One of the courses I am teaching this fall at Villanova University is “Liturgy, Cultures, and Justice.” I have reproduced below the course description and the books that the course will use. An overarching theme for the theology department at Villanova is “faith engaging culture” and ideally all courses in the department address that theme. In this course, we look at the implication of liturgical practice for the practice of justice in the various times and cultures of Christian experience. The course focuses on Western / North Atlantic Christianity. I would welcome suggestions for readings outside that ambit as well as comments on the course in general.
In a very small nutshell I would say that among other things, the course treats Paul’s rebuke in 1 Corinthians 11, the emphasis on forgiveness in Matthew’s Last Supper, the inclusion of Gentiles in Mark, Justin Martyr’s account of distributing foodstuffs to the needy, etc. We will look at how changing conceptions of hierarchy and Eucharist affected understanding of the relationship between sacred and profane as well as notions of active participation. We will look at the 20th century liturgical movement with its emphasis on participation and, especially in the U.S., on social justice.
Description and book list follows.
DESCRIPTION
This course will trace the historical development of Christian worship and prayer, beginning with its roots in Jewish thought and practice and in that of the early Church. We will seek to understand how Christians have prayed and worshiped in different periods, analyzing both their practice and their theology. We will give special attention to the time of origins; we will also direct attention to the periods of Roman and Frankish influence, to developments in medieval Eucharistic theology, to the Tridentine response to the Protestant Reformation, and finally to the liturgical reforms of the twentieth century. Throughout the course we will attend to cultural influences on liturgy and how Christians have understood the connection between worship and the pursuit of justice.
REQUIRED BOOKS
Books for this course will be available in the UShop in Kennedy Hall.
- Walter Brueggemann, Worship in Ancient Israel. Nashville: Abingdon, 2005. ISBN 0-687-34336-4
- Edward Foley, From Age to Age. Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2008. ISBN 978-0-8146-3078-5
- Eugene LaVerdiere, The Eucharist in the New Testament and the Early Church. Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1996. ISBN 0-8146-6152-1
- James F. White, Roman Catholic Worship: Trent to Today. Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2003. ISBN 0-8146-6194-7.
- Barry Hudock, The Eucharistic Prayers: A User’s Guide. Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2010. ISBN 978-0-8146-3287-1
OPTIONAL BOOK
Dennis Smolarski, Eucharist and American Culture: Liturgy, Unity, and Individualism. New York: Paulist, 2010. ISBN: 978-08091-4670-3.
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