Courses

B 3000 Introduction to Old Testament (3 credits)
This course provides an introduction to the literature of the Old Testament and its historical, cultural, religious, geographical and social context. Various methodological tools for investigating the content and genre of the texts will be studied. Throughout the course, students will investigate the different theologies presented by the Old Testament writers.

B 3001 Introduction to New Testament (3 credits)
This course provides an introduction to the literature of the New Testament and its historical, cultural, religious, geographical and social context. Various methodological tools for investigating the content and genre of the texts will be studied. Throughout the course, students will investigate the different theologies presented by the New Testament writers in order to see how their theologies shape various images of Jesus of Nazareth.

B 3300 Biblical Hebrew I (no credits)
An intensive introduction to the grammar, syntax, and vocabulary of biblical Hebrew prepares students to translate passages of the Old Testament.

B 3301 Biblical Hebrew II (no credits)
A continuation, this course is open to students who have completed B3300.

Prerequisite: B3300

B 4000 Pentateuch (3 credits)
Pentateuchal traditions, including the primeval narratives, ancestral history, exodus, Sinai and wilderness traditions, are studied in the context of their literary origins and development and in the light of their importance for ancient Israelite religion and theology and contemporary theological significance. Emphasis will be on the biblical material itself.

Prerequisite: B3000

B 4005 Book of Jeremiah (3 credits)
This course offers a literary and theological interpretation of the book of Jeremiah. The book is studied in its varied contexts, in the themes and motifs that hold it together, and in the issues and questions it raises for readers.

Prerequisite: B3000

B 4008 Catholic Epistles (1.5 credits)
Addressed to the church at large, the epistles of James, 1-2 Peter, 1-3 John, and Jude reflect the moral, theological, and eschatological concerns of late first century Christian communities. This course surveys the content and theological perspectives of these letters. Students will practice integrating critical exegetical study of the text with theology, spirituality, and pastoral practice for a multicultural church. Prerequisite: B4205: Introduction to the New Testament.

Prerequisite: B3001

B 4009 The Biblical Landscape: The Bible and Archaeology (3 credits)
This lecture series will introduce the discipline of biblical archaeology by examining the development of the discipline and its methodology, by looking at the results of important excavations from Bronze Age to the Byzantine Period sites in the Holy Land, and reviewing its impact on biblical studies.

Prerequisites: B3000 and B3001

B 4020 Job: Protest Literature (3 credits)
The Book of Job will be examined from both literary and theological lenses. Its placement in the body of Wisdom Literature will be considered first. Then the themes of creation, retribution, innocent suffering, theodicy, and divine incomprehensibility will be probed. Finally, the contemporary implications of the book’s religious message will be discussed.

Prerequisite: B3000

B 4021 Twelve Prophets (3 credits)
This course studies the Twelve Prophets (Hosea through Malachi) with respect to their original historical, social, and literary contexts, and to their theological interpretation in the Christian and early Jewish traditions. The course will also treat the nature and formation of prophetic literature, as well as the dynamic of prophecy and fulfillment. Emphasis will be placed on the role of critical study of the Twelve and of the history of interpretation as resources for contemporary theological reflection and pastoral practice.

Prerequisite: B3000

B 4023 Mary, the Mother of Jesus, in New Testament and Contemporary Perspectives (1.5 credits)

A study of the New Testament depictions of Mary and subsequent Church teachings about her, with a view to what these offer for spirituality and pastoral practice in today’s multicultural church.

Prerequisite: B3001

B 4026 The Book of Genesis (3 credits)
The Book of Genesis is a primary source of the foundational traditions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The course will study this book by focusing on its theological perspectives against the background of its literary and cultural contexts and by considering various contemporary approaches to its interpretation.

Prerequisite: B3000

B 4027 The Book of Isaiah (3 credits)
This course will examine selected texts from the Book of Isaiah. While attending to the life-situation of each text to be studied, the course will focus on the literary and theological integrity of the book as a whole and how individual texts fit into that integrity.

Prerequisite: B3000

B 4301 Old Testament Narrative Literature (3 credits)
This course investigates selected short stories and novellas of the Catholic OT canon, such as Ruth, Tobit, Esther, Daniel, Judith, and the story of Joseph and his brothers. These works are examined as narrative literature that invites an exploration of challenging theological and ethical questions that remain relevant for people of faith today.

Prerequisite: B3000

B 4306 (online) Encountering the Bible Lands, Part A (1.5 credits)
This on-line course introduces the student to the history, geography, and significant archaeology of the Old and New Testament. The student learns how acquaintance with nonliterary sources has important implications for our understanding of the biblical text. The course is required of participants in the BSTP Spring Study/Travel Program, but is open to all students and auditors.

Prerequisites: B3000 and B3001

B 4306i Travel Seminar: Encountering the Bible Lands, Part B. (4.5 credits)
This travel seminar provides the participant in the BSTP an opportunity to visit significant archaeology and historical sites in Israel/Palestine, Greece, and Turkey. On-site lectures integrate archaeology and history with the biblical text.

