I just returned home from the 2025 Institute of Liturgical Studies (ILS), held at my and Kent’s undergraduate alma mater, Valparaiso University. It was my honor to introduce the recipient of the Christus Rex Award, Max Johnson, pictured (center) with ILS Director and VU Campus Pastor Jim Wetzstein (left) and moi (right). Max, like Phoebe […]
At the center of the catechumenal journey is the Pascha/Passover of our Lord Jesus Christ from death to life. It is the fundamental work of God that transforms the human person from rebel against God to trusting daughter or son. It is the event that reveals God’s heart of mercy and grace toward God’s creatures. […]
Learning From Each Other Catechesis That Raises Up Multiethnic Leaders for the Kingdom May 6-7, 2025 at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis Plenaries: Kent and Rhoda invite our readers to this annual symposium at Concordia Seminary; the cost is very reasonable! Registration is $85.00 (with an additional $15.00 each for 2 lunches). To learn more about […]
This week we turn to one of the final rites of the period of Enlightenment before Holy Saturday: The Presentation of the Lord’s Prayer to the Elect. As I indicated in a previous post on this rite, the presentation of the Lord’s Prayer takes place either on or following the Third Scrutiny on the 5th […]
Our nerdy journey into the new (yet retro) translation of the OCIA texts for the Scrutinies takes a divergent path this week (into the Latin original for comparison). A few reminders: These texts draw on the Gospel readings in Lent for Year A (Lent 3, 4, 5), all from the Gospel of John, all terrific […]
This week in our nerdy journey we take up the prayers of the Second Scrutiny rite in the OCIA/RCIA. As Rhoda indicated last week, “our goal is to set forth some principles for making sound theological and pastoral decisions when borrowing rites and prayers from a variety of sources. Our nerdiness is earnest and with […]
We continue (as Kent coined it) our “nerdy” series comparing the Roman Catholic Church’s new OCIA translation with the earlier RCIA translation. Following the practice of the early church, the period of the Enlightenment (third stage of the catechumenate) includes “the handing on” of the Creed and the Lord’s Prayer (OCIA translation; the RCIA text […]
Last week we discussed the approaches to translating the texts of the Roman Catholic Latin rites of the catechumenate reflected in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults and in the new Order of Christian Initiation of Adults. This week we begin teasing out how those changes are reflected in the actual translations. Our first […]
We embark on a series during Lent that might seem the height of all nerdiness to some (and Rhoda and I might rightly be accused of being liturgical nerds). With the appearance of the new 2018 translation of the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults last November from the Roman Catholic Church, it seemed appropriate […]
We (Kent and Rhoda) will be presenting the opening plenary address at Concordia Seminary’s Multiethnic Symposium, May 6-7, 2025. Our concern to have concrete, firsthand data coalesced with the desire of a pastoral team in Springdale, Arkansas, to have outside “consultants” visit and make recommendations for strengthening congregational faith formation across generations. It was a […]