Theology Courses
The theology department, in conjunction with campus ministry, plays a central role in Guerin Catholic’s mission as a Roman Catholic diocesan high school called to offer students the opportunity to know and love the Person of Jesus Christ, His teachings, and all those called to be part of His Body, the Church. The theology curriculum provides students with a broad and unified foundation of Catholic teaching found in Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition, so as to understand the essentials of a Christian life lived in worship of God, love of neighbor, and personal holiness.
In order to continue to address the needs of Guerin Catholic students, the theology course of study has been reviewed and revised over the last few years. The revised theology course of study aligns with the Doctrinal Elements of a Curriculum Framework, published under the auspices of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in 2007.
The implementation of the new course sequence and courses offerings began in the 2014-15 school year. The revision of course sequence necessitates some grade levels taking required courses in a different sequence in order to ensure that all students receive the core courses of the theology curriculum by their graduation. This will move all students toward full implementation of the Bishop’s Framework by the 2016-17 school year.
Required Courses
Theology 1A
Fundamentals of Catholicism
Grade 9
1 credit
This course is designed for students whose comprehension and personal comfort in future theology classes would benefit from a systematic and positive presentation of the fundamentals of the Catholic Faith. The course gives an overview of the major beliefs that are at the heart of the Faith, with an emphasis on the existence and Revelation of God, the Bible and the relationship between the Old and New Testaments, the Person of Jesus Christ and the Paschal Mystery, and the role of grace in the believer’s response of holiness to God’s Revelation by the moral life and prayer.
Theology 1B
Knowing Jesus Christ: Scripture, Catholic Worldview, and Apologetics
Grade 9
1 credit
This course is designed to deepen and build on a previously laid foundation of the fundamentals of the Catholic Faith. The students will be led to further develop their Catholic worldview, centered on Jesus Christ and the plan of His salvation. They will be challenged to encounter the inexhaustibility of the mysteries of God revealed in Scripture and Tradition. They will reflect on the characteristics of a life of holiness made possible by grace. They will examine the relationship between faith and logic and learn an appropriate use of the apologetics method by which to explain to others the truths revealed by God.
Theology 2
Identity of Jesus Christ & The Blessed Trinity
Grade 9
1 credit
“The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the mystery of Jesus Christ, the living Word of God, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. In this course, students will understand that Jesus Christ is the ultimate Revelation to us from God. In learning who He is, the students will also learn who He calls them to be.” – USCCB’s Doctrinal Elements of a Curriculum Framework
This course deepens the student’s understanding of God’s revelation of Himself and the human person’s response of faith. The student will study the nature of the Trinity and the Incarnation of Jesus Christ, Who reveals to humanity in His words and deeds the face of God the Father and the love of God the Holy Spirit. In learning who Christ reveals Himself to be, the student will also continue to learn about the human person’s call to union with the Trinity by grace and the holiness of life that results from cooperating with the grace given by Christ.
Theology 3
The Paschal Mystery: The Saving Acts of Jesus Christ
Grade 10
1 credit
“The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the mystery of Jesus Christ, the living Word of God, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. In this course, students will understand that Jesus Christ is the ultimate Revelation to us from God. In learning who He is, the students will also learn who He calls them to be.” – USCCB’s Doctrinal Elements of a Curriculum Framework
In this course, students will learn that for all eternity, God has planned for us to share in His eternal happiness and that this plan of salvation is accomplished through the Redemption Christ won for us. Students will learn that after the Fall, this Redemption is prefigured and prepared for by the covenants of the Old Testament, and that in all His words and deeds, Jesus reveals the Father’s will to save us through His redeeming Passion, Death, and Resurrection. Students will deepen their understanding of what it means to respond to the grace of Redemption as a disciple of Christ and what life as a disciple entails.
Theology 4
The Church: Jesus Christ’s Saving Mission Continued throughout History
Grade 10
1 credit
“The purpose of this course is to help the students understand that in and through the Church they encounter the living Jesus Christ. They will be introduced to the fact that the Church was founded by Christ through the Apostles and is sustained by him through the Holy Spirit. The students will come to know that the Church is the living Body of Christ today. This Body has both divine and human elements. In this course, students will learn not so much about events in the life of the Church but about the sacred nature of the Church.” – USCCB’s Doctrinal Elements of a Curriculum Framework
The purpose of this course is to help the students understand that in and through the Church they encounter the living Jesus Christ. They will learn how Christ established the Church on the foundation of the Apostles and animates her with the Holy Spirit. The students will come to know that the Church is the living Body of Christ today, which has both divine and human elements. In this course, students will learn about the sacred nature of the Church and highlights of the good done by the Church for civilization throughout history, and be introduced to the Church’s historical relations with non-Catholics.
Theology 5
The Moral Life: Our Response to Christ’s Saving Grace
Grade 11
1 credit
“The purpose of this course is to help students understand that it is only through Christ that they can fully live out God’s plans for their lives. Students are to learn the moral concepts and precepts that govern the lives of Christ’s disciples.” – USCCB’s Doctrinal Elements of a Curriculum Framework
The purpose of this course is to lead students to an understanding of the human person’s desire for infinite happiness, the role of human freedom in finding happiness, the role of moral law, and the necessity of grace that enables us to live a moral life in union with the life of Jesus Christ, so as to find happiness. Students will learn the moral concepts and precepts that point out the authentically good choices by which Christ’s disciples live their lives in holiness and experience long-term happiness in this life and in the next.
