Christian Liturgy by Kilmartin, Edward J - 1988

A theological study of the Eucharist, by the late Father Edward J. Kilmartin, S.J. This book is described as "Volume I. Theology." However, later volumes never appeared.

The author was perhaps the leading sacramental theologian in North America in the twentieth century. He was professor of sacramental theology at Weston, Cambridge, Massachusetts from 1958 to 1974. For the next ten years, he was professor and director of the doctoral program in liturgical studies at the University of Notre Dame. He served as executive secretary of the U.S. bishops' conference Committee for Dialogue with the Orthodox Church. He was also the 1978 recipient of the John Courtney Murray Award, from the Catholic Theological Society of America.

In Christian Liturgy, Father Kilmartin integrates into a coherent whole all major aspects of the economy of salvation, which make sense of the liturgy of the Church. Such aspects included the mystery of the Trinity, Christ and his redemptive work, the personal mission of the Holy Spirit, the Church, the mystery of the human person, grace, faith, prayer, the Word of God, and the finality of material things.

From the background of this theology, fresh light is shed on the classical themes of the theology of the seven sacraments. In this way, the author prepares a foundation for a truly ecumenical sacramental theology.