Essentials of the Catholic Faith, Courses and Descriptions

In this course, participants will learn the foundational elements of belief in Jesus Christ and in His message, as transmitted through the Church. This course will examine the desire for God in each person, the sources of Revelation, the unique features of Scripture, the Church’s teachings on Creation and the pertinence of Original Sin for today.

Sessions:

1. My Soul Longs for You, O God
2. God Comes to Meet Us
3. Proclaim the Gospel to Every Creature
4. A Catholic Understanding of Scripture
5. Bring About the Obedience of Faith
6. I Believe in God
7. Man and Woman in the Beginning
8. Philosophical Foundations of the Faith

This course will examine God’s response to the entrance of sin in the world and how He regathered His family through the institution of the covenants. Emphasis will be on God’s covenants with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses and David and how they prepared for the universal covenant with Christ.

Sessions:

1. Creation – God Gives Us Life
2. The Fall – Sin Enters the World
3. God’s Covenant with Noah
4. God’s Covenant with Abraham
5. Moses and the Passover Covenant
6. Moses and the Ten Commandments
7. The Establishment of the Kingdom of David

This course will study the ministry of Christ in light of narrative of the Gospel of St. Matthew, described by Pope John Paul II as the Gospel of the Catechist. Emphasis will be on understanding the Gospels as a continuation and the culmination of God’s plan of salvation that began in the Old Testament. It will also give an overview of the history of the Church, from the Acts of the Apostles until the present day.

Sessions:

1. The Infancy of Christ – A Savior is Born
2. Jesus’ Ministry Begins
3. Healings, Miracles and Apostles
4.Jesus Establishes the Kingdom
5. Jesus Enters Jerusalem
6. The Death and Resurrection of Jesus
7. Acts of the Apostles
8. History of the Church

This course will examine the Church’s teaching about the Person of Christ the Second Person of the Trinity. It will also look at how Jesus established the Church to continue His ministry on earth, and the role of His mother Mary as His model disciple. It will look at the resurrection of the dead and our eternal sharing in the divine life.

Sessions:

1. The Good News: God Has Sent His Son
2. The Saving Death and Resurrection of Christ
3. Receive the Holy Spirit
4. The Church: Reflecting the Light of Christ
5. The Four Marks of the Church
6. Mary: The Church’s First and Most Perfect Member
7. Our Eternal Destiny

This course will look at the purpose of liturgy and sacraments in God’s plan of salvation and in the life of the Church today. It will also look at each of the seven Sacraments and how they make God’s grace present in the life of the recipient.

Sessions:

1. The Celebration of the Paschal Mystery of Christ
2. Baptism: Becoming a Christian
3. Confirmation: Consecrated for Mission
4. The Eucharist: Source and Summit of the Christian Life
5. Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation: God is Rich in Mercy
6. Anointing the Sick and the Dying
7. Holy Orders
8. The Sacrament of Marriage
9. Sacramentals and Popular Devotions

The course will examine the foundation of the Church’s teachings on morality as rooted in the uniqueness of each person as being created in God’s image and likeness. It will begin to look at the Ten Commandments, focusing on the commandments that orient our lives to the love of God.

Continuing the discussion on the Ten Commandments, this course will discuss the social teachings of the Church, focusing on Commandments Four through Ten, the commandments that order social relationships.

Sessions:

1. The Fourth Commandment
2. The Fifth Commandment
3. The Sixth Commandment
4. The Seventh Commandment
5. The Eighth Commandment
6. The Ninth Commandment
7. The Tenth Commandment

This course examines the nature of Prayer and Christian Spirituality as understood within the Catholic tradition. Participants will become familiar with Church teaching concerning the nature of prayer and in particular the Our Father as the model for all prayer.

Sessions:

1. God Calls Us to Pray: The Foundations of Prayer
2. Jesus Taught Us to Pray