Eucharist: A Basic Bibliography
In this and other NDCL bibliographies, materials have been selected primarily with parish ministers (rather than professional scholars) in mind. Most of the resources are in English and were published in North America.
A. History and Pastoral Practice
1. Historical Overviews and Sources
2. New Testament
3. Early Christianity
4. Medieval Christianity
5. Reformation and Post-Reformation Periods
6. The Modern Period
B. Eucharist in Theology and Culture
A. History and Pastoral Practice
1. Historical Overviews and Sources
- Adam, Adolf. The Eucharistic Celebration: The Source and Summit of Faith. (Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1994). Presents an explanation of the historical and current celebration each part of the Mass. A good resource for family and group discussion, catechetical instruction, and preaching. AMAZON
- Adam, Adolf. The Liturgical Year: Its History and Its Meaning After the Reform of the Liturgy Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1981). Provides an explanation of the theology and spirituality of Roman Catholic worship based on the historical development of its liturgical year. AMAZON
- Dix, GregoryThe Shape of the Liturgy. With additional notes by Paul V. Marshall. (New York: The Seabury Press, 1982; originally published, 1945). This classic study, by an Anglican Benedictine monk, explores the development of the eucharistic rite, working from the basic New Testament "shape" of Jesus' action at the Last Supper: he took, blessed, broke, gave... Paul Marshall's "additional notes" (pp. 765-777) update and correct Dix's work. AMAZON
- Foley, Edward From Age to Age. (Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications, 1991). Origins of Christian celebration from Jewish roots to the present through architecture, music, books and vessels. Recaptures the experience of worshippers at eucharist and traces the developments in the theology of liturgical celebration. AMAZON
- Jungmann, JosefThe Mass of the Roman Rite. (New York: Benziger Bros, Inc., 1955. [Reprint in two volumes. Westminster, MD: Christian Classics, Inc., 1986.])Still the standard history of the Roman Mass, its theology and ceremony. AMAZON
- Nocent, Adrian. The Liturgical Year. Four Volumes. (Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1986-1988). Each volume contains biblical and liturgical reflections on the structures and themes of each season in the church's year as these are celebrated at eucharist and in the Liturgy of the Hours. AMAZON
- White, James F. A Brief History of Christian Worship. (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1993). AMAZON~~POWELLS
- _____. Documents of Christian Worship: Descriptive and Interpretive Sources. (Louisville: Westminster / John Knox Press, 1992). AMAZON
- _____. Introduction to Christian Worship. Revised edition. (Nashville: Abingdon Press,1990; 1991 printing). AMAZON
2. New Testament
- Kodell, Jerome. The Eucharist in the New Testament. (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press / Michael Glazier, 1988). Seeks both to uncover the origins of the Eucharist and to trace developments in the earliest Eucharistic practice and understanding. The work also contains studies in the Eucharistic theology of the New Testament writers. AMAZON
- LaVerdiere, Eugene. The Breaking of the Bread. The Development of the Eucharist According to Acts. (Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications, 1998). Discusses how, in Acts, the church is portrayed as a community recovering after the death of Jesus and as a body coming to believe that Jesus remained present among them in the breaking of bread. AMAZON~~POWELLS
- _____. Dining in the Kingdom of God. The Origins of the Eucharist According to Luke. (Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications), 1994. By tracing the origins of the eucharist according to Luke's gospel, LaVerdiere shows the connections between the eucharistic table, the gospel itself, and the worshiping assembly. AMAZON ~~POWELLS
3. Early Christianity
- Bradshaw, Paul. "Ten Principles for Interpreting Early Christian Liturgical Evidence," in Paul Bradshaw and Lawrence Hoffman, eds., The Making of Jewish and Christian Worship. (Series: Two Liturgical Traditions, Volume 1). (Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1991), 3-21. AMAZON
- LaVerdiere, Eugene. The Eucharist in the New Testament and the Early Church. (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press / A Pueblo Book, 1996). LaVerdiere shows how the eucharist provided an important experiential and theological resource for the gospel stories of Jesus' life, ministry, passion, and resurrection, as well as for the life and development of early Christianity. The author then traces the ongoing evolution of eucharistic theology and practice until the time of Justin Martyr (mid-second century). AMAZON
- Sheerin, Daniel J. The Eucharist. (Series: Message of the Fathers of the Church, Volume 7). (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press/Michael Glazier, 1986). A very useful collection of sources (including liturgical texts and theological commentaries) that cover the period up to about the mid-eighth century, in both the East and West. The translations from Latin and Greek are distinguished by their clarity and accuracy. Chapter include suggestions for further reading. AMAZON
- van der Meer, Frederic. Augustine the Bishop. (London: Sheed and Ward, 1961). Chapter 13 of this classic study (pp. 388-402) offers a detailed description of "Sunday in Hippo," where Augustine presided at eucharist until his death in 430. Provides an important window on the liturgical practices of Latin Christianity in North Africa in the late fourth and early-fifth centuries.
