Liturgical Year
Part 1 Introduction

Chapter y12 Introduction to 12:315
the Online Liturgical Year Course

Rational

After five years of teaching religion and speech to high school freshmen and sophomores (1966-1971)  my Franciscan Province asked me to teach liturgy at our provincial major seminary, which at that time was located in Dayton, Ohio.  To prepare for this assignment I obtained a degree in theology from the University of Notre Dame, and a degree in liturgy from the Institut Supérieur de Liturgie in Paris, France.  An unforeseen blessing of my years in Paris was the opportunity to sit at the feet of Msgr. Pierre Jounel and listen to his lectures on the Liturgical Year. As one of the principal authors of the new Missal, the Lectionary, and the Roman Calendar, and a close personal friend of Paul VI, Jounel had the "inside story" about why things are as they are. He was second reader for my doctoral thesis Liturgical Law Today: New Style, New Spirit and we remained good friends until his death on November 14,2004 after having devoted 90 years to the renewal of the Roman Liturgy.

In teaching this course on The History, Theology, and Spirituality of the Liturgical Year I hope to honor his memory and legacy. From the many times I have taught the course in the past, I find it exciting to see students move beyond thinking of the liturgical year as merely when to put out the Easter lilies and when to replace them with poinsettias. Students get excited when they see how the liturgical year places us in contact with the mysteries of our salvation and provides a "framework" for reading and preaching the scriptures.

I have always been interested in technology, and putting this courses "online" offers new and exciting challenges for my teaching skills.  If, 50 years ago, you had told this farm boy from Kansas that one day he would be a Franciscan Priest, study in Paris, write books, teach on the internet in a school run by Benedictine Monks, I would have said: "Of course, and what else is new!" But here I am, living in Southern Indiana in a town named after the Swiss patriot, William Tell, sitting at my computer in a rented house across the street from the local parish where I frequently minister – thus fulfilling my first love, celebrating the liturgy.   For more information visit me on my website www.tomrichstatter.org where you can find a short autobiography  and a bibliography.

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I am eager to teach this course on the Liturgical Year because:

1.  The Church Year plays an important role in my spiritual, devotional, and liturgical life and I am happy to share these insights with others.

2.  My mentor, thesis reader, hero, and good friend, Msgr. Pierre Jounel, was one of the principal authors of the current Roman Calendar and I want to hand on to the next generation the insights and background he gave us in class at the Institut Catholique 1971-1976. 

3.  I am writing a book Spirituality of the Seasons which will serve as a companion book to my Sacraments:  How Catholics Pray.  This new book will help the laity pray with the Church Year and incorporate the liturgical seasons into their devotional life.  While I am reading and learning and teaching this semester, I will be on the outlook for material for the book. 

4.  Every time I teach the course I learn more about the Liturgical Year.  I love to learn.  The quotation from St. Bede the Venerable under his statue on Bede Hall at Saint Meinrad states: "Along with the observance of monastic discipline and the daily charge of chanting in the church, my delight has ever been to learn, teach or write."   Like Bede, I love to learn, teach and write.

5.  You can contact me by phone at my home in Tell City IN (in the Central Time Zone) 812-547-5380.  You can contact me by e-mail at trichstatter@saintmeinrad.edu  or at the link at the bottom of each of my web pages.  However, in either case, in the subject box of the e-mail type Liturgical Year Cours.  This will (hopefully) put the message in a special box and will allow it to get past the junk mail filters. 

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Notes on the Reading Assignments

There are four required reading assignments for the course

I encourage you to do the reading assignments in advance so that you can post your written assignment early in the week and thus give time to your class mates to read it and discuss it. I would, also, encourage you to return to the discussion area. I would encourage you to open the lessons tab frequently and to return to the discussion box to look for replies to your initial post and to engage further in dialog with other participants.

1. Maxwell Johnson, Editor. Between Memory and Hope: Readings on the Liturgical Year. The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, 2000.  ISBN 0-8146-6025-8. Paper, $39.95. (= Johnson)

Maxwell Johnson, Associate Professor of Liturgy, University of Notre Dame, has collected in this volume essays from the leading contemporary liturgical scholars regarding the Church year.  Reading these essays will put you in touch with the current state of liturgical research.  This is a "serious" book, intended for serious students of the liturgy.

