Deconstructing Sacramental Theology And Reconstructing Catholic Ritual

Catholic sacramental doctrine has lost much of its credibility. Baptized people leave the church, adolescents stop attending shortly after they are confirmed, supposedly indissoluble marriages regularly dissolve, few go to confession, and many do not believe in transubstantiation. Drawing upon his decades-long study of the sacraments, Martos reveals how teachings that seemed rooted in the scriptures and Catholic life have become unmoored from the contexts in which they arose, and why seemingly eternal truths are actually historically relative. After carefully constructing Catholic teaching from the church's own documents, he deconstructs it by demonstrating how biblical passages were misconstrued by patristic authors and how patristic writings were misunderstood by medieval scholastics. The long process of misinterpretation culminated in the dogmatic pronouncements of the Council of Trent, which continues to dominate Catholic thinking about the church's religious ceremonies. If the sacraments are released from their dogmatic baggage, Martos believes that the spiritual realities they symbolize can be celebrated in any human culture without being tied to their traditional rites.

Catholic sacramental doctrine has lost much of its credibility. Baptized people leave the church, adolescents stop attending shortly after they are confirmed, supposedly indissoluble marriages regularly dissolve, few go to confession, and many do not believe in transubstantiation. Drawing upon his decades-long study of the sacraments, Martos reveals how teachings that seemed rooted in the scriptures and Catholic life have become unmoored from the contexts in which they arose, and why seemingly eternal truths are actually historically relative. After carefully constructing Catholic teaching from the church's own documents, he deconstructs it by demonstrating how biblical passages were misconstrued by patristic authors and how patristic writings were misunderstood by medieval scholastics. The long process of misinterpretation culminated in the dogmatic pronouncements of the Council of Trent, which continues to dominate Catholic thinking about the church's religious ceremonies. If the sacraments are released from their dogmatic baggage, Martos believes that the spiritual realities they symbolize can be celebrated in any human culture without being tied to their traditional rites.

Honest rituals are ceremonial actions that celebrate what is actually happening in people's lives. Religious rituals, however, often celebrate beliefs and doctrines (e.g., the birth of Christ, God's forgiveness of sins, or the gifts of the Holy Spirit) that have little to do with people's experience. Martos argues that early Christian rituals were grounded in experiences such as conversion, community, commitment, and self-giving. Lacking a vocabulary to name such experiences, the authors of the New Testament and other early documents resorted to metaphors such as baptism into Christ, receiving the Holy Spirit, forgiveness by God, and the presence of Christ during worship. By the fourth century, however, those metaphors were taken to be unexperienced metaphysical realities rather than experienced realities. The medieval schoolmen developed philosophical explanations of what went on in church rituals, and the Catholic Church continues to teach that its sacraments are automatically effective despite growing evidence to the contrary. What if religious rituals were to regain their original authenticity? What if the guiding value in designing church ceremonies was honesty rather than liturgical correctness? After liberating the reader from doctrinal constraints, Martos invites Catholics into a re-visioning of the traditional sacraments and a reawakening of ritual imagination in non-Western cultures. ""This book will both stun and inspire anyone who wants to take sacraments seriously. Martos first challenges Christians (especially Catholics) to be honest about their sacraments: 'Honest sacraments are not those that celebrate beliefs but those that celebrate lived realities.' Drawing on his broad knowledge of church history and on his pastoral experience, he then offers a heartening picture of how the traditional seven sacraments might be reimagined and redesigned for our present context. I'd put this on the required reading list for all Catholic parishes."" --Paul Knitter, Professor, Union Theological Seminary ""Honest Rituals, Honest Sacramentsis an honest effort to redefine rituals and sacraments that would express people's values and experiences, free of metaphysical considerations. Job well done! The road is now wide open for more authentic forms of sacramentality."" --Pierre Hegy, Professor, Adelphi University, Garden City, New York ""Reading Joseph Martos' book is a historian's delight. He has one foot solidly anchored in our genuine Christian tradition. The other is solidly anchored in contemporary, lived Christian experience, with a well-informed historical understanding and keen pastoral sensitivity. I strongly recommend his book to anyone in search of an authentically Christian and truly contemporary conception of sacramental life and ministry."" --John A. Dick, Retired, Catholic University of Leuven ""This book combines the author's deep knowledge of the history and spirituality of the sacraments with a straightforward writing style and creativeintellectual courage. It speaks frankly, intelligently and hopefully to Christians seeking to celebrate, and live, the sacraments authentically in the twenty-first century."" --Sara Terreault, Lecturer, Concordia University, Montreal Joseph Martos is a retired professor of philosophy and theology. He is the author of many books and articles on sacraments and ritual, including Doors to the Sacred: A Historical Introduction to the Catholic Sacraments, The Sacraments: An Interdisciplinary and Interactive Study, and Deconstructing Sacramental Theology and Reconstructing Catholic Ritual.

