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The Meaning of Sacramental Symbols: Answers to Today's Questions
In this comprehensive examination of the symbols of worship, Richter traces their origins, what they have meant through the centuries, and whether their meaning is clear for today's Christians, as the author looks at these symbols in the light of liturgical reform. For those who look to the liturgy as the primary expression of the Church as the Body of Christ, this book is essential reading.
- GenresTheology
184 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1990
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February 19, 2025
So, this might be more of a review of Catholicism in general. But I should compare to Scott Hahn and Trent Horn, both of whom I am reading currently.
Scott Hahn and Trent Horn at least attempt to reckon with the more emotional aspect of Protestant theology. If God created humans as creatures with both a mind and a heart, it makes sense that worship would engage both so that the whole person can engage in the act.
(On the other front, I’m not excusing the Protestants who engage in the emotion of worship without any thought to the mind behind it— Trent Horn talks about Protestants as if we’re all that way, but that’s for a different review.)
I don’t think that Richter is the progenitor of this issue, but it’s very clear to me that, if I need a 200-page book to understand the symbology of the worship service (or liturgy), then I don’t know how any lay person is supposed to get this. Does Richter really think that a service is more blessed because the priest incensed the right side of the altar first instead of the left? Or that the layperson cares if there are six votive candles instead of seven?
That’s not to say every question is useless. Should the priest face the table or the community when presenting the Eucharist? Where should the pulpit be in relation to the Lord’s Altar (or table, whether you use a stone slab or a wooden table). But I fear that Richter— and by extension, the GIRM— has missed the point of worship by advocating for so many rules.
This tendency of the Catholics to focus on form is a large part of why the Reformers branched away from the Catholics in the first place, and Richter is evidence that they’re not on their way back.
For transparency, I do not think this book was written for the layperson, but for the clergy of the Church. But I would argue that, even in that case, the priest has become so overburdened with the liturgical form that his heart has likely become disengaged from the worship itself. This is what happens when you don’t use the Bible as your source of liturgy and worship and rely on tradition. Maybe you’re well-meaning (maybe…) but there’s so much on top of you that you can’t actually see the Spirit.
Acts 2:46-47 describes the early church like this: “And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people.” Let’s assume, as the Catholics do, that ‘breaking bread’ insinuates the Eucharist. Do we really think they were concerned with whether or not they were making the sign of the cross over their foreheads and lips? That they were concerned with whether or not they met in the morning or evening? That they were concerned with whether or not a relic should be placed under the Lord’s Table?
Even the Catholics would say no, because the era was different. But my point is that there is so little liturgy spelled out in the Bible. In fact, even in Richter’s book, the GIRM is quoted far more extensively than the Scriptures. And when the Bible IS quoted, it’s quoted in the sense of ‘this is probably what is meant by this symbol.’
Altogether, this book perfectly summarizes so many of my issues with the Catholic Church, and it boggles my mind to think that someone like Trent Horn would look at the ideas in a book like this and tell the Protestants we’re no less pagan than they are.
Scott Hahn and Trent Horn at least attempt to reckon with the more emotional aspect of Protestant theology. If God created humans as creatures with both a mind and a heart, it makes sense that worship would engage both so that the whole person can engage in the act.
(On the other front, I’m not excusing the Protestants who engage in the emotion of worship without any thought to the mind behind it— Trent Horn talks about Protestants as if we’re all that way, but that’s for a different review.)
I don’t think that Richter is the progenitor of this issue, but it’s very clear to me that, if I need a 200-page book to understand the symbology of the worship service (or liturgy), then I don’t know how any lay person is supposed to get this. Does Richter really think that a service is more blessed because the priest incensed the right side of the altar first instead of the left? Or that the layperson cares if there are six votive candles instead of seven?
That’s not to say every question is useless. Should the priest face the table or the community when presenting the Eucharist? Where should the pulpit be in relation to the Lord’s Altar (or table, whether you use a stone slab or a wooden table). But I fear that Richter— and by extension, the GIRM— has missed the point of worship by advocating for so many rules.
This tendency of the Catholics to focus on form is a large part of why the Reformers branched away from the Catholics in the first place, and Richter is evidence that they’re not on their way back.
For transparency, I do not think this book was written for the layperson, but for the clergy of the Church. But I would argue that, even in that case, the priest has become so overburdened with the liturgical form that his heart has likely become disengaged from the worship itself. This is what happens when you don’t use the Bible as your source of liturgy and worship and rely on tradition. Maybe you’re well-meaning (maybe…) but there’s so much on top of you that you can’t actually see the Spirit.
Acts 2:46-47 describes the early church like this: “And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people.” Let’s assume, as the Catholics do, that ‘breaking bread’ insinuates the Eucharist. Do we really think they were concerned with whether or not they were making the sign of the cross over their foreheads and lips? That they were concerned with whether or not they met in the morning or evening? That they were concerned with whether or not a relic should be placed under the Lord’s Table?
Even the Catholics would say no, because the era was different. But my point is that there is so little liturgy spelled out in the Bible. In fact, even in Richter’s book, the GIRM is quoted far more extensively than the Scriptures. And when the Bible IS quoted, it’s quoted in the sense of ‘this is probably what is meant by this symbol.’
Altogether, this book perfectly summarizes so many of my issues with the Catholic Church, and it boggles my mind to think that someone like Trent Horn would look at the ideas in a book like this and tell the Protestants we’re no less pagan than they are.
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