Chauvet,
Louis-Marie. The
Sacraments: The Word of God at the Mercy of the Body.
Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 2001.
The
textbook version of Chauvet’s major work Symbol
and Sacrament which asserts that sacramentality is essential to Christian
identity. It argues that the
language and gesture of Christian rites are the place where scripture, sacrament
and ethics are realized as experiences of the Risen Lord in the transformation
of the Christian community. The
book also presents a good study of sacramental theology, theories of ritual and
symbol, and the centrality of liturgical text.
Houssiau,
Albert. “The Rediscovery of the Liturgy by Sacramental Theology
(1950-1980),” in Studia Liturgica 15
(1982/3): 158-177.
An essay which argues that the liturgical celebration in its performance is the specific and privileged source for sacramental theology. The search for the authentic meaning and for the criteria of theological assessment must first concentrate on the study of symbolic forms and of the structure of the liturgical action. The article also summaries the major contributions to sacramental self-understanding that resulted in the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council.
Osborne,
Kenan. Christian Sacraments in a
Post-Modern World: A Theology for the Third Millenium.
New York, NY: Paulist, 1999.
Vaillancourt,
Raymond. Toward a Renewal of Sacramental Theology. Collegeville, MN:
The Liturgical Press, 1979.
Vorgrimler,
Herbert. Sacramental
Theology. Linda M. Maloney,
trans. Collegeville, MN: The
Liturgical Press, 1992.
A
thoughtful and careful presentation of both the sacramental and liturgical
positions as formulated at the Second Vatican Council.
The author takes into account contemporary understandings of symbol, an
explanation of the sacramental economy, and the fundamentals of a general
theology of sacrament. He also
offers precise summaries of the historical development of general sacramental
theology as well as a brief synopsis of each of the seven sacraments.
The book offers extensive supporting bibliography.
Zizioulas,
John D. Being as Communion: Studies
in Personhood and the Church. Crestwood,
NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1993.
An important work for understanding the ecclesial experience of eucharist from the perspective of the early fathers and the Orthodox tradition which focuses on revealing the concept of “person,” and so of the Church itself. This book offers an important corrective to students who have been reared on a scholastic synthesis of sacrament.