4.Medieval Christianity
- Baldovin, John "Christian Worship to the Eve of the Reformation," in Paul Bradshaw and Lawrence Hoffman, eds., The Making of Jewish and Christian Worship. (Series: Two Liturgical Traditons, Volume 1). (Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1991), 156-183. Describes what we know about early Christian liturgical practices and how these were modified over the course of history up to the time of the Reformation in the sixteenth century. AMAZON
- Macy, Gary. The Banquest's Wisdom. A Short History of the Theologies of the Lord's Supper. (New York: Paulist Press, 1992). Traces the practice and theological interpretation of eucharist during the first 1500 years of Christianity. Each chapter describes what participating in a liturgy might have been like during a certain historial period (with details about its unique social setting and distinctive theological approach). AMAZON
- Rubin, Miri. Corpus Christi. The Eucharist in Late Medieval Culture. (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1991). Rubin studies later medieval culture (ca. 1150-1500) through its central symbol, the eucharist. She explores the context in which the sacramental world was created by believers and theologians of this period-and the ways in which that world was explained and promoted. AMAZON
- Vogel, Cyrille. Medieval Liturgy: An Introduction to the Sources. Revised and translated by William Storey and Niels Rasmussen. (Series: NPM Studies in Church Music and Liturgy). (Washington, DC: The Pastoral Press, 1986). An indispensable guide to medieval liturgical sources (sacramentaries, lectionaries, pontificals, etc.)-their contents, dating, provenance, and impact on the evolution of worship in the Latin churches of the West. AMAZON
5. Reformation and Post-Reformation Periods
- White, James F. Protestant Worship: Traditions in Transition. (Louisville: Westminster / John Knox Press, 1989). AMAZON~~POWELLS
- White, Susan. "Christian Worship Since the Reformation," in Paul Bradshaw and Lawrence Hoffman, eds., The Making of Jewish and Christian Worship. (Series: Two Liturgical Traditions, Volume 1). (Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1991), 184-206. Delineates the complex diversity of styles of worship the resulted from the divisions within western Christianity after the Reformation. AMAZON
6.The Modern Period (Historical, Theological, Pastoral Resources)
- Deiss, Lucien. Celebration of the Word. (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1993). Commentary on the richness and imperfections of the lectionary as reformed after the Second Vatican Council; analyzes each part of the liturgy of the word. AMAZON~~POWELLS
- Finn, Peter C. and Schellman, James M., eds. Shaping English Liturgy: Studies in Honor of Archbishop Denis Hurley. (Washington, DC: The Pastoral Press, 1990). An important collection of essays that reviews the ritual reforms (in the eucharist, especially) that followed Vatican II; the relationship between liturgy and language; the connections between culture and liturgy; the links between justice and Christian worship; the revised lectionary; and the work of ICEL (the International Commission on English in the Liturgy). AMAZON
- Fischer, Balthasar. Signs, Words and Gestures: Short Homilies on the Liturgy. (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1981). A collection of simple homilies on the substance underlying ordinary signs, words, and gestures in the liturgy. AMAZON
- Gantoy, Robert and Romain Swaeles, eds. Days of the Lord: The Liturgical Year. (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1990). A seven-volume series which explores the riches of the Roman liturgy; a companion to the sacramentary, lectionary and liturgy of hours as reformed after the Second Vatican Council. AMAZON-SET~~AMAZON-INDIVIDUAL VOLUMES
- Huck, Gabe. The Communion Rite at Mass. (Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications, 1989). Examines every aspect of the Roman communion rite showing how strong and beautiful it can be at every Mass in every parish. Includes both supplemental guides for eucharistic ministers and bulletin inserts. AMAZON
- _____. Preaching About the Mass. (Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications, 1992). Ten examples to inspire good preaching about the Mass: six for mystagogical preaching during Easter season; four for other Sundays. Also includes bulletin inserts and reflection questions for each homily. AMAZON
