ABSTRACT: In the liturgical theology of Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI, the cosmic dimension of the liturgy plays a central role. For Ratzinger, the intrinsic connection between creation, salvation history, and the Eucharist is expressed in the offering of the Eucharist at the altar, the orientation toward the Cross, the Christian symbolism of the sun, sacred music uniting heaven and earth, the common direction of prayer ad Deum ( ad orientem or ad apsidem ), and the design of liturgical space. From an early stage, Ratzinger was convinced that we are facing a crisis of the anthropocentric worldview and that we need to rediscover that the liturgy involves the whole of creation.
Helmut Hoping (Thu,) studied this question.