2.  Martin Connell. Eternity Today:  On the Liturgical Year (Volumes 1 and 2). The Continuum International Publishing Group, New York, 2006. ISBN 0-8264-1871-6.  Paper $31.32 (= Connell)  This is a more "popular work" which you might find helpful for your prayer and preaching.

3. Calendarium Romanum (in English).  General Norms for the Liturgical Year and the New General Roman Calendar issued by the Sacred Congregation of Rites on March 21, 1969 was published in English by the Bishops Committee on the Liturgy in their booklet Norms Governing Liturgical Calendars,  Liturgy Documentary Series, Number 6.  Washington DC: Office of Publishing and Promotion Services, USCCB, 1984. Publication number 928-9.  $6.95 paper.  This useful and important reference text is currently, for some reason unknown to me, out of print.  Many used copies are available for purchase online, for example at www.alibris.com  for as little as $2.95. You might be able to borrow a copy from your parish or diocesan liturgical library.  Some bookstores still have a "new" copy for sale.   The first half of the text is available online at www.catholicliturgy.com 

http://www.catholicliturgy.com/index.cfm/FuseAction/DocumentSubCategories/Index/2/SubIndex/38

The Roman Calendar contains the current legislation and rational for the arrangement of the liturgical year.  Anyone planning or preparing liturgical celebrations should be familiar with this important and very useful document.  For example it explains why each saint was placed on the current date and why each change in the celebration of the saints was made.  For the corrigenda (corrections and changes) to the Calendarium Romanum, see Notitiae 47 (1969) p. 303.

4.  Ordo Lectionum Missae (in English).  The text that is important for this course is the General Introduction to the Roman Lectionary for Mass.  The text was published by the Bishops Committee on the Liturgy in The Lectionary for Mass, Second Typical Edition. Introduction. The Liturgy Documentary Series Number 1.  Washington DC: Office of Publishing and Promotion Services, USCCB.  Publication number 5-245. ISBN 1-57455-245-7.  $6.95 paper.  This book is out of print.   You might be able to borrow a copy from your parish or diocesan liturgical library.  The entire text is available online at www.catholicliturgy.com   You can also find the text printed at the beginning of the Lectionary. 

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Additional Reading Sources

A.G. Martimort (Editor). The Church at Prayer, Volume IV, The Liturgy and Time. New Edition, Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1983. ISBN 0-8146-1366-7. Paper.  The Church at Prayer (4 Volumes) is a translation of L'Eglise en Prière, which contains the basic class notes and professorial lectures given at the Institut Superieur De Liturgie.  These essays on the liturgical year while nearly 50 years old and written before the practical experience of the current calendar are important because they come from the hand of Msgr. Pierre Jounel.  Fr. Jounel, a close personal friend of Paul VI and one of the outstanding liturgical scholars who shaped the post Vatican II liturgy, is the principle author of our current calendar.  Consequently, these essays have more than a passing historical interest.

Adrian Nocent.  The Liturgical Year. Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1977. ISBN:  0-8146-0963-5. 4 volumes. Paper. $35.00. [Before the Johnson anthology was published, I used this series as a text.  I believe that it still remains an excellent reference book which would be useful in anyone's liturgical library.  Again, it is especially important because it is written by one of the principle authors of the reformed liturgy.]

Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline for the Sacraments. The Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy: Principles and Guidelines, (December, 2001) (This is the most recent Roman document on devotions during the various seasons of the  Liturgical Year.)

Pope Paul VI, Marialis Cultus, Apostolic Exhortation for the Right Ordering and Development of Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. (February 2, 1974)  (Excellent document on devotion to Mary.)

