2008 Study Opportunities

PDF version

Responding to the ongoing feedback from the FDLC membership, and a well-received Study Week that took place in Adrian, Michigan in the summer of 2005, the schedule of the 2008 National Meeting in Milwaukee has been redesigned to provide the context for a more substantive and intensely-focused “in service” opportunity while preserving the other program requirements of the National Meeting (Regional Caucuses, Business Meetings, etc.) 

In order to accomplish these objectives, the design will include the following aspects:

1. Pre-meeting preparation consisting of readings or other work assigned by the Study Day presenters. 

2. Three presenters focused on the role of Liturgy in the Shaping the Catholic Identity.
3. A time of summary and dialogue with participants in live Q&A format.
4. An open forum discussion with a liturgical scholar.
5. Workshops on a level appropriate for diocesan worship office personnel and liturgical commission members

Presenters

Rev. Robert Barron
Professor of Systematic Theology, University of St. Mary of the Lake

Sr Mary Bendyna, RSM
Executive Director,
Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA)

Rev. J. Michael Joncas
Associate Professor,
University of St. Thomas
 

Facilitator:
Ms. Sheila McLaughlin
Executive Director,
Bernardin Center for
Theology and Ministry

8:15 –  8:45	Morning Prayer
9:30 –   9:40	Overview of the Day Mrs. Sheila McLaughlin
9:40 – 10:30	Address 1:  Liturgy: Exit Polls Sr. Mary E. Bendyna, RSM, Ph.D.
10:30 – 11:00	Break
11:00 – 11:50	Address 2: It Is Right to Give Thanks and Praise Rev. Robert Barron, S.T.D.
11:50 – 12:15	Questions and Answers with the two morning presenters Facilitated by Mrs. Sheila McLaughlin
12:15 –   1:30	Lunch
1:30 –   2:00	Table Talk
2:00 –   2:50	Address 3: What Has Athens to Do with Jerusalem OR What Has Sociology to Do with Theology? A Future for Liturgical Renewal Rev. Jan Michael Joncas, S.T.D.
2:50 –   3:15	Questions and Answers with presenter Facilitated by Mrs. Sheila McLaughlin
3:15 –   3:30	Break
3:30 –   4:00	Table Talk
4:00 –   5:00	Questions and Answers with all three presenters Facilitated by Mrs. Sheila McLaughlin
5:30	Buses depart for Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist
6:00	Eucharist
After Mass	Free evening (Optional Tour of Cathedral)

Some 40 years after the Second Vatican Council, there has been great interest in the question of "what constitutes Catholic Identity”. For some, the display of catholic identity needs to be overt and characterized by certain kinds of specific liturgical and devotional practices. In the renewal inaugurated by the Second Vatican Council, the emphasis on the centrality of the liturgy eclipsed some well-loved devotional practices.  While it is possible to resurrect some of these practices, doing so may undermine the original intent of the Council.  Therefore, the meeting will provide a context for participants to dialogue on such  issues as:

1. What is it that people are looking for in the liturgical life of their parishes?  & Why do they want it?

2. Theological foundations of the liturgy.

3. What may we do to meet people's needs and still be faithful to the Council?

 Liturgy: Exit Polls

This presentation will explore findings from recent CARA research about Mass attendance and participation in the liturgical life of the Church and the local parish. Using data from national surveys of Catholics in the United States, the presentation will examine beliefs and attitudes about Eucharist and Mass and the factors that encourage and discourage participation in Mass and other liturgical and devotional practices. The presentation will also highlight differences in attitudes and behaviors across generations and among those from various ethnic and cultural backgrounds.

Sr. Mary E. Bendyna, RSM, Ph.D is the Executive Director of the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) Sr. Mary  is a member of the Buffalo Regional Community of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas.  She has a B.A. in history and political science from Canisius College and an M.A. and Ph.D. in government from Georgetown University.  

