Academic literature on the topic 'Louis-Marie Chauvet'

AbstractThis essay demonstrates how Louis-Marie Chauvet’s sacramental theology both coheres with the sacramentology of the Anglican divines and challenges the multitude of sacramental expressions within Anglicanism today. After giving a brief background to the sacramental controversies inherited by both Chauvet and Richard Hooker, the first section of this essay argues that key similarities exist between unitive Anglican sacramental concepts and core components of Louis-Marie Chauvet’s fundamental theology as outlined in his monograph Symbol and Sacrament. After demonstrating that, through these similarities, Chauvet’s theology should be seen as a fruitful conversation partner with Anglican sacramentology, the second section of the essay will focus on two concepts within Symbol and Sacrament (the Eucharist as stumbling block and ritual as symbolic rupture) that hold the potential to enrich sacramentology within Anglicanism today.

In recent years, discussion has raged within theologies inspired by Continental philosophy of religion regarding the supposed “overcoming” of ontotheology. In this article, I will consider the theological methodology of Louis-Marie Chauvet, a sacramental theologian whose work has been highly influenced by these discussions. For Chauvet, it is the liturgy that provides human beings with the necessary means, not for overcoming ontotheology, but for learning to livewithit in a healthy way. Through the liturgy, we learn towork throughontotheology, and thus to hear the call of Being to appropriation and thankful response. This is, however, quite a bit to ask of our liturgies, and I suggest that the only way that Chauvet's method can function is if it is placed in a framework of dialogue. I adopt this framework from Chauvet and expand upon it, which results in an innovativerelectureof Chauvet's theology.

This article examines recent articulations of Reformed sacramental theology by Michael Horton and Nicholas Wolterstorff, both of whom appropriate the insights of speech act theory in their accounts of Calvinist sacramentology. I put these expressions of Reformed thought into conversation with the fundamental theology of the French Roman Catholic, Louis-Marie Chauvet, noting areas of convergence. I contend that Chauvet’s sacramental theology provides the resources for the Reformed to develop their own sacramental theology in a considerably higher direction, while also remaining true to their fundamental commitments.

AbstractIn his imposing work, Symbol and Sacrament, Louis-Marie Chauvet creatively explores the implications of symbolic mediation for the whole of Christian theology. Central to Chauvet's “fundamental theology of sacramentality” is the assertion that there is an inescapable absence within any mediation of presence. With this critical principle, he attempts to counter ecclesial triumphalism. Despite this critical concern, Chauvet's impressive project suffers from a naive optimism concerning symbolic mediation. Religious symbols are misused not only by those who assume direct, unmediated presence but also by those who coopt them to ideological ends. Chauvet's theology provides no principle of discernment concerning the possibility of the corruption of the Christian symbol tradition. His use of the notion of Gelassenheit to describe the proper posture toward religious symbols stifles critical reception. This article offers suggestions for correcting these shortcomings in Chauvet's worthwhile project using the thought of Levinas, Habermas, and Ricoeur.

This article addresses the notion of sacramentality in relation to revelation, framing revelation as a divine-human discursive encounter facilitated through semantic media. In doing so, it suggests disciplines for theological reflection that would preserve the import of human submission to the Holy Spirit’s guidance in interpreting God’s Word while also envisioning a positive place for subjective construction along that Spirit-led way. The article locates the basic tenets of such a methodological paradigm in the works of Sarah Coakley, Louis-Marie Chauvet, and Rowan Williams. Coakley’s work provides the groundwork for a vision of ecstatic encounter with God as integral to the Spirit-led process of revelation. Next, engagement with Chauvet establishes how mediated revelation may be conceived as a sacramental and dialogical reality, which fundamentally evokes and includes human self-expression. The article closes by drawing upon Williams’ theological reflection on sexuality as a resource for embracing subjective construction, as integral to our Spirit-guided, “nuptial” incorporation into the life of Christ. The results afforded by this analysis warrant spiritual-hermeneutic commitments from communities who desire to cooperate with the Holy Spirit in acts of theological interpretation.

