Speech in the Sacramental Sign

Cathal Doherty, SJ, argues that human speech as bodily action is essential to the formation of sacramental signs, drawing on modern linguistic theories of indexicality and the theology of Thomas Aquinas. Indexicality, meaning only in actualized speech, provides an intersubjective framework that anchors the sacraments in space and time. The sacrament of penance, in particular, illustrates that sacraments are formed by speech-as-action, not merely unspoken words, thereby requiring the physical presence of both priest and penitent. This perspective offers a path to resolving the "mystery-presence problem" in theology.