Date of Award

5-2024

Document Type

Thesis

Publisher

Santa Clara : Santa Clara University, 2024

Degree Name

Master of Theology (Th.M)

Director

Paul Janowiak

Abstract

The Second Council’s reforms directed at full and active participation in the liturgy are not limited to the reform of the Church’s celebrations and rites. What is also required is a further engagement of the Church in the world in order to address the problematic social realities that impede the realization of what the liturgy promises and represents. One particular social reality in need of such analysis and engagement is domestic abuse, and this paper seeks to address that issue within the context of India. To gain a better understanding of the problem, first, a survey of the roots and causes of domestic abuse within India is offered, with a focus on the historical role of gender in India. Next, this paper proposes the Gospel pericope of the Samaritan woman (John 4:1-42) as a basis for examining cycles of abuse that trap women within oppressive systems. This exegesis, along with Paul’s address of trauma (Romans 8), serves as the foundation for examining how the Holy Spirit is at work in the lives of Indian women subject to abuse. Above all, these passages point to how a living Church is guided by the Holy Spirit and prompts us with ever-hopeful ways forward while also demanding how the Church may better listen to the voices of the voiceless. Such promptings are connected to the liturgy, and so the homily, in particular, is examined as a way of both illuminating and confronting the harms of domestic abuse. Finally, a specific case of interreligious liturgy that addresses the problem more holistically is proposed as a practical way of addressing abuse in India.

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