Etude du proces identitaire dans la ritualite sacramentelle. Une analyse critiqus del'approche symbolique de louis-marie chauvet revele une conception fondationnelle du proces identitaire dont resulte une conception fixiste de l'identite chretienne. A partir d'un rapprochement fait avec le proces metaphorique, tel que concu par le philosophe paul ricoeur, il est possible de retrouver le dynamisme createur du proces identitaire par la prise en compte de la dimension semantique
Study of the identity process of the sacramental rituality. A critical analysis of the symbolic approach of louis-marie chauvet reveals a "foundational" idea of the identity process from which arises a "fixist" notion of the christian identity. From a study using metaphorical process, as viewed by the philosopher paul ricoeur, it is possible to retreive the dynamism of the identity process considering the semantic dimension

Thesis advisor: John F. Baldovin
This dissertation forges a conversation between Martin Luther and Louis-Marie Chauvet on the connection between sacraments and ethics. In conducting an ecumenical conversation concerning the nature and implications of this connection, the dissertation strives to name and develop theological resonances between the two thinkers that provide new ways forward in areas where formal Lutheran-Roman Catholic dialogues have either been historically quite difficult (sacramental theology) or largely silent (ethics). The first chapter of the dissertation locates the project within the field of liturgy and ethics, especially as it developed through the Liturgical Movement in the United States in the 20th century. The chapter then moves to outlining the philosophical background of Chauvet and the hermeneutical lens through which the dissertation approaches Luther. The dissertation reads Chauvet as a faithful Roman Catholic who nevertheless wishes to re-cast sacramental theology in terms distinct from reigning Thomistic categories, and it approaches Luther through the Finnish School of Luther Interpretation, a movement that, analogously to Chauvet, has re-cast Luther's theology in terms distinct from more traditional readings of Luther. The second chapter moves to Luther himself in earnest. Outlining his sacramental theology and arguing that the way he conceives of the connection of sacraments to ethics is as unification with Christ, the chapter poises Luther for conversation with Chauvet. Likewise, the third chapter summarizes Chauvet's theology in terms of his treatment of the symbol and the symbolic, his theological anthropology, and finally his sacramental understanding of symbolic exchange and its connection to ethics. The fourth chapter builds upon the substance of the second and third chapters by actually conducting the conversation that is the dissertation's ultimate goal. Beginning by arguing that the nexus point between the two theologians is their conviction that gratuitousness and graciousness provide the ground for sacramental theology, the chapter uses that nexus to allow Chauvet and Luther to enrich each other's theologies. Specifically, tensions exist in the theological anthropologies of both Luther and Chauvet that can be eased by allowing each to inform the other. Similarly, the concept of communal ethics and the role of the sacramental community in society provide fertile ground for the theologians' mutual enrichment. The dissertation ends by gesturing toward further implications of the discussion, and by outlining possible avenues for future work
Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2014
Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
Discipline: Theology