- Hughes, Kathleen. "The Changing Face of Roman Catholic Worship," in Paul Bradshaw and Lawrence Hoffman, eds., The Changing Face of Jewish and Christian Worship in North America. (Series: Two Liturgical Traditions, Volume 2). (Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1991), 71-87. A discussion of liturgical change that focuses on the reforms of Vatican II and the postconciliar effort of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL) to provide Roman Catholic liturgical texts in English. AMAZON
- Huels, John. One Table, Many Laws : Essays on Catholic Eucharistic Practice. (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1986). A respected canon lawyer looks at the Roman Catholic church's legislation governing celebrations of the eucharist in the period after the Second Vatican Council. AMAZON
- International Commission on English in the Liturgy. Documents on the Liturgy, 1963-1979. Conciliar, Papal, and Curial Texts. (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1982). A comprehensive collection of 554 official documents (in translation) which restate and define the basic liturgical principles at work in the renewal of Catholic worship since Vatican II. The collection also provides a handy chroncile of the work of reforming the liturgy (up to the year 1979). AMAZON
- Nowell, Irene. Sing a New Song: The Psalms in the Sunday Lectionary. (Collegeville: Liturgical Press,1993). Groups the psalms by genre, then considers each in its relationship to the set of readings it accompanies. AMAZON
Video Resources (Pastoral and Historical) from The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Minnesota
- Leading the Community in Prayer: The Art of Presiding for Deacons and Lay Persons by Kathleen Hughes and John Leonard. A joint project co-sponsored by the Notre Dame Center for Liturgy, this video uses discussion and demonstration to help viewers learn the significance of the actions and words that constitute the ministry of public prayer.
- Training for Hospitality: The Ministry of Ushers and Greeters by Delores Dufner. This video begins with an explanation of hospitality, its scriptural basis, its importance. Detailed examples and explanations of the duties of ushers and greeters show how these ministries enhance the hospitality and communal worship of the assembly.
- Training the Eucharistic Minister by Michael Kwatera. Describes the responsibilities of those who minister the eucharist to the sick and shut-in members of the assembly. The video illustrates both correct and incorrect methods of ministering the bread and the cup. Includes a presentation of the theological underpinnings of this ministry.
- Training the Mass Server by Michael Kwatera. A three-part program geared to young people. Explains how to prepare for this ministry and what duties it involves during the Liturgy of Word and Eucharist. Objects and terms used in this ministry are clearly explained.
- Training the Parish Cantor by James Hansen. Offers help in selecting those who are qualified to serve the assembly as cantors. Provides a clear, consistent teaching tool for novice cantors. Cantors learn their role as teachers of new music, ministers at the Eucharistic liturgy and other liturgies (weddings, funerals).
Video Resources from Liturgy Training Publications, Chicago
- Babette's Feast. ORION. This picture won an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 1987. A superb French chef creates a sumptuous meal, and simple villagers (at first reluctant) warm to the occasion in grateful response. A stunning portray of generosity, human failing, conversion, and transformation at the table. AMAZON
- The Hardest Job: Leading a Parish to Live from its Liturgy. 1994. Priests and members of the assembly speak about the diligence and hard work needed for "full, conscious and active participation" at eucharist.
- Lift Up Your Hearts: The Eucharistic Prayer at Sunday Mass. 1994. A visit to Saint Peter's Church in Cleveland where "full, active and conscious participation" is evident in song, movement, gesture and simiplicity. Filmed at a parish Sunday Mass in October, 1993.
- Roman Catholic Mass Today: Introduction, The. 1995. An overview of the liturgy, for the widest audience. This video presents baptized people doing their "Sunday work."