Catechism of the Catholic Church, "Part Two: The Celebration of the Christian Mystery, Section One, Chapter One: The Paschal Mystery in the Age of the Church," nn 1066-1134; Chapter Two: The Sacramental Celebration of the Paschal Mystery," nn 1135-1209;

Code of Canon Law. Book IV, Part III, Title II: Sacred Times (cc 1244-1253). Thomas Richstatter, CLSA The Code of Canon Law: A Text and Commentary (1985), pp 853-855. John M. Huels, CLSA New Commentary on the Code of Canon Law (2000), pp 1442-1448.

Articles that I have written on the Liturgical Year can be found at  Chapter y17 Bibliography  along with a general bibliography on the course material.

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Additional Information on Course Objectives

This course studies:
1.      The origins, history, and reform of the liturgical year
2.      The current documentation (Roman Calendar, Roman Lectionary)
3.      The liturgies proper to the various liturgical seasons
4.      Seasonal devotions

The course prepares one to:
1.      Develop a liturgical spirituality
2.      Understand the history and the structure of the current Roman Catholic church calendar
3.     Plan, prepare, and preach liturgical celebrations
4.      Encourage seasonal devotions in the parish

The hoped for outcomes of the course are:

1.  A deeper appreciation of the Church Year and its role in forming a liturgical spirituality.

2.  A familiarity with the current Roman Calendar, Sacramentary, and Lectionary and the other Church documents related to the Liturgical Year.

3.  A knowledge of the history of the Liturgical Year which will help you appreciate its current structure and future developments.

4.  The background necessary to intelligently plan and prepare fruitful celebrations of (and homilies for) Sunday, the liturgical seasons, and feasts in the parishes and/or monasteries and religious houses where you might minister.

5.  Tips for fostering seasonal devotions in the parish.

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Saint Meinrad MTS Course Outcomes

The goal of the Master of Theological Studies (MTS) degree from Saint Meinrad School of Theology is to  strengthen the theological basis of a student=s life and work, whether in a ministerial or secular career. The degree also provides a basis understanding of the theological disciplines required for further graduate study.  The MTS degree intends the following outcomes:

1. Graduates will understand the biblical, historical, and doctrinal dimensions of Catholic belief and practice. (This course outcome will be achieved by reading the documents of the Church regarding the Calendar and the Lectionary and by studying the history of these rites in the assigned readings.)

2. Graduates will read and interpret theological texts critically. (This course outcome will be through the written assignments and discussion of the ANGEL postings.)

3. Graduates will analyze issues of contemporary life and pastoral practice theologically. (This course outcome will be achieved by the readings , postings, lectures, and class discussions.)

4. Graduates will identify the personal, social, and cultural influences on their theological interpretations and expressions. (This course outcome will be achieved by the readings , postings, lectures, and class discussions.)

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Notes on My Website

1.  The system I use for organizing and mapping my website uses the letter d for the section on documents and introductory materials;  y for notes on the Liturgical Year.  Most of the notes for this course are in the y section. 

2.  My website is not a finished product.  I am transferring my printed lecture notes to the electronic format on my web site and I will try to stay one period ahead, but can't promise that I will be able to keep to this schedule.

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ANGEL

1.  Ordinarily all assignments are to be posted on ANGEL.  If for some reason ANGEL is not available to you, print out the assignment and bring a hard copy to class and post it on ANGEL later when you are able to do so.  On those cases where a hard copy of the assignment is to be submitted, the assignment is to be typed on 8 ½" x 11" white paper.  When assignments are more than one page long, the pages are to be numbered. Please turn in a copy that is dark enough to be read easily. All papers should be in 12 point font.

2.  The written assignments are to be posted on ANGEL a minimum of 4 hours before the class period begins.  For example, if the class begins at 10:00 AM the homework is to be posted by 6:00 AM.   (It may, of course, be posted earlier).  This will give me time to read the postings evaluate them and make adjustments in the class presentation as needed.

3.  I suggest that you compose your comment on your computer using your word processing program.  Spell check, grammar check, word count, etc.  Save the essay on your computer.  Then put a copy of the essay in your buffer [Ctrl + A (select all) Ctrl +C (copies selection to the buffer)].  Go to ANGEL at http://mysma.saintmeinrad.edu/mySMA/home.asp  Enter your password and select the Eucharist course.  Click on LESSONS.  Click on the class number for which the assignment is due.  Click on "Post a Message" and a box will open.  Put your curser in the box and drop your essay from your buffer into the box (Ctrl +V).  Then click "Save" at the bottom of the page.

