Hermeneutics or Dogmatic Qualification? The Dispute over the Formula “I Offer You … Divinity”
Piotr Jankowski
pjankowski@buziaczek.plAcademy of Social and Media Culture in Toruń, Poland (Poland)
https://orcid.org/0009-0002-3704-1677
Abstract
This article offers a polemical and systematic theological analysis of the formula “I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity” contained in the Divine Mercy Chaplet. The central problem is examined in light of the normative Christological framework established by the Council of Nicaea I, the Council of Chalcedon, and the subsequent doctrinal tradition of the Church. The study proceeds from the principle lex orandi – lex credendi, according to which the language of prayer not only expresses faith but also remains subject to doctrinal evaluation. The article argues that the disputed formula cannot be resolved solely by devotional, affective, or mystical hermeneutics if its literal structure introduces “Divinity” into the semantic scope of sacrificial offering. The first part reconstructs the classical theology of Christ’s sacrifice as accomplished according to His humanity, while its salvific efficacy derives from His divinity. The second part analyzes the linguistic and dogmatic structure of the formula itself and argues that it entails a categorical confusion between what may be sacrificially offered and what, by reason of divine immutability and consubstantiality, cannot become the object of oblation. The third part addresses the distinction between hermeneutical mitigation and dogmatic qualification, asking whether the formula should be treated merely as an imprecise devotional expression or as an objectively erroneous theological proposition in the material sense. The article concludes that doctrinal coherence requires more than pious intention and that the Church’s prayer must remain accountable to the ontological and Christological precision of Catholic dogma.Keywords:
Divine Mercy Chaplet, sacrifice of Christ, lex orandi – lex credenda, material heresy, Christology, dogmatic theology, Divine Mercy, Nicene-Chalcedonian doctrineReferences
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Authors
Piotr Jankowskipjankowski@buziaczek.pl
Academy of Social and Media Culture in Toruń, Poland Poland
https://orcid.org/0009-0002-3704-1677
Piotr Jankowski, PhD is a dogmatic theologian and currently a professor emeritus. He was previously affiliated with theological institutions in the United States. In Poland, he was formerly associated with the Academy of Social and Media Culture in Toruń. His academic specialization was dogmatic theology.
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