Extravagant Affections: A Feminist Sacramental Theology

by Susan A. Ross

In Extravagant Affections, Susan A. Ross draws on interviews, on the mainstream of sacramental theology, and on contemporary feminist theory to ascertain what she calls a feminist sacramental theology. Ross maintains that although women are still excluded from most official sacramental leadership, they are nevertheless engaged in sacramental ministry at many levels. Using feminist theories of the family, literary-psychoanalytic theory and feminist ethics, Ross explores the role of embodiment, the use of spousal imagery, the nature of the symbol, the relation of sacraments and ethics, and the significance of the sacraments of worship.

Genres: Theology

Hardcover

First published August 1, 1998

Reviews

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

A FEMINIST LOOKS CREATIVELY AT CATHOLIC THEOLOGY OF THE SACRAMENTS

Susan A. Ross is a Professor of Theology and Emerita Faculty at Loyola University Chicago. She wrote in the Introduction to this 1998 book, “This book proposed that the jars of ointment of the church, the sacraments, need to be broken open, by all people, but especially by women. The horror of Jesus. disciples at his allowing a woman to anoint him with costly oil is echoed today by the refusal of magisterial Roman Catholicism to allow women to preside at the Eucharist and to act as sacramental ministers. Beneath this refusal is a complex set of reasons and traditions, but these reasons and traditions serve to contain and protect what lies within these jars of ointment: God’s own extravagant affections for humankind. In this book I explore these reasons and traditions, along with the experiences of women who are challenging them.” (Pg. 9)

In the first chapter, she explains, “This book explores the difference that gender makes in relation to the sacraments, and to sacramental and liturgical theology… my aim is to raise critical questions and to suggest creative possibilities for reflection on and celebration of the sacred in our lives, especially the lives of women. For nearly two millennia, women have bene in the background of sacramental and liturgical celebrations. Prevented from assuming liturgical leadership roles because of misogyny… women are now claiming the public spaces of liturgy… magisterial Roman Catholicism has hardened its position… yet many public dissenters and private questioners are not willing to leave the church for other, more liberal, denominations. One reason for their remaining in the tradition is a conviction, borne of the spirit of Vatican II, that ‘we are the church’---that the church is the whole people of God, and that the role of the laity… is to be active participants in their church. But another reason… is a connection to the sacramental tradition of Roman Catholicism … Along with the critical and constructive insights of feminist theology, it has eh potential to subvert as well as to transform the sacramental life of the church.” (Pg. 23)

She says, “My point is to underscore the significance of sacramentality as a fundamental principle of the Christian tradition, yet at the same time to highlight its ambiguity. That is, sacramentality is, by definition, fluid, in that the concrete realty at issue point BOTH to itself AND beyond itself. There is both an opacity and a transparency to the sacraments, as there is to human life.” (Pg. 39)

She hopes, “Since sacramental theology does make universal claims about human sinfulness and grace, about communal contexts, my hope is that, while my own social location may well quality what I have to say, my claims will be taken seriously from all persons concerned about the symbolic and ritual dimension of human existence.” (Pg. 45)

She outlines, “I propose four criteria for an adequate sacramental theology attentive to the lives of women. They are, first, a redefining of a context for sacraments that is tolerant, if not appreciative, of ambiguity. Second, sacramental theology needs to include a critical consideration of body and gender… Third, sacramental theology must be explicit in its understanding of symbolic representation and how symbols are related to the community. And fourth, sacramental theology is meaningless unless it is tied to a concern for justice in the communities in which sacraments are celebrated, and in the wider world.” (Pg. 53)

She states, “the fundamental dynamic of sacramental reality is that while such clear distinctions can be and often are made, they are human inventions, or, more lightly, attempts to control reality. In the lived experience of life in the presence of God, sacramental presence cannot be legislated. it is appropriate that there are some institutional structures to govern the practice of the sacraments. But when these structures begin to act as barriers to participation by the faithful, sacramental life will grow and flourish them.” (Pg. 80)

She suggests, “My point is not to argue that the use of spousal imagery to understand the relation between God and humanity, Christ and church, priest and laity, ought to be entirely discarded… But its use in the present context raises a number of serious questions. First, the relationship of bridegroom and bride is not an egalitarian relationship… This means that not only do male and female have unequal roles… but females cannot truly image God, since women are ‘receptive’ where God is active and generative.” (Pg. 111)

She observes, “Yet while the endlessly changing and self-constructed body may raise questions for some theorists---here, I think, is where the Generation-X fascination with tattoos, body piercing and the Hollywood/rich dependence on plastic surgery can be understood best with the help of some postmodern ideas---its lessons regarding the historical and cultural influences on the way in which we come to understand our embodiment are nevertheless valuable…” (Pg. 127)

She states, “I suggest… that sacramental theology has come to be understood within a particular and limited vision of the family, rooted in a culture that has separated men’s and women’s roles economically, politically, socially and religiously… magisterial sacramental theology is clearly rooted in one vision of patriarchal culture … That the dynamics of gender have become so central for the sacraments, especially ordination, and that sacramental theology has proven to be so resistant to feminist insights, suggests that there are powerful dynamics at work.” (Pg. 161)

She says, “Liturgical approaches to sacraments and ethics also make important contributions. These recognize that liturgy is not simply invented anew every time it is celebrated… to understand the fundamental values of a person or community, one need only look to how they pray and worship. Worship is not simply the result of one’s belief or actions; rather it also shapes them.” (Pg. 177)

She suggests, “Since the sacraments are grounded in the realm of the natural, but given a supernatural significance through their divine institution, they are, in effect, twice removed from the social ethical requirements of justice and mutuality… feminist theorists argue that this separation of spheres---of family from the public, or the personal from the political---has harmed not only women, but society as well… As the family is seen to be ‘natural,’ and thus either ‘above’ or ‘beyond’ judgments of justice… so too is the sacramental seen to be in the realm of the ‘supernatural’ and ‘eternal,’ and thus similarly beyond the claims of justice. Where justice is an issue, as in recent papal documents on the family, it is qualified by its ‘natural’ basis.” (Pg. 189) Later, she adds, “theologians, as well as contemporary ethicists, have maintained these separations, and … a two-sphere understanding of morality. Only be reconnecting these two spheres… will we overcome this separation and make the celebration of the sacraments genuinely relevant to human life.” (Pg. 202)

In the last chapter, she points out, “Women now have other avenues for worship that go beyond the parish and official liturgy. Women’s worship groups have arisen as alternatives to the clerical domination of the liturgy, as ways of recognizing women’s distinct experiences, as refuges from an androcentric church. Most importantly, women’s worship groups have empowered women to ‘take ownership’ of their worship and to put into practice their understanding of Vatican II’s acknowledgement of the priesthood of all believers.” (Pg. 220)

She concludes, “The toleration of ambiguity that I have suggested is so important to a full appreciation of the sacramental tradition also serves to remind those working for reform that no liturgy will ever be perfect and that the eucharistic table is for all, especially sinners. The challenge that a feminist perspective on the sacrament offers is, fundamentally, whether the sacraments are indeed ‘occasions of grace,’ whether they ‘effect wheat they signify,’ in making God’s love for humankind concrete and available to all, whether Christ becomes ‘really present’ in the midst of those who celebrate together. This book has asked whether women’s experiences make a difference in the theology and practice of the sacraments. The answer is that they do, to the extent that they make more concretely present God’s gracious and all-embracing love.” (Pg. 231)

This book will be of keen interest to feminist theologians—particularly those interested in sacraments and liturgy.

[graceofgod · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmm.. Undecided. It was interesting nonetheless.