The unit examines the relationship between word and sacrament in the worship life of the Catholic church and surveys the celebration of word that is the Prayer of the Church. It explores the history, theology and liturgical praxis of the sacraments of baptism and confirmation that in the Catholic tradition initiate the Christian believer into the life of God’s Spirit and prepare for Eucharist. Particular attention is paid to the rite of Christian initiation of adults and children of catechetical age, to the preparation of children and their families for confirmation, and to the role of music in the rites.

Pre-requisites:
DL350

Requirements:
intensive mode

Assessment:

• one 2,000 word essay - 50%
• one 1,000 word class presentation - 25%
• one 1,000 word evaluation of a liturgical celebration - 25%

Bibliography:

• Austin, Gerard. Anointing with the Spirit: The Rite of Confirmation. New York: Pueblo, 1985.
• Chauvet, Louis–Marie. The Sacraments: The Word of God at the Mercy of the Body. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2005.
• Duggan, Robert D., and Maureen A. Kelly. The Christian Initiation of Children: Hope for the Future. New York: Paulist, 1991.
• Johnson, Maxwell E. The Rites of Christian Initiation: Their Evolution and Interpretation. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1999.
• Scotto, Dominic F. Liturgy of the Hours: Its History and its Importance as the Communal Prayer of the Church after the Liturgical Reform of Vatican II. Petersham, MA: St Bede’s, 1987.
• The Rites of the Catholic Church. Study ed. New York: Pueblo, 1983.
• Tufano, Victoria M., ed. Readings in the Christian Initiation of Children. Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications, 1994.
• Wade, Terry, ed. The Parish Companion to the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. 2nd ed. Melbourne: James Goold House, 2005.