Prerequisites: B3000 and B3001

B 4307 Toward a Biblical Theology of Friendship (1.5 credit hours)
This course makes two extraordinary claims: that our life’s ultimate goal is friendship with God and that the Scriptures provide the roadmap. Friendship with God is a gift of Holy Wisdom (Wis 7:27). God speaks to Moses face to face as one speaks to a friend (Exod 33:11). And most striking of all these biblical examples, Jesus calls his own disciples “friends” (John 15:15). This course engages a dynamic process that integrates personal experience with biblical study in order to trace the emerging theology of friendship in the Scriptures.

Prerequisites: B3000 and B3001

B 4308 (online) Encountering the Bible Lands, Part A (3 credits)
This on-line course introduces the student to the history, geography, and significant archaeology of the Old and New Testament. The student learns how acquaintance with nonliterary sources has important implications for our understanding of the biblical text. The course is required of participants in the BSTP Spring Study/Travel Program, but is open to all students and auditors.

Prerequisites: B3000 and B3001

B 4308i Travel Seminar: Encountering the Bible Lands, Part B. (3 credits)
This travel seminar provides the participant in the BSTP an opportunity to visit significant archaeology and historical sites in Israel and Palestine. On-site lectures integrate archaeology and history with the biblical text.

Prerequisites: B3000 and B3001

B 4310 Old Testament Prophets (3 credits)
This course explores prophets, prophecy, and prophetic literature in the Old Testament. The theology of selected texts from the Pentateuch, historical books, and prophetic books will be examined from the perspective of their original historical, social, and literary contexts and of their value for theological reflection and pastoral practice in contemporary contexts.

Prerequisite: B3000

B 4311 Deuteronomistic History: The Former Prophets (3 credits)
This advanced-level course focuses on the Former Prophets of the Hebrew Bible (Joshua-Judges-Samuel-Kings). Critical study of selected texts from these books will lead to an appreciation of both their literary and theological dimensions with a view to seeing their relevance to the Christian faith.

Prerequisite: B3000

B 4312 Second Temple Judaism and Early Rabbinic Judaism (3 credits)
The first part of the course focuses on an examination of the variety of expressions of Judaism in the Second Temple period. The second part focuses on the emergence of Rabbinic Judaism in the wake of the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 C.E.

B 4313 Old Testament Poetry: Wisdom books and Psalms (3 credits)
An investigation of selections from the psalms and the wisdom tradition of the Old Testament, this course concentrates on careful reading of the text, the various theological concerns found there, and the importance of this material for ministerial practice.

Prerequisite: B3000

B 4314 The Psalms: A Literary and Theological Study (3 credits)
This course is divided into four units. In the first unit, we will explore the many literary techniques that the authors of the psalms used, including chiastic structures, intertextual allusions, and parallelisms. Students will conduct close readings of the psalms in order to determine their literary features. In the second unit, we will discuss the genres of the psalms, and focus in particular on communal psalms of thanksgiving and individual psalms of lament. The third unit will ask students to explore the varied historical contexts of some of the psalms. This course will close with a study of the reception of the psalms in modern times.

Prerequisite: B3000

B 4318 Paul: His Life, Letters and Theology (3 credits)
This course explores the literary and theological aspects of the Pauline epistolary archive, attending to the historical, social, cultural and religious context from which early Christianity emerged. As author or inspiration for the genuine and disputed letters, Paul’s experience of hybridity will be explored and serve as a hermeneutical key for interpreting the letters in today’s intercultural church.

Prerequisite: B3001

B 4319 The Book of Revelation (3 credits)
An exegetical-theological study of the book of Revelation (Apocalypse) set within the matrix of the Jewish apocalyptic world and genre to draw out its theological and pastoral significance then and now.

Prerequisite: B3001

B 4321 Book of Exodus (3 credits)
This course explores the book of Exodus from historical, literary, and theological perspectives, as well as selected aspects of its history of interpretation and reception in various contexts. Emphasis will be placed on the critical study of Exodus and its reception as resources for contemporary theological reflection and pastoral practice.

Prerequisite: B3000

B 4322 Deuterocanonical Books (3 credits)
This course examines the Deuterocanonical books (with selections chosen among Tobit, Judith, Esther, Wisdom, Sirach, 1 and 2 Maccabees) to see how these inspired books have shaped Catholic theology in relation to their continuities and discontinuities with similar works in the Hebrew Bible.

Prerequisite: B3000

B 4323 The Theological Vision of Paul the Apostle (3 credits)
Paul remains a dominant voice in the New Testament. His ardent love for the Crucified Christ, his deep and abiding roots in Judaism, his apostolic sufferings on behalf of the gospel, his dynamic sense of mission and his vision of an inclusive and compassionate church—all of these are fundamental motifs of this remarkable follower of Jesus and a foundation of the church’s life and mission today. This course will study the life of Paul within the context of Judaism and the Early Church and consider his major letters. An introductory course on the New Testament is a recommended prerequisite. Auditors are welcome.

Prerequisite: B3001

B 4325 Humanism, Skepticism and Faith: The Wisdom Books of the Old Testament (3 credits)
A survey that will study selected texts from Old Testament wisdom literature to probe its belief in humankind’s ability to find many levels of meaning in life and to cope with and even master the problems of human existence.

Prerequisite: B3000

B 4326 Israel’s Choice: The Book of Deuteronomy (3 credits)
A study of selected texts from the Book of Deuteronomy to become familiar with the content and theology of this statement of traditional Israelite morality and the book’s motivational strategy.

