provide us with an opening metaphor...

To read the article or download a pdf full click this link.

Announcing Liturgy Outside Liturgy: The Liturgical Theology of Fr. Alexander Schmemann by David Fagerberg

Chorabooks has just released what looks like a fascinating book, pertinent to readers of NLM.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

David W. Fagerberg, Liturgy outside Liturgy. The Liturgical Theology of Fr. Alexander Schmemann.
Hong Kong: Chorabooks, 2018.
Paperback $ 24.60            ISBN 9789887851547
EBook (Kindle) $ 9.83     ISBN 9789887851509
EBook (Epub) Euro 6.99  ISBN 9789887851585

Available immediately in all the Amazon stores in Kindle and paperback format, and in more than 100 online stores in Epub format (Feltrinelli, Rizzoli, Mondadori, hoepli, Book Republic, Libreria universitaria, San Paolo store, Il fatto quotidiano, Il giardino dei libri, Google play, Ibooks store, Kobobooks, Tolino, Casa del libro, Bajalibros, Nookstore, Weltbild, El corte inglés, Barnes and Nobles, etc.)

DESCRIPTION

"Does liturgy only matter to members of the Jesus Club when they get together to kill a Sunday morning? Is liturgy basically nothing more than temple etiquette, inessential to the mundane world? Should liturgy matter outside the Church?"

This is an important question that David W. Fagerberg, Theology Professor at Notre Dame University asks himself and us. And to answer this question, he is presenting the thought of Fr. Alexander Schmemann (1921-1983), who was a leading theologian in the Orthodox Church in America and one of the foremost thinkers in liturgical theology. The material is based on careful scholarship, but presented in such a way that the common reader will also benefit from the many powerful insights that can be found in it.

Schmemann made powerful statements to make readers think seriously. For example, about the world he says, “We seem to forget that in the New Testament and in the whole Christian tradition the ‘world’ is the object of two apparently contradicting attitudes: an emphatic acceptance, a yes, but also an equally emphatic rejection, a no.” And about the relationship of theology and the Church he writes, “[Theology] today constitutes within the Church a self-centered world, virtually isolated from the Church’s life. It lives in itself and by itself in tranquil academic quarters, well defended against profane intrusions and curiosities by a highly technical language. Theologians avoid discussing the trivial reality of the Church’s life, and do not even dream about influencing it in any way. In turn the Church, i.e., the bishops, priests and laity, are supremely indifferent to the writings of the theologians, even when they do not regard them with open suspicion. … Theology simply fails to reach anybody but professionals, to provoke anything but esoteric controversies in academic periodicals.”

Against the dangers of a liturgy that is auto referential, Fagerberg observes that “Liturgical reform should not, therefore, be self-serving; liturgical reform is a matter of empowering the Church’s leitourgia, which is the work of a few on behalf of the many.” He summarizes the conclusion his book in this way: “Let me conclude with a glance back over all three investigations: should liturgy matter, where is theology done, and does liturgy enter our life? In these three questions we were only following Schmemann’s own definition of the goal of liturgical theology, which is to overcome the fateful divorce between theology, liturgy, and piety. This breakup deprived liturgy of its proper understanding, theology of its living source, and piety of its living content. … The liturgical cult does not exist for itself, but for the sake of the world, for the sake of understanding and transforming the world.”

This book is not only for academic theologians, but also for all those who love the liturgy and are willing to be challenged with a fresh perspective on this fundamental topic for our Christian life.

AUTHOR

David W. Fagerberg is a theology professor at the University of Notre Dame (Indiana, USA). Fagerberg’s area of study is liturgical theology: its definition and methodology, and how the Church’s lex orandi (law of prayer) is the foundation for her lex credendi  (law of belief). Lately he has been working on how liturgy, theology, and asceticism interrelate. He also has interests in sacramental theology, Eastern Orthodoxy, linguistic philosophy, scholasticism, G. K. Chesterton and C. S. Lewis. He is the author of several books, including Consecrating the World: On Mundane Liturgical Theology (Angelico Press, 2016).

