Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-84c44f86f4-6dgjw Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-10-14T10:30:33.483Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

14 - Liturgy, the Body, and the Senses

from Part IV - Liturgy and the Life of the Churches

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 September 2025

Joris Geldhof
Affiliation:
University of Notre Dame
Get access

Summary

Bridget Nichols shows how important the bodily dimension of the liturgy is, especially because it is steadily associated with mental and cognitive activities. In this context, she pays particular attention to the role of the senses, which impacts greatly how not only big celebrations and ceremonies but also small gestures are experienced.

Information

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Book purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

For Further Reading

Chauvet, Louis-Marie, and Lumbala, François Kabasele (eds.), Concilium 1995/3: Liturgy and the Body.Google Scholar
Gavrilyuk, Paul, and Coakley, Sarah (eds.), Religion and the Body (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997).Google Scholar
Kearney, Richard, Touch: Recovering Our Most Vital Sense (New York: Columbia University Press, 2021).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Larson-Miller, Lizette, Sacramentality Renewed: Contemporary Conversations in Sacramental Theology (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2016).Google Scholar
O’Loughlin, Thomas (ed.), Shaping the Assembly: How Our Buildings Form Us in Worship (Dublin: Messenger, 2023).Google Scholar
Prétot, Patrick, “La Liturgie: Une Expérience Corporelle: Jalons pour une grammaire du corps en liturgie,” La Maison-Dieu 247 (2006): 736.Google Scholar
Senn, Frank C., Embodied Liturgy: Lessons in Christian Ritual (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2016).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
US Conference of Catholic Bishops, Built of Living Stones: Art, Architecture, and Worship – Guidelines of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (issued November 16, 2000, by NCCB/USCC [Now USCCB]), https://charlestondiocese.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Built-of-Living-Stones.pdf.Google Scholar

Accessibility standard: WCAG 2.0 A

Why this information is here

This section outlines the accessibility features of this content - including support for screen readers, full keyboard navigation and high-contrast display options. This may not be relevant for you.

Accessibility Information

The PDF of this book conforms to version 2.0 of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), ensuring core accessibility principles are addressed and meets the basic (A) level of WCAG compliance, addressing essential accessibility barriers.

Content Navigation

Table of contents navigation
Allows you to navigate directly to chapters, sections, or non‐text items through a linked table of contents, reducing the need for extensive scrolling.
Index navigation
Provides an interactive index, letting you go straight to where a term or subject appears in the text without manual searching.

Reading Order & Textual Equivalents

Single logical reading order
You will encounter all content (including footnotes, captions, etc.) in a clear, sequential flow, making it easier to follow with assistive tools like screen readers.
Full alternative textual descriptions
You get more than just short alt text: you have comprehensive text equivalents, transcripts, captions, or audio descriptions for substantial non‐text content, which is especially helpful for complex visuals or multimedia.

Visual Accessibility

Use of colour is not sole means of conveying information
You will still understand key ideas or prompts without relying solely on colour, which is especially helpful if you have colour vision deficiencies.
Use of high contrast between text and background colour
You benefit from high‐contrast text, which improves legibility if you have low vision or if you are reading in less‐than‐ideal lighting conditions.

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge-org.demo.remotlog.com is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×