Prerequisite: B3000

B 4327 “The Fifth Gospel”: Isaiah 1-39 (1.5 credits)
Description: A study of selected texts from Isa 1-39, focusing in the social, political, economic and religious setting of Isaiah’s prophetic ministry with the purpose of appropriating these texts to inform preaching and teaching in the Church.

Prerequisite: B3000

B 4328 “The Fifth Gospel”: Isaiah 40-66 (1.5 credits)
Description: A study of selected texts from the collection of exilic and post-exilic prophecies from the Isaianic school with an emphasis on the texts’ vision of Jerusalem’s future with the purpose of appropriating these texts to inform preaching and teaching in the Church.

Prerequisite: B3000

B 4329 The Trouble with Kings: Biblical Perspectives (3 credits)
The biblical stories of the rise and fall of the two Israelite national states as told in Samuel, Kings and Chronicles will illustrate the importance of committed and effective leadership for Church and society today.

Prerequisite: B3000

B 4400 Biblical Greek (no credits)
This intensive introduction to the grammar, syntax, and vocabulary of biblical Greek prepares the student to translate passages of the New Testament and early Christian literature.

B 4402 The Gospel According to Mark (3 credits)
A study of the Gospel of Mark with attention to its historical, literary, cultural, and theological world. The course helps students integrate critical exegetical study of the text with theology, spirituality, and pastoral practice for a multicultural church.

Prerequisite: B3001

B 4405 The Gospel According to Matthew (3 credits)
A study of the Gospel of Matthew with attention to its historical, literary, cultural, and theological world. The course helps students integrate critical exegetical study of the text with theology, spirituality, and pastoral practice for a multicultural church.

Prerequisite: B3001

B 4406 The Gospel According to Luke (3 credits)
A study of the Gospel of Luke with attention to its historical, literary, cultural, and theological world. The course helps students integrate critical exegetical study of the text with theology, spirituality, and pastoral practice for a multicultural church.

Prerequisite: B3001

B 4407 The Gospel According to John (3 credits)
A study of the Gospel of John with attention to its historical, literary, cultural, and theological world. The course helps students integrate critical exegetical study of the text with theology, spirituality, and pastoral practice for a multicultural church.

Prerequisite: B3001

B 4408 Acts of the Apostles (3 credits)
A study of the missionary expansion of early Christianity as depicted in Acts of the Apostles. The course helps students integrate critical exegetical study of the text with theology, spirituality, and pastoral practice for a multicultural church.

Prerequisite: B3001

B 4409 Revelation and Letters of John (3 credits)
Thematic and exegetical study of the book of Revelation (Apocalypse) and the letters of John from the perspectives of history, culture, understanding of church, apocalyptic and epistolary genres, and contemporary interpretation.

Prerequisite: B3001

B 4410 Christian Origins and the Pauline Mission (3 credits)
The missionary activity of Paul and his apostolic team is explored through his letters, Greco-Roman and Jewish literature, and archaeology tracing the development of the Christian religion as it encountered new cultures and adapted to its social environment.

Prerequisite: B3001

B 4411 The Corinthian Correspondence (3 credits)
A study of 1-2 Corinthians with attention to the historical, literary, cultural, and theological world of that time. An examination of the relevance of Paul’s pastoral approaches for a contemporary multicultural church.

Prerequisite: B3001

B 4412 (online) Portraits of Jesus in the Synoptic Gospels (3 credits)
A historical, literary, and theological study of diverse themes and topics of each Synoptic Gospels (Mark, Matthew, and Luke) to draw out who the human Jesus really was behind all the different portraits. Attention is also given to pastoral application for contemporary readers.

Prerequisite: B3001

B 4420 Galatians and Romans (3 credits)
A study of Paul’s life and world, with attention to the letters to the Galatians and Romans in their historical, literary, cultural, and theological context. The relevance of Paul’s theological and pastoral approaches to the contemporary multicultural church is addressed.

Prerequisite: B3001

B 4421 Synoptic Gospels (3 credits)
This course is a study of the three Synoptic Gospels (Mark, Matthew and Luke) focusing on the narrative, historical background, and theology of each evangelist. An exploration of source, form and redaction criticisms will enable the student to better understand and interpret the similarities and differences among these three gospels. The course helps students integrate critical exegetical study of the text with theology, spirituality, and pastoral practice for a multicultural church.

Prerequisite: B3001

B4424 The Book of Leviticus: Introducing the Most Misunderstood Book in the Bible (3 credits)
The Book of Leviticus is perhaps one of the most misunderstood biblical books for modern readers. As such it is often overlooked or dismissed in Christian tradition. However, the book of Leviticus was important for the development of halakha (Jewish law), influenced many New Testament texts, as well as different aspects of Christian liturgy. This class will explore the book of Leviticus and its theology in its historical, literary, and cultural contexts. We will also consider some contemporary approaches to its interpretation. Towards the end of the class, we will discuss the importance of purity in the time of Jesus and how the Book of Leviticus can help us to better understand concerns with purity in the Gospels. This course fulfils OT requirements for both MDiv and MA programs.