Theology 6
The Liturgy & Sacraments: The Communication of Christ’s Saving Grace
(Full diploma IB students will take this in grade 12 in place of Social Teachings)
Grade 11
1 credit
“The purpose of this course is to help students understand that they can encounter Christ today in a full and real way in and through the sacraments, and especially through the Eucharist. Students will examine each of the sacraments in detail so as to learn how they may encounter Christ throughout life.” – USCCB’s Doctrinal Elements of a Curriculum Framework
This course deepens the student’s understanding of the liturgy and sacraments as the primary place of encounter between Jesus Christ, His Body the Church, and the individual believer, and as the primary channel through which He pours out the grace that transforms the believer into the image of the Son in relationship with the Father. The student will understand that Christian liturgy not only recalls the events that saved us but actualizes them, makes them present, and that by it, the believer is freed to begin participating in the heavenly liturgy of adoration and love that characterizes eternal life. The student will learn the necessary personal dispositions by which one accepts the transformative power of the sacraments so as to live a life of virtue and holiness in cooperation with God’s grace.
Theory of Knowledge, International Baccalaureate (Required for full diploma IB students only)
Grade 11-12
2 credits
The focus of the IB Theory of Knowledge (TOK) course is to examine what we know in the various fields of knowledge and how we know it. The Theory of Knowledge course will engage students in critical reflection of the sources and bases of knowledge in various systems of thought and belief and how they relate to Catholic epistemology (philosophy of knowing). Students will be able to understand and evaluate sources, modes, biases, strengths, and limits of experience as a “knower.” Students will understand the difference between a relativistic perspective and objective truth that can be known with certitude.
Theology 7
Christian Vocation: The Call to Self-Gift in Christ
Grade 12
1 credit
“The purpose of this course is to help students to understand the vocations of life: how Christ calls us to live. In this course, students should learn how all vocations are similar and how they differ. The course should be structured around married life, single life, priestly life, and consecrated life. Students should learn what it means to live life for the benefit of others and the value in considering a vocation in service to the Christian community” – USCCB’s Doctrinal Elements of a Curriculum Framework
This course provides students with the opportunity for deep self-reflection and interiorization of the first vocation of every Christian, the universal call to holiness. Therefore, while fully respecting the freedom of the students, the course will discuss personal holiness and prayer as a response of love to Christ’s call made possible by His grace. The students will grow in self-knowledge and deepen their understanding of how Christian friendship lived as a sincere gift of self is beneficial to their daily relationships. The student will study the different vocations of life to which they could be called to make a life-long gift of self: married life, single life for the Kingdom, priestly life, or consecrated life.
Theology 8
Catholic Social Teachings: Living the Gospel in the World
Grade 12
1 credit
“The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the Church’s social teaching. In this course, students are to learn how Christ’s concern for others, especially the poor and needy, is present today in the Church’s social teaching and mission.” – USCCB’s Doctrinal Elements of a Curriculum Framework
The students will learn the laity’s special vocation which they seek the kingdom of God through engagement of temporal affairs pertaining to social, political, and economic realities and learn to permeate and reconcile those realities with the demands of Christian doctrine and life, such that societal life is illuminated and ordered according to the just principles of natural law and the Gospel, for the glory of the Creator and human flourishing.
Elective Courses
Faith & Culture (2016-17 school year)
Grades 10, 11, 12
1 credit
Note: As with all Theology credits, Faith & Culture cannot be counted towards Indiana-required graduation requirements.
This course teaches students to apply their previous understanding of sacramentality to their vision and perception of the wider world’s culture. They will discover how the principles of faith can permeate and transform culture to correspond to the dignity of the human person. They will develop their ability to see and analyze the symbolism found in works of art, music, film, architecture, literature and evaluate that symbolism according to principles of Christian faith.
Pro-Life Issues (2017-18 school year)
Grades 10, 11, 12
1 credit
Note: As with all Theology credits, Pro-Life Issues cannot be counted towards Indiana-required graduation requirements.
This course examines issues surrounding the teaching of the Catholic Church on the dignity of the human person. While the focus will be abortion as a violation of human dignity, Pro-Life Issues contextualizes it within the broader understanding of Catholic social teaching and morality. Euthanasia, contraception, infanticide, in vitro fertilization, the unjust use of the death penalty, and violations of the preferential option for the poor will highlighted as violations of the dignity of the human person from conception until natural death. The class will also present the history, present activity, and future possibilities of advocacy within the pro-life movement. This class gives students the tools to discern how to use their talents and gifts to stand for life now, in college, and as adults.
Faith, Science, and Reason (2018-19 school year)
Grades 10, 11, 12 1 credit
Note: As with all Theology credits, Faith Science, and Reason cannot be counted towards Indiana-required graduation requirements.
This course challenges the modern perception of an apparent incompatibility between faith and science. Through a historical and theoretical examination of both areas, the course will demonstrate the unity of all truth, whether it is found in Revelation or in the “book of nature” written by the same God. By examining faith and science as complementary and interdependent fields of knowledge, the student will come to a unified view of the “faith” and “scientific” aspects of the reality in which they live, the appropriate use of the gift of reason in fields of knowledge, and a greater understanding of the unity that undergirds all academic disciplines.