Thesis advisor: Frederick G. Lawrence
This dissertation offers a critical response to the fundamental sacramental theology of Louis-Marie Chauvet drawing on the works of Bernard Lonergan. Chauvet has articulated a significant critique of the western theological tradition's use of metaphysics, especially in interpreting doctrines relating to the presence of Christ in the Eucharist, liturgical sacrifice, and sacramental causality. Chauvet's criticisms raise questions about what philosophical tools allow theologians to develop a fruitful analogical understanding of the mysteries communicated in the sacraments. This dissertation responds to Chauvet's challenge to theology to adopt a new foundation in the symbolic by turning to the derived, critical metaphysics of Bernard Lonergan. The dissertation argues that Lonergan's critical metaphysics can help theologians to develop fruitful understandings of doctrines relating to Eucharistic presence, liturgical sacrifice, and sacramental causality. In addition Lonergan's categories of meaning offer resources for interpreting sacramental doctrines on the level of the time, while maintaining the genuine achievements of the past. Chapter one presents a survey of some recent Catholic Eucharistic theologies in order to provide a context for our investigation. Here we identify existentialist-phenomenological, postmodern, and neo-traditionalist approaches to Eucharistic doctrines. Chapters two, three, and four present a dialectical comparison of Chauvet and Lonergan on metaphysics as it pertains to Eucharistic theology specifically. Chapter two examines Chauvet's postmodern critique of metaphysical foundations of scholastic Eucharistic theology. Our particular concern will be with Chauvet's methods, especially whether his appropriation of the Heideggerian critique of scholastic theology offers an accurate account of Thomas Aquinas, and whether it offers a fruitful way forward in Eucharistic theology. Chapter three explores Lonergan's foundations for metaphysics in cognitional theory and epistemology. Lonergan's critical groundwork in cognitional theory attends to the problems of bias and the polymorphism of human consciousness that lead to a heuristic metaphysics rather than a tidy conceptual system. Chapter four explicates Lonergan's heuristic metaphysics and articulates the elements of metaphysics that enable an understanding of the general category of causality in critical realist metaphysics. Chapter five explores Lonergan's foundations for theological reflection paying particular attention to the importance of intellectual conversion before going on to survey Lonergan's categories of meaning. Chapter six engages the task of systematic theology and proposes an understanding of Eucharistic doctrines grounded in Lonergan's critical realist philosophy and transposed into categories of meaning
Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2010
Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
Discipline: Theology

Explorer la grâce à la lumière des pratiques de don étudiées par Marcel Mauss a une pertinence tout à la fois anthropologique et théologique, donc humaine : telle est l’hypothèse qui est à l’origine de cette recherche de théologie systématique. Concrètement, il s’agit de vérifier cette hypothèse à partir d’une lecture analytique des travaux de deux auteurs qui, dans leurs champs disciplinaires respectifs, se sont intéressés à l’«Essai sur le don» de Mauss pour repenser la grâce, et qui ont aussi accordé une attention soutenue à la dimension rituelle des pratiques de don. Du côté de l’anthropologie, Marcel Hénaff rattache explicitement la grâce – pratiques et pensées diverses – à la tradition du «don réciproque cérémoniel» dans les sociétés segmentaires, mais il montre aussi et surtout en quoi elle implique une transformation majeure de cette tradition. Tant du côté du don cérémoniel que de celui de la grâce, il s’agit de reconnaissance publique et de lien social – dit autrement, de symbolisme –, mais il s’agit aussi de formes distinctes. Autant il importe de rattacher ces diverses formes aux contextes et aux types d’organisation sociale qui les portent, autant il importe également de prendre en considération la part «invisible» de la reconnaissance pour bien comprendre ce qui s’y joue, c’est-à-dire la reconnaissance avec les diverses figures de l’invisible – esprits, ancêtres, dieux. De plus, la pensée anthropologique de la reconnaissance de Marcel Hénaff jette un éclairage singulier sur la tradition chrétienne et sur ce qu’elle a fait du don. Du côté de la théologie chrétienne, Louis-Marie Chauvet pense lui aussi la grâce en lien avec les travaux de Mauss sur le don. Bien que sa théorie du «symbolique» soit hétéroclite, le don cérémoniel comme «échange symbolique» y occupe une place de choix. L’échange symbolique va même jusqu’à configurer le champ des questions, et il intervient de manière centrale dans sa théologie de l’alliance chrétienne et de la grâce. Il en va de même pour l’eucharistie, qu’il approche comme un rituel/sacrement de don à partir duquel il interroge l’héritage chrétien de la grâce. À plusieurs égards, les travaux d’Hénaff et de Chauvet s’appellent et se complètent. Le premier est attentif aux rituels dans les sociétés segmentaires et il manifeste une authentique curiosité théologique. Cependant, il en dit peu sur la ritualité chrétienne. Le second, quant à lui, est attentif aux rituels chrétiens et il manifeste une authentique curiosité anthropologique, mais il tend parfois à sous-estimer l’écart entre l’«échange symbolique» dans les sociétés segmentaires et ce qui pourrait être l’«échange symbolique» dans le christianisme. Enfin, tous les deux portent une interrogation de fond sur les sociétés occidentales modernes, sur leurs fécondités, mais aussi sur les défis qu’elles doivent affronter, notamment en ce qui concerne le lien social et les empiétements de l’économique sur l’ensemble des secteurs de vie. À partir des travaux de ces deux auteurs, la présente recherche vise donc à faire entendre certaines des résonnances actuelles de l’alliance chrétienne et de la grâce en ce qui concerne l’avènement du sujet croyant, le lien ecclésial, la vie sacramentaire et la participation des Églises à la société civile et au lien social en contexte de modernité occidentale.
Exploring grace in light of the gift practices studied by Marcel Mauss is relevant from an anthropological standpoint as much as from a theological standpoint: such is the hypothesis explored in this systematic theology research. Precisely, this hypothesis is tested through an analytical reading of the works of two authors who, in their respective fields and with the ambition of rethinking grace, showed a resolute interest in Mauss’s essay on the gift and devoted a special attention to the ritual dimension of gift practices. In his work, Marcel Hénaff considers grace from an anthropological point of view and relates it – with its diverse practices and theories – to the ceremonial gift exchange tradition which can be found in societies without a central state, but he also mainly shows how it implies a major transformation of this tradition. Ceremonial gift exchange and grace are primarily concerned with public recognition and social bonding – in other words, with symbolism – but that recognition is also embodied in very different institutions. In order to understand what is at stake in these different forms of recognition, it is essential not only to relate them to the different types of social organization in which they are found, but also to consider their «invisible» part, that is the relationships with the diverse figures of the invisible – spirits, ancestors, gods. This is how Marcel Hénaff’s anthropology of recognition sheds light on the Christian tradition and on its handling of the gift. In Christian theology, Louis-Marie Chauvet also approaches grace in relation to Mauss’s essay and thinking on gift practices. In Chauvet’s variegated theory of the «symbolic», the ceremonial gift as a «symbolic exchange» stands out. The vocabulary associated with symbolic exchange not only formulates the important questions, it is also central in his theology of Christian covenant and grace. The same applies to the Eucharist, which he addresses as a gift ritual and through which he examines the Christian heritage of grace. In many ways, Hénaff’s and Chauvet’s work complete each other. The former is mindful of the rituals in societies without a central state and shows an authentic theological curiosity. However, he does not say much about Christian rituality. The latter is mindful of Christian rituals and shows an authentic anthropological curiosity, but he tends to underestimate the difference between «symbolic exchange» in societies without a central state and what could be a Christian «symbolic exchange». Finally, both examine and question western and modern societies regarding their possibilities, but also the challenges they are facing concerning social bonding, as well as the overlapping of economic exchanges in every sphere of life. The objective of this research and its analysis of the works of these two authors is to enlighten today’s relevance of covenant and grace in its various aspects: the advent of the subject, the ecclesiological bond, the sacramental life and the participation of Christian Churches in the social life in western modernity.

