Gerhard LOHFINK.  Prayer Takes Us Home: The Theology and Practice of Christian Prayer.  Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2020.  pp.209.  $24.95 hb.  ISBN 9780814688069.  Reviewed by Peter DRILLING, Retired, Christ the King Seminary, East Aurora, NY. 

In his ongoing series of studies of Christian faith, Gerhard Lohfink makes yet another significant contribution.  This time it combines theological reflection on the meaning of Christian prayer with examination of its practice in so many ways, from liturgical prayer to intimate personal prayer.  Once again, Linda Maloney, a former student of the author, makes his work available to English-speaking readers.  Hers is also such a welcome contribution to contemporary Christian reflection.

Lohfink starts his book with a chapter that is actually a stern reminder to the reader that Christian prayer is not be offered to God generically.  God is the Trinity, and Christian prayer is to be specifically trinitarian.  Ultimately, Christian prayer is directed to the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit, but people of Christian faith can also pray specifically to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, keeping in mind that the Persons of God are always present together, never isolated individuals.  Moreover, just as God is a communion of Persons, so baptized Christians are never isolated individuals, but always in ecclesial communion, and so their prayer, even when it is most personal, includes a communal dimension.

In several chapters, the author examines the meaning of petitionary prayer, sorrow and lamentation, praise, and thanksgiving.  He studies how various Psalms demonstrate the meaning and forms of these varieties of prayer.  Lohfink's thorough examination of the Psalms, along with quotations of the New Testament writings, clarifies magnificently how to appreciate ever more deeply the different styles of prayer.  As for the Psalms, Lohfink teaches that the Psalms give us the program of our prayer, reminding us how important the Psalms were in Jesus' prayer.

In his chapter on meditation Lohfink distances himself from the approaches of the Eastern religions because he is convinced that the reader needs always to remain focused on the concrete events of salvation history.  Thus, he suggests that meditative prayer be narrative.  In a strong, clear statement Lohfink writes: "True meditation cannot be unworldly; it is radically engaged with the world.  It most certainly cannot be objectless.  Its object is God and God's history with the world" (p. 146).  (I practiced Christian yoga when I was younger and more agile as a way to assist my meditation; I find Lohfink's criticism of Eastern styles of meditation too harsh.)

In the penultimate chapter the issue of Christian prayer as trinitarian is once more highlighted, and specifically the trinitarian character of the Eucharistic Prayer. Clearly and forthrightly Lohfink writes: "The Eucharistic Prayer is the church's basic event" (p. 181) or, as Vatican II put it, the Eucharist is the source and summit of Christian life (Sacrosanctum Concilium 10).  Thus, fine music and a well-prepared and well-preached homily are important parts of the Mass, but the key is the Eucharistic Prayer.  The congregation gathers to participate in the Eucharistic Prayer.  To emphasize this our author reflects on various Eucharistic Prayers used through the centuries, even going back perhaps to the Letter to the Ephesians.  Chapter 9 is an exciting chapter.

The last chapter is clearly a review by the author of his own personal history of prayer and implicitly an invitation to his readers to compose their personal history as well. What a perfect way to end a book that so draws the reader into conversation on Christian prayer, both its theology and its practice.