Prerequisite: B3000

B 4425 The Passion of Jesus: The New Testament Portrayals (3 credits)
The crucifixion of Jesus and its outcome in resurrection stand at the heart of Christian faith and, consequently, are central to the writings of the New Testament. This course will focus on the four passion narratives in the context of each Gospel, as well as the significance of the death of Jesus in Paul and 1 Peter.

Prerequisite: B3001

B 4430 Luke-Acts (3 credits)
A study of the Gospel of Luke and Acts of the Apostles with attention to their historical, literary, cultural, and theological contexts. The course helps students integrate critical exegetical study of the text with theology, spirituality, and pastoral practice for a multicultural church.

Prerequisite: B3001

B 4435 The Cross in the New Testament & Christian Life (3 credits)
The crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus stand at the center of Christian faith and are the key focus of the New Testament writings. The “cross” remains the most enduring and characteristic symbol of Christianity. This course will study the meaning of the cross of Jesus in the Gospels, the Pauline Literature, and in other select writings of the New Testament. The goal is to understand the unique perspective of each of these biblical writings but also to gain a renewed understanding of the cross in Christian experience and spirituality

Prerequisite: B3001

B 4460 The Gospels of Mark and Matthew: Portrayals of Christ in Rome and Antioch (3 credits)
Mark composed his Gospel for the Christian community in Rome in the wake of Nero’s persecution, emphasizing Jesus’ mission of liberating people from the impact of raw and deadly evil. Matthew, drawing on Mark, wrote his Gospel for the Christian community of Antioch and emphasizes both the Jewish roots and universality of the Gospel and Jesus’ powerful ethical teaching. Both Gospels offer rich resources for Christian proclamation and spirituality in the urgent circumstances of our contemporary world.

Prerequisite: B3001

B 4501 Gospel Parables (3 credits)
Study of the dynamics of the parables in the Synoptic Gospels as stories that challenge the hearer to conversion. Attention is given to historical, literary, cultural, and theological perspectives and to insights for preaching and teaching parabolically.

Prerequisite: B3001

B 4504 Jesus Through Jewish Eyes (3 credits)
This course examines the different ways that Jews have related to the figure of Jesus during his life (to the extent that can be determined) and throughout the history of Christianity. Also demonstrated is the manner in which, at any given time, these attitudes are related to the state of Jewish-Christian relations.

Prerequisite: B3001

B 5002 The Scriptures in Jewish Interpretive Tradition (3 credits)
How did Jews in the Second Temple, rabbinic, and medieval periods read the Hebrew Scriptures? How have Jews read the Hebrew Bible in modern times? This course will examine the interpretive traditions and developments among Jewish readers, using the book of Genesis as a lens with which to study the history of Jewish biblical exegesis. Interpretive texts will include passages from Midrash, Rashi (Rabbi Solomon Itzhaki), Nachmanides, and Maimonides.

B 5003 Postexilic Literature (3 credits)
An advanced seminar that explores the biblical literature that emerged in the decades after the end of Babylonian exile. Ezra, Nehemiah, Zechariah, Malachi, and other texts are examined as theological responses to the profound challenges faced by Israel in new historical and social circumstances.

Prerequisite: B3000

B 5005 Messianic Expectation in Early Judaism (3 credits)
This course is a seminar on messianism as it developed in ancient Israel and early Judaism in light of the Christian confession of Jesus as the Messiah.

B 5010 Women and the Gospel of Luke (3 credits)
A study of the Gospel of Luke from a feminist perspective, including not only texts in which there are women characters, but the whole of the Gospel and how its hearers, both ancient and contemporary receive its message. Attention is given to the historical, literary, cultural, and theological world of Luke. The course aims to help students integrate critical study of the Gospel with theology, spirituality, and pastoral practice for a multicultural church.

Prerequisite: B3001

B 5011 Ancient Epistolography and Early Christian Letters (3 credits)
Twenty-one of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament are called “letters,” and epistles appear to have been the standard mode of communication between churches and church leaders. This course explores the methods of ancient letter-writing and delivery, and the social setting and rhetorical function of early Christian letters. Greek is preferred but not required. Open to non-MA students with permission of instructor.

Prerequisite: B3001

B 5012 Intermediate Biblical Exegesis (3 credits)
This methods course allows students to develop skills necessary for careful and critical study of biblical texts. Participants engage in close reading of texts from both testaments, are introduced to and practice various historical and literary approaches to the study of the Bible, and deepen their research skills for biblical study. This course provides a foundation for further academic and pastoral engagement with the Bible. Required for MA in Bible majors, all others with permission of the instructor.

Prerequisites: B3000 and B3001

B 5020 Biblical Hermeneutics (3 credits)
This methods course explores the rationale and practice of biblical interpretation and actualization, the movement from exegesis of a biblical text to thinking about its current relevance or implications in specific contemporary settings. Philosophical and theological foundations of principles of interpretation (hermeneutics) form the basis for an exploration of selected approaches or interpretive lenses brought to the Bible, which can include theological interpretation, feminist readings, postcolonial readings, and various contextual readings. Required for MA in Bible majors, all others with permission of the instructor.

Prerequisites: B3000 and B3001

B 5120 The Church in the New Testament (3 credits)
Explores the different perceptions and images of the church in the New Testament canon. Structures of communal organization, worship, and ministry, as well as the diversity in both theology and praxis are investigated.

