The Worshiping Body

Discover the groundbreaking liturgical and sacramental scholarship of Marie-Dominique Chenu

Why is Chenu’s scholarship still relevant today? Like his slightly younger confrere Yves Congar, the French Dominican Marie-Dominique Chenu (1895-1990) was an important visionary of Catholic theology in the 20th century. Long before scholars like Louis-Marie Chauvet, Chenu elaborated on the essential symbolic nature of sacramental mediation, on the operationality of grace through the liturgical celebration of Christ’s mysteries, and on the indispensable added value of the humanities for classical sacramental doctrine. In The Worshiping Body, scholars show how Chenu’s ideas on sacramental worship is foundational for any contemporary reflection on the dialogue between anthropology and theology.

The basis of this book is formed around five texts on liturgy and sacraments by Chenu, now available in English translation for the first time. The translations of these articles are alongside essays by expert scholars on contextualized themes that surface in Chenu’s essays and provide answers for how his contributions are both applicable and inspiring for today’s theological endeavors. This scholarship is relevant for liturgists as well as anyone interested in research on Vatican II and post Vatican II theology and Chenu’s important contributions to it.

Joris Geldhof is professor of liturgical studies and sacramental theology at the faculty of theology and religious studies, KU Leuven, Belgium. He is vice-dean for research and belongs to the research unit of pastoral and empirical theology. He also chairs the Liturgical Institute and acts as the editor-in-chief of the bilingual journal Questions Liturgiques. He is the author of Liturgy and Secularism: Beyond the Divide (Liturgical Press, 2018), Liturgical Theology as a Research Program (Brill), and Monotheism in Christian Liturgy (Cambridge University Press, 2023). Joris is also a past president of Societas Liturgica.

Samuel (Sam) Goyvaerts is associate professor of liturgical studies and sacramental theology at the Tilburg School of Catholic Theology (TST), Tilburg University, The Netherlands. Recent publications of Goyvaerts are on pastoral liturgy, liturgical formation, and the relation between liturgy and church architecture. Goyvaerts also serves as vice-dean for education at his faculty, is a board member of Societas Liturgica, the Liturgical Institute, the Institute for Ritual and Liturgical Studies (IRiLiS) and co-editor of the international peer-reviewed journal Questions Liturgiques.

Tom McLean is a doctoral candidate in the faculty of theology and religious studies at KU Leuven (Belgium), writing his dissertation on the development of the sacramental theology of Edward Schillebeeckx. Recent publications have appeared in Louvain Studies, Questions Liturgiques, and The Heythrop Journal.

Thomas Quartier is a Benedictine monk and a full professor of liturgical and ritual studies at Radboud University Nijmegen (NL) and the head of the department of comparative religion at the faculty of philosophy, theology and religious studies. He is the director of the Benedictine Center for Liturgical Studies (BCL) in Nijmegen. He has conducted empirical research on Roman Catholic funerals (Bridging the Gaps. An Empirical Study of Catholic Funeral Rites, Münster: LIT 2007) and new ritualizations of death in the Netherlands. Furthermore, he has published on ritual dimensions of benedictine spirituality (Rituale Leben: Erkundungen im Mönchtum, Würzburg: Echter 2021) and the re-discovery of monastic spirituality in modern society. In his teaching, he focuses on the interplay of Liturgical and Ritual Studies, especially with regard to the field of spiritual care in a secular context (Zorgrituelen. Handboek voor geestelijke verzorging en begeleiding, Leeuwarden: Jongbloed 2024).