ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE
Theology
Form your mind and your heart.
The Theology Department seeks to continue your formation in your knowledge and love of Christ in order to equip you to live as lifelong missionary disciples of Jesus in the world today. Our four-year curriculum is based on the U.S. Bishop’s Curriculum Framework for High School. In collaboration with Father Gabriel Richard’s Campus Ministry program, you will be offered a variety of opportunities to respond in faith and love to the intellectual formation received in the classroom, such as bi-weekly Mass and weekly adoration, class retreats, Christian service, penance days, and much more. In this way, the Theology program helps you both your mind and your heart.
We want you to love and live your Catholic faith. For our non-Catholic students, we hope you will gain an appreciation for the Catholic faith while further developing your personal relationship with Jesus in a respectful and supportive Catholic community. We want you to understand and be able to articulate the reasons for what you believe and to develop those beliefs into a Christian worldview that informs every aspect of your lives. Touched by the love of God and nourished by the sacraments, you will graduate equipped to lead lives of loving service to others.
Four credits of Theology are required for graduation. Each course has a Christian Service hour requirement incorporated.
Theology I
The Wonder of God’s Revelation
First-year theology covers foundational doctrines of the Catholic faith: the human person’s desire for God; Sacred Scripture as God’s Word to us; the fullness of God’s revelation in Jesus Christ; a survey of Old and New Testaments; the nature of faith; challenges to faith in God; and the doctrines of the Holy Trinity, the Incarnation and the Paschal Mystery.
Theology II
The Church (one semester)
This course will help students understand that they encounter the living Jesus Christ today in and through His Church. Students will understand that the Church is the means Jesus established for them to enter an intimate relationship with the God who loves them and who has called them to share that same love with the world.
Sacraments (one semester)
This course enables students to understand that they can experience Christ today in a full and real way in and through the sacraments, especially through the Eucharist. Students will examine each of these privileged encounters in detail to learn how they may encounter Christ throughout life.
Theology III
Moral Theology (one semester)
The third year of theology focuses on what it means to have new life in Christ through an in-depth examination of the moral teachings of the Catholic Church. Students will understand that it is only through Christ that they can find the happiness for which they long. Students are to learn the moral concepts and precepts that govern the life of Christ’s disciples, recognizing and embracing life in Christ as a life of freedom, happiness, joy, love, meaning and self-giving.
Catholic Social Teaching (one semester)
The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the Church’s social doctrine, which is a rich treasure of wisdom for building a “civilization of love” in which the dignity and rights of all people are respected so that human society reflects the love of the Trinity. Students will explore the major principles and themes of Catholic Social Teaching as articulated in the documents of the Magisterium. Through reading, writing, and discussion of these primary sources, students will learn to apply this teaching to current social problems and understand how the Church’s social doctrine leads to human flourishing. Students will grasp how Christ’s own loving concern for others, especially the poor and needy, is present today in the Church’s social teaching and mission.
Theology IV
Catholic Anthropology (one semester)
Studying St. Augustine’s Confessions, as well as St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body and The Meaning of Vocations, should enlighten the intellects of students to the horizon that awaits them in their future undertakings. The texts compel them to look within to understand who they are, what their purpose is, what it means to be truly human, and how to relentlessly pursue the fullness of truth as a lifelong endeavor.
Sacred Scripture (one semester)
The spring semester senior level course varies but will ordinarily be chosen from the possible elective themes of the U.S. Bishop’s Curriculum Framework for High School: Sacred Scripture, Church History, or World Religions.
Theology IV Intensive
Catholic Anthropology
The Theology IV Intensive course covers the same basic content as the regular course but is taught in a seminar style and is more intellectually rigorous.
Spring Semester
The Theology IV Intensive course covers the same basic content as the regular course but is taught in a seminar style and is more intellectually rigorous.
World Religions
May be taken in place of Theology IV Spring.
This world religions course aims to introduce students to major world religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Islam, Taoism, and more. We will learn about the origins, key doctrines, rituals, ethical principles, and historical development of different world religions, as well as explore the Church’s approach toward interreligious dialogue and the call to evangelization. The purpose is to compare and contrast beliefs of other religions to the Catholic faith, noting similarities and differences, to present the Church’s beliefs regarding both respect for people of other religious traditions and the call to evangelize all peoples, and to articulate how the fullness of truth is found in the Catholic faith.
Philosophy of the Human Person
Philosophy Elective
The Philosophy of the Human Person course will explore the most fascinating and mysterious thing in creation: you! We will look at what a person actually is, what true freedom is, the importance of language for thinking, the importance of beauty for awakening love, and the inherent dignity that each person has as being an unrepeatable and unique being. Be ready to be challenged to understand yourself more fully, to love more deeply, and to appreciate the gift of the other persons in your life. We will especially focus on the teachings of Pope Saint John Paul II and his personalistic philosophy, as well as the perennial teachings of St. Thomas Aquinas.
Modern Philosophy and Contemporary Problems
Philosophy Elective
The Modern Philosophy course aims to introduce students to the faulty, and yet powerful, ideas of modern philosophy as they affect our world today. It is important to see both why these philosophical ideas arose, and the long-term damage these ideas carry. Topics such as freedom, autonomy, science, progress, existentialism, materialism, communism, and human restlessness will be explored. Students will be challenged to understand the way in which the modern world (and their own thought) is affected by these erroneous teachings, while also being given the antidote to them.
Introduction to Philosophy
Philosophy Elective
Philosophy literally means “love of wisdom.” It is the quest for a life that is fully alive. Drawing on the insights of philosophers through the ages, we will discuss the deepest, most fascinating, and most important questions: How can we know what is true? Does God exist, and can we prove it? What is love, freedom, happiness, and real justice? Why is music so important? You will learn how to begin to answer these questions, and many more! This introduction to philosophy course will be a success if you come out of class with a basic understanding of the main themes in the history of philosophy and a new openness to wonder at the truth, goodness, and beauty of reality.