Vatican II on the Liturgical Presence of Christ

Abstract

In its Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (Sacrosanctum concilium, December 1963), Vatican II listed five modes in which the risen Christ is actively present in the liturgical celebrations of the Church. Four of these five modes emerge strongly in the revised rites published from 1969 into the 1970s. But post-Vatican II sacramental theology has not displayed much interest in the five modes of Christ’s presence. The lack of an analysis of ‘presence’ may be a major reason for this neglect. The article proposes ten characteristics of presence: as relational, mediated, personal, free, transformative, costly, bodily, multiform, feminine, and future-oriented.