Prerequisite: B3001

B 5305 Passion Narratives (3 credits)
Study of the four Gospel Passion and Resurrection accounts, using a variety of approaches to biblical interpretation. Attention is given to how the various interpretations of the violent death of Jesus can help stop cycles of violence in contemporary contexts.

Prerequisite: B3001

B 5400 Intertestamental Literature (3 credits)
A seminar focusing on non-canonical Jewish literature produced from 200 B.C. to A.D. 200. Emphasis on the impact of these writings on the theology of early Christianity and rabbinic Judaism.

Prerequisite: B3000

B 5423 Jewish-Christian Relations (3 credits)
The course covers the history and current state of Christian/Jewish Relations and focuses on recent documents issued by both religious bodies.

B 5511 Fundamentalist Biblical Interpretation (3 credits)
A seminar focusing on the origins of fundamentalism and its approach to biblical interpretation with an attempt to formulate a pastoral response to the theological stance and proselytizing efforts of fundamentalists.

Prerequisites: B3000 and B3001

BC 4000/BC 5000: Reading the Bible en Espanglish: Latin@ Biblical Interpretation for Ministry (3 credits)
The relationship between the lived daily experiences of Latin@ communities in the USA and their engagement with the Bible/la Biblia serves as point of departure for any number of Latin@ biblical scholars. This course explores the hermeneutical methods, sources, themes, and insights of an ecumenical selection of Latin@ biblical scholars with particular attention to their significance for ministry.

Prerequisites: B3000 and B3001

BC 4503 Biblical Foundations for the Church’s Universal and Inclusive Mission (3 credits)
As Pope Francis has reminded the church both by his words and his actions, we are to be “missionary disciples,” that is, a church not closed in on itself but reaching out to the world with the message of the Gospel, particularly to those who are most vulnerable. This course will identify biblical motifs from both the Old and the New Testaments that frame the scope and content of the Christian mission in the world today. The dialectic between identity and outreach, between the particular and the universal, and between community and mission mark the entire Scriptures and throw light on the challenges and opportunities facing the global Church.

Prerequisites: B3000 and B3001

BC 5002 Women in the Scriptures (3 credits)
An advanced seminar in feminist approaches to the scriptures, examining texts from the canonical as well as some non-canonical literature.

Prerequisites: B3000 and B3001

BC 5003 Strangers, Migrants, and Refugees in the Bible (3 credits)
A literary, historical, and theological examination of various strangers, migrants and refugees in the OT and NT in order to help students to address effective pastoral responses to the issue of migration in our world today. Cross-cultural issues, implications and applications are addressed.

Prerequisites: B3000 and B3001

BC 5005 Perspective in Black Biblical Interpretation (3 credits)
After an introduction into Black cultures in Africa and America, the approaches, themes and texts in current Black biblical interpretation that engage Black cultures are examined. Students are introduced to the question of text and context in interpretation. Students are expected to show in their interpretation of biblical text the relationship between text and context. The introduction to Black cultures will examine the formation of identity and the roles of slavery, the civil rights movement in America and post-colonial efforts in the recovery of identity in Africa (examples from the Caribbean will be discussed). Texts to be discussed in this course, among others, include the African American Spirituals (the theological document of the era of slavery), the theology of the civil rights movement and its emphasis on liberation and Black Power; and the postcolonial interpretation of Biblical texts by Black scholars, particularly those from Africa.

Prerequisites: B3000 and B3001

BC 5006 Faith on the Move: Bible, Migration, and Mission (3 credits)
A literary, historical, and theological examination of various migrants and refugees in the Bible in order to demonstrate the interconnectedness between migration and mission. Intercultural issues and effective pastoral responses to the issue of migration and evangelism will be considered.

Prerequisites: B3000 and B3001

BC 5012 Latina Perspectives on Biblical Interpretation (3 credits)
A seminar on the work of women theologians in the U.S.A. and in Latin America, with attention to Latina feminist/mujerista methods for interpreting scripture and insights for preaching and teaching from the scriptures in a multicultural church.

Prerequisites: B3000 and B3001

BD 5002 The Cross in Scripture and Theology (3 credits)
The cross is the central symbol of the Christian faith. Yet the meaning of the cross has been interpreted in many different ways through the centuries, from a source of scandal to the “tree of life.” In this course, students will explore interpretations of the death of Jesus on the cross, including those found in the Pauline letters, the Gospels and other New Testament texts, the works of classic Christian thinkers, and the thought of contemporary theologians writing from a variety of perspectives. The goal of the course is to deepen students’ insight into the meaning of the death of Jesus and the symbol of the cross in Christian life, spirituality and preaching.

BD 5510 Feminist Hermeneutics in Bible and Theology (3 credits)
A team-taught seminar that investigates biblical texts and doctrinal themes such as God, Christ, Trinity, creation, theological anthropology, sin and evil, Mary, church, and ministry from a feminist perspective.

Prerequisites: B3000 and B3001

BH 5010 Early Christian Literature Seminar (3 credits)
This seminar investigates sectarian literature, written within the first three hundred years of the common era, in order to study the development of emerging Christian society and culture. The course will explore the seeds of orthodoxy and heresy that characterize the post-apostolic age and that lead to the canonization of texts.

