Superstition in Sacramental Theology

Maurice Blondel’s Action (1893) illustrates that the phenomenon of superstition inveigles its way into all forms of human activity, even intellectual pursuits like philosophy and theology, when they insulate themselves from the transcendent in human self-sufficiency. This essay explores how superstition is a constant threat for sacramental theology, manifest in particular, when the heterogeneity of human and divine agency in sacramental synergy is blurred or ignored. It argues that Blondel’s philosophical acumen permits a retrieval of vital insights of the scholastic synthesis, especially the careful distinction between divine agency (opus operatum) and human agency (opus operantis) in the sacramental act.