Liturgy & Personality by Dietrich von Hildebrand, 130 pages
Dietrich von Hildebrand identifies the Divine Liturgy as the worship and adoration offered by the Body of Christ, united with its Head - "through Him, with Him, and in Him" - to the Triune Godhead. As such, it forms the supreme instance of value-response, and it is in the light of this that all of our relationships with values ought to be measured. The liturgy, he therefore maintains, provides the ultimate opportunity for the imitation of (and transformation in) Christ, but only if it is properly understood in terms of value-response as an end in itself. The liturgy cannot be reduced to a mere technique for self-improvement, and yet it provides the most thorough education in the disciplines necessary to the development of an authentic personality - discrimination and sacrifice.
Although he was capable of writing for a broader audience, here Hildebrand wrote like the German philosopher he was. Although not entirely opaque, the short book is certainly challenging, but the rewards of understanding are well worth the effort.
No comments:
Post a Comment