Open Classroom

August 28 – December 15
Cost $400
Last Day to Register: August 28

This course introduces students to the grammar, vocabulary, and syntax of ancient Greek. By the end of the semester, students will have been exposed to over four hundred words of Greek vocabulary and will have read, with help, whole paragraphs out of the New Testament in its original language. Students who complete this course will be prepared to complete basic instruction and begin reading on their own in Greek II. The course focuses on the “common” or “koine” Greek of the Septuagint and New Testament, with occasional supplementary exercises drawn from classical authors.

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August 28 – December 15
Cost $400
Last Day to Register: August 28

This course helps students to understand the unity of God’s plan of salvation from Creation to the Second Coming. By a thorough overview of the Old and New Testaments, this course introduces Catholic exegetical approaches and theological interpretation, aiding students in reading Scripture as the Word of God. Students engage some comparative primary texts and grapple with historiographical questions that help them to demonstrate the reliability of the Bible. With a special focus on the themes of covenant and mission, the course illustrates how Jesus fulfills God’s promises and how He invites His followers to share in His work of evangelization. Texts include: The Bible Timeline Chart (Cavins, Jeff, Tim Gray, and Sarah Christmyer); Holy People, Holy Land: A Theological Introduction to the Bible (Dauphinais, Michael and Matthew Levering); Walking with God: A Journey Through the Bible (Gray, Tim and Jeff Cavins); Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament (Walton, John H.)

August 28 – December 15
Cost $400
Last Day to Register: August 28

The four canonical Gospels constitute “the principal witness for the life and teaching of the incarnate Word, our savior” (Dei Verbum 18). For believers, the highest aim of all study of the Gospels is to know Jesus Christ ever more fully. In this course, students will gain insight into how historical, literary, and theological tools can be fruitfully engaged to that end. The relationship between the Gospels and the Old Testament receives special consideration. The course primarily follows a canonical itinerary, attending to the distinctive characteristics of each of the Evangelists’ portrayals of the one Lord Jesus Christ. Texts include: The Holy Bible; Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration (Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI); Echoes of Scripture in the Gospels (Richard B. Hays)

August 28 – December 15
Cost $400
Last Day to Register: August 28

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This course introduces students to the lives and literature of the biblical prophets. Starting with an introduction to the historical development of the phenomenon of prophecy in Israel and its relation to prophetic activity and writing among other peoples of the ancient Near East, this course will launch into a comprehensive survey of both the Major and Minor prophets, including Lamentations and Baruch. For each prophetic book, students will come to grasp its historical context, rhetorical goals, literary techniques, critical issues, theological implications, and its application to Christian life today. The course will give special attention to applying Catholic interpretive principles to the prophetic books and demonstrating how they are embraced by the Tradition. Texts include: A Catholic Introduction to the Bible: The Old Testament (Bergsma, John and Brant Pitre); Ignatius Catholic Study Bible. Daniel.; Ignatius Catholic Study Bible. Isaiah.; The Message of the Prophets: A Survey of the Prophetic and Apocalyptic Books of the Old Testament (Hays, J. Daniel.); The Book of the Twelve (Beth M. and David J. Fuller).

August 28 – December 15
Cost $400
Last Day to Register: August 28

This course offers an in-depth study of the Gospel according to Matthew. Special attention is given to the Jewish character of the Gospel. After looking at issues pertaining to the authorship and dating of the book, the course will examine the Gospel’s literary structure, highlighting the way Jesus’ major discourses relate to the narrative sections that precede them. Along the way, students will see how the theme of the fulfillment of the scriptures is essential for understanding the Gospel’s Christology, its ecclesiology, its teaching on discipleship, and its eschatology. In all of this, students will discover that Matthew presents Jesus as Israel’s Messiah (the “son of David”), the only beloved Son of the Father who is sacrificed to bring blessings to all nations (the “son of Abraham”), the true interpreter of the Law (the New Moses), the Son of Man, the New Israel, and as Emmanuel, “God with us.” Texts include: Matthew (Donald Senior); Matthew, Disciple and Scribe: The First Gospel (Patrick Schreiner).

