On liturgical theology: The Hale memorial lectures of Seabury-Western Theological Seminary, 1981

by Aidan Kavanagh

On Liturgical Theology

Genres: Theology, Religion

205 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

Reviews

[Lambdaphagy]

I read this book on the implicit recommendation of Sarah Perry, but I'm afraid I can't recommend it to others.

On Liturgical Theology is essentially a book-length defense of lex orandi, lex credendi. Fr. Kavanaugh argues that most theology as conventionally construed is really only theologica secunda, subordinate to the theologica prima of the liturgy. Discursive theology is *about* God, but liturgy is *of* God. Inverting this order, as Fr. Kavanaugh claims we have done in the West, leads to confusion in both domains.

The book offers several interesting passages on the worship of the primitive Christians and the liturgical shift that attended the Reformation, but on the whole I found the book vague, repetitive and unable to execute on its fascinating thesis.

[Samuel Cheung]

A manifesto and a sermon all at once. Kavanagh articulates a revolution of the extraordinary normal that seeks to attend to what is always and already the basis of the Church. It is a radicalizing work that imparts the dynamic energy of a radical thinker.

Never been so hyped to go to church

[Sean]

It is difficult for me to review this book, as most of the fun has gone out of it. I bought a copy and began reading it. The book was in my car, and I was just about to begin the last chapter when the car got stolen. I recovered the car quickly, but the book was gone. I hope the thieves enjoy it and profit from it, but unless they are more academic than I, I fear it will be difficult for them to understand. Refusing to buy another copy, I requested an Inter-Library Loan, which was lent by Mount Angel Abbey and Seminary in Oregon. I love that monastery and school, since they fulfill so many of my ILLs. God bless their library; long may it stand. I read the first few paragraphs of the last chapter, put the book down, and then couldn't find it again. After a couple weeks of panic, I found it! Huzzah. I quickly read the last chapter and conclusion before it had to go back, but Kavanagh's style is not really conducive to a quick, panicked, reading. And now I find that the immediate impressions of the first chapters are gone, as is all my joy in reviewing this book.

At any rate, here is something. I hope it is better than nothing.

I am intelligent and well-educated. Furthermore, I am known (affectionately, I hope) as "the liturgy monster," since this is my field of study and enthusiasm. I am certainly intellectually able to read and understand Kavanagh and enter into dialog with him. But his style is so dense and "academic" that I found myself losing patience with him. I am a big fan of simple, clear academic writing, and am therefore generally disappointed in my hopes.

The first delight of the book is the first chapter's discussion of the tension between being a faithful believer and an academic. He has good and important things to say, and if I were actively in academe I would have benefited from this lecture even more than I actually did. I recommend it to everybody who is involved in the academic study of theology.

I found his distinction between liturgy as primary theology and all the talk about it as mere secondary theology to be the most important assertion of the book. When we do liturgy, we are doing the Faith. Otherwise, we are just talking about it. Reading and talking about theology is always second to gathering, praying, worshiping, giving, and receiving in the Liturgy.

[Caleb]

This book invoked more questions than answers, but it is filled with profound insight. I will definitely be returning to it at some point to meditate a bit longer on what Kavanagh has written here. Overall, I am convinced that liturgical theology deserves more thought than it is normally given.

[Dan]

I read this book for a class on liturgy, and now I’m really looking forward to the course. The is Kavanagh’s manifesto on the world and on liturgy, and how they relate to one another. It’s witty, incisive, and profound. Highly recommended.

[Royce]

A very 'dense' read by an expert in his field. The basic point of the book is that theology is made and happens when people come together to worship, and that we we often think of as "theology" is more of an analysis of this "primary theology." Kavanagh very convincingly argues that theology actually COMES from the liturgy, as opposed to the other way around.

[David Bjorlin]

While I disagree with the supremacy he gives to the lex supplicandi of liturgy (because, alas, I am a Protestant and can't give apostolic/patristic tradition the weight Kavanagh does), Kavanagh offers a clear and beautifully written (even funny!) Catholic understanding of liturgy as theologia prima from which all other theology is established.