Description

Thisthesis began as a study of the concept of 'gift' in relation to mystical experience. I wanted to know why, within Catholic theology, particular experiences or events that seemed far from pleasurable or beneficial to the people experiencing them were conceived of as gifts. Moreover, what were the theological implications for understanding mystical experiences as gifts? Can we meaningfully talk about gifts from God, if we accept this Maussian understanding of gift exchange, when God is omnipotent? How does a Maussian understanding of gift economy apply to a dynamic in which one party is God? Can we ever truly give God anything?