Posted October 8, 2007 The Many Presences of Christ: Notre Dame Pastoral Liturgy Conference Editors: Timothy Fitzgerald and David A. Lysik Liturgy Training Publications. Chicago, IL. 1999. Pp. 214 An Excerpt from the Jacket: We say of our liturgy: Christ is present! But what does that mean? The Second Vatican Council challenged us to think more deeply about this presence of Christ in the liturgy. Its Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy teaches that we are to attend not only to Christ present in the consecrated bread and wine when we celebrate the Eucharist, but to Christ present in the minister, the sacraments, the word proclaimed, and the gathered people — the assembly. From several different directions these essays take up the challenge and engage us: liturgy and catechesis, ordained ministry, ecumenism, reconciliation, the revised sacramentary, first communion and confirmation, pastoral planning, ecclesial communion, music, art and environment for worship. An Excerpt from the Book: Some good questions a cantor might ask after a service are: Did I pray and call my people to prayer? To what extent did I feel myself as one with the assembly? How might I better assist the people to experience their song as prayer? How might I more effectively facilitate the assembly’s sung prayer? Remember always that the ultimate goal of ministry of the cantor (indeed of all ministry) is to build up the assembly of Christ’s faithful in prayer and to help the people of God experience the Risen Lord in their midst. Table of Contents: Response to the Michael Mathis Award The Church in Christ, Christ in the Church Anointed with the Spirit on the way to the table: celebrating confirmation prior to first Eucharist – a case study The many modes of Christ’s presence in the revised sacramentary The cantor and the presence of Christ in the singing assembly The Eucharistic Table, a reconciling table? Our belief, our experience, our dilemma The “real” and multiple “presences” of Christ in contemporary Lutheran liturgical and sacramental practice The many presences of Christ: recovering the tradition, renewing the churches “And how many will there be for dinner? Inclusion and exclusion and the Eucharist The future of parishes as Eucharistic communities Worship spaces to house the many presences of Christ A living prayer