4.  LESSONS tab  Most of your work will be done in the LESSONS section of ANGEL.  Log on to ANGEL, click this course, and then click the LESSONS tab and you will find a discussion box for each of the assignments of the course.  They are listed by due date.  At the top of the list you will find three discussion rooms labeled Coffee Shop, Theology Discussion Room, Course Feedback Room. 

The Coffee Shop is a place to chat informally.  This discussion forum is an un-graded room where you can go at any time to discuss whatever you would like to talk about -- much as you would talk with you fellow participants over a cup of coffee in a coffee shop. Theological and pastoral issues pertaining to the course can be discussed in the Theology Discussion Room. Issues relating to course method can be discussed in the Course Feedback Room. The Coffee Shop is for more "conversational" topics. In posting to the Coffee Shop or any other discussion box, please be aware of the common rules of netiquette. I may enter the coffee shop from time to time but I will do so only as another participant in the conversation -- not as the professor.

The Theology Discussion Room is a place enter into serious discussion about course content.  This discussion forum is an un-graded room where you can go at any time to discuss theological/liturgical issues related to the course. There is no requirement to enter this room or to post comments there -- indeed you will probably be busy enough simply posting the required assignments into their discussion boxes. However there may be issues related to the course that you would like to talk about and this would be the room for these discussions -- things that may occur in the news or come to mind as a result of the course assignments. Whereas the Coffee Shop is for discussion about anything, this room is for theological/liturgical discussion.

The Course Feedback Room is a place to discuss course method.  The Course Feedback Room is an un-graded room where you may comment on or ask questions about the course method. This is a place for questions or comments about ANGEL or any technical problems you may be having; questions pertaining to the meaning or usefulness of the assignments; process comments on the course, etc. 

You can read the responses of the other participants in the class and respond to them by clicking "Post a Reply."  On some days, responding to the posting of another student will be the writing assignment for that day.    

5.  When responding to another posting make it worth our while to open it.   Don't just post "That's nice"  or "I never though of that" or such comments that do not really move the discussion forward.

6.  While the postings of reflections, experiences, etc. may be "personal" they should not be so "personal" that you would not want them shared with the class.  All postings on ANGEL for this course are open to being read by the class and discussed during the class periods.  The same respect and  "confidentiality" is to be used regarding the postings on ANGEL as would be expected of experiences discussed in class. 

7.  I have posted discussion boxes for each of the assignments for the entire semester.  Do not get too far ahead in your postings.  Something may be said in class or something else may happen that would make you want to reword your posting and once they are posted they are dated in the system.   And to post the response to a question such as "Looking back, what I have learned during this course?" after the third or fourth period would , it would seem to me, imply that you are not planning on learning anything further!

3.  Netiquette Communicating on the internet is a different experience than communicating face-to-face.  One reason for this is that all the visual cues that we ordinarily notice (whether the person is smiling, agitated, insistent, etc.) are not available to the reader.  This makes it more likely that emails and other postings can be misinterpreted and consequently I caution you to use care when expressing yourself in these forms.  Sometimes the use of emoticons will help indicate your tone of voice.  See chapter d13 for notes about Netiquette, Acronyms, and Emoticons.

4.  Attendance  ANGEL allows the professor to see how frequently you log onto to ANGEL.  Personally I do not find this a very helpful tool and consequently the number of logons does not influence your grade.  When you log onto my website directly without going through the syllabus tab on ANGEL, this activity is not recorded.  This is one reason I do not consider the number of times you log on pertinent to your grade.  However, I do watch the date of your last log on.  If you plan to be away from the course for over a week, please inform me of your absence by email ahead of time. 

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Notes on the Writing Assignments in General

1.  The grade for written assignments is based on both content and style. Typing, grammar, spelling, sentence structure, readability, etc. are a part of the grade. A standard, accepted typing style [e.g. The Holt Guide to Documentation and Writing in the Disciplines by Kirszner and Mandell] is expected.