Prerequisite: B3001

BMP 4039 Using the Bible in Ministry (3 credits)
This is a course in the practical use of the Bible in various ministry situations: in parish adult faith formation, in lectionary based catechesis, in RCIA, in children’s liturgy of the Word, and in the context of spiritual direction and retreats.

Prerequisites: B3000 and B3001

BS 4520 Biblical Foundations of Spirituality (3 credits)
The faith of ancient Israel and of the early Christian communities is explored in order to draw from them the grounding for a contemporary biblical spirituality. Attention is given to biblical images for God, the various modes of prayer and worship, and the ethical demands for justice and peace in the biblical world and in our own.

BW 4440 The Gospel of Luke Exegeted and Preached (3 credits)
A study of the Gospel of Luke with attention to its historical, literary, cultural, and theological world in conjunction with study of the principles and theology of liturgical preaching. The course aims to help students integrate critical exegetical study of the text with theology, spirituality, and pastoral practice for preaching from the biblical text in a multicultural church.

Prerequisite: B3001

WB 4215 Predicación II (1.5 credits)
Este curso toma en cuenta predicación para el año litúrgico incluyendo Cuaresma y Pascua con las lecturas del leccionario. El método para la clase será en conjunto con la Hermana Barbara Reid, profesora en Biblia, y Padre Eddie De León, profesor en predicación. Incluso, cada estudiante tendrá la oportunidad de desarrollar su propia predicación en vivo y en video con texto. This course is on preaching the lectionary for the current liturgical year, focusing on Lent, the Triduum, and Easter. Each student will have the opportunity to preach from these texts in class and on video.

Prerequisites: B3000 and B3001

Doctrinal Studies

D 3000 Fundamental Theology and Methods (3 credits)
This course introduces students to the fundamental issues and tasks of systematic theology, laying the foundation for further study of various theological loci. Particular attention is given to theologies of revelation, divine self-communication, and faith considered in light of diverse human experience; the role of history and context in theology; tradition, authority, and magisterium; and contemporary currents and methods in theology.

D 4000 Survey of Systematic Theology (3 credits)
This course consists of an overview of topics and themes in systematic theology. Among the areas that will be treated are: revelation and faith, Trinitarian theology, Christology, creation, sin and grace, ecclesiology, Mary and the saints, sacramental theology, and eschatology. The course is designed to give students a broad exposure to the ways in which these central themes are treated in the Judeo-Christian tradition and in contemporary theology.

DE 4003/D 5003 Mestizo Theologies across the Latino/a Americas (3 credits)
This course looks at the contributions of second- and third-generation liberation theologians and philosophers, both in Latin America and the United States, who expand upon early Latin American liberation theology in some important ways. Rather than frame their work in terms of the classical categories of systematic theology, these figures think in terms of a more overarching, organic, and non-sectarian sense of spirituality that is highly aesthetic and fully enculturated. Topics include liberation theology, liberation philosophy, critical pedagogy, theopoetics, contextual epistemologies, Latina feminism and mujerista theology, and decolonial thought.

D 4004/D 5004 U.S. Latina Feminist Theologies (3 credits)
This course explores the significant contributions of U.S. Latina feminist theologians, such as María Pilar Aquino, Ada María Isasi-Díaz, Michelle Gonzalez, and Nancy Pineda-Madrid. We will historicize their contributions by looking at related traditions of feminist thought in Latin America and the United States. As such, the approach to this class is highly interdisciplinary: we will engage questions of theology, philosophy, Third World Feminism, and post-colonial and de-colonial thought. Students will produce short weekly writing assignments and a final paper of their own design.

D 4009 Liberation Theology and Religious Faith (3 credits)
This course looks at one of the most important movements of the 20th century and its continuing significance for theology today. Having emerged in various forms (i.e. Latin American, Black, Latino/a, feminist, etc.), liberation theology stresses that religious faith is not exempt from political questions, it asserts a preferential option for the poor and oppressed, and it affirms the Kingdom of God in the here-and-now. Special attention will be given to the aesthetic, cultural, and gender dimensions of liberation.

D 4014/D 5014 Christian Faith in a Secular Age (3 credits)
This course offers an examination of the idea of secularism in the context of modern Western society from a theological, philosophical, and sociological perspective. With a focus on Charles Taylor’s epic examination, “A Secular Age,” the course will consider the emergence of secularism in modern society, its significance for theology and philosophy, its social and political dimensions and the risks and possibilities that emerge within a secular society. Additionally, the course will consider the ways in which western secularism stands in tension with ways of understanding the relationship of religion to society in a global context.

D 4017 Karl Barth and Thomas Aquinas: God in Act and Being (3 credits)
In this course, we will compare the theologies of two of the greatest theologians of the Christian tradition: Thomas Aquinas and Karl Barth. Aquinas, the architect of Mediaeval Catholic theology, continues to wield an enormous influence on the Church today, while Karl Barth’s magnum opus, the Church Dogmatic, was a towering achievement of 20th Century theology. In this course, we will focus on how each of them understood and articulated a theology of the nature and being of God. In doing so, we will shed light on the intersections and divergences within the Catholic and Protestant theological traditions.

