DON BOSCO TECHNICAL COLLEGE

College Department, Mandaluyong City

THEO 3B: SACRAMENTS

I. COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course is about the seven sacraments instituted by Jesus Christ and
entrusted to the Church. The discussion of each sacrament is in accordance
with the Church’s deposit of faith. It covers only the official sacraments in the
context of the Catholic Church of the Latin or Roman Rite. This is specifically
designed for college-level students. It is important that the students must
have some basic catechetical knowledge before studying this particular
subject. The discussion of the sacraments follows the schema laid out in the
definitive edition of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
At the end of the semester, the students are expected to have a solid
understanding of the fundamental elements of the seven sacraments and, at
the same time, have an acute awareness of their applications in real life.
II. TOPIC OUTLINE
A. General introduction
B. Sacraments of Christian Initiation
i. Baptism
ii. Confirmation
iii. Holy Eucharist
C. Sacraments of Healing
i. Penance and Reconciliation
ii. Anointing of the Sick
D. Sacraments at the Service of Communion
i. Holy Orders
ii. Matrimony
II. SCHEDULE OF CLASSES/ACTIVITIES:
A. 1st Week
i. Areas for evaluation
ii. Course requirements
iii. Class organization
iv. Lecture 1: General Introduction on the Sacraments
v. Homework 1: Read articles and scripture passages on Baptism;
prepare for a debate next week on the question “Is Baptism
necessary for Salvation?”
B. 2nd Week
i. Class Debate #1: Topic – “Is Baptism necessary for Salvation?”
ii. Lecture 2: Sacraments of Christian Initiation: Baptism
iii. Homework 2: Read and reflect John 3:1-5; submit a reflection
paper (1st).
C. 3rd Week
i. Conclusion of Lecture 2
ii. Lecture 3: Sacraments of Christian Initiation: Confirmation
 iii. Homework 3: Make a research on the different parts of the Holy
Mass and prepare for an informal reporting (1st) next week.
D. 4th Week
i. Group Interaction on the Parts of the Eucharistic Celebration
ii. Lecture 4: Sacraments of Christian Initiation: Eucharist
E. 5th Week
i. Movie #1
ii. Homework 4: Make a reaction paper (1st) on the Movie; submit
next week.
F. 6th Week
i. PRELIM EXAM
G. 7th Week
i. Lecture 5: Sacraments of Healing
• General Introduction
• Sacraments of Healing: Penance and Reconciliation
ii. Homework 5: Prepare for a 2nd debate (see 8th Week).
H. 8th Week
i. Class Debate #2: “Knowing that we continue to commit the
same sins over and over again, do we still need to go to
confession?”
ii. Conclusion of Lecture 5
iii. Homework 6: Write a reflection paper (2nd) regarding your
personal stories of committing personal sins and of being forgiven.
I. 9th Week
i. Lecture 6: Sacraments of Healing: Anointing of the Sick
ii. Conclusion of the Sacraments of Healing
iii. Homework 7: Group interview (see instruction below)
• Interview a seminarian or a deacon
• Ask about his important biographical information and
vocation story
• Ask him the question “Why did you decide to enter the
seminary?”
• Prepare for an informal reporting (2nd) about the interview
experience and some important details about the
seminarian/deacon; part of the report is submitting a group
picture together with the seminarian or deacon .
J. 10 Week
th

i. Lecture 7: Sacraments at the service of communion

• General Introduction
• Group Reporting (informal)
ii. Vocation Talk by a Salesian seminarian, followed by class
interaction, Q & A
K. 11 Week
th

i. Lecture 8: Sacraments at the service of communion: Holy

Orders
ii. Homework 8: Write down your personal stories of love, rejection,
courtship and commitment. Include your reflections, realizations,
and resolutions (3rd)
ii
 L. 12th Week
i. Group Interaction (regarding the homework) and processing.
ii. Lecture 9: General review regarding the Church’s views on Love,
Sexuality, Courtship and Commitment; Love as the foundation of
Marriage
M. 13th Week
i. Conclusion of Lecture 10
ii. Lecture 10: Sacraments at the service of communion:
Matrimony
N. 14th Week
i. Movie #2
ii. Movie analysis and discussion
O. 15th Week: FINAL EXAM (See below for more details. Part I = written
form; Part II = video synthesis)
III. AREAS FOR EVALUATION:
Attendance, Class Participation - 20%
Homeworks - 30%
Prelim Exam (Written) - 20%
Final Exam (Video synthesis - 60%, Written exam - 40%) - 30%
Total - 100%
IV. COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
i. Homeworks
• Four (4) paper works:
- Reflection papers (3)
- Reaction paper on the 1st movie
- Note: The official paper size to be used is short bond paper,
8.5” x 11”. Unless indicated otherwise, all paper works must be
computerized with at least an inch (1”) of margin on all sides of
the paper, and must have a font size of twelve (12), with either
of the following Font styles: Times New Roman, Footlight MT
Light, Book Antigua, Calibri, Cambria, Bell, Calisto MT, Century,
Arial
• Two (2) Informal Reports
ii. Class Debates (2)
• The class will be divided equally into 2 groups
• It must be participated by each member of the group
• Each member will receive the same score within that same group
• This will be included in the Class Participation
iii. Final Exam
• 60% = Video Synthesis = individual project(see below)
• 40% = Written type, which will be held on the final meeting
Individual project
1. Each student will make a summary and
synthesis of the seven sacraments, taking into account the
fundamental elements of each sacrament. This will be in a form
of a video presentation and must be uploaded in the
internet.