- Say Amen! To What You Are: The Communion Rite at Sunday Mass. 1994. A great procession at Saint Henry Parish, Cleveland, culminates in the joy and reverence of communion at Sunday eucharist.
- This is the Night: A Parish Welcomes New Members. 1991. Filmed during the Fifth Sunday of Lent and the Easter Vigil, this video shows the vitality of a parish in Pasadena, Texas, that takes the initiation of Catholics as a serious part of the life of the parish. Emphasizes the unity of the sacraments of Christian initiation, culminating in the joy of the eucharistic table.
- We Shall Go Up with Joy: The Entrance Rite. 1995. Shows various ways of handling the entrance procession, greeting, song and opening prayer at eucharist. Demonstrates how these rites take people isolated by individual cares and transforms them into a united church, hungry to hear God's word.
Video Resources from Other Publishers
- Come Together: An Adult Catechesis on the Eucharist. (Allen, TX: Argus Publications, 1983). By Kate Dooley, OP, and Maureen Gallagher. Six fifteen-minute segments on the liturgy and its implications.
- Eucharist: Sacrament and Celebration Christ's Presence Among Us. (Dubuque, IA: Brown-ROA). This if the fourth part of a six-session lecture course Focus on the Sacraments). Provides a presentation on the Eucharist that is geared especially to catechists: (1) Presence of Christ; (2) Eucharist from Key Scriptural Texts; (3) Eucharist in Daily Life.
- Los Sacramentos: Signos de Amor. "La Eucarist'a." (Allen, TX: Tabor Publications, 1990). (Part three of eight sessions on the sacraments.) Este programa de catequesis es para j--venes y adults que se preparan a la celebrati--n de un sacramento; para padres y madres cujos hijos van a recibir un sacramento; para personas que participan en programas de educati--n de adultos; y para enriquecer la formaci--n de las catequistas.
- Our Celebration of the Eucharist. (Cincinnati, OH: Franciscan Communications, 1986). De Sales Catholic Adult Education Series. Explores the history and theological meaning of the Eucharist. Eight thirty -minute segments.
- What Catholics Believe about Eucharist. (St. Louis, MO: Ligourian, 1992). A thirty-minute interactive introduction to the Eucharist. The introduction poses often-asked questions; "people in the pew" offer unrehearsed opinions and answers; a concise catechesis of the sacrament concludes the segment.
B. Eucharist in Theology and Culture
- Balasuriya, Tissa. The Eucharist and Human Liberation. (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books,1979). Challenges readers to see the relation between the spiritual "Bread of Life" and the "staff of life," food for the physically hungry. A disturbing but dynamic study which demands that we connect eucharist with the fundamental option for the poor. AMAZON
- Chupungco, Anscar. Cultural
Adaptation of the Liturgy. New
York: Paulist Press, 1982.
An important contribution to our understanding of how the mandate found in Vatican II's Constitution on the Liturgy (paragraph 37) is to be fulfilled: "The Church does not wish to impose a rigid uniformity in matters which do not involve the faith or the good of the whole community. Rather does she respect and foster the qualities and talents of the various races and nations." AMAZON - _____. Liturgical Inculturation: Sacramentals, Religiosity and Catechesis. (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1992). A further analysis of the principles supporting inculturation of the church's worship by an internationally respected observer of cultural diversity. AMAZON
- _____. Liturgies of the Future: The Process and Methods of Inculturation. (New York: Paulist Press, 1989). AMAZON
- Collins, Mary. "Eucharist and Christology Revisited: The Body of Christ." Theology Digest 39:4 (1992): 321-332. Calls for a thorough rethinking of our familiar symbolic grammar by focusing on (a) eucharistic liturgy as action of the whole liturgical assembly, (b) the meaning of real presence, and (c) the connection between liturgy and life.
- __________. "Is the Eucharist Still a Source of Meaning for Women?" Origins 21:14 (September 12, 1991), 225-29. Originally presented as an address to the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, this essay argues against narrowing (and hence impoverishing) our understanding of eucharistic theology and celebration. The author suggests that both neoclerical and neopagan attitudes toward the Eucharist are "fool's gold."
