Bruce Morrill, Author at PrayTellBlog

Bruce Morrill, S.J., holds the Edward A. Malloy Chair in Roman Catholic Studies at Vanderbilt University, where he is Professor of Theological Studies in the Divinity School and Graduate Department of Religion and Director of the Doctorate of Ministry program. He provides educative, liturgical, and pastoral ministry in parish, school, and prison settings in Nashville and has done so over the years across the USA, including regular trips to Yup’ik villages in western Alaska. In addition to ongoing publications in academic journals, collective volumes, and popular platforms, his ten books include Anamnesis as Dangerous Memory (2000), Divine Worship and Human Healing (2009), and the forthcoming Practical Sacramental Theology: At the Intersection of Liturgy and Ethics (2021).

65th Annual Liturgical Studies Week at Saint-Serge, Paris

July 20, 2018 Bruce Morrill Conferences / Workshops / Meetings Ecumenism

Founded by the Benedictine Dom Bernard Botte (+1980) and Orthodox Father Cyprien Kern (+1960) and others, the conference has maintained the objective of scholarly research in pursuit of what does and can yet unite Christians in and through the liturgy. This year’s theme was “Le corps humain dans la liturgie” (“The Human Body in the Liturgy”).

Liturgical Music and Design: Jesuit Ministry in Slovenia

The music, led by a small volunteer ensemble of voices, electric piano, and guitar, was almost entirely in the genre of “praise music,” taken from the repertoire of Hillsong and similar groups.

Latest Issue of Questions Liturgiques, Including Article on Schmemann

May 5, 2018 Bruce Morrill Quotes Sacramental Theology Social Justice

Alexander Schmemann published a tight corpus of writings focused on articulating the irreducible, eschatological content of the liturgy as revelatory of divine redemption, while continuously insisting that this fundamental tradition of the church is doubly crippled by ignorance of its eschatological nature and mistaken efforts to draw contemporary social concerns into its practice.

Responding to a Journalist’s Inquiry About Hell

April 4, 2018 Bruce Morrill Liturgical year Pope Francis

How to respond to the question of hell in a relatively succinct manner (as desired in journalism) to a reporter (and her religiously pluralistic readership), whose even basic knowledge of Christianity I could not presume?

Compelling Data about Religious Affiliation & Practice among Young Europeans

March 25, 2018 Bruce Morrill Demographics and Sociology Young Adults Youth

The rates of 16-to-29-year-olds religiously unaffiliated in England and France are 70% and 64%.

Distilling Advent Down to Newsfeed Size (A Necessary Art)

December 3, 2017 Bruce Morrill Liturgical year

The questions reporters ask about Christian liturgy and sacraments, I find, provide this academic liturgical theologian vital feedback on what the wider population (Christian and, often, wider) find of interest and importance.

Taking the Bait (or: My Foray into the Liturgy Wars?)

October 12, 2017 Bruce Morrill Art and Architecture Liturgical Spirituality

The undeniable power of symbol for individuals in social bodies (in this case, US Catholicism) comes through clearly in this instance of two university employees demonstrating seemingly polar-opposite views of whether, how, and what kinds of liturgical art and architecture show promise for faith-formation on the 21st-century campus.

Watching People Watch (Then Not Watch) the Eclipse: A Liturgical-Theological Reflection

August 24, 2017 Bruce Morrill Liturgical year Ritual Studies Teaching Liturgy

While the natural-cosmic event was surely most captivating, I also discovered my inner-anthropologist kicking in to make the following observation about the before-and-after dynamics that I think sheds some light (pardon the pun) on liturgical time-keeping.

Sharing Religious Life, Liturgy, and the Pursuit of Happiness on the Web

June 19, 2017 Bruce Morrill Inculturation Religious life Technology and Worship

… the nuns’ turn to cyberspace is only the latest chapter in a long history of religious orders’ using the best means of communication.

Scientific Research: Worship Is Healthy

June 2, 2017 Bruce Morrill Demographics and Sociology Ritual Studies Secularism

“Our findings support the overall hypothesis that increased religiosity – as determined by attendance at worship services – is associated with less stress and enhanced longevity.”

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