What is the role of the church in our radically secular and pluralistic world, wherein science and technology set the trajectory of 'progression', yet which the prevalence of suffering constantly undermines progress? Anthony S. Lee examines the multiple shifts in Schillebeeckx' theology and argues that his thinking can be divided into three periods. The period of Schillebeeckx' first major work ranges from that of Vatican II, and concerns his engagement with hermeneutics and critical theory. From his early existential-phenomenological retrieval of Thomas Aquinas' theology of the sacraments to his unfinished work on the sacraments as "metaphorical celebrations", Schillebeeckx pursued a dialectical synthesis of the church and the world. As his theology matured, it became less church-centered, more oriented toward the world, and critical of both the church and the world.