*          *          *

A COMMENT FROM DR. KWASNIEWSKI

Reading the sentence quoted above, "The liturgical cult does not exist for itself, but for the sake of the world, for the sake of understanding and transforming the world,” one might feel a slight misgiving. Apart from the obvious sense in which this is true, namely, that liturgy is not a club activity, like a game, could it not be dangerous to say that the cultus of God is for understanding and transforming the world? This may sound like a Marxist redirection of worship away from the divine towards the mundane and immanent? Do not the Orthodox rightly say that liturgy is doxology, the acknowledgment and praise of God in His greatness and for Himself -- which then spills over (or can and should spill over) into the rest of our lives?

But we have to understand the sense in which Fagerberg -- and Schmemann and Kavanaugh, if I construe them rightly -- understand this world-liturgy dialectic. This trio of authors has to be understood as offering a creative, redemptive response to religion's headlong rush into the arms of Marxism. When the whole world was deserting "organized religion" and "dogmas" as "irrelevant" to the world-changing processes going on, they argued that the liturgy was "the world done right." When the denominations were being suburbanized, taken away from the center of life in the city, they proposed bringing liturgy "back to the city." Against the psychologists who said religion was "abnormal," they said liturgy was the only way to be "normal." So, the world-transforming aspect should be understood as a corrective of Marxism, which thinks that the world can be understood and transformed by human action alone. Liturgy is the real revolution, if you will, and the real psycho-therapy, precisely because it is not reducible to horizontal political and economic relationships or psychological categories, but is inherently from above and ordered beyond itself.

Christ came as an epiphany in order to transform the world for the Father's glory, which is revealed in and through creation, embodied in man rescued from sin and death. As the extension of the Incarnation, the sacred liturgy participates in this mission, for the life of the world, to hasten it on its reditus to the Creator. The liturgy is therefore meant to be the axis of human culture, the pole star around which the constellation of all human endeavors circles, the vital center of civilization. It is a fleshly, sensible regime of worship proportioned, like the Incarnation, to man's bodily nature, given to us to draw our attention and devotion to God, granting us a dramatic vision of the universe gathered in worship of its Final End. This vision allows us to coordinate all our activity toward our End, thus fulfilling our role as high priests in bringing all things to God.

From what I have read over the years, it seems that Fr. Schmemann, whatever his limitations from a traditional Catholic perspective, is well positioned to help us work through these points, with a combination of mystical penetration and no-nonsense critique. I am therefore happy to see this new book by Fagerberg and look forward to digging into it.

Second Issue of “ALTARE DEI” Now Available

NLM readers will remember the launch of the new magazine Altare Dei under the editorship of Aurelio Porfiri. The first issue came out at the end of October. I am happy to announce the appearance of the second issue, featuring an article by somebody or other on the organ postlude, but more importantly, a lot of fine articles and music by talented writers, including Dr. Fagerberg, Dr. Shaw, Fr. Kocik, Fr. Friel, Msgr. Miserachs, and Maestro Porfiri himself. I highly recommend it to your attention, and the price of 6 Euros is incredibly reasonable for 7 pieces of sheet music in the “Musical Insert,” a feature of each issue. Order online PDF here.

The Table of Contents follows.

