WORKS BY JOSEPH MARTOS AVAILABLE ONLINE
Like the invention of the internet in our own day,
the introduction of the printing press in the 15th century
tremendously increased the amount and speed of information available.
The following print, video and audio files may be downloaded for free from this website. They are educational materials intended for the users of this website, but they are also copyrighted, so they should not be used or duplicated for profit. They may, however, be duplicated for personal or classroom use.
NOTE: Some browsers (e.g., Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Google Chrome) work better than others for downloading print, audio and video files. If you experience difficulty when using one browser, try using a different one.
Short Pieces
These articles and talks are related to some of the key ideas in the book. They may be read in any order, but they are listed here in a sequence that might be helpful to someone for whom these are new ideas.
Mistakes Catholics Make When Talking About Sacraments (5 pages)
Discusses a number of words and phrases and why they are misleading when used in talking about sacramental rituals today.
Why “Receiving the Sacraments” Is Wrong (3 pages)
Focuses on this phrase and explains why today it does more harm than good.
Everyday Sacramentality (7 pages)
Discusses spiritual experiences and spiritual realities in relation to symbols that are personally meaningful and in relation to religious rituals such as the sacraments.
Religion, Ritual and Sacramentality (7 pages)
Situates the Catholic sacraments in the context of world religions, explaining how symbols and symbolic rituals connect people with spiritual realities that are important to human life.
Christian Ritual and Magic (4 pages)
Discusses how the concept of magic can be used to understand the automatic effectiveness of rituals, including Christian rituals.
The Meaning of the Sacraments (4 pages)
Explains where the meaning of symbols and rituals is found, discusses three dimensions of meaning, and applies this analysis to sacramental celebrations.
The Mystery of the Paschal Mystery (5 pages)
Argues that the pachal mystery is something that is experienced whenever people are spiritually energized through selflessly caring for others.
The Changing Nature of Sacramental Theology (2 pages)
Introduces the argument that the traditional Catholic theology of the sacraments has become dysfunctional.
The Copernican Revolution in Sacramental Theology (11 pages)
Develops the argument that the traditional Catholic theology of the sacraments has become dysfunctional and that it has been replaced by a pluralistic approach, even though church law is still very dependent on the scholastic approach.
What Does Transubstantiation Explain? (8 pages)
Argues that transubstantiation is a theory that was developed to understand believers' perception of Christ's presence in bread and wine once they were consecrated during mass.
The Sacramentality of the Homily (7 pages)
Shows why presenting concrete examples of spiritual truths is more effective than giving abstract explanations of them.
Video Presentation
The two-part video version of my presentation, "Spiritual Realities and Symbolic Rituals," can be accessed by clicking on the words, "Video Presentation."
Audio Presentation
Spiritual Realities and Symbolic Rituals (about 2 hrs.)
The audio portion of the video presentation in MP3 format, suitable for listening or downloading.
Click on "Part 1" or "Part 2" to download the selection into the Windows Media Player on your computer.
Click on either start button (>) to play the selection using the Moodle media player on the website server.
Printed Presentation
Spiritual Realities and Symbolic Rituals (44 pages)
An edited script for the above presentation that was circulated and discussed at the 2008 annual convention of the College Theology Society under the title, "Understanding the Sacraments Today." (In their correspondence with the author found on this website, members of the CTS refer to the work by this title.)
Audio Lectures
The Sacraments in History
Twelve digitized recordings originally published as "A History of the Sacraments" by Alba House Communications in 1986. Each lecture corresponds to one of the chapters in my book, Doors to the Sacred: A Historical Introduction to Sacraments in the Catholic Church, originally published by Doubleday in 1981 with subsequent editions published by Liguori in 1991 and 2001. A new edition will appear soon with updated bibiographies and recent developments.
NOTE: These lectures occasionally speak of administering and receiving sacraments as was customary in traditional sacramental theology.
To listen to a lecture, click on the title or on the start (>) button.
TALK ONE What Is a Sacrament? (24 min.)
TALK TWO Sacraments in Early Christian Times (28 min.)
TALK THREE Medieval Sacramental Theology (48 min.)
TALK FOUR Protestant and Catholic Sacraments (27 min.)
TALK FIVE The Sacraments Today (37 min.)
TALK SIX The History of Baptism (35 min.)
TALK SEVEN The History of Confirmation (23 min.)
TALK EIGHT The History of Eucharist (57 min.)
TALK NINE The History of Penance and Reconciliation (36 min.)
TALK TEN The History of Anointing the Sick (18 min.)
TALK ELEVEN The History of Sacramental Marriage (35 min.)
TALK TWELVE The History of Ministerial Orders (46 min.)
To discuss any of the above works, or to make suggestions about this page,
please write to me at TheSacraments@Gmail.com.