Catholicism Course

Lesson 1 • The Modern Church and Vatican II

Surveys the Church from the 19th century through the Second Vatican Council. Establishes the contemporary Catholic framework students will study throughout the course.

Lesson 2 • Reformation and Counter-Reformation

Analyses the Protestant challenge and the Catholic Church's internal renewal response. Demonstrates how crisis shaped modern Catholic doctrine and discipline.

Lesson 3 • Formation of Catholic Identity

Examines how the Church defined itself through councils, creeds, and canon. Connects doctrinal formation to the chapter's focus on foundational identity.

Lesson 4 • The Church in the Medieval Period

Covers the Church's political and spiritual dominance in medieval Europe. Shows how institutional growth shaped Catholic culture and governance.

Lesson 1 • Sin, Grace, and Salvation

Teaches Catholic doctrines of original sin, actual sin, grace, and redemption. Provides the soteriological framework underlying sacramental and moral theology.

Lesson 2 • Eschatology: Death and Eternal Life

Presents Catholic teaching on death, judgment, purgatory, heaven, and hell. Completes the doctrinal arc from creation to final destiny.

Lesson 3 • Christology and the Incarnation

Examines Catholic teaching on Jesus Christ as fully human and fully divine. Connects Christology to salvation theology introduced later in the section.

Lesson 4 • Revelation, Scripture, and Tradition

Covers how Catholics understand divine revelation through Scripture and Sacred Tradition. Establishes the dual-source model that distinguishes Catholic from Protestant epistemology.

Lesson 1 • The Old Testament in Catholic Faith

Surveys key Old Testament themes: covenant, law, prophecy, and wisdom. Shows how the Old Testament is fulfilled and retained in Catholic theology.

Lesson 2 • Lectio Divina and Scriptural Prayer

Introduces the ancient Catholic practice of prayerful Scripture reading. Bridges academic study of the Bible with personal and communal spiritual formation.

Lesson 3 • Principles of Catholic Biblical Interpretation

Teaches the literal, allegorical, moral, and anagogical senses of Scripture. Equips students to read the Bible as the Church intends.

Lesson 4 • The New Testament and Catholic Teaching

Examines the Gospels, Epistles, and Revelation through a Catholic lens. Connects New Testament texts to sacramental and doctrinal life.

Lesson 1 • Sacramental Theology Foundations

Defines sacraments as outward signs instituted by Christ to confer grace. Establishes the theological framework applied to each individual sacrament.

Lesson 2 • Sacraments of Healing

Examines Reconciliation and Anointing of the Sick as sacraments that restore and strengthen. Connects healing sacraments to the Church's pastoral mission.

Lesson 3 • Sacraments at the Service of Communion

Addresses Holy Orders and Matrimony as sacraments ordered towards building the Church. Explains how these sacraments serve the community rather than primarily the individual.

Lesson 4 • Sacramentals and Popular Devotions

Distinguishes sacramentals from sacraments and surveys common Catholic devotional objects. Grounds popular piety within the Church's official sacramental framework.

Lesson 1 • Theology of the Liturgy

Defines liturgy as the public worship of the Church and the work of the Trinity. Establishes why liturgy is the source and summit of Catholic life.

Lesson 2 • The Liturgical Year

Maps the Catholic liturgical calendar: Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, and Ordinary Time. Shows how the year re-presents the mysteries of Christ's life.

Lesson 3 • The Liturgy of the Hours

Introduces the Divine Office as the Church's daily prayer sanctifying each hour. Teaches students to pray Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer.

Lesson 4 • The Structure of the Mass

Walks through every part of the Roman Rite Mass from Introductory Rites to Dismissal. Enables students to follow and understand each liturgical action and prayer.

Lesson 1 • The Ten Commandments in Catholic Teaching

Examines each commandment through the lens of Catholic moral tradition. Applies commandment-based ethics to contemporary personal and social situations.

Lesson 2 • Bioethics and Contemporary Moral Issues

Applies Catholic moral principles to life issues, medical ethics, and sexuality. Equips students to engage contemporary ethical debates from a Catholic perspective.

Lesson 3 • Social Justice and Catholic Social Teaching

Surveys the major principles of Catholic Social Teaching: dignity, solidarity, and subsidiarity. Connects moral theology to structural and political dimensions of justice.

Lesson 4 • Foundations of Catholic Moral Theology

Introduces natural law, conscience, and the sources of morality in Catholic thought. Provides the ethical framework used throughout the chapter.

Lesson 1 • Contemplative Prayer and Mysticism

Introduces the stages of contemplative prayer and the Catholic mystical tradition. Connects mystical theology to the universal call to holiness.

Lesson 2 • Major Catholic Spiritual Traditions

Surveys Benedictine, Franciscan, Dominican, Ignatian, and Carmelite spiritualities. Shows how each tradition offers a distinct path to holiness within Catholic unity.

Lesson 3 • Marian Devotion and the Saints

Explains Catholic teaching on Mary's role and the communion of saints. Distinguishes veneration from worship and presents key Marian doctrines.

Lesson 4 • Spiritual Direction and Formation

Explains the role of a spiritual director and the process of ongoing spiritual formation. Equips students to seek and benefit from guided spiritual accompaniment.

Lesson 1 • Evangelisation and Mission

Presents the Church's missionary mandate and the theology of evangelisation. Connects mission to the Great Commission and the Church's universal call.

Lesson 2 • Ecclesiology: The Nature of the Church

Defines the Church using the four marks: one, holy, catholic, and apostolic. Establishes the theological identity of the Church as the Body of Christ.

Lesson 3 • Ecumenism and Interfaith Dialogue

Surveys Catholic principles for dialogue with other Christians and world religions. Applies Vatican II's ecumenical vision to contemporary relationships.

Lesson 4 • The Church in the Contemporary World

Examines the Church's engagement with modern culture, politics, and global challenges. Synthesises the entire course by situating the Church in today's world.