ALTARE DEI N. 2 – JANUARY 2017
€6.00

EDITORIAL
Aurelio Porfiri

TOP STORY
In defense of the Organ Postlude
Peter A. Kwasniewski

LITURGICAL THEOLOGY
What is the Mystery of the Liturgy
David W. Fagerberg

LITURGY
Toward Holier Communions: A simple suggestion
Thomas M. Kocik

On Celebration Ad Orientem
Joseph Shaw

WITNESSES
Jean Nicolas Grou

MUSICAL INSERT
AVE MARIA (Solo, SATB and Organ) Mauro Visconti
MAGNIFICAT (SATB and Organ) Colin Mawby
EASTER ALLELUIA (SATB) Aurelio Porfiri
QUEM TERRA, PONTUS, SIDERA (2 Equal voices and Organ) Valentino Miserachs
INTERLUDE (Organ) Aurelio Porfiri
SALVASTI NOS, DOMINE (2 Equal voices and Organ)Aurelio Porfiri
EXULTATE IUSTI (Acclamation for the Rosary, SATB and Organ) Alberico Vitalini

CATECHISM
On the Mass, Part 2
Enrico Zoffoli

PROFILES
Priestly dignity according to Blessed Antonio Rosmini
Enrico Finotti

SACRED MUSIC
The earliest Catholic Choir school
David  M. Friel

Sacred Music from St. Pius X to our days
Valentino Miserachs
Gregorian Chant for the First Sunday of Lent: The Sunday of Temptation
Fulvio Rampi

CATHOLIC CULTURE
A Church on her knees (and not in a good sense)…
Aurelio Porfiri

“Only a blind man can deny that there’s now in the Church great confusion…”
Interview with Cardinal Carlo Caffarra (From Il Foglio)

EVENTS
“Miracle” in Trieste: Bach’s celebrated monumental B minor Mass after at least 50 years
Alberto Carosa

Order here.

Sacra Liturgia UK: Day 4

The final day of Sacra Liturgia UK began with Prof. Helmut Hoping's paper on one of the most fundamental aspects of our liturgy, Liturgy and the Triune God: Rethinking Trinitarian Theology. Prof. Hoping started with the observation that the liturgy is prima theologia, the primary locus of theology, in which we first speak to God rather than about God. The subject of theology is the mystery of God in his revelation to us as Trinity, and this is a fundamental part of liturgical prayer.

Prof. Hoping then explored what the New Testament has to say about the Trinity, touching on how Jesus prayed, the importance of the shema (Mk. 12:29-31; cf. Dt. 6:4-9), Christ as High Priest and heavenly liturgist in the book of Hebrews, and the sacrificial Lamb in the book of Revelation. He noted that the Roman Rite shows a patrocentric character, in which prayer is prayed in a trinitarian manner - ad Patrem per Christum in unitate Spiritus sancti. As the Holy Spirit reveals to us the intimacy of the personal relationship between the Father and the Son, so too the liturgy allows the individual Christian to enter into the I-Thou relationship through trinitarian prayer and sacramental Communion. In short, the trinitarian foundation of the liturgy and Christian life is absolutely indispensable to our entire being, as well as our relationship to God and to one another as Catholics.

Fr Michael Cullinan then gave us a slightly different perspective as a moral theologian in his paper The Ethical Character of the Mysteries: Observations from a Moral Theologian. His central thesis was that what people see and hear in our churches through the liturgy has grave moral importance for their lives. However, instead of applying moral principles to the liturgy, as often done in times gone by, he asked how can we derive moral principles from the liturgy?

As well as the moral-theological perspective, Fr Cullinan gave an ecumenical perspective by mediating his reflections through theologians from the Eastern Churches and Protestant sources, such as Christos Yannaras, Vigen Guroian, John Zizioulas, Paul Ramsey, and Oliver O’Donovan. Among other insights, he pointed out that:

Historically, certainly since the late Middle Ages we in the West minimised sacraments to their essential requirements for validity, we simplified and individualised liturgy to allow individual low Masses, and then all too often we regarded the whole world of art, music and architecture as mere icing on the cake: delicious and sweet but not particularly nourishing or essential. So we have to convince ourselves that what people see and hear at Mass is important to their moral lives.

