The common misconception is that first came the church and then came the sacraments. The reality is that first came God’s grace and then came the church and then the church found visible ways to see the invisible grace God bestows. The resulting perspective shift puts Christ where Paul would have us put him, as the head of the church and author or our salvation. This book invites us to see and write about the sacraments not as mere band aids to the problems we face but as lenses for examining our church. Some of the authors delve deep into intellectual conceptions while others make plain what has always seemed so extravagant. The thread they all hold onto however is the desire to help the reader see sacramentality as something wonderous rather than archaic; and to find deep value for sacramentality and the visible signs of God’s invisible grace.

Review text: "The book is a good example of the continued usefulness of intertextuality and will be a fine addition to any theological library."John K. Goodrich in: Religious Studies Review 1/2010.

Contributed papers presented at the Mariological Symposium held at NBCLC, Bangalore during Feb. 16-18, 2006.

Examining the concept of mystery in the Old Testament, the Pseudepigrapha, and the New Testament, the author concludes that the meaning of mystery can be explained on the basis of Semitic backgrounds. In the course of his investigations he sheds light not only on the meaning of mystery but also on the whole understanding of God's redemptive purpose that lies behind Paul's use of the word. -- Book Cover.

This work presents a brief trearment of baptism in the New Testament and the author's personal conceprion of the sacrament as a divine-human symbol. The most significant element of New Testament teaching on baptism is the emphasis on the principal agents: God/Father, Son/Christ and Spirit. Any satisfactory conception of the Christian sacrament must take into account the roles of the Three. William A. Van Roo is a Jesuit of the Wisconsin Province in the U.S.A: . He was a professor of theology in Gregorian University from 1951 to 1985 then professor emeritus