The Christian Doctrine of the Trinity affirms that while God is one, He exists as three persons. The Athanasian Creed says that we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity. “There is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Spirit.” They are all one, coeternal, uncreated, incomprehensible, and almighty. Yet there are three persons, distinguished by the fact that the Father is unbegotten, the Son begotten, and the Spirit proceeding from the Father and the Son.

Is such a doctrine intelligible, and does it either illuminate Christian faith or guard essential truths of our belief?

That is the heart of the question to be examined in the above course by Reverend Michael Barth, the adjutant judicial vicar of the Tribunal for the Diocese of Covington, Pastor of St. Matthew Parish, and instructor for Adult Faith Formation and Catechists Certification Courses. He will discuss the historical roots of the doctrine and the leading ways in which it has been interpreted in Christian history.

The study of last things is called eschatology from the Greek word eschatos, meaning “the last or extreme.”

The stages of eschatology include: individual human death, particular judgment, then heaven, purgatory or hell, the end of the world, the living being “taken up,” the resurrection of the body, the Second Coming of Christ, general judgment, and the New Creation.

Christians accept that the first of the “last things” of human life is physical death.

The Divine Revelation tells us that the origin of human death is the sin of Adam and Eve. And the punishment for the original sin is found in Genesis 3:19: by the sweat of your face shall you get bread to eat, until you return to the ground, from which you were taken; for you are dirt, and to dirt you shall return.

Reverend Michael Barth, adjutant judicial vicar of the Tribunal for the Diocese of Covington, Pastor of St. Matthew Parish, and instructor for Adult Faith Formation and Catechists Certification Courses will discuss the historical roots of the doctrine of Eschatology and the leading ways in which it has been interpreted in Christian history.

Grasp the beauty and depth of the Catholic Faith as it unfolds in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Reverend Martin Pitstick, the Pastor of Sts. Peter and Paul Parish will offer these five courses in depth at St. Joseph Parish, Cold Spring – an introductory course and four courses each based on one of the pillars of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Adults who complete all of these courses will be able to present Catholic teaching using accurate language and appropriate documentation. Each course includes a study of the Catechism content, its catechetical significance, and spiritual insights.

The following are the integrated courses on the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

  • Introduction to the Catechism of the Catholic Church
  • The Profession of Faith
  • The Celebration of the Christian Mystery
  • Life in Christ
  • Christian Prayer

This series provides a systematic program of study to help lay volunteers, religious, deacons, priests, parents, teachers and catechists as they teach, evangelize, and defend the Faith.

Historical and contemporary elements of the Church of Rome, especially in the context of its role in the universal Catholic Church will be discussed with Reverend Raymond Enzweiler, Vice Rector of the Cathedral Parish, associate Professor at Thomas More College, and instructor for Adult Faith Formation and Catechists Certification/Accreditation Courses.

Topics will include:

  • The Papacy
  • The Tomb of St. Peter
  • The Holy See and its dicasteries
  • Vatican City State
  • The major basilicas and churches with an aside on our Cathedral Basilica

The Adult Learner will discover:

  • WHY a new missal now? What prompted the promulgation of the third edition? What is the same/different between the third edition soon to be implemented and the Sacramentary we are presently using?
  • WHAT will this new Missal sound like? What kind of worship language does it promote? Examples will be given of good texts with rich imagery and Scripture use. Examples will be given of challenging texts where the syntax is cumbersome and will sound very foreign to us.
  • HOW will the appropriation of this new Missal affect each of us? What are some of the theological, spiritual, and pastoral challenges embedded in the new Missal?
  • WHO will this Roman Missal affect? How are the assembly’s responses changed? How will we learn them? How difficult will this be? What about the music? Questions and interaction among participants will be an integral part of the workshop.

Adult Learners will be able to:

  • Discover ways to develop a multi-sensory prayer environment, make the place part of the prayer, and enter into prayer through immersion in a purposefully designed space
  • Explore the sacred in the ordinary, discover the things in their lives that help them draw closer to God, and develop a broader understanding of the use of sacramentals in prayer
  • In brief, this workshop introduces the Adult Learner to the Catholic Church’s rich tradition and experiences of prayer that will enable him/her to continually grow in his/her prayer life in God.

The Adult Learner will be able to:

Discuss the basic teachings of the Church regarding the Blessed Virgin Mary. References will be made to the Church Fathers, various Papal documents, the Second Vatican Council, and the contributions of Pope John Paul II.

We are all familiar with the accounts about prophets healing the sick or feeding many with just a little. Such miracles teach us a great deal about prophets. They are agents of life, steering the people of Israel closer to God the source of life. They can work wonders, but their most preferred method is to preach the word of God.

Let’s read about them in the Bible and discover how they can be life-agents for us, too.

The Book of Revelation is filled with sights and sounds to help us on our spiritual journey. Come join us and enjoy all the good news of God’s victory against all that would stand in the way of the road to glory.

“MAN CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT LOVE”

“He remains a being that is incomprehensible for himself,
his life is senseless, if love is not revealed to him, if he does not
encounter love, if he does not experience it and make it his own,
if he does not participate intimately in it.”

-Pope John Paul II

The human person and the whole of reality are best understood in terms of the Love in which they were created…the Trinitarian love of God. What does our former pope, a celibate man from an obscure Polish town, have to tell the whole world about the meaning of love? A lot, apparently, because he spent his Wednesday audiences from 1979 through 1984 talking about this very topic.

