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Written as an accessible introduction to the Catholic teaching of divinization, Divinization: Becoming Icons of Christ through the Liturgy explains the startling claim, so often overlooked, that God transforms the Christian people through the Church’s liturgy to share in his divine nature. Divinization: Becoming Icons of Christ through the Liturgy is a short collection of essays that serves as an excellent introduction to the Catholic theology of divinization, which means that human beings are raised to be “partakers in the divine nature” (cf. 2 Pet 1:4) through the work of the Liturgy. Although different in authorship and in focus, the essays in this work form a coherent introduction to how God makes the faithful in the pews partakers in his divine nature through the action of the liturgy.
This remarkable book offers an accessible and systematic organization of essays on different aspects of divinization—liturgical theology, scripture, pastoral teaching, liturgical renewal and evangelization—contributed by theologians with much experience in teaching in the classroom and parish settings.
“Our life in Christ, according to Blessed Columba Marmion, is ‘constituted by the fact of being sons of God—a participation, through sanctifying grace, in the eternal filiation of the Incarnate Word….The whole of Christian life, holiness itself, consists in being, by grace, that which Jesus is by nature: Son of God.’ This splendid collection of essays unfolds the many facets of the profound mystery of divinization at the core of the Christian life, according to which our transformation in Christ is nothing less than a conformation to him.”
Archbishop J. Augustine Di Noia, OP – Vice-President of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia De;, Adjunct Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Vatican City
“Eastern Christian theology celebrates divinization as the divine telos for all human beings, that we might become God’s fellows and partakers. Now we have a much-needed book that celebrates divinization in the Roman Catholic tradition! Andrew Hofer’s team of theologians presents an intriguing explanation of divinization by drawing from the treasury of Catholic tradition. In a writing style accessible to the Catholic in the pew, the authors establish the biblical roots of divinization, show how people and communities receive the gift of divinization in liturgy, and connect divinization to the urgency of the new evangelization. I highly recommend this sophisticated and theologically-rich book for clergy, theologians, students, and general readers.”
Nicholas Denysenko, PhD – Assistant Professor of Theological Studies; Director, Huffington Ecumenical Institute, Loyola Marymount University
“This work not only fills a critical need by explaining the link between the liturgy and our divinization but shows how mission and evangelization are also essentially connected to our becoming partakers of the divine nature. Accessible and readable, Divinization: Becoming Icons of Christ through the Liturgy advances our understanding of how divinization can and should impact our prayer, our witness, and in fact the entirety of our daily lives.”
Daniel Keating, PhD – Author of Deification and Grave (2007); Associate Professor of Theology, Sacred Heart Major Seminary, Detroit MI
“Understanding authentic participation in the Liturgy becomes even more amazing with the insights found in Divinization: Becoming Icons of Christ through the Liturgy. Fr. Andrew Hofer assembles several authors to present a contemporary re-reading of the Liturgy as glorifying God and giving all a share in the divinity of Christ. This divinization unlocks the source and pattern of the Christian life. Fr. Hofer’s work provides a much needed resource for those who teach and study the Sacred Liturgy. “
Reverend Gerald Dennis Gill – Director of the Office for Divine Worship, Archdiocese of Philadelphia; Professor of Sacred Liturgy, Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary, Philadelphia
