Date of Award

4-2022

Document Type

Thesis

Publisher

Santa Clara : Santa Clara University, 2022.

Degree Name

Licentiate in Sacred Theology (STL)

Director

Paul Janowiak

Abstract

The eucharistic celebration is central to the Catholic faith. Deprivation of it impacts the faith of the people. Restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic are one instance in which the faith of the majority of Christians was adversely affected. This thesis postulates that such impacts arose due to an inadequate understanding of the Eucharist. By narrowing on the experience of the people of Rodi-Kopany in Kenya, the thesis proposes that understanding of Eucharistic communion, informed by the lived experience of ubuntu in the extended African family, will be helpful towards the appropriation of the theology of the Eucharist and thereby reduce the impact on faith in the face of such calamities.

Deprivation touches on the question of justice and oppression. The majority of those greatly affected are the poor and marginalized. The thesis thus uses the method of Liberation theology in the spirit of “See, Judge, Act” in catholic social teaching by applying the principles of socio-analytic mediation, hermeneutic mediation, and practical mediation as espoused by Clodovis Boff. In light of the three principles, the thesis moves into the challenges faced by people in the mentioned area, the theology of Eucharistic celebration and its implications on the people, and provides a way forward. The thesis forms part of a continuous dialogue in the theology of the Eucharist, Liberation, and inculturation.

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