A particularly astute, moral observation was also made by Fr Cullinan regarding the minimalist celebrations of the liturgy common in many rich, Western nations, which have simplicity without nobility (cf. SC 34):

For the first time in religious history people do not seem to want to offer to God the best they have and they do not see anything wrong in this. Often it is the people who have most, perhaps far more than their parents and grandparents, who want the barest worship spaces. Whereas it is often the poorest who want to subscribe to statues and richly ornamented vestments. The moral theologian should suspect that something may be going on here, to do with both psychology and sociology.

Fr Cullinan concluded with the question that, if what happens in our parish liturgies does not present the challenge and glory of the Christian life to people, if it fails to communicate the fullness of the Gospel, how then shall they be saved? He provided much food for thought regarding the moral implications of contemporary liturgical practice, which also has ramifications for the effectiveness of the post-Vatican II liturgical reforms.

The next paper was given by Prof. David Fagerberg on Doing the World Liturgically: Stewardship of Creation and Care for the Poor. I would not be the first person to observe that, in the contemporary Church, the very mention of the phrase "social justice" causes many eyes to roll and cynicism to rear its head. However, Prof. Fagerberg's contention that liturgy ought to be concerned with social justice, specifically stewardship for the environment and care for the poor was very challenging.

The narthex, he said, can be seen as a permeable membrane between the sacred and secular, and liturgy should overflow from the sanctuary:

Liturgy is our perfection, for there we are being filled with the love of God by joining the choreography of his divine love, and performing the work of a cosmic priesthood.

Prof. Fagerberg pointed out that one way of defining liturgy is to understand it as a restored participation in the original created order. A failure to understand this quickly ends in a negation of the shema; either the signs of creation no longer point to the Creator, with nature quickly becoming opaque, then a substitute, and finally an idol; or our neighbour is no longer seen as a fellow image of God, with the consequence that he quickly becomes a competitor, then an opponent, and finally an enemy.

The problem, Prof. Fagerberg said, is not with the world per se, but with our reception and interpretation of it. Money, sex and beer are not problematic, but avarice, lust and greed are. Due to the fall, our passions get in the way of a right relationship with the world, and thus also with God. The liturgy and the sacraments fortify us and equip us for a participatio actuosa in the world, to enable us to do the world as it was meant to be done - liturgically.

The fourth talk was given by Mgr Andrew Burnham, on Divine Worship: The Missal and "the liturgical books proper to the Anglican Tradition" (Anglicanorum Coetibus, III). Mgr Burnham took us through the history of Anglican-Catholic ecumenical dialogue, including the USCCB's "pastoral provision" of 1980 and the 2003 Book of Divine Worship, culminating in the recent liturgical books of the Ordinariate.

He talked about the work of the Anglicanae Traditiones commission and the CDWDS, and the sources used by them, including the influence of the Episcopalian (USA) 1928 BCP on the Ordinariate Missal. Mgr Burnham mentioned that this American influence has meant that many UK Ordinariate groups have experienced somewhat of a rupture in their worship due to the different Anglican liturgical contexts in the UK and USA. Certain features of Divine Worship: The Missal as compared to the usus recentior were discussed, such as the offertory prayers of the usus antiquior being the default for the Ordinariate (with the Pauline Missal's offertory available as an option). Mgr Burnham expressed the hope, shared by many at the conference, that the Ordinariate's liturgy will influence the next typical edition of the Missale Romanum, and that the barriers as to who can use which book will begin to fall (i.e. that non-Ordinariate priests will be able to use Divine Worship).

Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone then offered some concluding reflections, summing up the talks and liturgies of the conference. He urged patience with regard to the upcoming work of the CDWDS regarding the question of the reform of the reform, but said that the celebration of the Mass ad orientem in the usus recentior would go a long way towards preparing the way for it, and reiterated Cardinal Sarah's appeal to priests to begin celebrating Mass eastwards from the 1st Sunday of Advent this year. He encouraged all present to pay attention to the details of the liturgy in the celebration of it, holding up the London Oratory as an model and exemplar. Rubricism is a danger, as we are fallen human beings, but so is laxity and negligence. The Archbishop was keen to stress that there is a proper place for attention to detail in the liturgy, for people pay close attention to the things and people that they love dearly, and worship of Almighty God is central to who we are both collectively as the Body of Christ and individually as members of it.

