Confirmed Dramaturgy Presentation

by Allyson Jane Simmons

• The term “catholic” comes from the Greek word katholik__Æ’í¬, which means literally “according to the whole” or “universal.”
• In the centuries that followed Jesus’ death, most Christians promoted what was called “Catholic Christianity”—what the ancient Apostles’ Creed (circa 150 CE) professed as the “one holy, catholic church.”
• At that time, Roman culture and the Latin language dominated the West, so the term “Roman Catholicism” became synonymous with western Christianity. From the early centuries CE through the Middle Ages, Roman Catholic beliefs, traditions, practices, and institutions were the normative form of Christianity.
• The Eastern half of the church split from the Western half in the Great Schism (1054) because of several issues. One of the reasons related to the Eastern church’s rejection of the Pope’s authority. The Eastern Church became known as the Eastern Orthodox Church while the Western Church became known as the Catholic Church.
• Catholics are members of the Roman Catholic Church (which means they follow the authority of the bishop of Rome, otherwise known as the pope)
• In the sixteenth century, the Protestant Reformation began . . . the protestors broke away and set up their own church structures and organizations—ushering in the birth of Protestantism.

Origins of Catholicism

Catholics vs. Protestants

The pope is the head of the worldwide Church, the earthly representative of Christ in the world, and leads the Church in determining what is true, right, and proper for all Catholics. The pope is preserved from any possibility of error when speaking on morals to be held by the Church.

​

Catholics regard the Mother Mary as an example of faith and holiness. According to tradition, she was born without sin and remained sinless throughout her life. Catholics pray to her, as with other saints, to intercede for them with her Son with whom she is in perfect communion.

​

Roman Catholics believe that a person’s actions play a significant role in one’s standing with God because actions are external expressions of one’s inner faith. For Catholics, good deeds can achieve penance for sins or limit one’s time in Purgatory after death.

​

Roman Catholics embrace mystery, hierarchy, rituals, liturgy, structure, and more symbolic actions in worship.

For Catholics, the focus of the Mass is the Eucharist or Holy Communion.

​

​

Protestants, on the other hand, do not believe in a hierarchical structure that culminates in one individual who could speak definitively and proclaim truth without error

​

Though Protestants may have a high view of Mary, they do not hold her in the same regard. As such, they typically do not pray to Mary or make her a focal point of artwork or iconography in the same way Roman Catholics do.

​

Protestants believe that justification by grace through faith is the only way for a person to enjoy a righteous standing before God. In this view, good works are done out of gratitude and are seen as a result of faith, but alone can earn no merit with God.

​

Protestants, on the other hand, developed worship services that are plain and straightforward, focusing on Scripture. For Protestants, the central moment of worship comes with the sermon—when the minister stands to preach from the Bible

​

The Catholic Hierarchy

The Catholic Hierarchy

How to Dress for Church

Traditional Dress Code

• Women and girls must have their heads covered and wear dresses or skirts that cover the knees when sitting or standing. No slacks or pant suits, please. Shorts, sleeveless tops and dresses and revealing and tight fitting clothing are forbidden.
• For men: coat and tie, shirttail tucked in.
• Jeans and athletic shoes and other forms of casual dress are inappropriate for Sunday Mass and for Masses on Holy Days of Obligation.

Palm Sunday Dress

• Many people wear red or purple to reflect the liturgical colors of Holy Week
• For women, modest and elegant clothing is common, such as a dress, skirt, or dress pants paired with a blouse or sweater.
• Men often wear dress pants or slacks with a button-up shirt or polo.
• Girls often wear simple, modest dresses, while boys may wear dress pants with a collared shirt.

How to Dress for Confirmation

Catholic Sacraments

Catholics believe that all people are basically good, but sin is a spiritual disease that wounded humankind initially and can kill humankind spiritually if left unchecked. Divine grace is the only remedy for sin, and the best source of divine grace is from the sacraments, which are various rites that Catholics believe have been created by Jesus Christ and entrusted by Him to His Church.

Catholic Sacraments

Officially, there are seven sacraments in the Catholic Church. To become a member of the Catholic Church, there are three sacraments to be celebrated to complete the initiation process: Baptism, Confirmation, & Eucharist (sometimes called Communion). Adults who are being baptised will celebrate Confirmation and receive their First Eucharist in the same Mass.

Other Catholic Sacraments

Confession

Holy Orders

Anointing of the Sick

Matrimony

“In baptism, God marks us unconditionally as a member of His family and co heir with Christ, children by adoption. Once baptized, at whatever age, we can no more choose to cease being a child of God than we can choose to cease being the child of our natural mother. Confirmation is not our 'confirming’ Baptism or our faith in Christ; it is Christ confirming us in the Christian life we are already living.”

