Signs of the Holy One

Signs of the Holy One: Liturgy, Ritual, and Expression of the Sacred by Uwe Michael Lang of the Oratory, 155 pages

In this short book, Fr Lang attempts to compensate for what he perceives as an over concentration on the written text of the liturgy by focusing instead on the equally important "signs" involved in the liturgy.  He begins with a survey of twentieth century approaches to the sacred including Otto, Eliade, Bouyer, Rahner, and Ratzinger.  It is the last of these who, not surprisingly, has had the most influence on Lang, with his landmark work The Spirit of the Liturgy serving as a foundation for Signs of the Holy One and his "hermeneutic of continuity" informing Lang's entire approach to liturgical form and reform.

Lang's central concern is the incarnation of the sacred - in architecture, the visual arts, and music, but above all in liturgy.  He strongly distinguishes sacred art from religious art - the latter being the expression of an artist's religious experience, the former an expression of the understanding of the community.  Confusing the two endangers the connection between the liturgy and the congregation, as does the impression or experience of discontinuity. 

Signs of the Holy One has its shortcomings.  It is somewhat disappointing that his discussion of the liturgy and media focuses on television and almost entirely neglects new media.  It is even more disappointing that the book is so short, as the chapter on sacred architecture in particular only stimulates the appetite for more.  As an installment in an ongoing discussion, however, the book is invaluable.