Finally, Bishop Dominique Rey announced that the next Sacra Liturgia conference will be held in Milan at the University of the Sacred Heart from June 6th-9th, 2017. The conference will be in English and Italian, with all the presentations being translated. More details will be announced after the summer.

The conference ended with Solemn Mass according to Divine Worship: The Missal, celebrated by the ordinary of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, Mgr Keith Newton.

A huge thank you goes to Bishop Dominique Rey, Dom Alcuin Reid, Fr Uwe Michael Lang and everyone else who had a hand in organising Sacra Liturgia UK. It was lovely to meet so many people who are passionate about the worship of the Church at a very informative and illuminating conference, with wonderful, devout and prayerful celebrations of the sacred liturgy. Deo gratias!

(More photos and extracts from all the talks over the four days can be found at the Sacra Liturgia Facebook page. Apologies for the slight delay in this final account of the conference!)

Announcing Two New Books on the Liturgy by David Fagerberg

Many NLM readers will be familiar with the name of David Fagerberg, who has significantly enriched contemporary discussions of liturgy. I am pleased to be able to announce the recent appearance of not one but two new books by him. I've read Consecrating the World and my positive opinion of it is indicated in the blurb below, courtesy of the publisher's (Angelico Press) website.

CONSECRATING THE WORLD
On Mundane Liturgical Theology
(Angelico Press, 2016)

156 pages
ISBN: 978-1-62138-168-6
$17.95 US Buy now from Amazon.com
£11.50 UK Buy now from Amazon UK

WHAT HAS LITURGY TO DO WITH LIFE? The sacred with the secular? This study proposes that the liturgy calls us, in the words of Aidan Kavanagh, “to do the world as the world was meant to be done.” The sacramental liturgy of the Church and the personal liturgy of our lives should be as a seamless garment. Consecrating the World continues David Fagerberg’s exploration of the Church’s lex orandi (law of prayer) by expanding two major themes. The first considers liturgy as the matrix wherein our encounter with God becomes an experience of primary theology. The second illustrates how a believer is made ready for this liturgy through asceticism in both its faces — the one negative (dealing with sin), the other positive (dealing with sanctification). This book turns these two themes outward to a liturgical theology of the cosmos — a mundane liturgical theology of the consecration of the world and the sanctification of our daily life.

“David Fagerberg invites us, with the urgency of the gospel, to see God the Trinity in every created thing, and to offer to God as a joyful sacrifice of praise the good things He has made, rather than cleaving egocentrically to these good things. When, through the Dove (the Spirit), Christ frees us to do the world in this way, we become the liturgical priest-kings we were meant to be; we learn how to live and die on the ascending path of Christ. Steeped in the spirituality of the Orthodox East and the Anglican West, enriched by the Catholic masters of Ressourcement, Fagerberg shares his vision in everyday language for all to hear. Just when it seemed that spiritual masters no longer roamed university hallways, God has raised up a true spiritual guide for our time. Open this book, awaken from spiritual slumber, read and rejoice.”

—MATTHEW LEVERING, Mundelein Seminary

“Consecrating the World takes up where David Fagerberg’s masterful On Liturgical Asceticism left off, providing a key to living the liturgy in every moment and aspect of human life. That this is indeed an everyday task takes nothing away from its divine content and sublime finality. Fagerberg is rightly regarded as one of the foremost liturgical theologians of our day. His engagement with the tradition is both fresh and fruitful. If we are to be ‘thoroughly imbued with the spirit and power of the liturgy,’ we must grasp what the Sacred Liturgy in fact is. For this, Fagerberg is a worthy and rightly demanding guide.”

