Ignis Fatuus or Illumination? A Theological Reflection on Le Mythe de Sisyphe and the Eternal Return of the Liturgy

Abstract

Spiritus 23 (2023): 36–50 © 2023 by Johns Hopkins University Press Gathering for worship is integral to Christian life and in the Catholic Church constitutes its source and summit. Yet, attendance among the laity is astonishingly low. It is unlikely that there is a single explanation for this phenomenon (preexisting the pandemic), but one of the most common papal responses to this spiritual problem is to lament widespread practical atheism or religious indifference. Pope Francis, for example, said that