R&L Logo R&L Logo
  • GENERAL
    • Browse by Subjects
    • New Releases
    • Coming Soon
    • Chases's Calendar
  • ACADEMIC
    • Textbooks
    • Browse by Course
    • Instructor's Copies
    • Monographs & Research
    • Reference
  • PROFESSIONAL
    • Education
    • Intelligence & Security
    • Library Services
    • Business & Leadership
    • Museum Studies
    • Music
    • Pastoral Resources
    • Psychotherapy
  • FREUD SET
Cover Image
Hardback
eBook
share of facebook share on twitter
Add to GoodReads

The Sacramentality of Music

Christina Labriola

Steeped in the Catholic spiritual tradition, The Sacramentality of Music argues that musical experience, in its appeal to the entirety of the human person, can serve as a locus of encounter with the divine and an occasion of God’s self-revelation in love, with spiritually nurturing, ultimately transformative, ends. Christina Labriolacontends that this dynamic might most aptly be understood as sacramental, an all-encompassing perspective of the cosmos permeated by the divine creative, salvific, sustaining presence. Through its participation in the mysteries of beauty and creativity, its bodily and affective engagement, and impact on the inner life, music operates sacramentally: manifesting divine realities through the tangible stuff of human experience. In a thematic theological exploration that interweaves pastoral theology, theological aesthetics, and mysticism, the reader is invited to contemplate music’s sacramental potentiality and to engage the sacramentally charged music of Beethoven, Bartok, MacMillan, Messiaen, Mozart, Ešenvalds, Bach, Pärt, and Hildegard. In attending to musical ways of relating to God, this book invites readers into a deepening awareness of the sacramental nature of reality itself as that in which the spiritual resonance of music is grounded and reveals afresh, taking musical beauty seriously in the spiritual order with repercussions for Christian living.

  • Details
  • Details
  • Author
  • Author
  • TOC
  • TOC
  • Reviews
  • Reviews
Lexington Books
Pages: 244 • Trim: 6¼ x 9½
978-1-66695-935-2 • Hardback • August 2024 • $115.00 • (£88.00)
978-1-66695-936-9 • eBook • August 2024 • $50.00 • (£38.00)
Subjects: Religion / Christianity / Catholic, Religion / Christian Rituals & Practice / Sacraments, Music / Religious / Contemporary Christian

Christina Labriola is director of music in the Office of Campus Ministry at the University of St. Michael’s College.

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Chapter One: Music and Sacramentality in the Catholic Imagination

Chapter Two: Music and Incarnation

Chapter Three: Music and Beauty

Chapter Four: Music and Contemplation

Chapter Five: Music, Christian Discipleship, and Marian Fruitfulness

Conclusion

Appendix: Sacramentality of Music “Praylist”: Music Selections

Bibliography

About the Author

This valuable book offers a rich and stimulating approach to music’s sacramentality. It is a pastorally oriented theology and spirituality of music, undergirded by a keen musical intelligence. The argument builds on Catholic foundations—from Hildegard to von Balthasar—but with the windows wide open. Labriola’s generosity shines through in her writing, celebrating music's transformative potential under divine grace, rejoicing in the overflowing love of the triune God.


— Michael O'Connor, St. Michael's College


The means of holy encounter long associated with Baptism and Eucharist are increasingly challenged by music-making. Indeed, music as an emotive art form of expression is being seen as suitable medium to encounter the divine. It is fitting that Dr. Christina Labriola, a scholar in the Catholic liturgical tradition now investigates this medium to understand how it may strengthen spiritual formation in the encounter with God. Labriola’s book is essential reading to all who desire to understand how music can enhance worship as an expression of love for God and neighbour in its use.


— Swee Hong Lim, Emmanuel College of Victoria University in the University of Toronto, Canada


What is a sacrament, and how can music help us define it? Alternately erudite and reflective, The Sacramentality of Music tells us in a sustained and systematically argued theological work. Adding her voice to what she describes as "the dazzling symphonic array of theological consideration of music’s spiritual import", Labriola rises to the challenge, testing our presumptions and revising our understanding with a clear, comprehensive and critically astute analysis of the topic.


— Bennett Zon, Durham University


The Sacramentality of Music

Cover Image
Hardback
eBook
Summary
Summary
  • Steeped in the Catholic spiritual tradition, The Sacramentality of Music argues that musical experience, in its appeal to the entirety of the human person, can serve as a locus of encounter with the divine and an occasion of God’s self-revelation in love, with spiritually nurturing, ultimately transformative, ends. Christina Labriolacontends that this dynamic might most aptly be understood as sacramental, an all-encompassing perspective of the cosmos permeated by the divine creative, salvific, sustaining presence. Through its participation in the mysteries of beauty and creativity, its bodily and affective engagement, and impact on the inner life, music operates sacramentally: manifesting divine realities through the tangible stuff of human experience. In a thematic theological exploration that interweaves pastoral theology, theological aesthetics, and mysticism, the reader is invited to contemplate music’s sacramental potentiality and to engage the sacramentally charged music of Beethoven, Bartok, MacMillan, Messiaen, Mozart, Ešenvalds, Bach, Pärt, and Hildegard. In attending to musical ways of relating to God, this book invites readers into a deepening awareness of the sacramental nature of reality itself as that in which the spiritual resonance of music is grounded and reveals afresh, taking musical beauty seriously in the spiritual order with repercussions for Christian living.