Thesis advisor: John Baldovin
Traditionally, Church teaching has examined the Eucharist in metaphysical terms (‘what is it?’: substance, presence, and causality) and its liturgical celebration as a sacrifice (a re-presentation of Christ’s self-sacrifice on the cross). Prompted by Vatican II’s exhortation to the faithful for ‘full, conscious, active participation’ in the liturgy (cf. Sacrosanctum Concilium 14, 27, 30), this dissertation re-interprets the Eucharistic liturgy and participants’ role in it through the root metaphor of gift: a gift of desire, which impacts participants’ desires, relationships, and selfhood. It proposes a ‘relational approach’ to the Eucharist by asking: What is going on ‘relationally’ in the Eucharistic celebration? How might the Eucharist impact our desire, relations, identity? How does or ought the liturgy of the Eucharist concern relationships between the participants and others? What specifically does the Church celebrate in its liturgy of the Eucharist? Louis-Marie Chauvet’s ‘symbolic exchange’ model of the Eucharistic Prayer, when put in conversation with both Jean-Luc Marion’s phenomenology of gift and René Girard’s mimetic theory, yields an understanding of the Eucharist as God’s gracious and scandalous gift of divine desire. The gift is gracious as an embodied expression of divine love, and also scandalous as it challenges recipients’ autonomy with a radical call to charity demanding an existential response. This dissertation upholds Christ’s self-gift as the ultimate decision to love in a perfect reversal of sacrificial violence, which Christians are called to imitate. It emphasizes the liturgy’s structure as a dynamic event of being encountered by God’s gift of himself and reception of this gift through particular responses. This understanding aims to re-appropriate traditional Catholic teaching on the Eucharist in more contemporary terms. It aims to explain how ‘fully conscious and active participation’ in the sacred mysteries occurs, that liturgy and life may be more richly interrelated
Thesis (STD) — Boston College, 2019
Submitted to: Boston College. School of Theology and Ministry
Discipline: Sacred Theology

