ABSTRACT
IfIlooktomyselfalone,Iamrightnought;butifIlooktoalltogether,Iamin hope,inonenessofcharitywithallmyeven-Christians.'
ChapterOneidentifiedtheinadequaciesoftraditionaldefinitionsofsacramentina worldthathasoutgrownontologyandtowhichsuchmetaphysically-based theologymakeslittlesense.Inthelightofliturgicaltheology,itproposedthatthe appropriatelocationforthestudyofsacramentisinritual.ChapterTwoproceeded totestthecentralclaimmadebyChauvetandothersthatrituality(andtherefore liturgy)givesprivilegedaccesstothesymbolicagainsttheevidenceofthe emergingfieldofritualstudies.Concurrently,theinvestigationalsoquestionedthe popular'turntolanguage'insacramentaltheology(espousedbyPower,Fink, Ross,etal.)queryingthelimitationsimposedontheirconclusionsbythewider evidenceoflinguisticphilosophy.Severalquestionsemergedfromthisdebate, somemethodological:whatarethelimitsontheologyconsultingthesocial sciences,andhowcanweaccessexperience;othersinterpretative:isrituala meaning-orientedactivity,issacraP-lentonlytobeencounteredritually,whatare theimplicationsofanon-metaphysicalconceptionofsacramentforour understandingofGod?
