Theology

Required of 9th grade students

The course will focus on the theology of the Catholic Church. It will introduce the students to the principal Catholic beliefs, rituals, and values, as handed over by the Tradition, and taught by the Magisterium. Special attention will be given to the following topics: the universal call to holiness, prayer, the Holy Trinity, the Church, the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Bible, and the Revelation.

Required of 9th grade students

This course will provide a basic understanding of the Catholic Liturgy and sacramentality. It will explore in detail each of the seven Sacraments, so that the students may participate more fully in the celebration and reception of them. In addition, there will be an initiation to the various schools of prayer (such as Benedictine, Ignatian, or Carmelite) within the Tradition of the Church

Offered to 9th grade students by Department Approval

Theology Seminar will be offered as an alternative course in the Theology Department directed at freshmen who have a strong background in Catholic education and a sound familiarity with the foundations of Catholicism. In addition to a preliminary review of Creedal and Sacramental theology, the seminar-structured course will have a particular focus on selected Catholic literature, writings of Church Doctors and Fathers, Magisterial documents, Mariology and particular Catholic perspectives on modern culture. Students will be selected to explore themes from these sources and will work toward an advanced understanding and application of progressive theological ideas and concepts.

Required of 10th grade students

This course teaches an historical and theological overview of the Old Testament. Students will study the Jewish people, their covenant with God, and how the events of the Old Testament prepared us for the coming of Jesus Christ. Themes covered will include Creation, the Patriarchs, the Mosaic Law, the rise and fall of the kingdom of Israel, the prophets, worship and sacrifice. Students will also learn the differences between Catholic and other Christian canons. The course approaches the teaching and interpretation of Scripture from the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Required of 11th grade students

This course will give the student the knowledge of how we are to live based on our Christian beliefs. It will discuss principles for living a morally upright life based on the belief that the human person is made in the image and likeness of God. Upon completion of the course, the student will have a thorough grasp of key moral concepts, such as natural law, free choice, grave and slight matter, sufficient knowledge and freedom, charter, conscience, sin, moral absolutes, virtue, human fulfillment and the Principle of Double Effect. This will provide the necessary foundation to a discussion of specific moral principles. Students will be offered the scriptural, theological and philosophical principles that will enable them to make correct moral choices from the light of the Catholic Faith.

Required of 11th grade students

This course will examine Church History from the death of Christ to the present, seen as a history of salvation—God at work among His people. This course will also stress the contribution of Catholic faith to civilization, as seen variously in art, architecture, music, and the Church’s saints.

Required of 12th grade students

This course invites students to re-examine their personal faith in more depth by opening doors to the spiritual riches and specificities of the major world religions. It also gives them tools to better understand today’s world and to prepare for tomorrow’s encounters and challenges in which religion is to play a decisive part. First, the course examines the key elements of religion in general. The second part examines Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, and Shintoism.

Required of 12th grade students

The Catholic Theoretical views on vocation will emphasize the study of key concepts and views pertaining to the doctrine of vocation in the Catholic tradition: the universal call to holiness, the universal vocation of love, and the types of vocation. The course will also offer the students the time and tools to reflect on their personality, their aspirations, their potentialities and limits, all aspects of a person through which the call of God is incarnated and knowledgeable. This invitation to a better self-knowledge will go along with a reflection on its concrete consequences for a vocational choice.

Offered to 10th – 12th grade students

This class provides a formation in and practical initiation into Catholic social teachings and initiatives. Students are guided through research into specific areas of Catholic social teachings, the history of social justice movements, and the current activities of those who pursue Catholic social teachings.