THEO 60894-01: Introduction to Catechetical Theology
July 6- 24, 2015.
MTWHF 12:30-3:00 PM
Instructor:
Timothy P. O’Malley, Ph.D.
368 Geddes Hall
631-0571
tomalley@nd.edu
Office Hours: By appointment
Course Description:
This course provides an introduction to the theological principles undergirding the
ministry of catechesis. In the first week of the course, we devote significant attention to
a theology of revelation grounded in the pedagogy of God. In the second week, we
attend to the philosophical and theological foundations of contemporary approaches to
catechesis and religious education. In the last week, we develop pedagogical strategies
for forming Christians in the liturgical, moral, and spiritual tasks of catechesis.
Course Objectives:
1. Become familiar with the fundamental vocabulary and grammar of the Church’s
ministry of catechesis through attention to documents and core theological texts.
2. Develop a facility in assessing the philosophical and theological assumptions of
catechetical pedagogy in the twentieth century.
3. Cultivate an awareness of the sociological and cultural situation of “traditioning”
faith within an American context.
4. Ground a personally appropriated catechetical pedagogy in the way of beauty (an
aesthetic, sacramental pedagogy of faith).
5. Develop dispositions for intellectual leadership in the areas of catechesis and
theological education.
Required Texts:
1. General Directory for Catechesis. (Washington, DC: USCCB, 1997).
2. National Directory for Catechesis. (Washington, DC: USCCB, 2005).
3. Augustine, Instructing Beginners in Faith, trans. Raymond Canning (New York: New
City Press, 2006).
4. Craig Dykstra, Growing in the Life of Faith: Education and Christian Practices (Louisville:
John Knox Press, 2005).
5. Sofia Cavalletti, The Religious Potential of the Child: Experiencing Scripture and Liturgy
with Young Children (Chicago: LTP, 1992).
6. Other required texts may be found on Sakai.
Course Requirements:
1. Participation and close attention to the readings of the day (25%).
2. Two 3-5 page essays due on Monday, July 14 and Monday, July 21 (50%).
3. A final, take home exam due by 8:00 PM on Friday, July 25 (25%).
Assignments
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Essay 1 (Monday, July 13): Choose a specific audience that one is addressing in a
catechetical context. Compose a model catechetical sermon that seeks to tell the
narrative of salvation in such a way that it embodies the divine pedagogy. The
sermon should be attentive to the Trinitarian and Christo-centric nature of
catechesis. You should use Augustine’s Long Model Address as an example.
Essay 2 (Monday, July 20): Compare and contrast the theological, philosophical,
and educational principles of two “modern” methods of catechesis that we
studied in our second week. Assess both of these methods relative to the theme
of “divine pedagogy” that we introduced in the first week of the course.
Final Exam (Friday, July 25): Compose a five page essay that expresses at least
five essential dimensions of what constitutes the vocation of the catechist within
the life of the Church. You may focus upon the specific context in which you plan
to minister. This essay will draw on texts that we have read throughout the
semester.
Course Schedule:
Part 1: Catechesis, Evangelization, and the Pedagogy of God
Monday, July 6: The Religion of the Day
John Henry Newman, Parochial and Plain Sermons: “The Religion of the Day” and
“Self-Contemplation.”
Christian Smith, “Is Moralistic Therapeutic Deism the New Religion of American
Youth?: Implications for the Challenge of Religious Socialization and
Reproduction,” 55-74.
GDC nos. 14-33; Recommended: NDC—Chapter 1.
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Tuesday, July 7: Catechesis and Evangelization
GDC nos. 34-91; Recommended: NDC—Chapter 2.
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Wednesday, July 8: The Trinitarian-Christocentric Nature of Catechesis
GDC nos. 92-162; Recommended: NDC—Chapters 3 and 4.
Joseph Ratzinger, “Christocentrism in Preaching?” in Dogma and Preaching:
Applying Christian Doctrine to Daily Life, 40-58.
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Thursday, July 9: Catechizing According to the Divine Pedagogy
Augustine, Instructing Beginners in Faith, 53-108.
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Friday, July 10: Catechizing According to the Divine Pedagogy
Augustine, Instructing Beginners in Faith, 109-173
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Part 2: Contemporary Methodologies for Catechesis: An Assessment
Monday, July 13: Shared Christian Praxis—A Modern Approach
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Thomas H. Groome, Christian Religious Education, 184-232.
Tuesday, July 14: Christian Practice—Part 1
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Craig Dykstra, Growing in the Life of Faith: Education and Christian Practices, 3-49
Wednesday, July 15: Christian Practice—Part 2.
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Craig Dykstra, Growing in the Life of Faith: Education and Christian Practices, 50128.
Thursday, July 16: The Liturgical and Sacramental Approach—Part 1.
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Sofia Cavalletti, The Religious Potential of the Child, 21-104.
Friday, July 17: A Liturgical-Sacramental, Aesthetic Approach—Part 2.
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Sofia Cavalleti, The Religious Potential of the Child, 105-78.
Part 3: Tasks of Catechesis
Monday, July 20, The Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults
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Aidan Kavanagh, The Shape of Baptism, 153-203.
Tuesday, July 21: Catechesis and the Domestic Church
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Louis-Marie Chauvet, The Sacraments: The Word of God at the Mercy of the God, 173200.
Mark Regnerus and Jeremy Uecker, Premarital Sex in America, 169-204.
Angelo Cardinal Scola, “Marriage, Family, and the Eucharist,” in The Nuptial
Mystery, 290-303.
Wednesday, July 22: Forming Character
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William Mattison, “Why Virtue? The Moral Life as More Than Actions,” in
Introducing Moral Theology: True Happiness and the Virtues, 57-74
Richard Gula, “Conscience” and “The Formation of Conscience” in Reason
Informed by Faith, 123-51.
Thursday, July 23: Catechesis for the New Evangelization—Part 1
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Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, §§1-109.
Friday, July 24: Catechesis for the New Evangelization—Part 2
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Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, §§110-288.