Planning the Sacraments class, part trois

OK, so I wasn't quite thinking clearly last night, since I was thinking I would have two semesters to teach the class. HA! One semester for me. So I guess that means I need to do some more aggressive abbreviation here.

On the bright side of things, I learned what class I'm going to teach next semester: World Religions! But since my background is in philosophy and theology rather than religious studies, who could blame me for teaching the class like a "philosophy of religion" course? I'm seriously considering devoting half the class to discussing the matter of religious plurality itself, rather than simply doing a survey of religions. In particular, I want to explode any notion that "the religions" (a meaningless phrase) are a buffet, displayed side by side for our perusal. Such distorts not only the individual traditions but the notion of religion itself.

All right, so I need to rethink the semester... First, let's get specific about exactly how much in-class time I have. Spreadsheet time!



What can I say, I'm awesome with the spreadsheetin'.

Now, let's bring up an even further condensed version of my outline from last night:

• Sacrament & Liturgy
  
• Sacrament - History and Meaning
  
• Sacraments as the Work of the Trinity
  
• Liturgy
• Grace and Prayer
• Church and Salvation
  
• For each Sacrament:
  
• Its particular origin in revelation
• Its history/ritual and symbols
• Practicum (?) and significance
• Challenges to the Sacramental Imagination
  
• Iconoclasm
  
• Naturalism
• The analogical imagination

OK, now let's expand the middle part to include all of the sacraments:

1. Sacrament & Liturgy
   
1. Sacrament - History and Meaning
   
1. Sacraments as the Work of the Trinity
   
2. Liturgy
1. Grace and Prayer
2. Church and Salvation
   
2. Baptism
   
1. Its particular origin in revelation
2. Its history/ritual and symbols
3. Practicum (?) and significance
3. Confirmation
   
1. Its particular origin in revelation
2. Its history/ritual and symbols
3. Practicum (?) and significance
4. Eucharist
   
1. Its particular origin in revelation
2. Its history/ritual and symbols
3. Practicum (?) and significance
5. Penance
   
1. Its particular origin in revelation
2. Its history/ritual and symbols
3. Practicum (?) and significance
6. Anointing of the Sick
   
1. Its particular origin in revelation
2. Its history/ritual and symbols
3. Practicum (?) and significance
7. Matrimony
   
1. Its particular origin in revelation
2. Its history/ritual and symbols
3. Practicum (?) and significance
8. Holy Orders
   
1. Its particular origin in revelation
2. Its history/ritual and symbols
3. Practicum (?) and significance
9. Challenges to the Sacramental Imagination
   
1. Iconoclasm
   
2. Naturalism
3. The analogical imagination

This is ridiculous. OK, let's try the Catechism's trick, and use the traditional three groupings:

1. Sacrament & Liturgy
   
1. Sacrament - History and Meaning
2. Sacraments as the Work of the Trinity
3. Liturgy
1. Grace and Prayer
2. Church and Salvation
2. The Seven Sacraments
   
1. Sacraments of Christian Initiation
1. Baptism and Confirmation
2. Eucharist
   
2. Sacraments of Healing
1. Penance
2. Anointing of the Sick
   
3. Sacraments at the Service of Communion
1. Matrimony
2. Holy Orders
   
3. Challenges to the Sacramental Imagination
   
1. Iconoclasm
   
2. Naturalism
3. The Catholic Response: The Analogy of Being
   

OK, I like this. Now I can gauge how much time I'm going to need for each lesson:

1. Introduction, Syllabus, Procedures, Maybe early start on lesson 2.1 - Week 1
   
2. Sacrament & Liturgy
   
1. Sacrament - History and Meaning - Week 2
   
2. Sacraments as the Work of the Trinity - Weeks 3 & 4
   
3. Liturgy - Week 5
   
1. Grace and Prayer; Church and Salvation - Week 6
   
3. The Seven Sacraments
   
1. Sacraments of Christian Initiation
1. Baptism and Confirmation - Weeks 7 & 8
   
2. Eucharist - Weeks 9 & 10 (Mon & Tues)
   
2. Sacraments of Healing
1. Penance - Weeks 10 (Thurs & Fri) & 11
2. Anointing of the Sick - Week 12
   
3. Sacraments at the Service of Communion
1. Matrimony & Holy Orders - Weeks 13 & 14*
   
4. Sacramentals - Week 15
   
4. Challenges to the Sacraments
   
1. Iconoclasm - Week 16
   
2. Naturalism - Week 17
   
3. The Catholic Response: The Analogy of Being - Week 18
5. Review for Final - Week 19 (Mon & Tues)
   

All I can say is BAM.

* - Week 14 is a very short week because of Thanksgiving. Rather than decide which of Holy Orders and Matrimony I want to give the short shrift, I'll teach both in a single lesson with a single quiz. This will allow me to illustrate their complementarity and how each life images eternal life in its own unique way. Woo John Paul II (and Christopher West!)