Details
Details
  • Lexington Books
    Pages: 244 • Trim: 6¼ x 9½
    978-1-66695-935-2 • Hardback • August 2024 • $115.00 • (£88.00)
    978-1-66695-936-9 • eBook • August 2024 • $50.00 • (£38.00)
    Subjects: Religion / Christianity / Catholic, Religion / Christian Rituals & Practice / Sacraments, Music / Religious / Contemporary Christian
Author
Author
  • Christina Labriola is director of music in the Office of Campus Ministry at the University of St. Michael’s College.

Table of Contents
Table of Contents
  • Acknowledgements

    Introduction

    Chapter One: Music and Sacramentality in the Catholic Imagination

    Chapter Two: Music and Incarnation

    Chapter Three: Music and Beauty

    Chapter Four: Music and Contemplation

    Chapter Five: Music, Christian Discipleship, and Marian Fruitfulness

    Conclusion

    Appendix: Sacramentality of Music “Praylist”: Music Selections

    Bibliography

    About the Author

Reviews
Reviews
  • This valuable book offers a rich and stimulating approach to music’s sacramentality. It is a pastorally oriented theology and spirituality of music, undergirded by a keen musical intelligence. The argument builds on Catholic foundations—from Hildegard to von Balthasar—but with the windows wide open. Labriola’s generosity shines through in her writing, celebrating music's transformative potential under divine grace, rejoicing in the overflowing love of the triune God.


    — Michael O'Connor, St. Michael's College


    The means of holy encounter long associated with Baptism and Eucharist are increasingly challenged by music-making. Indeed, music as an emotive art form of expression is being seen as suitable medium to encounter the divine. It is fitting that Dr. Christina Labriola, a scholar in the Catholic liturgical tradition now investigates this medium to understand how it may strengthen spiritual formation in the encounter with God. Labriola’s book is essential reading to all who desire to understand how music can enhance worship as an expression of love for God and neighbour in its use.


    — Swee Hong Lim, Emmanuel College of Victoria University in the University of Toronto, Canada


    What is a sacrament, and how can music help us define it? Alternately erudite and reflective, The Sacramentality of Music tells us in a sustained and systematically argued theological work. Adding her voice to what she describes as "the dazzling symphonic array of theological consideration of music’s spiritual import", Labriola rises to the challenge, testing our presumptions and revising our understanding with a clear, comprehensive and critically astute analysis of the topic.