—DOM ALCUIN REID, Monastère Saint-Benoît, La Garde-Freinet, France

“Consecrating the World is no ordinary book. It is a course in re-training the mind and the senses to perceive the world in a new way. Like the ancient Fathers, David Fagerberg sees all material things as sensible signs leading us to heavenly realities. Like Maximus and Dionysius, he shows us that the cosmos is itself a liturgy, calling us to consecrate ourselves and our work, our passions and the world to God — to sanctify the temporal order. This is a theology most visionary, joyful, and passionate.”

—SCOTT HAHN, Franciscan University of Steubenville

“In David Fagerberg’s new book, his trademark genius for integrating liturgical theology, ascetical theology, and the theology of creation is on full display, but here developed in a new, pneumatological direction that seems to lift it all up on the wings of the Holy Spirit. This book fully corroborates Fagerberg’s reputation as one of the most creative and inspiring liturgical theologians of our time. It will have a wide readership both inside the academy, in seminaries, and in the hands of anyone interested in learning what is the deep connection between the sacred moments of the liturgy and the mundane moments of life in the world as we all must live it.”

—JOHN C. CAVADINI, University of Notre Dame

“This book succeeds as an imaginative, at times provocative paean to the total integration of liturgy and life, by carrying to the utmost the logic of the Incarnation and the radical challenge of the Ascension. Can God become flesh, as it were, in all the aspects of life? And can the whole of creation really be raised up on high, as a sign, even a foretaste, of the heavenly liturgy? Fagerberg’s arguments lead us to see the urgency of rediscovering the full symbolic richness, the ‘splendid beauty,’ of traditional liturgy as the means by which we must glorify God and divinize our lives in this world. The author has a particular gift for expounding old truths in startlingly original ways — enough to capture our jaded attention and make us rethink certain doctrines ‘from the ground up.’”

—PETER KWASNIEWSKI, Wyoming Catholic College

WHY DO WE NEED THE MASS? ASCETICISM, SANCTIFICATION, AND THE GLORY OF GOD
(Hong Kong: Chorabooks)
EBook (format Kindle)
ISBN 9789881482129
$8.99 (in all Amazon stores: USA; UK)

From the publisher:

Liturgy in recent years has returned to the center of the attention, thanks to the Pontificate of Benedict XVI. This is why it is always relevant to witness the release of a new book from Professor David W. Fagerberg, a world famous expert in this topic. This is an important short book for the Catholic understanding of the Mass and of the role of the liturgy in today's world. . . .

"Liturgy refers man to God, and God to man, even if we cannot know God in his full mystery": liturgy is the limen that allows us to look at a dimension that is beyond our understanding but that at the same time was made present thanks to God's incarnation. But we should avoid thinking that "humanizing" the liturgy will do us good: "We serve the glory of God, the glory of God does not serve us". Being reminded of this is very important, because we need to put always in the right hierarchical order the relationship we have with God. Several themes are touched in this book, as teleology, asceticism, ecstasy, and so on.

When talking about asceticism this is what Professor Fagerberg has to say: "I propose that liturgical glorification of God is a daughter born of asceticism. We need to undergo the ascetical technology of self, and make our wills conform to God’s, before we can worship and glorify him properly. Each person is a block of marble within which lies an image of the image of God (Jesus), and each strike of mallet and chisel by the Holy Spirit frees that image from stone-cold vices in order to create out of women and men a liturgical son who shares the Son’s filial relationship with God the Father. At the end of asceticism is dispassion, which has a child called love, who opens the door to the cosmos as theophany, and invites us to a union with God that is true theology. Purity of heart is to will one thing – we hear this from Evagrius in the desert, from Augustine in the ancient Church, from Petrarch in the medieval Church, and more recently from Kierkegaard. If we are to do the world the way the world was meant to be done, then the Holy Spirit will have to craft our hearts until we only desire one thing, too. The pure in heart are blessed because they shall see God (Matthew 5). The purpose of liturgy is to glorify God, but our ability to do so comes at a price: it is born of asceticism."