Only one registrant per registration is allowed. Each individual student must be registered to take the course, even if a third party is paying for the course.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course will serve as an introduction to the Church as a mystery of faith and as a human community, as presented by in particular the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The course will give to the Catechist a general overview of the origin, nature and mission of the mystery of the Church. The student will gain an appreciation for the implications and ramifications of the phrase: what the Church believes, is what the Church celebrates, is what the Church lives, is what the Church prays. The course will examine the essence and structure of the Church as the sacrament of salvation and the goal of the Church - union with the Trinity. The course will give the student the opportunity to further consider the Church as the Mystical Body of Christ and the People of God, with attention given to her understanding of ministry and service of its leaders and members. The roles of papal ministry, the college of bishops, teaching office, and Mary as a type of the Church will be incorporated into this overview. Finally, the course will examine the eschatological dimension of the Church as it is realized in her teaching of the resurrection of the body and its pastoral implications.
The goal of the course is that you will have a comfortable knowledge of the Catechism for your own personal spiritual growth and development, as well as for those entrusted to your care as a teacher/catechist. In this way you will be conversant with its teaching and theology so as to be able to properly critique and adapt religion books you use as a teacher in the parochial or high school catholic education system, or in parish based children or adult formation programs
Other themes explored:
Major historical periods of the Church
Ecclesia in America - Pastoral Implications
LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the conclusion of the course the student will be able to discuss the following topics and their relevance to a parish / school based catechetical program for believers of all ages:
To appreciate the role of the Church in God’s plan for salvation
To discuss relevant themes on Ecclesiology
To identify the important terminology associated with the study of Ecclesiology
To elaborate on the origin of the Church
To engage select themes about the nature of the Church
To discuss pastoral mission of the Church
To explain the hierarchical structure of the Church in service to her mission
To be aware of ecumenical implications of the mission
To elaborate on the eschatological dimension of the Church and its pastoral implications
TEXTS AND MATERIALS
Catechism of the Catholic Church. Second
Edition. Roma: Liberia
Editrice Vaticana, 1997.
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Compendium, Catechism of the CatholicChurch.
USCCB Publishing, Washington, D.C.,2006.
United States Catholic Catechism for Adults. USCCB Publishing, Washington, D.C., 2006.