This paper is entitled: A Descriptive Assessment of Sacraments as Language Events in Louis-Marie Chauvet and David Noel Power. What motivates the author to proceed with this topic is that the author feels the need of finding a new and creative approach to the sacraments. The author is determined to discuss this topic using the methodology of library reading. The two theologians whose theologies are being presented in this paper, namely, Louis-Marie Chauvet and David Noel Power, are the main sources. In addition to reading the works of Chauvet and Power, the author also gets into discussions with the supervisor. Since Chauvet and Power live in postmodern world, their theology can be of the good readings for students of theology who are interested in the theology of the sacraments in the midst of this ever-changing world. Chauvet, for example, proposes a new looking into the sacraments as language of the Trinitarian communication with his people. The church is the place where this interaction happens. The interaction itself occurs through the listening of the Scripture, sacraments and ethical commitment. In the same rhythm, David Noel Power suggests a theology where the sacraments are read as the language of God’s giving. They are the language of God’s giving because the church is the bodily present of the Trinity in the church. This present is, in turn, celebrated and relived through the Scripture, the sacraments, liturgy, rite, customs and cultures. Through all these elements, the language of God’s giving in the past is brought to life in the present time through the language of the church. Chauvet and Power recommend a fundamental theology through which the sacraments are no longer viewed as alienated from the daily experience of the church.The paper is written primarily as the author’s personal journey into the reflection on the sacraments. The author, therefore, hopes to achieve nothing more important than the growing of a personal love of the sacraments. In the second place, the author expects to have been able to introduce the fundamental sacraments of Louis-Marie Chauvet and David Noel Power to a larger context.

This chapter argues that Edward Schillebeeckx and Louis-Marie Chauvet formulate their theologies of sacraments to intentionally counter the negative influences of Neo-Scholasticism, which created too much separation between the natural and supernatural, between theology and life. Schillebeeckx, building on his interpretation of Thomas Aquinas, emphasized that sacraments are instances of personal encounter grounded in the saving work of God in the incarnation and therefore proper to a distinctly human world. Throughout his work on the topic, Schillebeeckx reorients sacramental theology in order to take the human world of history and subjectivity seriously. Chauvet describes this theology as “objectivist.” It was a theology concerned with the objective effects of sacraments in terms of the production of grace in the individual recipient. He proposes a sacramental theology grounded in contemporary explorations into the nature of language and culture. Schillebeeckx and Chauvet are two of the most innovative, and controversial, voices in Catholic sacramental theology in the past fifty years. They share a common concern that contemporary sacramental theologies take the concrete historicity of human subjects seriously rather than rely on abstract philosophical categories.

In conversation with Oswald Bayer, Bernd Wannenwetsch, and Louis-Marie Chauvet, this chapter explains comprehensively the power of Christian worship ethically to form Christians in union with Christ. Language and ritual theories explain the power of speech and ritual to institute forms or orders of life. Christians who have been united to Christ through God’s justifying word are inaugurated into the ecclesial form of life. In this communion, they are formed by the Holy Spirit to act in accordance with the speech of God and the institution of the Church. Furthermore, as grace-filled speech, preaching and the sacraments form Christians also by the supernatural “inscription” of the Holy Spirit. The particular power of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper to unite Christians to Christ and to each other, and to form Christians ethically, is explored in Luther’s and Philip Melancthon’s writings.