2.  When quoting someone give the source of the quote and indicate by quotation marks where the quotation begins and ends. The "Statement on Plagiarism" in the Student Handbook is to be followed.

This is especially important in case I should want to ask you if I can use something you have written in my 2004 book. 

3.  The "Statement on Non-discriminatory Language" in the Student Handbook is to be followed.

4.  With regard to style, the language used is to be that which could be used in a homily: see, Buttrick, Homiletic, pp 196-198, where he draws attention to racist prejudice [e.g. white / black], anti-Semitic language, sexist language, language referring to God.

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Instructions on Writing the
Reflection Papers

Reflection Papers:  Select one (or more) of the articles from among those assigned for the period and to post on ANGEL an essay (500- 800 words) which briefly summarizes the article and then engages the author in a theological reflection or pastoral application of the material.  Show that you grasp the content of the article and can enter into dialogue with it by way of a pastoral application, relating it to something learned in a related course, etc.  

Palloff and Pratt in The Virtual Student  (pp 177-178) offer the following tips for writing a reflection paper:  They say the paper should contain 1) a summary of ideas, 2) an analysis of concepts, and 3) a synthesis of thoughts and evidence of original thought.   You can adapt their thoughts in writing the present Eucharist assignment.

1) Summary of Ideas

•  What is the context for the information read or discussed?

•  What information was presented in the reading or in course discussion?

•  What are the key points of the arguments both pro and con?

2) Analysis of Concepts

•  What are the strengths and weaknesses of the ideas presented?

•  Are there gaps of omissions?

•  What are the implications of this work?

•  What are the chief influences on this work and how are they manifested within it?

•  How did the context of this work influence the outcome?

3) Synthesis of Ideas

•  In summarizing and analyzing this work, what new ideas have emerged for me?

•  What is my opinion or how do I view this material?

•  What are some new areas of study that are indicated by this work?

•  What criticisms do I have of this work?

•  What do I see as the strengths or contributions of this work to the field as a whole?

•  If gaps of omissions exist, how might they be filled?

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Chapter 1. Introduction

1.  Introductory Essay The first assignment is to post an "introductory essay" in which you describe your favorite season of the liturgical year and explain why it is your favorite.  Then tell something about yourself; describe your current Church ministry if any.  Are you working toward a degree at Saint Meinrad or are you taking this course for personal enrichment?  If you ware working toward a degree, how many courses have you completed?  Finally, state your personal objectives for this course; what do you want to learn?  While this essay is not due until midnight February 4, I suggest you post it as soon as you can so that we can begin to get acquainted.  [A secondary function of this posting is that it lets me know that you are “onboard” with the course and know how to post your assignments on ANGEL so that we can work out any difficulties before the “due dates” begin.] 

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Chapter 2.  Time

1.  Introductory Essay   The underlying "organizational principal" of this course can perhaps be found in the five movements of the Catechetical Method of Thomas Groome.  Movements 1 & 2 are embedded in the Introductory Essays; Movement 3 is your reading, etc.; and Movements 4 & 5 are expressed in the Major Essay of each chapter of the course. 

2.  Comments on the Introductory essays 

3.  Content 

•   Johnson Chapter 1 "The Liturgical Year: Studies, Prospects, Reflections" by Robert F. Taft, pp 3-24.

•   Johnson Chapter 2 "Liturgical Time in the Ancient Church: The State of Research" by Thomas J. Talley, pp 25-48.

•   Johnson Chapter 23 "The Liturgical Year: Calendar for a Just Community" by John F. Baldovin, pp 429-445.

•   Connell  Vol. 1 Chapter 1 "On God and Time" pp 1-52

•   Read Dr. Goldbrunner’s essay on Conditions for Celebrating a Feast (add hyperlink)

•   View the video clip the Liturgical Year and Sunday  Video:  The Church Celebrates:  The Liturgical Year and Sunday (teaching segment, 8 min.)  Catholic Update Video, V2061, Saint Anthony Messenger Press .