    — Bennett Zon, Durham University


ALSO AVAILABLE

  • Cover image for the book Love Is a Journey: The Inspiring Life and Legacy of Pope John Paul I
  • Cover image for the book Hemingway's Faith
  • Cover image for the book Reproductive Justice and the Catholic Church: Advancing Pragmatic Solidarity with Pregnant Women
  • Cover image for the book Moral Wisdom: Lessons and Texts from the Catholic Tradition, Third Edition
  • Cover image for the book The Jesuits: A History from Ignatius to the Present
  • Cover image for the book The Sheed and Ward Anthology of Catholic Philosophy
  • Cover image for the book Bending Toward Justice: Sr. Kate Kuenstler and the Struggle for Parish Rights
  • Cover image for the book The Sacrament of Same-Sex Marriage: An Inclusive Vision for the Catholic Church
  • Cover image for the book The Tyranny of the Banal: On the Renewal of Catholic Moral Theology
  • Cover image for the book Pope Francis, Marriage, and Same-Sex Civil Unions: Foundations for the Organic Development of Catholic Sexual Doctrine
  • Cover image for the book Beyond Priests: The Future of Ministry in the Catholic Church
  • Cover image for the book A Synodal Church: The Christian Faithful on Pilgrimage
  • Cover image for the book Moral Debates in Contemporary Catholic Thought: Paradigms, Principles, and Prudence
  • Cover image for the book The Works of Mercy: The Heart of Catholicism, Third Edition
  • Cover image for the book The Field Hospital Church: Catholic Social Teaching and Ministry
  • Cover image for the book On the Priesthood: Classic and Contemporary Texts
  • Cover image for the book A Child in Winter: Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany with Caryll Houselander
  • Cover image for the book Christ the Sacrament of the Encounter With God
  • Cover image for the book Historical Dictionary of Catholicism, Third Edition
  • Cover image for the book The Liberal Arts Tradition: A Documentary History
  • Cover image for the book American Law from a Catholic Perspective: Through a Clearer Lens
  • Cover image for the book Mercy in Action: The Social Teachings of Pope Francis
  • Cover image for the book Bridging the Great Divide: Musings of a Post-Liberal, Post-Conservative Evangelical Catholic
  • Cover image for the book The Political Testament of Cardinal Richelieu
  • Cover image for the book Method in Ministry: Theological Reflection and Christian Ministry (revised)
  • Cover image for the book A History of the Popes: From Peter to the Present
  • Cover image for the book Jesus Was a Feminist: What the Gospels Reveal about His Revolutionary Perspective
  • Cover image for the book My Song Is Of Mercy
  • Cover image for the book Catholic Women Confront Their Church: Stories of Hurt and Hope
  • Cover image for the book Holy Silence
  • Cover image for the book Love Is a Journey: The Inspiring Life and Legacy of Pope John Paul I
  • Cover image for the book Hemingway's Faith
  • Cover image for the book Reproductive Justice and the Catholic Church: Advancing Pragmatic Solidarity with Pregnant Women
  • Cover image for the book Moral Wisdom: Lessons and Texts from the Catholic Tradition, Third Edition
  • Cover image for the book The Jesuits: A History from Ignatius to the Present
  • Cover image for the book The Sheed and Ward Anthology of Catholic Philosophy
  • Cover image for the book Bending Toward Justice: Sr. Kate Kuenstler and the Struggle for Parish Rights
  • Cover image for the book The Sacrament of Same-Sex Marriage: An Inclusive Vision for the Catholic Church
  • Cover image for the book The Tyranny of the Banal: On the Renewal of Catholic Moral Theology
  • Cover image for the book Pope Francis, Marriage, and Same-Sex Civil Unions: Foundations for the Organic Development of Catholic Sexual Doctrine
  • Cover image for the book Beyond Priests: The Future of Ministry in the Catholic Church
  • Cover image for the book A Synodal Church: The Christian Faithful on Pilgrimage
  • Cover image for the book Moral Debates in Contemporary Catholic Thought: Paradigms, Principles, and Prudence
  • Cover image for the book The Works of Mercy: The Heart of Catholicism, Third Edition
  • Cover image for the book The Field Hospital Church: Catholic Social Teaching and Ministry
  • Cover image for the book On the Priesthood: Classic and Contemporary Texts
  • Cover image for the book A Child in Winter: Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany with Caryll Houselander
  • Cover image for the book Christ the Sacrament of the Encounter With God
  • Cover image for the book Historical Dictionary of Catholicism, Third Edition
  • Cover image for the book The Liberal Arts Tradition: A Documentary History
  • Cover image for the book American Law from a Catholic Perspective: Through a Clearer Lens
  • Cover image for the book Mercy in Action: The Social Teachings of Pope Francis
  • Cover image for the book Bridging the Great Divide: Musings of a Post-Liberal, Post-Conservative Evangelical Catholic
  • Cover image for the book The Political Testament of Cardinal Richelieu
  • Cover image for the book Method in Ministry: Theological Reflection and Christian Ministry (revised)
  • Cover image for the book A History of the Popes: From Peter to the Present
  • Cover image for the book Jesus Was a Feminist: What the Gospels Reveal about His Revolutionary Perspective
  • Cover image for the book My Song Is Of Mercy
  • Cover image for the book Catholic Women Confront Their Church: Stories of Hurt and Hope
  • Cover image for the book Holy Silence
facebook icon twitter icon instagram icon linked in icon NEWSLETTERS
ABOUT US
  • Mission Statement
  • Employment
  • Privacy
  • Accessibility Statement
CONTACT
  • Company Directory
  • Publicity and Media Queries
  • Rights and Permissions
  • Textbook Resource Center
AUTHOR RESOURCES
  • Royalty Contact
  • Production Guidelines
  • Manuscript Submissions
ORDERING INFORMATION
  • Rowman & Littlefield
  • National Book Network
  • Ingram Publisher Services UK
  • Special Sales
  • International Sales
  • eBook Partners
  • Digital Catalogs
IMPRINTS
  • Rowman & Littlefield
  • Lexington Books
  • Hamilton Books
  • Applause Books
  • Amadeus Press
  • Backbeat Books
  • Bernan
  • Hal Leonard Books
  • Limelight Editions
  • Co-Publishing Partners
  • Globe Pequot
  • Down East Books
  • Falcon Guides
  • Gooseberry Patch
  • Lyons Press
  • Muddy Boots
  • Pineapple Press
  • TwoDot Books
  • Stackpole Books
PARTNERS
  • American Alliance of Museums
  • American Association for State and Local History
  • Brookings Institution Press
  • Center for Strategic & International Studies
  • Council on Foreign Relations
  • Fairleigh Dickinson University Press
  • Fortress Press
  • The Foundation for Critical Thinking
  • Lehigh University Press
  • United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
  • Other Partners...