Journal of Hispanic / Latino Theology

Theology: Expanding the Borders. The Annual Publication of the College Theology Society. Volume 43.

Edited by María Pilar Aquino and Roberto S. Goizueta. Mystic, CT: Twenty-third Publications, 1998. Pages, xiii + 333. Paper, $14.95.

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Leonardo Boff. Cry of the Earth, Cry of the Poor.

Maryknoll: Orbis, 1997. Pages, xii +242. Paper, $22.00.

Cry of the Earth, Cry of the Poor presents a new insight in theological thinking. Boff connects the cry of the Earth’s oppressed and marginalized with the cry of the Earth itself. His background in Latin American liberation theology gives him a unique perspective with which to address this blending of ecology and theology.

From the Editor - May 2012

From the Editor – May 2012

Earlier versions of the articles now published here after revision and review were originally prepared for discussion at the June 5-8, 2011 Annual Colloquium and General Meeting of the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States in San José, California. At that gathering, which focused on the theme, “Pan de Vida: Eucharistic Liturgy, Piety, and Justice,” the authors of these contributions engaged each other in focused discussion and all benefited from the in-depth conversation that their work nourished among the participants around the table. If we can affirm lex orandi, lex credendi, it follows that liturgy and life are bound up together in dynamic ways such that liturgy both expresses and sustains the struggle for justice to which faith itself calls us. Conversation partners Orlando O. Espín (University of San Diego) and Gary Macy (Santa Clara University) present, respectively, “Eucharistic Popular Devotions from and among Latin@s?” and “Not by Bread (or Wine) Alone: Popular Practices in the Middle Ages and Colonial Mexico.” Conversation partners Richard McCarron (Catholic Theological Union) and Raúl Gómez-Ruiz (Sacred Heart School of Theology) present, respectively, “The Revised Translation of the Roman Missal and Liturgia Hispana: From Textual Orthodoxy to Liturgical Polydoxy,” and “The Question of Language and the Eucharist: An Example from the Texto Único of the Ordo Missae.” All four authors demonstrate that there is more to critical historical retrieval than antiquarian nostalgia, and that translation is no mere matter of words, especially when it is a matter of the words that are uttered and heard in Christian worship.

Eucharistic Popular Devotions from and among Latin@s?

Orlando O. Espín

University of San Diego

Historically, and specifically in the Iberian peninsula, there is no question of there having been popular devotional practices related to the Eucharist.[1] Today, although in a much more secularized context, the same continues to be the case in Spain and Portugal.

During the Latin American colonial period (c.1492—c.1898), some of these same devotional practices were brought from Iberia to what then were the Spanish and Portuguese empires.[2] There they were received and modified, in an attempt to fit in and speak with new cultural forms of Christianity. Most popular among these colonial eucharistic devotions was the feast of Corpus Christi, with its large public processions and extraordinarily beautiful monstrances.[3] The public exposition of the Blessed Sacrament also became commonplace in many urban centers throughout colonial Latin America.

Not by Bread (or Wine) Alone: Popular Practices in the Middle Ages and Colonial Mexico

Not by Bread (or Wine) Alone:

Popular Practices in the Middle Ages and Colonial Mexico

Gary Macy

Santa Clara University

Covering the history of popular devotions to the Eucharist for all of Christian history would be a massive task. Therefore I will limit my attention to the use or actually non-use of bread and particularly wine in the Eucharist in the Middle Ages, and the continuation of some of those medieval accommodations in Mexico in the sixteenth century.

It would seem self-evident that bread and wine were the sine qua non of the Mass. According to the accounts given both in Paul and in the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus himself blessed bread and wine during his last meal with his followers by identifying himself and his life with the sharing of these two staples of Mediterranean cuisine. Paul describes this clearly in the earliest account we have of Jesus’ action:

For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, ²⁴and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. (1 Cor. 11:23-26)

The Revised Translation of the Roman Missal and Liturgia Hispana: From Textual Orthodoxy to Liturgical Polydoxy

The Revised Translation of the Roman Missal and Liturgia Hispana:

From Textual Orthodoxy to Liturgical Polydoxy

Richard McCarron

Catholic Theological Union, Chicago

This exploration of the relationship of the revised Ordo Missae and la liturgia hispana offers an opportunity to consider how we might work en conjunto in the face of the apparent ‘reversal of fortunes’ of Vatican II’s liturgical renewal. In this essay, I first interrogate the concept of an Ordo Missae from historical and theological perspectives. Then, I offer a short genealogy of the new Ordo Missae and the question of its reception and translation into vernacular languages and the implications for the future of la liturgia hispana in the United States. I propose in this regard a shift from textual orthodoxy to liturgical polydoxy, a rethinking of sacramental memorial, and an integration of pneumatology as a way to sustain the relationship of Eucharist, piety, and justice.

