The Body of Christ is called to be a faithful witness to the Gospel, with each member having a crucial personal mission. To this end, the Catholic bishops have revised and expanded their Guidelines for the Celebration of the Sacraments with Persons with Disabilities to help assure that people with disabilities are able to participate in the sacramental life of the Church and share their own gifts as missionary disciples. Use these guidelines to Review how parish and diocesan policies and practices affect persons with physical or intellectual disabilities, especially regarding the reception of the sacraments. Identify material accommodations that can help parishioners with disabilities be fully engaged in parish sacramental life. Implement good pastoral policies to form a parish community that supports all its members. Pastors, parish pastoral staff, and lay volunteers who work in evangelization, catechesis, and sacramental preparation, as well as diocesan staff, will find these guidelines helpful as they continue to work to strengthen their communities.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 540-542) and indexes.

Vol. 6 spine title: Pastoral letters. Includes bibliographical references and indexes. v. 6. 1989-1997.

In the Sacrament of Reconciliation, the encounter of the penitent with the mercy of God is one of the most transforming moments in the spiritual life of a Catholic. The ritual itself has changed throughout history, but the purpose of the sacrament has remained the same: to seek the forgiveness of the Lord and to renew one’s efforts to live as a faithful and loving disciple of Jesus Christ. This resource provides pastoral insights for celebrating individual confession, communal Reconciliation services, and non-sacramental penance services with attention given to liturgical ministries, liturgical environment, and evangelization.

A child begs her father to take her to the baseball game, where she roots for the home team and eats peanuts and Cracker Jack.

An indispensable resource for clergy, students, and liturgists, this revised volume assembles the liturgical documents needed for the study and preparation of parish sacramental rites, and other liturgies, such as Masses with children, the Liturgy of the Hours, and Eucharistic adoration. This second edition now includes the praenotanda from the sacramental rites, along with additional documents needed to prepare the Mass, blessings, and the Sacred Paschal Triduum. A pastoral overview introduces each document, explaining the purpose of the document, the degree of its authority, and its practical implications. With an extensive index and a glossary of terms, this volume is designed for easy navigation and frequent reference.

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The sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick plays a significant role in the lives of many throughout the Church, but confusion over the sacrament can result in individuals not receiving this important comfort from the Church. Understanding Sacramental Healing: Anointing and Viaticum explores the rich history of the sacrament and addresses the changes that have occurred since the Second Vatican Council by providing a theological basis for the history and pastoral practice of the sacrament of the sick. Father John Kasza offers a cohesive and concise synthesis of the disciplines of theology, canon law, medicine, anthropology, and liturgy geared toward assisting the practitioner in using the ritual to the fullest extent possible. He also builds a greater appreciation of the sacrament and its part in the Church's role as healer in today's society. By recognizing the theological tradition of the sacrament of the sick, Understanding Sacramental Healing: Anointing and Viaticum becomes an incisive reflection on the current state of the sacrament that will bring all-priest sand ministers of care-to a greater understanding of the sacrament. The author examines: -The liturgical development of the sacrament in light of the Second Vatican Council. -The practical implementation of the sacrament in both parish and diocesan venues in the 40 years since the close of the Council. -The nature of illness, how illness affects someone, and how the Church responds to those suffering from an illness. -The criteria for the reception of the sacrament and how its use may be broadened.

Co-workers in the Vineyard of the Lord offers pastoral and theological reflections on the reality of lay ecclesial ministry, affirmation of those who serve in this way, and a synthesis of best thinking and practice.