iii
 2. The student’s name must be included in
the introductory credits, or at the beginning of the video.
3. The student uses his/her creativity in
creating an video using picture montage, original video clips or
picture slides, using original or downloaded pictures. It must
have a suitable background music.
4. Duration: 20 mins. maximum; 6 mins
minimum.
5. Email your video link to the email address
of the instructor.
Scheme of submission of the individual project:
1. 1st two weeks of March : 60 + 10
points
2. 3rd Week of March : 60 pts only
3. Last Week of March : deduction of
10 pts per day
4. April and beyond : projects will no
longer be accepted

V. BIBLIOGRAPHY

The Jerusalem Bible

The New American Bible

Catechism of the Catholic Church. Definitive ed. Manila: Word and Life
Publications, 1994.

Code of Canon Law. English trans. Pasay City: Paulines Publishing House,
2001.

Marriage Rite for the Philippines. Catholic Trade School, 1973

The Rites of the Catholic Church as Revised by the Second Vatican

Ecumenical Council. Study Edition. New York: Pueblo Publishing Co.,
1983.

Bouley, ed. Catholic Rites Today: Abridged Texts for Students. Minnesota: The
Liturgical Press, 1992.

Cabonce, Rodolfo Page, ed. Si Kristo Kinabuhi: Mga Katin-awan sa Katesismo.

Flannery, Austin, general ed. Vatican Council II. New Revised Edition. Vol. 1,
The Concillar and Post Concillar Documents. New York: Costello
Publishing Company, 1975.

Flannery, Austin, gen. ed. Vatican Council II: More Post Conciliar Documents.
Vol. 2. Pasay City: Paulines Publishing House, 1982.

iv
Furnish, Victor. The Moral Teaching of Paul. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1979.

Glazier, Michael and Monika K. Hellwig, eds. The Modern Catholic

Encyclopedia. Bangalore: Claretian Publications, 1997.

Guzie, Tad. The Book of Sacramental Basics. New York: Paulist Press, 1981.

Haring, Bernard. A Sacramental Spirituality. New York: Sheed and Ward, 1963.

Heenan, John. Confession. New York: Sheed and Ward, 1937.

Horst, Rudolf. The Making of a Christian. 1988.

Joncas, J.M. Les benedictions dans le Rituel de Marriage de 1991

Latourelle, René, and Rino Fisichella, eds. Dictionary of Fundamental

Theology. English-language edition. New York: The Crossroad Publishing
Company, 1994.

Mackin, Theodore. What is marriage? New York: Paulist Press, 1982.

Macquarrie, John. A Guide to the Sacraments. New York: The Continuum

Publishing Company, 1998.

Martos, Joseph. The Sacraments: Seven Stories of Growth. Missuori: Liguori

Publications, 1989.

Martos, Joseph. Doors to the Sacred: A Historical Introduction to Sacraments

in the Catholic Church. Revised and updated ed. Missuori:
Liguori/Triumph, 2001.

McCauley, George. Sacraments for Secular Man. New Jersey: Dimension

Books, 1999.
Payawal, Cecilia. Handouts on Sacramental Theology. 2009

Pope John Paul II. Splendor Veritatis. August 6, 1993.

Pope John Paul II. Reconciliatio et Penitentia. December 1984.

Searle, Mark and Kenneth W. Stevenson. Documents of the Marriage Liturgy.

Minnesota: The Liturgical Press, 1992.

Simons, Thomas G. Blessings: A reappraisal of their nature, purpose and

celebration. California: Resource Publications Inc., 1981

Tejon, Guillermo. Church and Sacraments in the Life of a Christian. Manila: Life
Today Publications, 2006.

v
- God Bless -

vi