August 28 – December 15
Cost $400
Last Day to Register: August 28

For early Christians, the Scriptures were not only a source of doctrinal information. They were also “wells” from which worshipers drew “living water” and were refreshed (Origen), “chaste delights” for those who sought their inner meaning (Augustine), and “weapons of the spirit” in the battle against temptation of every kind (Evagrius). This course explores the reading of the Bible in early Christian dogmatic debates, liturgical worship, social engagement, and spiritual formation—in short, in every aspect of Christian life. As we approach the Fathers’ rich and complex engagement with Scripture, we will seek to identify and understand the theological principles that animated their biblical practices. The Fathers teach us a method of exegesis that is, in one sense, unrepeatable as a reflection of the genius of its unique age, but is also, in another sense, irreplaceable as a resource for renewing biblical reading in our own age and for understanding the theological tradition of the Church. Hence, we will consider how an appreciation of patristic scriptural exegesis might renew our own use of the Bible in prayer, study, evangelization, and catechesis. “The Fathers of the Church, who had a particular role in the process of the formation of the canon, likewise have a foundational role in relation to the living tradition which unceasingly accompanies and guides the Church’s reading and interpretation of Scripture. Within the broader current of the great Tradition, the particular contribution of patristic exegesis consists in this: to have drawn out from the totality of Scripture the basic orientations which shaped the doctrinal tradition of the Church, and to have provided a rich theological teaching for the instruction and spiritual sustenance of the faithful” (Pontifical Biblical Commission, The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church, III.B.2 [1993]) Texts include: On Teaching Christianity (Augustine, more commonly: “On Christian Doctrine”), An Exhortation to Martyrdom, Prayer, and Selected Works (Origen); The Life of Moses (Gregory of Nyssa).

August 28 – December 15
Cost $400
Last Day to Register: August 28

This course offers a synthetic summary of the symbolum fidei, the Christian Creed, with particular reference to its effective presentation in catechesis. It follows the outline of the Catechism of the Catholic Church while making reference to the biblical, liturgical and magisterial foundations of the doctrines and how they are manifested in the life of the Church. Texts include: the Catechism of the Catholic Church; Theology and Sanity (Frank J. Sheed).

August 28 – December 15
Cost $400
Last Day to Register: August 28

This course investigates the principles governing the practice of catechesis – especially as found in John Paul II’s apostolic exhortation Catechesi tradendae – and the methods best used to implement these principles in the service of the Church’s mission of evangelization. The Catechism of the Catholic Church will be treated as a synthesis of past catechetical practice and a sure norm for teaching the faith. Attention will also be given to pedagogical methods and the pastoral strategies needed for the effective evangelization and catechesis of adults, youth, and children in our current cultural setting. Texts include: The General Directory for Catechesis; The Mystery We Proclaim, Second Edition: Catechesis for the Third Millennium (Kelly, Francis D.); The Catechism of the Catholic Church; An Evangelizing Catechesis: Teaching from Your Encounter with Christ (Pauley, James C.); Liturgical Catechesis in the 21st Century: A School of Discipleship (Pauley, James C.); Directory for Catechesis; Introduction to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (Shonborn, Christoph); Catechesi Tradendae (St. John Paul II, On Catechesis in Our Time); Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us: A Pastoral Plan for Adult Faith Formation in the United States (USCCB); The Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Craft of Catechesis (Willey, Petroc; de Cointet, Pierre; Morgan, Barbara)

