Table of Contents

Table of Contents Preface Introduction 1. Starting points for a study of the Eucharist 2. The focus of eucharistic thinking: thanking the Father 3. Locating our ritual: food, community, and prayer 4. Locating the Eucharist 5. Meals and Christian Memories 6. Distinctive memories: the acts of blessing and their recollection 7. The Common Meal and the Common Good Abbreviations Bibliography Index

Promotional Information

A constructive theology of the Eucharist, overcoming current divisions by bringing insights of historical research into the systematic-theological discourse.

About the Author

Thomas O'Loughlin is professor of historical theology in the University of Nottingham, UK. His research has focused on the theology of the early medieval period, and on the works of insular writers in particular.

Reviews

[E]xcellent, well-written and eminently readable ... I recommend this book highly.
*Theology*

Though the presence of Christ has been central to Eucharistic theology, Thomas O'Loughlin (The Eucharist) argues that in Tridentine Catholicism ‘the dominant thinking about the event of physical engagement with the Eucharist was imagined in terms of a sacred commodity. The priest ‘confected' the Eucharist, it was reserved for adoration and the wick, it was received when someone chose to receive Holy Community, and one could ‘get communion' ‘outside of Mass’’(36).
*First Things*

In this thought-provoking book, O’Loughlin challenges us to re-calibrate our inherited presuppositions about the Eucharist so that we prioritise it first and foremost as a meal among Jesus’ friends at which thanks is given to the Father. This, he suggests, will correct the theological and ritual impasse in which the churches find themselves and will be closer to the intentions expressed in the earliest evidence for Christian Eucharistic practice. As usual, O’Loughlin argues his case with a freshness and mastery of the sources which will encourage thoughtful reflection by scholars and church people alike.
*Juliette J. Day, University of Helsinki, Finland*

O’Loughlin’s ability to juxtapose elements harvested from his wide-ranging knowledge and to reflect profoundly on their implications for the understanding and practice of the Eucharist today means that virtually every page of this work is deeply thought-provoking, even in those places where a reader might disagree with him.
*Paul Bradshaw, University of Notre Dame, USA*

O’Loughlin’s provocative reflections on the meaning of Christ’s presence, the notion of consecration vis-à-vis the whole eucharistic prayer and the role of the priest are important questions that need to be rethought today. I stand in awe of the depth and breadth of his reading and research…anyone who wishes to be challenged to rethink time-worn theological statements on this most important aspect of Christian life should not miss one.
*Worship*