Two weeks ago Kent introduced this current series, Awe-Inspiring Rites, during which we are gleaning treasures from early church writers about the rituals associated with the adult catechumenate. Kent wrote about the exorcisms, important rituals during Lent, the period of Enlightenment. Today we’ll examine the traditio, handing over of the Creed and the Lord’s Prayer […]
Join us at Valparaiso University, April 9 – 11, 2024 for “Creation, Not Commodity: the Church’s Liturgy in a Consumer Culture.” Early registration (before February 29) is $275.00 and increases to $325.00 after that date. For first-time attendees and retired people, registration is only $200.00. Kent and Rhoda’s seminar (Tuesday afternoon, April 9) costs an […]
Today we start a new series reflecting on the catechumenate of the 4th-5th century church. In 1971 Edward Yarnold published a collected edition of all the ancient mystagogical catecheses of the church fathers (The Awe-Inspiring Rites of Initiation: The Origins of the R.C.I.A, Second Edition, Collegeveille, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1994; unfortunately no longer in […]
Kent and Rhoda will be leading a seminar on adult faith formation at the Institute of Liturgical Studies (ILS), Valparaiso University, on Tuesday afternoon, April 9, 2024. Here is the description of our three-hour seminar: Adult Faith Formation: A Prophetic Challenge to Religious Consumerism A consumer culture challenges the church on two fronts. From within, […]
Last November the Rev. Dr. Peter H. Nafzger was the speaker for the annual Vern Gundermann Reformation Heritage Lecture sponsored by Concordia University – St. Paul, Minnesota. Much of what Dr. Nafzger said resonated with aspects of our research on the adult catechumenate and its role in congregational life. With his permission, I’m sharing some […]
As the “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity” closes, framed by the Confession of St. Peter and Conversion of St. Paul, we again commend to our readers seeking resources on the adult catechumenate the website of Journey to Baptismal Living: https://journeytobaptism.org/. Here’s this week’s sampling of some helpful JBL resources: “What Is the Adult Catechumenate?” […]
In 1908 the Franciscans Friars of the Atonement in Graymoor, New York, proposed the week spanning the Confession of Peter (January 18) and the Conversion of Paul (January 25) be designated the “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity,” and a century later many denominations commemorate this week by praying for greater understanding of our unity […]
This week we return to Hirsch’s final characteristic of mDNA/apostolic genius: Communitas. Hirsch contrasts communitas with community. Community is understanding the church in light of a consumerist culture and attractional forms of church. Community in that perspective is preoccupied with middle-class values: safety, security, comfort, and convenience. When those are the values sought within community […]
Kent and Rhoda are taking a week off from blog posting to attend the Annual Meeting of the North American Academy of Liturgy. It is a great opportunity for us to engage with other scholars in the field, to read and discuss papers on liturgical topics written by colleagues and offer feedback on works-in-progress, and […]
This excerpt from Leo the Great’s Christmas sermon (preached in 450) draws together biblical themes of baptism with the mystery of the Incarnation: May these ancient words by Leo the Great draw our readers to contemplate the Incarnation and its meaning in daily life in new ways. When the faithful meditate about divine things, dearly […]