Come join us for this course on what has come to be known as his “Theology of the Body” and find out more about John Paul II’s new approach to the most fundamental and primordial truths of the human person.

Adam and Kate Iadipaolo are graduates of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family who currently find any way possible to integrate John Paul II’s thought into their teaching for high school students, young adults, engaged couples, seminarians, and more!

The Adult Learner will be able to:
Describe the history of Christian architecture from the earliest days of Christianity until the present moment.

Classes will discuss:

  • The house churches and chapels in the catacombs
  • The expansion of design under Constantine
  • The influences of monasticism
  • Norman contributions
  • Gothic design
  • The mentality of the Renaissance
  • The writings of Saint Charles Borromeo and Fr. Marc Antoine Laugier
  • French Neo-Classicism
  • The gothic revival
  • Modern architecture
  • Postmodern corrections
  • Current thoughts on the topic, especially as represented by current documents of the United States Catholic Conference and the Second Vatican Council.

Reverend Ronald M. Ketteler, S.T.L., associate professor and chair of the Theology Department at Thomas More College, will offer a theological and cultural analysis of Ecumenism within the context of the previous Ecumenical Councils of the Church including Vatican II.

In each of his sessions, he will demonstrate the “hermeneutics of continuity,” that is, how the Councils are related to and/or build upon each other.

He will Challenge the tendency for ecumenical studies to ask, whether explicitly or implicitly, “what do others need to learn from us?”

He will present a radical challenge to see ecumenism move forward into action by highlighting the opposite question, “What can we learn from others without compromising our own beliefs?”

He will explore ecumenical issues from a wide variety of denominational and disciplinary perspectives, drawing together insights from ecclesiologists, professional ecumenists, sociologists, psychologists, and organizational experts.

Moreover, he will explain ecumenism not simply as a shared mission or as a problem-solving and incremental agreement, but as a vital long-term program of individual, communal and structural conversion. He will demonstrate that the Sacred Scriptures were the foundations of the work of the Church Fathers.

The goal of this course is that the Christian Tradition will be built up, rather than diminished, by learning from, or receiving of, each other’s gifts.

Reverend Baiju Kidaagen, a Vincentian Missionary priest who currently serves as Parochial Vicar of St. Pius X, will explore with lay ecclesial ministers, parents, teachers and catechists what God’s Missionary work in the fields abroad and at home is all about.

He will discuss how the missionary life is modeled after Jesus, His Life and His Ministry. The disciplines of Chastity, Poverty and obedience will be examined in the light of the various Missionary Charisms.

He will discuss also the life and ministry of the Apostles based on the book of Acts, specifically the Three Missionary Journeys of St. Paul. He will explain that the Church is a missionary by its very nature based on her founder, Jesus the Missioner. He will conclude the course by sharing his own beautiful missionary experience in India and also here in the United States of America.

This practical, hands-on course will allow parents and teachers to examine their view of parenthood, to understand it as a vocation essential to Church and society, and to see the teacher’s role as an extension of the parent’s vocation. Based on Father Edward J. Flanagan’s Boys Town model for raising children to be responsible, productive, virtuous adults, this course will affirm parents as the primary educators of their children and give parents and teachers alike the tools to help children grow in virtue and good behavior. Space is limited to 16 adult participants. Fathers, mothers, and teachers are encouraged to attend. It is most beneficial for couples to attend together, if possible. Babysitting is available upon request.

  • Explain how and why parents are teachers of virtue
  • Identify that the first step toward growth in virtue is self-evaluation
  • Differentiate between authoritarian and authoritative discipline
  • Describe the relationship between the virtue of prudence and the appropriate use of consequences and praise
  • Demonstrate the steps in preventive teaching: developing moral virtues (justice, prudence, temperance, and fortitude) via social skills
  • Demonstrate the steps in teaching self-control/self-mastery: calming down
  • Describe the use of Family Meetings as a means of preventive teaching and teaching self-control

  • Demonstrate the steps in corrective teaching involving the virtues of humility and obedience
  • Identify prayer as the primary “tool” for parents

The adult learner will be able to:

  • Use the Theology of the Human Person as the basis for Catholic Morality and Bioethics.
  • Integrate virtue ethics and the teaching of Veritatis Splendor in the application of Bioethics.
  • Explain the significance of the body according to John Paul II’s teaching on the human person.
  • Understand the scientific and bio-medical facts surrounding abortifacients, IVF, cloning, stem cell research, organ transplants & euthanasia.
  • Articulate the Church’s teaching on human dignity and beginning of life issues.
  • Articulate the Church’s teaching on the meaning of suffering and end of life issues.

At the end of this course, participants will:

  • Know what an ecumenical council is
  • Know the opening and closing dates of the council
  • Know that Church documents are identified by the incipit, and that references to Church documents are done by means of section numbers
  • Know what led Pope John XXIII to summon the council
  • Know the background to Vatican I
  • Know the various types of documents that Vatican II produced: Constitutions, Declarations, and Decrees
  • Know how briefly to describe the salient ideas of each of the sixteen documents
  • Know what the Acta of an ecumenical council are

All courses and workshops in this program are reprinted with the permission of the following publisher: Archdiocese of Cincinnati Publication, The Ministry of the Catechist, Administrator’s Guide, and Copyright © 1994, 2003.