“To be nourished by the Eucharist is to become the Body of Christ, which is given for the world. According to Montecel, this means that individually and together we must grow in those virtues that draw all things toward communion. ”
This book offers a constructive contribution to the current academic discourse on liturgy and ethics and serves as a resource for the American church today, which is exploring more deeply the role of the Eucharist in Christian life. In brief, the book proposes a fundamental eucharistic ethics, articulated in the key of virtue. At the center of this work is an innovative approach to understanding moral agency, proceeding on the basis of eucharistic theology, eschatology, and theories of virtue. The project begins with a historical examination of Christian thought on the relationship between liturgy and ethics with special attention to the evolution of modern Catholic sacramental theology and the emergence of ecumenical conversations in the twentieth century. It then offers a methodological framework for the field today. The work culminates in an account of moral agency grounded in the Eucharist that integrates eschatology and contemporary work in virtue ethics. This book is based on my dissertation and will involve substantial new research, reframing, and revision. The new research will be centered around ancient and medieval figures and contemporary work in liturgy and ethics that has emerged among scholars connected to the Society of Christian Ethics since 1979. I am now a leader of the Liturgy and Ethics Interest Group in the Society, which has kept records of this work. The reframing involves a more deliberate focus on moral agency which was absent in my dissertation. My book proposal has been accepted by Fordham University Press with the goal of an advance contract to be awarded in Spring 2025.