David A. Stosur

Biography

Dave Stosur is Professor of Religious Studies at Cardinal Stritch University. A liturgical theologian, he has taught theology in institutions of higher education and ministry formation for over thirty years. A native of the Chicago area, Stosur earned his bachelor’s degree at Davidson College (Davidson, NC), majoring in philosophy. After a year as a guest student at the Pontifical Liturgical Institute in Rome, he earned the MA and Ph.D. in theology/liturgical studies at the University of Notre Dame, where he completed a dissertation on the theology of the Book of Blessings under the late Dr. Mark Searle. He taught at the Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity of the University of St. Thomas (St. Paul, MN), the Saint Thomas Theological Seminary (Denver, CO), Saint Francis Seminary (Milwaukee, WI), where he served as Academic Dean, Saint Bernard’s School of Theology and Ministry (Rochester, NY), Edgewood College (Madison, WI), and has taught at Cardinal Stritch since 2011. Stosur has published articles in the several periodicals, including Liturgical Ministry, Worship, Questions liturgiques, and Theological Studies, and writes occasional “Brief Book Reviews” for the blog, Pray Tell: Worship, Wit, & Wisdom (https://www.praytellblog.com/index.php/category/brief-book-review/). He holds membership in the American Academy of Religion, the Catholic Theological Society of America (CTSA), the North American Academy of Liturgy, and the Catholic Academy of Liturgy. He has served on the Liturgical Commission for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, and as liturgical coordinator for the CTSA; he is currently on the convening team for the CTSA's Liturgy and Sacraments Session. At Cardinal Stritch, he has served as Chair of Religious Studies/Philosophy, as Associate Dean for the Humanities, as interim Faculty-at-Large Representative and as President of the Faculty Council; he currently serves as chair of the Rank and Tenure Committee.

Education

• B.A., Davidson College
• M.A., University Of Notre Dame
• Ph.D., University Of Notre Dame

Expertise

Liturgical/sacramental history and theology (Catholic/Christian ritual theory and practice) 

Theological hermeneutics, narrative theory, and the role of the social sciences in theological and ritual/liturgical interpretation and criticism

Catholic systematic theology (ecclesiology, Trinitarian theology, Christology, theological anthropology, theology of ministry, theological ethics/Catholic social teaching, philosophy for theology; ecumenism and interfaith relations)

History and theology of the Roman Catholic Church, with special emphasis on the Second Vatican Council and its interpretation, and on Catholicism in relation to theology of ministry and to contemporary culture (including literature and film)

Publications & Presentations

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS:
“A Tale of Two Translations: Rhetorical Style and the Post-Conciliar English Translations of the Mass,” Theological Studies 79:4 (2018): 761-781.

 “Narrative Signification and the Paschal Mystery: Liturgy, Participation, and Hermeneutics,” Questions liturgiques/Studies in liturgy 96 (2015): 41-63.

“Ritual Revision and Human Division: Ecumenical and Interfaith Implications of the Current English Translation of the Roman Missal,” in Nathan R. Kollar and Muhammid Shafiq, eds., Sacred Texts and Human Contexts: A North American Response to A Common Word between Us and You (Hickey Center for Interfaith Studies and Dialogue, 2014), 186-205.

 “Mixed Signals on Liturgical Participation: Teaching Liturgy and Crossing Generational Divides,” Proceedings of the North American Academy of Liturgy (2013): 111-126.

“Liturgy and (Post)Modernity: A Narrative Response to Guardini’s Challenge,” Worship 77 (2003): 22-41.

Editor, Unfailing Patience and Sound Teaching: Reflections on Episcopal Ministry in Honor of Rembert G. Weakland, O.S.B. (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 2003); author of “Preface,” xi-xiv, and “Epilogue: ‘And a Little Child Shall Lead Them,’” 287-299. 

“Bread of Life, Justice of God: Eucharistic Structures and the Transformation to Christian Justice.”  Liturgical Ministry 7 (Fall 1998): 182-189.

SELECTED PRESENTATIONS:
“Rahner’s “Liturgy of the World’ as Hermeneutics of Another World that is Possible,” presented at the Rahner Consultation Session of the Catholic Theological Society of America’s annual convention (convention theme: Another World Is Possible: Violence, Resistance, and Transformation) (Pittsburgh, PA, June 8, 2019).

“A Tale of Two Translations: Rhetorical Style and the Post-Conciliar English Translations of the Mass,” presented to the Vatican II Studies Unit on the theme, “The Contributions of John O’Malley, SJ, to the Critical Study of Vatican II,” American Academy of Religion (Boston, MA, November 20, 2017).

“Interfaith Understanding and Salaam/Shalom/Śānti/Peace: Human Holiness as Wholeness with Others,” StritchTalks Keynote (Cardinal Stritch University, January 18, 2017).

“Liturgical Participation: A Post-Critical Epistemological Perspective,” paper presented at the Liturgical Hermeneutics Seminar of the North American Academy of Liturgy annual meeting (Houston, TX, January 8, 2016).

“Let the Church Say ‘Amen’: Liturgical Participation and the Sensus Fidelium,” paper presented at the Liturgy/Sacraments – Topic Session of the Catholic Theological Society of America’s annual convention (convention theme: Sensus Fidelium) (Milwaukee, WI, June 13, 2015).

“‘Little Did He Know’: Harold Crick's (Ipse-/Idem-) Identity Exploration in Stranger than Fiction,” presented to the Ricoeur Group, American Academy of Religion (Baltimore, MD, November 23, 2013).

“Narrative Signification and the Paschal Mystery: Liturgy, Participation, and Hermeneutics,” paper presented for Leuven Encounters in Systematic Theology IX: Mediating Mysteries, Understanding Liturgies Conference, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium, October 25, 2013).

“Mixed Signals on Liturgical Participation: Teaching Liturgy and Crossing Generational Divides,” for conference, Vatican II:  Teaching and Understanding the Council After 50 Years (University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN, September 21, 2012). 

“Blessing as Liturgical Action: Structure and Performance,” presented at the Liturgical Hermeneutics Seminar of the North American Academy of Liturgy annual meeting (Savannah, GA, January 5, 2008).

“Liturgy and Narrative: Christian Identity in Postmodern Culture,” Coram Deo Lecture (Rochester, NY, September 13, 2006).

“Paul Ricoeur and Lawrence Sullivan on Text and Performance,” presented at the Liturgical Hermeneutics Seminar of the North American Academy of Liturgy annual meeting (Louisville, KY, January 8, 2005).

“Text, Performance, and Meaning: The Work of Bridget Nichols.  Part 1: Nichols’ Use of Ricoeur,” presented at the Liturgical Hermeneutics Seminar of the North American Academy of Liturgy annual meeting (Indianapolis, IN, January 3, 2003).