November 20 – December 13
Alumni Only
Last Day to Register: November 20

This advent, join St. Augustine in reading several of the homilies he preached for the occasion of our Lord’s birth. “So, Christians, let us celebrate on this day, not his divine, but his human birth, by which he adapted himself to us, in order that by means of the invisible one made visible we ourselves might pass over from visible things to invisible. Catholic faith, you see, obliges us to accept two births for the Lord, one divine, the other human; the first apart from time, the second in time; both, however, wonderful; the first without mother, the second without father. If we can’t grasp the earthly one, when will we ever tell the tale of that other one?” Sermon 190, On Christmas Day

November 20 – December 13
Cost: $100
Last Day to Register November 20

In this book study, read Dr. Michael Barber’s book The True Meaning of Christmas, and learn about its biblical roots, and the origins of our many Christmas traditions. You will receive a signed copy of the book and enjoy a conversation with Michael Barber on Thursday, December 14, 4-5:30pm.

October 17, 24, 31 @ 2-3pm Mountain Time on Zoom
Cost $200

Last Day to Register October 17
Fr. Philippe asserts that all are called to meet God in prayer, but not all have developed the dispositions necessary to make this a reality. Through Time for God, this short course will focus on the habits and dispositions that prepare for the gift of deep prayer so that we can receive this gift ourselves and prepare others to receive it. In this course, prospective students for the Augustine Institute’s M.A. in Theology will find a representative sample of the kind of lecture and discussion experiences – via Populi and Zoom – that characterize our online programs. Neither credit nor a grade is assigned for this course, although students have the option to write an essay of approximately 1,500 words that would be evaluated by the instructor as an aid to the discernment that is the purpose of the admissions process. Should students later matriculate at the Augustine Institute, the $200 registration fee for this course will be applied towards tuition.

August 28 – September 29
Live Zoom sessions: September 11, 18, and 25 at 4pm

Cost: $200
Last day to register August 28
St. Francis de Sales gave the Church the twofold gift of his teaching and his witness. This short course will consider book III of the Introduction to the Devout Life against the background of the great saint’s life of prayer, study, and apostolic work. In this course, prospective students for the Augustine Institute’s M.A. in Theology will find a representative sample of the kind of lecture and discussion experiences – via Populi and Zoom – that characterize our online programs. Neither credit nor a grade is assigned for this course, although students have the option to write an essay of approximately 1,500 words that would be evaluated by the instructor as an aid to the discernment that is the purpose of the admissions process. Should students later matriculate at the Augustine Institute, the $200 registration fee for this course will be applied towards tuition.

August 28 – September 29
Cost $600
Last Day to Register August 28

This course on St. Augustine’s Confessions exploresthe work with a focus on Catholic education, emphasizing what this masterpieceby a celebrated Doctor of the Church can show us today about teaching andlearning in light of the Catholic faith. Students who submit assignments forthis course have the opportunity to earn 1 credit towards the Master’s inCatholic Education.

October 9 – November 10
Cost $600 (now $300!)
Last Day to Register October 9

Grounded in Plato’s Socratic dialogues, this course examinesthe ends, principles, and means of Socratic conversation and the Socraticmethod, offering practical guidelines and best practices for conductingSocratic seminar discussions. Students who submit assignments for this coursehave the opportunity to earn 1 credit towards the Master’s in CatholicEducation.

November 13 – December 15
Cost $600 (now $300!)
Last Day to Register November 13

With St. Thomas Aquinas as our principal guide, this course is an introduction to the cardinal virtues (prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance) and the theological virtues (faith, hope, and charity), those within which and around which all virtues flourish. Students who submit assignments for this course have the opportunity to earn 1 credit towards the Master’s in Catholic Education.

October 30 – November 27, Mondays 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. Mountain Time on Zoom
Alumni Only
Last Day to Register October 30
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Join Christopher Blum for a five-part exploration of human nature in light of contemporary controversies. We’ll begin by reflecting upon our common experience of our ourselves and others, then refresh our confidence in the traditional account – a human being is a rational animal – and end by considering the aspirations to change our bodies and our minds being pursued by today’s transhumanists.