Performativity2

Connecting the readings to the world, hmm? I thought I'd better add on to my previous post with more of an observed world connection. When I attended Mass last night, all I could think about were the ways in which words were used to enact the rituals associated with Communion and other Mass parts. "The Lord be with you," and the response "and also with you," is a perfect example of the type of performance utterance we are studying. It is a blessing and a prayer and a hope expressing good intentions for the community and for the special presence of God in others' lives. We read about how utterances react to facts in the world but also influence the world. The Creed, then, expresses truths we hold (sincerely or not?) in our hearts, and it also becomes true by our affirmation.

In my Sacramental Theology a few semesters back, we read Aquinas and other theologians about the circumstances which make the sacrament efficacious, and a lot of what we read had to do with words. For Communion, there has to be a priest, he has to say the formula in a certain setting, in a certain order and all that jazz. I don't remember the specifics (I'm actually not Catholic, I go to Mass and don't take Communion), but it definitely should give our class some food for discussion.