Summary
Rubén Peretó Rivas, director of the Centre International d’Études Liturgiques (CIEL), introduced the XV Colloquio del CIEL focusing on the Offertory in various Christian liturgical traditions. This event took place today, February 5th, 2026. The introduction emphasized that although seemingly limited or functional, the Offertory serves as a crucial theological space revealing deep historical, spiritual, and doctrinal insights. The choice of the Offertory is rooted in the current ecclesiastical context where the structure of the Eucharistic celebration has been subject to debates, reinterpretations, and sometimes simplifications. Peretó Rivas argued that reexamining the Offertory allows for interrogating the very heart of liturgical practice—the moment when the Church offers its gifts to God and acknowledges that everything elevated on the altar comes from God. The Colloquio del CIEL adopted a historically-comparative approach inseparable from theological reflection. It aimed to analyze the development of the Offertory within the Ordo Missae, as well as its expression in Western and Eastern rites, symbolism, and contemporary transformations. The event also addressed the role of liturgy in theology, with a central reference made to Saint Thomas Aquinas, who acknowledged the supreme theological authority of Church’s practice (Consuetudo Ecclesiae). Aquinas described the Eucharistic celebration as both sacrifice and sacrament, representing an actualization without blood of the Sacrifice on the Cross. The Liturgy was conceptualized as a set of sensible signs that not only express but realize man’s sanctification and worship of God in the context of Christ’s priesthood. Peretó Rivas concluded by emphasizing that liturgy is both received and handed down, requiring study, preservation, and living to foster deeper understanding and authentic celebration.
Key Topics
CIEL, Offertorio, Liturgia
