God First: The Priority of God as the Key to Joseph Ratzinger's Liturgical Legacy

ABSTRACT: Joseph Ratzinger identified the "eclipse of God's priority in the liturgy" as the deepest cause of the crisis in the contemporary Church. The present essay examines the roots of that eclipse and suggests ways towards the renewal of God's priority. It looks first at Ratzinger's analysis of the deprioritization of God, particularly through Christological and Trinitarian reductionism. Second, it presents the priority of God in his liturgical thought, focusing on a recovery of ad orientem worship, not least as a counter to idolatry. It concludes by reflecting on several implications—e.g., the intersection of earthly and heavenly liturgy, a more expansive conception of human reason—of this divine priority for Christian liturgy and life.