The Question of Language and the Eucharist: An Example from the Texto Único of the Ordo Missae

The Question of Language and the Eucharist:

An Example from the Texto Único of the Ordo Missae

Raúl Gómez-Ruiz, SDS

Sacred Heart School of Theology, Hales Corners WI

Introduction

The First Sunday of Advent 2011 marked the onset of the use of the new English-language translation of the Ordo Missae of the third typical edition of the Roman Missal.[1] The Ordo Missae refers to the overall structure of the Mass and those parts of it that are fixed.[2] In many quarters the new translation has been criticized both because of its quality as well as because of the process followed for its development and implementation.[3] Consequently it has been fraught with controversy. A workbook prepared by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) for the implementation of the text justifies the new translation saying the appearance of new texts in the third edition required translation and “…the experience of the years after the Second Vatican Council gave rise to a desire for more formal and literal translations of the original Latin texts.”[4]

From the Editor – November 2011

From June 5-8, 2011, at its Annual Colloquium and General Meeting in San José, California, the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States focused on the theme, “Pan de Vida: Eucharistic Liturgy, Piety, and Justice. The Colloquium Announcement explained, it was “time to go to the corazón of our Catholic faith and worship, the Eucharist, and draw from it pan de vida y bebida de salvación not just for us but for our communities. In a relaxed atmosphere of reflection and convivencia we invite[d] Jesus to stay with us and in us as we look[ed] at his Eucharistic presence and challenge in the official liturgy of the Church, our people’s devotion, and the Church’s social doctrine. In the articles we now present in the Journal of Hispanic / Latino Theology, we share with a broader public some of the spirit of that Colloquium. These articles, originally presented at the Colloquium in preliminary form, subsequently revised in the light of discussions around the table, and then peer-reviewed, offer insightful reflections on the convergence and intersections that are named in the Colloquium theme. These essays offer not just liturgical theology considered apart from real worshipping communities, not a consideration of devotional piety alone, but a matter of both considered in richly nuanced terms in the light of the call to justice that is at the very heart of the Gospel.

Bebida de Salvación: Spirituality Studies and Latina/o Theology

Bebida de Salvación:

Spirituality Studies and Latina/o Theology

Gilberto Cavazos-González, OFM

Catholic Theological Union, Chicago IL

For twenty three years the ACHTUS Colloquium has been an opportunity for us Catholic Hispanic Theologians to consider how various theological disciplines, popular culture, US Society and religion has influenced Latino/a theology. This year we went to the corazón of our Catholic faith and worship, the Eucharist and drew from it pan de vida. In a relaxed atmosphere of reflection and convivencia, we have invited Jesus to stay with us and in us as we looked at His Eucharistic presence and challenge in the official liturgy of the Church, in our people’s devotions, in our ecclesiologies and in our Church’s social teaching . These directions are reflected in our colloquium title Pan de Vida: Eucharistic Liturgy, Piety and Justice.

Hombres, Hembras, Hambres: Narration, Correction, and the Work of Ecclesiology

Hombres, Hembras, Hambres:

Narration, Correction, and the Work of Ecclesiology

Natalia M. Imperatori-Lee

Manhattan College, Riverdale NY

Esta isla se vende. Ni siquiera se subasta: se vende al por mayor. No sólo su mano de obra, sino tamben su alma; cada creencia, cada versículo, cada canto de sus religiones, cada pincelada de quienes la dibujaron durante siglos. Y ahí están esos que vienen con toda su cultura a cuestas, pero que siguen sin entender nada….Tal vez de eso se trate: de creerse a toda costa lo que le pongan a uno delante, sin cuestionarse mucho…¿O estaré siendo injusta? Quizás sea muy difícil llegar al fondo de este enredo. Incluso para nosotros. No hay Dios ni cristiano que entienda que carajos pasa aquí. A lo mejor estamos tan aislados que nos hemos convertido en otra especie. Somos bichos raros. Los cubanos somos los marcianos de la Tierra, y sólo un extraterrestre puede entender lo que le pasa a otro.

- Claudia’s first words in El hombre, la hembra y el hambre.[1]

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