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    Res et Sacramentum: An Ontological Understanding of the Sign and Reality in Sacraments and Its Relevance


    Kunjumon, Lijan (2024) Res et Sacramentum: An Ontological Understanding of the Sign and Reality in Sacraments and Its Relevance. PhD thesis, St. Patrick’s Pontifical University Maynooth Ireland.

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    Abstract

    This research is based on identifying the structure of the sacramental economy as communicative. God communicates and the believer responds, with a response which involves a personal effort and a free will. This response, in turn, becomes the basis of the communicative process involved in a sacrament. Yet, in order to enter into this dialogue, one certainly needs to know the language of the sacrament, a language which goes beyond the verbal to involve signs and symbols, along with verbal expressions or the Word of Faith, as well as bodily language or the gestures. These sacramental rituals or celebrations are actions which are transformed into symbolic actions. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that these symbolic actions are already a language which is accompanied by the Word of God and the response of faith in order to give life to the faithful. Therefore, this research is in relation to the communicative dimension of the sacraments that produce fruits or brings in the ultimate reality, the grace in a believer’s life. This thesis, by revisiting the history of sacramental theology, seeks a new perspective on the fruitfulness of the sacraments. This is done by exploring the communicative aspects of the three dimensions of the sacraments as conceived by the medieval sacramental theology: i) the sacramentum tantum: the ritual, ii) the res et sacramentum: The first effect of the sacrament, which is both sign and reality and iii) the res tantum: the grace or the ultimate reality conferred by the sacrament. The three aspects of the sacraments do have a major role in establishing a communication between the individual participating in the sacrament and the Creator. Thus, a greater exploration of these aspects is imperative to understand the efficacy of the sacraments and experiencing their fruits in one’s life. This thesis aims to establish how this dynamics function and develop in the sacramental world, especially examining from an historical and theological point of view the role of the middle aspect, res et sacramentum and the dialogical reality it forms bringing in the fruitfulness of the sacrament.
    Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
    Keywords: Res et Sacramentum; Ontological Understanding; Sign and Reality; Sacraments; Relevance;
    Academic Unit: St Patrick's College, Maynooth > Faculty of Theology
    Item ID: 19924
    Depositing User: IR eTheses
    Date Deposited: 30 May 2025 09:57
    URI: https://mural.maynoothuniversity.ie/id/eprint/19924
    Use Licence: This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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