The Sacraments: The Word of God at the Mercy of the Body

Why, from its very beginnings, has the Church celebrated the sacraments, in particular baptism and Eucharist? Why, from its origin, has faith in Christ, which is expressed in a human, free, just, loving way of living, ruled by the gospel, also been expressed in the language of rites?

The Sacraments by Louis-Marie Chauvet offers reflections on the theology, celebration, and pastoral usage of the sacraments. It is a textbook version of Chauvet's, Symbol and Sacrament published by The Liturgical Press in 1995 that was acclaimed by theologians as offering a fresh theology of the sacraments from a perspective other than scholastic theology.

Fr. Louis-Marie Chauvet is a professor of sacramental theology at the Institut Catholique, Paris. He has published numerous works and is the author of Symbol and Sacrament also published by The Liturgical Press.