Fifty years ago, Dei Verbum called Catholics to reflect on the inherent unity of the “one table of the word of God and the body of Christ.” Drawing from a variety of ancient and modern insights, the author proposes a fresh view of word and sacrament as interrelated facets of God’s one enduring revelation. Like a table with four sides, the unity of the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist can be seen from the viewpoints of prophecy, pneumatology, language, and sacramentality.
Grounded in Catholic systematic theology, the author extends the conversation to ecumenical reflection and implications for communities of faith.
Rhodora E. Beaton, PhD, is assistant professor of systematic theology at St. Catherine University and specializes in sacraments, liturgy, and theology of revelation. She is the author of Embodied Words, Spoken Signs: Sacramentality and the Word in Rahner and Chauvet.