Catholic
Theological Society of America
Sacramental Life and Liturgy Session
Within the new CTSA convention structure, Sacramental Life and
Liturgy functions as one of the ongoing topic sessions under the
direction of a three-person administrative team. Currently, for AY
2009-10 Bruce Morrill (Boston College) chairs, while Timothy Brunk
(Villanova University)
and Lizette Larson-Miller (Graduate Theological Union) serve as members.
Call for Papers
The chair of the administrative team manages the call for papers, which
is posted each summer prior to the CTSA's next June meeting (e.g., for
the 2010 convention, the call would go out sometime in July, 2009). The
call for papers is posted on the Convention
page
of the CTSA website. Submissions are encouraged!
Sacramental
and Liturgical
Theology Group: Past History
Bruce
T. Morrill, S.J.,
Convener, 1997-2007
The following is a record of the sessions
held during the last decade under the CTSA's previous convention
structure.
Mission Statement for the Group
The Sacramental and
Liturgical Theology Group
convenes
for one session at each annual meeting of the Catholic Theological Society of America.
As the group's name indicates, the subject matter for these sessions is
broad,
encompassing both sacramental theology, as a systematic-theological
enterprise,
and liturgical theology, which engages interdisciplinary questions of
theory
and practice by means of history, social anthropology, performance
theory,
and philosophical resources. The topic for a given session usually
coincides
with the theme of that year's annual meeting, but this is not always
the
case. The group strives to balance the interests of those in this area
of
specialization and ways the sessions might serve the wider membership
of
the Society.
The program
for
each session is constructed by
the
convener, who solicits input from those who regularly or most recently
have
participated in the group's sessions. Participants brainstorm topical
ideas
at the conclusion of each annual session. The convener also invites
people
to describe current projects they wish to share or projects of other
CTSA
members that might be of interest to the group. The convener contacts
group
members and others in the CTSA during the subsequent summer months for
advice
as he correlates suggestions for topics, presenters, and format. With
the
topic established, the convener makes a list of potential presenters
and
respondents and contacts these individuals or alternates. By early
September
the program for the next June's meeting is set. The convener welcomes
all
members of the Society to email him (morrilb@bc.edu) with suggestions
for
papers, either volunteering themselves or recommending others.
2007
Meeting
Description:
In keeping with
the 2007 convention’s theme, the topic for the
Sacramental and Liturgical Theology group was: “The Bishop as Steward
of
the Liturgy.” The title and topic derive from Lumen
gentium,
no. 26: "The
bishop, invested with the fullness of the sacrament of Orders, is 'the
steward of the grace of the supreme priesthood,' above all in the
Eucharist, which he himself offers, or ensures that it is offered, from
which the Church ever derives its life and on which it thrives. .
. . Moreover, every legitimate celebration of the Eucharist is
regulated by the bishop, to whom is confided the duty of presenting to
the divine majesty the cult of the Christain religion and of ordering
it in accordance with the Lord's injunctions and the Church's
regulations, as further defined for the diocese by his particular
decision." Depending on the number and quality of paper proposals
received (see immediately below), the session will comprise either a
panel of three presenters or a format of two paper presentations and
one respondent. Judith Kubicki, Fordham University, presented "The
Second Vatican Council's Vision of the Bishop's Role in the Liturgy: Is
There a Prophetic Dimension?" Thomas Burke, Boston College, presented
"What Kind of Stewardship? Serving the Church's Prayer Within the
Shadow of the Cross." Brian Flanagan, Boston College, responded to the
papers, while Richard McCarron, Catholic Theological Union, moderated.
2006
Meeting
For the 2006 annual meeting the Sacramental and Liturgical
Theology
group joined with the Ecclesiology group for a joint session,
"Challenges to Eucharistic and Ecclesial Communion," convened by Susan
Wood, Marquette University.
2005
Meeting
The 2005 Meeting of the CTSA had for its theme, "Resurrection of
the
Body."
