Abstract
Phenomenology holds great promise yet underdeveloped potential for ritual studies and liturgical theology. As phenomenology has indeed taken a “theological turn” and the contentiousness of such an approach abates, questions remain as to what insights, concepts, and language phenomenology can offer to deepen our understanding of Christian ritual practices. Specifically with respect to rituals of initiation, does phenomenology open new avenues of appreciation for the sacrament of baptism, to enrich and to deepen the faithful’s experience of these rituals? This article considers insights afforded by a phenomenological approach to the sacrament, in particular with regard to adult baptism and the catechumenate in the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA), the rite of reception and sacramental initiation into the Roman Catholic Church. Considered through such lenses, a phenomenology of baptism promises to open new avenues of ritual understanding, theological appreciation, and depth of prayer. Drawing primarily from the work of Jean-Luc Marion, this article also considers prominent critiques of his work to articulate a phenomenology of baptism as an experience of givenness and reception, of identity formation within and through an ecclesial community, and of prayerful preparation for Christian neophytes.
Highlights
Contemporary trends in phenomenology have given rise to a whole host of new language, concepts, and perspectives that enable us to appreciate better and to articulate more meaningfully ordinary human experiences
Thinkers accused of the “theological turn” in phenomenology have drastically expanded the scope of phenomenological inquiry, providing both concepts and language through which to approach religious experience in a novel and remarkable way (Janicaud 2000; Marion 2002b, 2008a)
Far more connections can be drawn between other primary texts and Marion’s phenomenological framework, and undoubtedly other vantage points from a phenomenological perspective exist—though a more sustained and exhaustive examination exceeds the scope of this brief sketch
Summary
Contemporary trends in phenomenology have given rise to a whole host of new language, concepts, and perspectives that enable us to appreciate better and to articulate more meaningfully ordinary human experiences. Drawing primarily from the work of Jean-Luc Marion and supplemented by more recent critiques of his work, the initial section of this paper fleshes out key concepts of Marion’s phenomenology—in particular, those of saturation, givenness, and identity reception.2 Chastened by his numerous critics from a more hermeneutic approach, this paper proceeds to identify three characteristics that come into focus when using a phenomenological lens for the assessment of Christian sacramental experience: the inexhaustible meaning of the sacrament as a saturated phenomenon; the primacy of receptivity from the wider community in identity formation over individualistic selfdetermination; and the centrality of context and preparation (catechesis) in the reception of sacramental phenomenon. Such a reading will prove fruitful in sharpening our focus on essential characteristics of otherwise disparate baptismal practices and motifs in the Christian sacramental imagination
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