At CARA, Sr. Mary specializes in questionnaire design, focus group facilitation, and quantitative and qualitative data analysis, with emphasis on attitudinal and cultural research.  She has led numerous studies on ministry, faith formation, and religious life and has focused in particular on generational differences among Catholics.
 

TOP OF PAGE

It Is Right to Give Thanks and Praise

The liturgy is the act by which God the Father is most appropriately worshipped, for it is adoration through the Son and in the Holy Spirit.  Now this right praise (orthodoxy) redounds to our infinite benefit, precisely because God has no need of it.  Whatever we give to him breaks against the rock of the divine self-sufficiency and comes back to us.  This is why the liturgy is the ultimately humanizing act, the moment in which we are most elevated and brought to the fullness of life.  What I would like to do in  This presentation will  explore the theological background for all of these claims and to bring out their practical implications.

Rev. Robert E. Barron, S.T.D. is Professor of Systematic Theology at University of St. Mary of the Lake in Chicago.  He received his Masters degree in Philosophy from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. in 1982 and was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Chicago in 1986. In 1992 he received his S.T.D. from Institut Catholique de Paris.

Fr. Barron has authored Toward a Post-Liberal Catholicism (2007) and Bridging the Great Divide:  Musings of a Post-Liberal, Post-Conservative, Evangelical Catholic. He has received the Catholic Press Association Book Award for each of two publications: The Strangest Way: Walking the Christian Path and Thomas Aquinas: Spiritual Master.

TOP OF PAGE

What Has Athens to Do with Jerusalem OR What Has Sociology to Do with Theology?
A Future for Liturgical Renewal

After exploring how data derived from the human sciences might interact with theological discourse, this session will explore the importance of evangelization, catechesis, and mystagogy for the future of Catholic Christian worship in the United States.

Rev. Jan  Michael Joncas, S.T.D. is a presbyter of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul-Minneapolis. He is Associate Professor in the Departments of Catholic Studies and Theology of St. Thomas University.  He holds both an S.T. L. and. S.T.D  from the Pontificio Istituto Liturgico at the Collegio Sant' Anselmo, and an M.A. in Liturgical Studies from the University of Notre Dame.

Well known as an author, presenter, composer, and lecturer on liturgy and theology, Fr. Joncas was presented the Jubilate Deo award at the 2007 NPM National Convention.

TOP OF PAGE

Facilitator: Mrs. Sheila McLaughlin is the Director of the Joseph Bernardin Center for Theology and Ministry at Catholic Theological Union, Chicago. Sheila was the Director of the Office for Divine Worship of the Archdiocese of Chicago as well as a member of the FDLC Board of Directors and National Meeting Facilitator. She holds an MA degree in Pastoral Studies from the Catholic Theological Union.

She is a member of the Advisory Board of the Georgetown Center for Liturgy, the Siena Center at Dominican University and the Precious Blood Center for Reconciliation. She also serves as liturgy consultant for the Catholic Health Association.

TOP OF PAGE

Informal discussion with Bishop Blase Cupich.  Follow-up on previous day’s work or other current liturgical issues.

Most Rev. Blase Cupich
Bishop, Diocese of Rapid City
 

Most Reverend Blase Cupich is Bishop of the Diocese of Rapid City, South Dakota. He was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Omaha in 1975, and ordained Bishop of Rapid City in 1998. Bishop Cupich holds a B.A. in philosophy from the University of St. Thomas an M.A. theology from the Gregorian University, and an S.T.L./S.T.D. in Liturgy from the Catholic University of America.  He has served as the director of worship of the Archdiocese of Omaha, an instructor at Creighton University, a secretary of the Apostolic Nunciature in Washington, DC, and the rector of the Pontifical College Josephinum.  He served on the USCCB Committee on Liturgy from 1999-2007, chairing its Task Force on Liturgy with Children from 2000 – 2005.  Bishop Cupich currently serves on the USCCB Ad Hoc Committee on Scriptural Translations and is the chair-elect of the Bishops' Committee for the Protection of Children and Young People.

TOP OF PAGE