A deep strain of tribal politics is dividing societies around the globe. Organized religions are also coping with scandals, disappointments, and polarizing ideologies. The history of Christianity reveals that such frictions deeply wound the church. Fr. Richard S. Vosko recognizes that liturgical buildings are metaphorical expressions of the people of God. He proposes, in a relational way, that when all physical and psychological boundaries in a place of worship are removed people will discover a common ground. Building on theological foundations and design principles, Vosko envisions what an egalitarian “servant church” can look like. In a bold but thoughtful manner, he presents progressive insights into the fields of church art and architecture.

Honest rituals are ceremonial actions that celebrate what is actually happening in people's lives. Religious rituals, however, often celebrate beliefs and doctrines (e.g., the birth of Christ, God's forgiveness of sins, or the gifts of the Holy Spirit) that have little to do with people's experience. Martos argues that early Christian rituals were grounded in experiences such as conversion, community, commitment, and self-giving. Lacking a vocabulary to name such experiences, the authors of the New Testament and other early documents resorted to metaphors such as baptism into Christ, receiving the Holy Spirit, forgiveness by God, and the presence of Christ during worship. By the fourth century, however, those metaphors were taken to be unexperienced metaphysical realities rather than experienced realities. The medieval schoolmen developed philosophical explanations of what went on in church rituals, and the Catholic Church continues to teach that its sacraments are automatically effective despite growing evidence to the contrary. What if religious rituals were to regain their original authenticity? What if the guiding value in designing church ceremonies was honesty rather than liturgical correctness? After liberating the reader from doctrinal constraints, Martos invites Catholics into a re-visioning of the traditional sacraments and a reawakening of ritual imagination in non-Western cultures.

'Sacramentality' can serve as a category that helps to understand the performative power of religious and legal rituals. Through the analysis of 'sacraments', we can observe how law uses sacramentality to change reality through performative action, and how religion uses law to organise religious rituals, including sacraments. The study of sacramental action thus shows how law and religion intertwine to produce legal, spiritual, and other social effects. In this volume, Judith Hahn explores this interplay by interpreting the Catholic sacraments as examples of sacro-legal symbols that draw on the sacramental functioning of the law to provide both spiritual and legal goods to church members. By focusing on sacro-legal symbols from the perspective of sacramental theology, legal studies, ritual theory, symbol theory, and speech act theory, Hahn's study reveals how law and religion work hand in hand to shape our social reality.

The strong relationship between the Bible and the sacraments of the Catholic Church is generally accepted in theology. This monograph approaches this relationship from a synchronic perspective. This fresh perspective opens up new windows providing insight into similarities found in the various rites, in and outside the Catholic Church. For example, the basic biblical pattern of the celebration of the Eucharist / Last Supper appears to be standard. It also poses critical questions regarding sacramental theology in general, especially to the problematic equation of the proper name Jesus and the title Christ.

The recognition of the intersection of faith and culture has become a significant trend in contemporary theology. Cultures are locations of divine activity. The Sacramental Theology of Elochukwu Uzukwu in Light of Vatican II and Its Application in African Context brings freshness to the dominant Catholic sacramental thinking by offering an African appropriation of the Christian faith through African cultures. It demonstrates the historical interaction of the Christian faith with multiple anthropologies that resonates with different peoples to celebrate rituals that convey divine activity. This work engages the theology of Elochukwu Uzukwu, a recent African sacramental/liturgical theologian whose work reflects the elements of sacramental and liturgical renewal of the Second Vatican Council, especially in its openness to a plurality of cultures. This book retrieves resources from the African universe to offer a contextual appropriation of the interface between faith and African cultures. It highlights the African view of the body in its expressive worship and significance of relationality as an undergirding existential philosophy of life. Consequently, it offers a flexible theological methodology that avoids polarities. It provides an additional resource to the philosophical and theological approach to the perennial problem of duality and theologies constructed on this template. This study moves beyond monocultural sacramental expression to engage symbols and indigenous resources to articulate an African sacramental theology.