Liturgy is still widely regarded in England as something connected either with archeology, rubrics, or monasteries. In Belgium, France and Germany, for several decades, the liturgy has been seen and used for what it is: the man-in-the-street's closest and most active contact with God. Historical research, used before the war often just to resuscitate defunct liturgical practices for the archaicist's delight, has shown why the liturgy is not, at present, as good a means of contact as it could be - that is, not pastoral enough. Theological consideration of it has not only brought before us the extraordinary depth, range and immediacy of this contact, but has also thrown into still clearer light the essentially pastoral function of the liturgy and indicated the general lines on which it must be made to fulfil this function more effectively.