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1. Goal, conditions,
and basic principles of the program of study
1.1 Goal of the program
of study
The goal of the program of
study is a spiritual and practical preparation of women for ordination
in the Roman-Catholic Church.
1.2 Prerequisites for
participation
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The personal faith of each participant
is obviously a prerequisite. Those in charge of the program of study
will never presume to conduct an “examination of the faith.”
-
Each participant is expected
to have completed appropriate theological training.
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Each participant is expected
to be psychologically stable. The training group is not a self-help
group.
1.3 Basic principles
of the program of study
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The program of study is not
a makeshift substitute for theological study (prior theological training
is a prerequisite), but is an “on the job training program.”
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Participants are competent -
women train one another. Additional staff will be invited if needed.
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The core of the program of study
consists of 10 program units, each of which is to be scheduled for a weekend.
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Each unit of the program of
study deals with an individual topic.
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Course content will not be limited
to the program units but derives largely from practical experience in the
outside word.
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The program of study extends
over 3 semesters, and is consequently somewhat longer than one church year.
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Each participant will specialize
in two areas of pastoral emphasis which should not only reflect her personal
educational goals but also flow into the overall training via processes
of group dynamics.
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Each participant will provides
a comprehensive personal documentation of her training.
2. Course content
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Spirituality: Investigation
and experience of the priestly life; each participant selects for this
unit one other person to accompany on a spiritual path; practice of spiritual
exercises and forms.
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Sacraments: Theology,
spirituality, and practical exercises concerning all Catholic sacraments
and sacramentals.
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Liturgy: Theology and
practice of different forms of service; function of the presider;
practice primarily outside of the program of study units.
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Pastoral: All pastoral
areas with their special demands; death and grief counseling; ecumenical
issues; rudimentary familiarity with data processing, bookkeeping, and
the media.
-
Rhetoric and Homiletics: Instruction,
skills and suggestions for the liturgy of the word; practical exercises
concerning various topics; deepening of revelation.
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Psychology: Learning to
listen; conflicts: permission, accomplishment, solution; polarization;
group dynamics; teamwork, guidance and counseling.
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Creativity: Sacraments
for all the senses; creativity within all areas of the pastoral care.
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History of being called: Each
participant writes her personal history of being called; passing on of
personal experience; intensification of one’s own reflection over the vocation.
3. Structure and topics
of the units of the program of study
3.1 Basic structure of
the program of study units
The components for each of
the units will in each case be listed beneath a general topic, which serves
as a node to link a network of numerous individual strands.
The units are structured
as follows:
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- Evening: common spiritual
space
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- First half day: working in
groups in theory and practice
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- Second half day: personal
exposition of issues and preparation
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- Third half day: Practical
pastoral exercises
3.2 topics of the
units of the program of study:
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Unit: “I stand before you
with empty hands at the beginning of a path”
Beginning of the program
of study
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Unit: “Prophetess by virtue
of baptism”
Baptism and Easter
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Unit: “Women go before us”
Anointing in baptism,
confirmation, ordination, illness
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Unit: “The fire of the ruach
drove me here”
Pentecost and confirmation
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Unit: “You hand me the bread
and fill my cup”
We are invited to the meal
- Eucharist, Holy Thursday, Corpus Christi, Eucharistic Adoration
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Unit: “Capable of a new beginning”
Penance, Repentance,
Ash Wednesday, Lent, Advent, Renewal, Pilgrimage
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Unit: “God gave me a dearest
one”
Human relations, marriage,
living alone, high and low times, being mother, father, parents, childlessness,
Evangelical advice
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Unit: “You transformed my
tears into dancing”
Death and life, dying and
resurrection - life crises, illness, anointing of the sick, “getting well,”
dying, burial
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Unit: “You called me, and
I have come”
Vocation to holy orders,
prayer of the hours
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Unit: “I spread out my hands
and know that you fill them”
Ready for celebration,
ready for service
The program is available
in the German original and a French translation in the Austrian
WAC site. If you want to get in touch with the author,
please contact Christine Mayr at mmcml@ping.at
or c.mayr@mail.asn-linz.ac.at.
Translated by Ingrid
Shafer, 23 May 1999
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