This is our catalog of courses. We will occasionally adjust the course listing to reflect the addition of new courses and the retirement of others.
So often we have a “hodgepodge” of information in our brain about our faith, instead of an organized knowledge of why we believe what we believe. It can also be hard to see how the facts we know about our faith, or even the faith in our hearts, can translate into day-to-day life. The goal of this course is to help students “organize” and add to their knowledge of the faith, as well as be able to see how the faith we profess in the pews each Sunday should extend beyond the Church building into everyday life – and to also see why that is so important in our lives and the lives of those that we encounter. Christian moral living is not boring, but leads to a more exciting life than we can imagine!
Total classes: 12
Prerequisite: None
Suggested grade level: 9th – 12th grade
Suggested credit: One semester of Theology
Description
In this course, we will take the often seemingly inaccessible world of Catholic Moral Theology and explore it on a level suitable for high schoolers. We will cover what morality is, as well as what true freedom is, where our conscience fits in, and why all of these things are far more than just a list of rules that God demands of us. We will look at how sin is not arbitrary, but a breaking of a real relationship, and why all of this matters even though the world around us tries to convince us that it does not. From there, we will move into a detailed study of the Beatitudes and the Commandments, and how they work together. Finally, we will take some time to focus on how all of this applies to our life, and how to practically live it out through prayer, service, and love for God and one another.
Outline
Class 1: Basis for Morality
Class 2: Moral Theology
Class 3: Freedom and the Moral Act
Class 4: Moral Conscience
Class 5: Morality and the Law
Class 6: Morality and Action
Class 7: Sin and Conversion Part 1
Class 8: Sin and Conversion Part 2
Class 9: Interlude – Scripture Study Basics
Class 10: The Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes
Class 11: The First Commandment
Class 12: The Second Commandment
Materials and Homework
Materials: Our Moral Life in Christ, Didache Series; ISBN: 978-1-890177-29-4. Check bookfinder.com for used copies.
Homework: Homework is an estimated 30 minutes to an hour outside of class each week. Weekly homework will consist of a mixture of vocabulary quizzes, responding to questions from the book, and essay questions on applicable topics.
Important Dates
Class dates: Wednesdays, September 4 to December 4, 2024. (No class Oct. 16 & Nov. 27)
Starting time: 2:30 PM Eastern (1:30 PM Central; 12:30 PM Mountain; 11:30 AM Pacific)
Duration: 55 minutes