- Fabing, Robert. Real Food: A Spirituality of the Eucharist. (New York/Mahwah, NJ:Paulist Press, 1994). Examines the symbols of food and meal (as these relate to our understanding of eucharist) and then provides discussion questions. AMAZON
- Francis, Mark R. Liturgy in a Multicultural Community. (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1991). Shows how, by investigating the ways the first-generation church dealt with cultural diversity in worship, we can discover insights into more effective liturgy within today's multicultural parish. AMAZON
- Jungmann, Josef. The Eucharistic Prayer. (Worcestershire, England: Challoner, 1962). A classic study in which Jungmann explains the significance of remembrance, sacrifice and the earthly and heavenly liturgy as these are understood in our Eucharistic Prayer tradition. AMAZON
- Kilmartin, Edward. "The Catholic Tradition of Eucharistic Theology: Towards the Third Millenium." Theological Studies 55:3 (1994): 405-457. The thesis: that the prevailing official Catholic eucharistic theology that has its roots in the synthesis that began to take on characteristic traits in the 12th and 13th centuries no longer does justice to this central Christian mystery." The author calls for a "systematic theology of eucharistic sacrifice which would be more consistent with the Church's liturgical life of prayer, . . . [with] the various aspects and elements of the eucharistic mystery itself, and . . . [with] the way Catholics understand that in the Eucharist they are present to Christ's salvific acts and participate in the mystery of God in Christ."
- _____. Church, Eucharist and Priesthood: A Theological Commentary on the Mystery and Worship of the Most Holy Eucharist. (New York/Ramsey, NJ: Paulist Press, 1981). Critiques the pope's Holy Thursday Letter of 1980 in view of Vatican II's approach to the mystery and cult of the eucharist and in view of writings of modern liturgical studies and Catholic theology. AMAZON
- Lee, Bernard, ed. Alternative Futures for Worship: Eucharist. (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1987). < The third in a seven-volume series on the sacraments. Includes articles on intentional Christian communities, eucharist, culture, and modern eucharistic theology. Also gives samples of alternative rituals for liturgies of eucharist and word. AMAZON~~POWELLS
- Mitchell, Nathan. Cult and Controversy: The Worship of the Eucharist Outside Mass. Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1982. The first half of the book traces the theological and liturgical evolution that led to a devotional cult of the eucharist outside Mass. The second half discusses official teaching on worship of the reserved sacarament and how this connects with specifice practices (e.g., Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, the "Forty Hours Devotion," etc.). AMAZON
- _____. "Who is At the Table?" Commonweal 122:2 (January 27, 1995): 10-15. "More fruitful avenues for revisiting the doctrine of 'Real Presence' are opened by three areas of recent research: (1) the theology of the body; (2) the prayer of the assembly; and (3) the liturgy of the world."
- Power, David. The Eucharistic Mystery: Revitalizing the Tradition. (New York: Crossroad, 1992). A systematic and practical reflection that asseses eucharistic theology from NT times to the present. "What is sought is the understanding and challenge that eucharistic tradition opens up to us in our own ecclesial and social context." AMAZON
- _____. The Sacrifice We Offer: The Tridentine Dogma and its Reinterpretation. (New York: Crossroad, 1987). A study of the discussions on sacrifice that were held at the Council of Trent and an interpretation of this doctrine that might enable ecumenical dialogue to get beyond the impasse of artificial readings of the past. AMAZON
- Schmemann, Alexander. The Eucharist: Sacrament of the Kingdom. (Crestwood, NY: St.Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1988). A rich presentation of Eastern thought on the eucharist which emphasizes that the sacrament cannot be reduced to one "moment"-whether that moment is the "words of institution" or the "epiclesis" (invocation of the Spirit over gifts and people). AMAZON
- Seasoltz, Kevin, ed. Living Bread, Saving Cup: Readings on Eucharist. (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1987). A collection of articles from Worship , on practical or controversial issues: e.g., liturgy and social justice; stipends; celebrations without a priest; etc. Essays on complex doctrinal issues such as transubstantiation/transignification and sacrifice are also included. AMAZON~~POWELLS
