Monday, August 25, 2008

Sacraments Unit 1 revision

Today I have to pick up the pieces from some bad ideas last week.

First off, I'm revising two essential questions, formerly:
  • Why is a Church necessary? What are the alternatives? Why didn't Jesus simply stay on Earth?
  • What is the best way to represet ("re-present") the person, love, and saving power of Jesus of Nazareth in an accessible way to people today?

to:

  • How is the Church an instrument of God's love?
  • How does the Church make the Paschal Mystery accessible to the world?

Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity.

The performance tasks and evidence will remain the same. However, I will need to pay more attention to the WHERETO criteria.

  • Where are we going? Why? What is expected? - The unit really is about love, but the point of the unit is to unveil the amorous basis of the Church, and by extension, the seven sacraments. If we didn't understand this point, we might be tempted to think of the sacraments as "just another religious ritual", with all of the attendant prejudices against superstition and public devotion. This unit will help students see the personalistic and human roots of the seven sacraments so they will be less tempted to think of them--and other ritual expressions--in superstitious and externalistic ways. This requires some very basic catechesis on the Paschal Mystery.
  • How will we hook and hold student interest? Hook: The great theological riddle: In the first century, the Roman government of a small Palestinian region executes a Jew to appease local authorities in occupied territory. As a result, one billion Catholics and billion other Christians today believe that their immortal souls have been saved from eternal torment by an infinitely loving and merciful God. How do we get from point A to point B?

2 comments:

Matt of CG said...

I thought we Catholics didn't guarantee salvation and as a consequence of that belief we must hold to the Eucharist with fierce abandon? A, "Those who are mine will know me..." kinda thing?

Jeff said...

well that's true. but we haven't gotten to the Eucharist yet. have to lay out the basics first. the Paschal Mystery has something to do with salvation.