D 4018 Wake Up the World: Consecrated Life For Our Time (3 credits)
In honor of the Year of Consecrated Life and Pope Francis’ call to “Wake Up the World” this course will look at particular areas that invite “waking up the world” and “waking up consecrated life” for our time. The course will first look at the time we are in, both on local and global levels, in consecrated life and the world in which we live. The course will then look at various areas of consecrated life that are calling for “waking up,” including, but not limited to, mission in local and global context, vows for today, community, ministry, peace-building and care for the earth. Through lecture, small group discussion and large group engagement, we will consider what we must let go of and open ourselves to in order to live the call we are given by God’s own Spirit for our time. The readings will be related to consecrated life and also include current readings that call forth consecrated life at this time. Included will be Pope Francis’ upcoming document on the environment. The course will be both foundational and capacity building for theologically engaging, creatively imagining and plan building for persons, communities and congregations. The course is open to persons taking this for academic credit and also to auditors.

D 4019 Political Theology as Contextual Theology: J. B. Metz, Jurgen Moltmann and the Theology of Messianic Expectation (3 credits)
This course will examine of the development of the “new political theology” of Johann Baptist Metz and Jürgen Moltmann in the post-World War II era as a form of contextual theology. Through a close reading and comparative analysis of their writing this course will explore how Metz and Moltmann developed their theologies in response to a changing social and political situation. We will also consider the relationship between political theology and the theology of hope, as well as the major critiques of this project from other contextual settings, such as those of feminist, liberationist and public theological approaches.

D 4020 Romero and Ellacuría: Salvation in History (3 credits)
This blended/hybrid course explores the courageous writings and lived witness of two modern-day prophets and martyrs: Óscar Romero (1917-1980) and Ignacio Ellacuría (1930-1989) of El Salvador. Students will explore the influences that shaped their lives and thinking, critically analyze select texts, and reflect on the ways that their example may continue to prove significant today. In addition to engaging in bi-monthly, seminar-style (i.e. face-to-face) discussions, students will complete short weekly online writing assignments, as well as a final paper of their own design.

D 4021/D5021 Articulating Faith in the US Context (3 credits)
Given that all theology is contextual, how do we make theological sense of our own context in the U.S.? What homegrown resources, both philosophical and theological, can we draw on to wrestle more deeply with the religious implications of longstanding American myths like individualism, exceptionalism, fundamentalism, and nativism? This course explores questions like these by focusing on the contested relationship between the individual and the social, between faith and experience, and between belief and social action.

D 4022 Postmodern Theologies (3 credits)
This course introduces and explores contemporary theological movements, thinkers, and texts generally classified as postmodern. Among the varieties of postmodern theological thought examined in this course include those informed by movements such as Deconstruction, Poststructuralism, and other forms of continental philosophy of religion and critical theory. Figures such as Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault, John Caputo, Catherine Keller, Luce Irigaray, Judith Butler, Giorgio Agamben, among others, serve as illustrative interlocutors. This course considers the implications, resources, and challenges that postmodern thought presents to key theological loci within the Christian tradition.

D 4200 Christology (3 credits)
This course provides a systematic treatment of the foundations of Christology in a post-critical context. It is concerned with the possibility of constructing and evaluating Christology after one has subjected the Bible to the analysis of historical-critical studies, and after one has become thoroughly aware of the profound historicity of the Christian faith-community and its doctrines. Intercultural and contextual perspectives in light of the realities of a World Church provide a relativizing horizon.

D 4202 Ecclesiology/Mariology (3 credits)
In this course students undertake a historical and systematic study of the understanding of the Church in the Christian tradition and in contemporary thought. In the context of this developing ecclesiology, they also explore conceptions of the role of Mary in the story of salvation and the faith of Christians.

D 4300/5300 The Vowed Life (3credits)
The course looks at key areas of consecrated life today. The vows of poverty, obedience and celibate chastity are examined in light of their history, theology and contemporary calls. The call of community, prayer and ministry are studied in relationship to the vows. Students will engage these topics in light of charism, contexts, and the call toward interculturality.

DC 4320/5320 Inculturation: Perspectives from the Global South (3 credits)
The course explores the phenomenon of religious inculturation from the perspective of Third World postcolonial cultures, what could be termed as “Indigenous” inculturation, or inculturation “from within.” This is a departure from what had been the default emphasis on inculturation as a strategy employed by Western missionaries to evangelize non-Western cultures. While re-visiting the basic concepts and methods of inculturation, we will be using a critical and creative approach to shed light on the workings of grace in the heroic efforts of the peoples of Asia, Latin America, and Africa, who have, in the power of their own creative genius, upheld their cultural identity and historical agency, while seeking religious synthesis.

DE 4321 Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, Church, and Society (3 credits)
This course is an examination of the life, ideas, and legacy of Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, including a prospective evaluation of how the themes of Bernardin’s life and ministry continue to influence Church and society since his 1996 death.

D 4336 Theological Anthropology (3 credits)
This course offers an historical and contextual approach to the key themes of theological anthropology including creation, nature, grace, sin, and eschatology, among others. Special attention is given throughout the course to the relationships between theology and science, traditions and cultures, as well as contemporary questions, concerns, and insights about the human person from a Christian perspective in the world church.

