Book Description
This book is based on the principle that the liturgy is the enactment of “the work of our redemption” through the raising up, acknowledging and revering elements of the cosmos, the earth, and our “fellow creatures” in our common home. It is inspired by Pope Francis’s encyclical Laudato Si (On Care for Our Common Home) (in its entirety, not “just” the sections on the Eucharist and liturgy) because it presents a world view and requires respecting and caring for all creatures who share this planet. It is illuminated by research into the history of sacramental theologies and the contemporary context of concern for the environment. In effect, there is no such thing as one Roman Catholic theology of the sacraments, and ‘more often than not differing contexts in the life of the church and the world required differing contents for sacramental theology. The author argues that concern for the environment is a traditional Catholic premise based on the goodness of creation and that God is creator of “heaven and earth.” He also argues that an ecological approach to sacramental theology can help to understand underlying factors and principles in the enactment of the liturgy of the sacraments about how and where God is discovered in the world in general and in the liturgy and sacraments in an intense and focused way through engagement with all who dwell in our common home.