•   Lecture notes:   Chapter y14 Time   Introduction to the "Ten Finger History Grid"    "Tip of the pistol" changes in history  Chapter y15 The Roman Calendar

4.  Major Essay Date due: February 18 

5.  Dialogue with the major Essays

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Chapter 3. Sunday

1.  Introductory Essay  Date due: February 25 

1. Help the class prepare a bibliography on "Sunday." Find a useful article on Sunday in a book you have read or preferable online. Give the link and then a two or three sentence synopsis of the article and two or three sentences on why this information would be useful to the other participants in this course.

2. Sunday activities:

Assignment 2, Part One: Make a List of All the references to Sunday in the Christian scriptures. Then note the relation between the lords day and the lords supper. Then write a brief paragraph simply stating your impressions upon completing one and two of this exercise.

Assignment 2, Part Two: Religious practices always take place within a culture. What are the positive and negative aspects of contemporary American culture which facilitate or hinder the Christian celebration of Sunday our original and most important feast day? 1000 word essay (between nine hundred and eleven hundred words).

2.  Comments on the Introductory essays 

3.  Content 

• Johnson Chapter 3 "Day of the Lord: Day of Mystery" by H. Boone Porter, pp 49-58,

• Johnson Chapter 4 "Sunday: the Heart of the Liturgical Year" by Mark Searle, pp 59-76.

• Johnson Chapter 5 "The Frequency of the Celebration of the Eucharist Throughout History" by Robert F. Taft, pp 77-98

• Connell Chapter 1 Sunday 1-51. The New Testament pp 5-17. The History of Sunday pp 18-27. The Theology of Sunday 28-44. The Holy Spirit and Sunday 45-51.

• Connell Chapter 5 Ordinary Time pp 196-240. The History of the Bible at the Lord’s Supper pp 200-210. The Theology of Ordinary Time pp 211-222. Prayers and Readings in Ordinary Time pp 223-235. Making Saints in Ordinary Time pp 236-240

•  My lecture notes at    Chapter y21 Sunday    

4.  Major Essay Date due: March 3        

5.  Dialogue with the major Essays 

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Chapter 4. Lent Triduum Easter

1.  Introductory Essay   

2.  Comments on the Introductory essays  

3.  Content 

• Johnson Chapter 6 "History and Eschatology in the Primitive Pascha" by Thomas J. Talley, pp 99-110.

•  Johnson Chapter7 "The Origins of Easter" by Paul F. Bradshaw, pp 111-124.

• Johnson Chapter 8 "The Three Days and the Forty Days" by Patrick Regan, pp 125-142

• Johnson Chapter 9 "Veneration of the Cross" by Patrick Regan, pp 143-154

• Johnson Chapter 10 "Holy Week in the Byzantine Tradition" by Robert F. Taft, pp 155-182.

• Johnson Chapter 11 "The Origin of Lent at Alexandria" by Thomas J. Talley, pp 183-206

• Johnson Chapter 12 "Preparation for Pascha? Lent in Christian Antiquity" by Maxwell E. Johnson, pp 207-222 

• Johnson Chapter 13 "The Fifty Days and the Fiftieth Day" by Patrick Regan, pp 223-246. 

• Johnson Chapter 14 "Making the Most of Trinity Sunday" by Catherine Mowry LaCugna, pp 247-264.

•   Connell Chapter 2 Lent pp 52-100 

• Connell Chapter 3 The Three Days pp 101-157 Connell

• Chapter 4 The Easter Season pp 158-195 

• View the video clip Lent and Easter

•  My Lecture notes at Chapter y31 Lent     Chapter y32 Passion Sunday      Chapter y33 The Triduum    Chapter y34 Holy Thursday     Chapter y35 Good Friday   Chapter y36 Holy Saturday     Chapter y37 The Paschal Vigil     Chapter y38 Easter     Chapter y39 The Fifty Days / Pentecost 

4.  Major Essay  Date due: March 31 

5.  Dialogue with the major Essays 

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Chapter 5. Advent  Christmas