The Sacramental and Liturgical Theology Group addressed this
theme
with two papers: "This is [henceforth] my Body: Eucharist as
'Personal
Presence' of the Resurrected Jesus" by Bernard Prusak of Villanova
University," and "The Significance
of Bodily Resurrection in the Theology and Practice of the Order of
Christian
Funerals" by Bruce Morrill of Boston College.
2004
Meeting
In
keeping with
the 2004 annual meeting's theme of Reconciliation (June
10
through 13, Reston, Virginia), the Sacrament and Liturgical Theology
group
featured two papers: "Sacraments 'Really Save' in Disneyland:
Reconciling
Bodies in Virtual Reality" by Craig Baron of St. John's University, New
York;
and "Reconciliation in a Scandalized Church: Ritual Processes in
Pastoral
Context" by Eileen Burke-Sullivan of Creighton University.
Timothy
Muldoon, Mt. Aloysius College, served as respondent to the papers.
2003
Meeting
The 2003 annual
meeting took place in Cincinnati from June 5 through 8,
with
the theme, "The Vocation of the Theologian." In keeping with this
theme,
the Sacramental and Liturgical Theology group convened a panel,
discussing,
"The Vocation of the Liturgical Theologian." Panelists will
include:
Martin Connell (Saint John's University, Collegeville), Judith Kubicki
(Fordham
University), Richard McCarron (Catholic Theological Union), and Susan
Roll
(Christ the King Seminary).
2002
Meeting
The
2002 annual meeting took place in New Orleans
from
June 6 through 9, exploring the theme "Reading the Signs of the Times."
The
Sacramental and Liturgical Theology Group's session featured a paper by
Professor
David Stosur of Saint Francis Seminary, Milwaukee, entitled, "Reading the Sign(ifier/ified)s of the Times: A
Narrative
Response to Guardini's Challenge." Professor Joanne Pierce of
the
College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, will make a repsonse. Professor
Stosur's
paper is posted here, providing participants a chance to read it in
advance
of the meeting. Simply click on the title of the paper to access it.
2001
Meeting
The
2001 annual meeting took place from June 7
through
10 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with the theme, "Missio Ad Gentes." In
keeping
with that conference theme, The Sacramental and Liturgical Theology
Group's
session was "Liturgy and Evangelization." Professor Thomas
Rausch
of Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, California, and Professor
Mark
Wedig of Barry University, Miami, Florida, will present papers, with
Professor
Shawn Madigan of St. Catherine's University, St. Paul, Minnesota,
responding.
The papers are posted here.
Thomas
Rausch, Liturgy
and Evangelization in the North American Context
Mark Wedig, Evangelization,
Inculturation and the RCIA
2000
Meeting
The
2000 annual meeting took place from June 8
through
11 in San Jose, California, with the theme, "Catholicism and Public
Life."
In keeping with that conference theme, The Sacramental and Liturgical
Theology
Group's session was "Catholic Liturgy and Public Life."
Professor
David Fagerberg of Concordia College, Moorhead, MN, and Professor Bruce
Morrill
of Boston College presented papers. Professor Susan Wood of St. John's
University,
Collegeville, was the respondent. The two papers are posted here.
David
Fagerberg, Liturgy
as Icon:
Public Witness in a Pluralistic World
Bruce
Morrill, Public
Worship on the Catholic University Campus
1998
Meeting
Below
are links to papers presented at the
group's session
during the Society's 1998 meeting at Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The
session
was entitled, "Locating the Liturgy: Worship in Specific Contexts."
Five
panelists made brief presentations based on the papers available below.
The papers
are
saved in "pdf" format (portable
document
format), which requires the "Adobe Acrobat Reader" program. If you do
not
already have this program on your computer, you can download it free of
charge
by clinking on the following link: Adobe
Acrobat.
Please also note that when reading the papers you will at times have to
scroll
down white spaces (due to adjustments made in translating to this
format).