Bishop Alvaro Corrada of Tyler, Texas

• Through sacramental communion with the bishop - which confirmation emphasizes in a dramatic and memorable way - the Christian is incorporated into the communion of the local church and, through it, the universal Church.
• The gift of grace imparted through confirmation can be called the grace of the Holy Spirit in a particular way. This gift is twofold: it includes both the Holy Spirit Himself and the seven gifts properly attributed to the Holy Spirit: wisdom, understanding, counsel, knowledge, fortitude, piety, and fear of the Lord. The oration that precedes the essential rite of anointing with oil beseeches God for both the Holy Spirit and these seven gifts
• To receive confirmation, the recipient must meet five basic criteria: have the use of reason, be baptized and not confirmed, suitably instructed, properly disposed, and capable of renewing the baptismal promises.
• Reception of confirmation during the teen years has become common and even encouraged only since the 1970s.
• Sponsors, according to the Rite of Confirmation, will help the confirmed "to fulfill their baptismal promises faithfully under the influence of the Holy Spirit whom they have received." The sponsor has an ongoing responsibility "to see that the confirmed person acts as a true witness to Christ and faithfully fulfills the obligations connected with this sacrament."

Confirmation

How to Pray the Rosary

Quiz 1: Which Catholic Saint Are You?

Patron Saints in Our Play

Sophia of Rome

Elizabeth Ann Seton

Catherine of Alexandria

Joan of Arc

Patron Saints in Our Play

Catherine of Alexandria

Elizabeth Ann Seton

• She was the first American to be canonized as a saint
• During her life, her mother, husband, and daughters died
• She began the first Catholic School, first Catholic Orphanage, and first community of Catholic nuns in the United States
• Patron saint of Catholic schools, widows, the state of Maryland, and seafarers

• Early in her life she had a vision of Mother Mary, which sparked her conversion into Christianity
• Emperor Maxentius commanded that she be bound to the spiked wheel for rejecting him, but when she was tied to it, the wheel broke and injured her executors. They decapitated her
• Patron saint of students, teachers, philosophers, and unmarried women

Patron Saints in Our Play

Joan of Arc

Sophia of Rome

• She was the mother of Faith, Hope and Love, who at ages nine to twelve, were tortured and murdered for refusing to denounce Christ
• She died days later at their tomb.
• Patron saint of wisdom, widows, and mothers

• Beginning around age thirteen, she began hearing voices from saints saying she was to drive the English from France
• She lifted the siege of Orléans and led Charles to his coronation
• At nineteen, she was captured, sold to the English, and burned at the stake
• Patron saint of France, soldiers, prisoners, and women in the military

“If one is not careful, service projects before Confirmation can seem to be demonstrating an ability to do things, and Confirmation becomes a type of graduation into an adult faith. This abuse of pragmatism can result in failing to recognize that the desire ‘to do’ or to praise God is itself a grace, as is the capacity to do good.”

Bishop Alvaro Corrada of Tyler, Texas

CCD Classes

Since the 1900s, Catholic kids in public schools could attend classes outside of school that mirrored those in parochial grade schools. These were called CCD classes because they were developed under the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine. The CCD was established in Rome in 1562, spread throughout Europe in the late 1600’s and 1700’s, and came to the U.S. in 1905 when Pope Pious decreed that every parish in the world should have a CCD.

Catholic Youth Groups

A 2004 study showed that nearly a quarter of Catholic youth groups engage in justice and peace education activities compared with five percent or less of Protestant youth groups. On the other hand, less than one-quarter of the Catholic youth groups engage in Bible study, compared with over 90% of evangelical Protestant youth groups.

Statistics on U.S. Catholics

20% of U.S. adults describe themselves as Catholics. This percentage has been generally stable since 2014.

​

Currently, the Catholic population is 54% White, 36% Hispanic, 4% Asian and 2% Black. Since 2007, the share who are White has dropped by 10 percentage points, while the share who are Hispanic has grown by 7 points.

​

More than four-in-ten U.S. Catholics are immigrants (29%) or the children of immigrants (14%). By contrast, 83% of White Catholics are from families who have been in the U.S. for three generations or longer.

​

Nearly six-in-ten Catholic adults (58%) are ages 50 and older. 14% of Hispanic Catholics and 20% of Asian Catholics are ages 65 and older, versus 39% of White Catholics.

​

​

Roughly three-in-ten (29%) live in the South, while 26% live in the Northeast, 25% in the West and 20% in the Midwest.

​

More than one-third of U.S. Catholics (35%) have a bachelor’s degree. Another 27% have some college experience but not a bachelor’s degree, and 38% have a high school education or less.

​

About three-in-ten U.S. Catholics (29%) say they attend Mass weekly or more often. By contrast, 10% say they attend Mass a few times a year or less, pray seldom or never, and consider religion not too or not all important.

​

While the Catholic Church opposes abortion, 59% of Catholics say abortion should be legal. This includes 35% who say it should be legal in most cases and 25% who say it should be legal in all cases.

One Response to Sexuality

“Few come from a feminist theology, which is to look at the gospel from the point of view of those who are marginalized and who are on the outskirts. Who were women? They are the disenfranchised. And also to remember all those who are with us at the outskirts. It is to make everyone feel completely valid and an equal recipient. God being there for all of us, but certainly the poorest of the poor.”

Beth, pastoral associate at St. Mary's parish

Quiz 2: Can You Ace Catholic School?

Have any questions?

Email: allysonjanesimmons@gmail.com