1.  Introductory Essay  

2.  Comments on the Introductory essays  

3.  Content 

• Johnson Part Chapter 15 "Constantine and Christmas" by Thomas J. Talley, pp 265-272.  
• Johnson Chapter 16 "The Origins of Christmas: The State of the Question" by Susan K. Roll, pp 273-290.
• Johnson Chapter 17 "The Appearance of the Light at the Baptism of Jesus and the Origins of the Feast of Epiphany: An Investigation of Greek, Syriac, Armenian, and Latin Sources" by Gabriele Winkler, pp 291-348.
• Johnson Chapter 18 "The Origins and Evolution of Advent in the West" by Martin J. Connell, pp 349-374.
• Connell Chapter 2 Advent pp 53-87
• Connell Chapter 3 Christmas pp 88-146
• Connell Chapter 4 Epiphany pp 147-198 
• Connell Chapter 5 Candlemas pp 199-234
• View the video clip Advent and Christmas
• Read my lecture notes at  Chapter y41 Advent   Chapter y42 Christmas   Chapter y43 Feasts of the Christmas Season

4.  Major Essay  Date due: April 14 

5.  Dialogue with the major Essays   

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Chapter 6. Saints an Devotions

1.  Introductory Essay

2.  Comments on the Introductory essays 

3.  Content 

• Johnson Chapter 19 "On Feasting the Saints" by John F. Baldovin, pp 375-384
• Johnson Chapter 20 "The Marian Liturgical Tradition" by Kilian McDonnell, pp 385-400
• Johnson Chapter 21 "Forgetting and Remembering the Saints" by James F. White, pp 401-41
• Johnson Chapter 22 "The One Mediator, the Saints, and Mary: A Lutheran Reflection" by Maxwell E. Johnson, pp 415-428
• View the video clip Celebrating the Saints
• Read my lecture notes at Chapter y51 Saints   Chapter y53 January through December   Chapter y54 Calendar for the USA.  Chapter y52 Mary    Chapter y61 Devotional Times     Chapter y71 Alternative Calendars  Chapter y89 Conclusions

Devotions  Besides "Saints" in this section of the course we also want to consider the relationship between the liturgical year (liturgy, the official prayer of the whole Church) and he popular prayer and devotion of the people. For example: while there is a liturgy for All Souls’ Day in the Missal and the Liturgy of the Hours, we might ask how Catholics in Latin America celebrate the Day of the Dead? Or: what is to be thought of the insertion of the devotion to the Divine Mercy which has replaced the liturgy for the Second Sunday of Easter? Or: in 2008 the feast (popular "Solemnity" in some places) of St. Patrick fell on the Monday of Holy Week. While the liturgical celebration was moved to another day, how did the people celebrate the "external solemnity (Parades, Parties, etc) during Holy Week?

My professors in Paris said in class that when they were revising "Lent" they wanted to have Lent start on the First Sunday of Lent (eliminate ash Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday as Lenten days). However this was impossible because of the "popular devotions" that have grown up around fasting/feasting and Mardi Gras. They decided that it would be impossible to change this day liturgically in the current culture. "When religion and culture fight, culture always wins."

4.  Major Essay  Date due: April 28

5.  Dialogue with the major Essays 

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Chapter 7. Conclusion

1.  Major Essay  

2.  Take the final examination

3.  Take the course survey.  

4.  Write the "I Learned that..." essay

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Notes on Grading and Evaluation

The grades for each written assignment will be posted in your ANGEL grade book within a week following the due date of the assignment.

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© Copyright: Tom Richstatter, Franciscan Province of St. John the Baptist, Cincinnati Ohio, Order of Friars Minor. All Rights Reserved.  This page was created by Fr. Thomas Richstatter, O.F.M.  Every effort has been, and is being made, to acknowledge sources when the ideas are not my own.  Any failure to comply with the United States Copyright Act (Title 17, United States Code) will be corrected immediately should I become aware of it.  This site was updated on 02/06/08 .  Your comments on this site are welcome at webmaster2@tomrichstatter.org.