Sacraments and Justice

Sacraments speak a language and disclose their power throughsymbols. Beyond "representing" another reality, sacramentalsymbols are intimately connected with the reality they express andsources of joy, solace, confrontation, peace, healing, strength, andlife-giving sustenance to the initiated.Sacraments and Justice describes the social implications ofworship, the history of each sacrament, and reveals how the sevensacraments-baptism, confi rmation, Eucharist, penance, marriage,orders, and the anointing of the sick-link to social justice. It offersan integrated understanding of the transformation that is inextricablylinked to each sacrament, as well as the active presence ofChrist who lives in expectation of our response to participate in theurgent response to unjust policies and systems that affect the mostvulnerable in our global family.Educated Catholics, or Catholics looking for a fi rst-rate educationon the sacraments, as well as parish teams, study groups, andCatholic educators, will fi nd this volume to be solid and incisivewhile at the same time accessible and engaging. Each contributoris an academic who writes with a human touch about the graciouspromise embedded in sacraments. They include:• John F. Baldovin, SJ, on baptism• Edward P. Hahnenberg on confi rmation• Michael S. Driscoll on Eucharist• Doris Donnelly on penance• Thomas J. Scirghi, SJ, on holy orders• Natalie Kertes Weaver on marriage• Paul Turner on anointing of the sickDoris Donnelly, PhD, is professor of theology at John Carroll