The Seven Sacraments of the Catholic Church: A Fresh Biblical Perspective by Archibald L. H. M. Van Wieringen (review)

Reviewed by: The Seven Sacraments of the Catholic Church: A Fresh Biblical Perspective by Archibald L. H. M. Van Wieringen Francis M. Macatangay archibald l. h. m. van wieringen, The Seven Sacraments of the Catholic Church: A Fresh Biblical Perspective (Tilburg Theological Studies 9; Zurich: LIT, 2022). Pp. ii + 219. Paper €34.90. As the title suggests, this monograph examines the seven sacraments from the perspective of biblical theology. Specifically, it is a synchronic study that explores the intertextual relationships between biblical texts, on the one hand, and sacramental prayers and actions, on the other. The book defines or identifies intertextuality in four ways: (1) the use of biblical words and expressions in sacramental prayers; (2) direct quotations or biblical texts alluded to in sacramental celebrations; (3) common themes between biblical passages and sacraments; and (4) structural similarities that ritual acts in the Bible share with the sacraments. These various intertextual links lead to the conclusion that the sacraments are ways or forms in which a celebrating community actualizes, through remembrance, God's salvific acts, most lovingly expressed in the paschal mystery of Jesus Christ. An important introduction that deals with "bible and sacramentality" (p. 5) briefly surveys the shift of focus in biblical theology from author to text. The book aligns itself with the synchronic notion that biblical texts are not confined to the ancient past but have contemporary relevance that can be discerned by using various strategies of reading. Yet, despite this development, the treatment of sacraments in major biblical dictionaries is almost nonexistent. Such absence does not imply that sacred texts do not exhibit a kind of "biblical sacramentality" (pp. 13, 16). On the contrary, the Bible shows that persons like Saul (see 1 Sam 24:4–8) and objects like the temple (see 2 Chr 8:18) have a referential character in that they signify or point to something beyond themselves. In this regard, sacramentality forms part of biblical theology. For an object or person to transcend its reality and become a sacrament, a celebrating community speaks a word. These three elements of object or person, spoken word, and celebrating community are to be present when speaking of biblical sacramentality. Moreover, this referential quality of biblical sacramentality involves three fundamentals: the first is "repeatability," in which the liturgy actualizes the past in the present of the celebration (p. 13); the second is Jesus Christ as the mediator and fundamental sacrament of encounter with God; and third is the believing community as the sacrament of Jesus Christ. This idea of sacramentality from biblical theology is used to offer a fresh take on the seven sacraments. The seven chapters that follow the introduction discuss each of the seven sacraments, starting with the sacraments of initiation of baptism and confirmation, then the sacraments of healing, which are reconciliation and anointing of the sick, and the sacraments in service of the community of the faithful, which are marriage and ordination. The Eucharist, which is the source and summit of the Christian life, is saved for last. There is not enough space to discuss all the seven sacraments and the biblical stories and passages cited in support of the arguments. What makes these chapters shine in the way they treat each of the sacraments is the use of exegetical insights combined often with historical perspectives that help illumine how a particular sacrament and its significance for the Christian life are to be understood. Moreover, the foray into the biblical field also gives way to considerations of the pastoral or practical kind in sacramental celebrations. For example, while passages in Paul's letters such as Romans 6 and 1 Corinthians 15 hold the lofty view of baptism as entrance End Page 385 into both the body of Christ and the Lord's paschal mystery, the baptismal narratives in the NT make the practical point clear that baptism is never self-administered and takes place after some period of preparation, which is why adult baptism is the norm without necessarily excluding infant baptisms. In the case of confirmation, the book is honest in saying that there are hardly confirmation stories in the NT and that its treatment as a single sacrament is a...