D 4401/5401 Gutierrez and Schillebeeckx: The Praxis of God’s Reign (3 credits)
The scandalous reality of an unequal world compels theology to recognize a kairos, an opportune time, in which it is called to read the signs of the times and interpret them in the light of the Reign of God. Two eminent Dominican theologians bear special witness to this call: Peruvian theologian Gustavo Gutierrez, OP, a leading figure in liberation theology, the ecclesial-theological movement that emerged from the cruel context of Latin America; and Dutch scholar Edward Schillebeeckx, OP, who proposed to be a Western dialogue partner to liberation theology in his later, praxis-oriented theology. The course is an exploration of the continuing relevance of Schillebeeckx and Gutierrez, and how they may be brought to a critical and creative dialogue through the prism of an option for the poor.

D 4402/D5402 The Theology and Spirituality of Karl Rahner (3 credits)
Karl Rahner was a systematic theologian who addressed virtually every theological theme in the Christian tradition. He was also a spiritual guide who authored prayers, meditations, and sermons. In this course students will explore the major themes of Rahner’s systematic theology, while also relating them to his writings on Christian spirituality.

D 4410/5410 The Theologies of Karl Rahner & Elizabeth Johnson (3 credits)
Karl Rahner and Elizabeth Johnson have been two of the most influential Catholic theologians of the past 75 years. Johnson has been deeply influenced by Rahner’s work, though she has developed her thought in her own way as a feminist theologian. In this course we will examine the thought of each of these theologians on central Christian beliefs.

DS 5101 God and the Mystery of Suffering (3 credits)
The stark reality of human suffering has challenged the minds of philosophers and religious thinkers through the ages. It also engages the minds and hearts of pastoral ministers. In this course, students explore the ways in which the mystery of human suffering has been addressed in the Bible, the theology of the early Church, medieval theology, and by modern thinkers such as Elie Wiesel, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Jürgen Moltmann, Edward Schillebeeckx, Gustavo Gutiérrez, and Elizabeth Johnson. Students are invited to enter into sustained reflection on the way in which they conceive of God’s relation to suffering people.

D 5206 Theologies of Thomas Aquinas and Karl Rahner (3 credits)
The course looks at two important but different theologians. Thomas Aquinas draws from an Aristotelian and medieval world-view. Karl Rahner presents a theology fashioned from the modern world of self and history. Each theologian will be studied out of his historical context and in light of his sources. The focus for both theologies is the presence of God in the world within and beyond creation: what Jesus calls the reign of God and Christians call grace. Other theological areas flow from this.

DC 4330 Reconciliation: A Praxis of Salvation (3 credits)
Reconciliation is a praxis of salvation. It is learning how to harmonize with God’s Spirit in the Holy Mystery’s ongoing work of healing, justice, liberation, and shalom that is being realized now but will not be consummated until the eschaton. This course uses an intercultural perspective to explore reconciliation as a praxis of salvation for the sinned-against, sinners, accomplices, and bystanders, all of whom are embodied in webs of relationships that include family, friends, communities, generations, and our ecological home.

Since there is not a “one size fits all” program for Reconciliation, this course explores a) what Reconciliation, as a praxis of salvation, is and is not from a Christian perspective, b) the importance for understanding “Trauma” in Reconciliation; c) recognizing trauma and woundedness through intercultural perspectives; d) various contextual practices to participate in God’s work of healing the wounds of violence and co-creating a more just future.

DE 4340/5340 The Social Teaching of Pope Francis (3 credits)
Pope Francis’ words and actions carry a significant social agenda and this course explores various dimensions of the call to live the social teaching of the Gospel in the world today. Pope Francis calls to all baptized persons, through their vocations, to missionary discipleship. From this call to missionary discipleship Pope Francis’ teaching in areas such as economics, integral ecology, migration, and peacemaking are engaged.

BD 5002 The Cross in Scripture and Theology (3 credits)
The cross is the central symbol of the Christian faith. Yet the meaning of the cross has been interpreted in many different ways through the centuries, from a source of scandal to the “tree of life.” In this course, students will explore interpretations of the death of Jesus on the cross, including those found in the Pauline letters, the Gospels and other New Testament texts, the works of classic Christian thinkers, and the thought of contemporary theologians writing from a variety of perspectives. The goal of this course is to deepen students’ insight into the meaning of the death of Jesus and the symbol of the cross in Christian life, spirituality and preaching.

BD 5510 Feminist Hermeneutics in Bible and Theology (3 credits)
A team-taught seminar that investigates biblical texts and doctrinal themes such as God, Christ, Trinity, creation, theological anthropology, sin and evil, Mary, church, and ministry from a feminist perspective.

CD 5001 Inculturation: Theory and Methods (3 credits)
A seminar intended for doctoral and M.A. students exploring the development of contextual or intercultural theologies in the World Church, with special attention to the theory underlying this development and the methods employed. It serves also as a methods course for D.Min. students concentrating in intercultural ministries. Much misunderstood, inculturation will be carefully explicated, theoretically and practically. Study methods by which Christianity and a culture may actually encounter each other. The outcome (with the Spirit and local people) is a new reality: the People of God Transformed.

CD 5210 Theology of Interreligious Dialogue (3 credits)
Takes as starting point the Second Vatican Council’s declaration “Nostra Aetate” to examine the Church’s relations with other religions. Begins with a historical perspective and then looks at the theologies and forms of interreligious dialogue today. The actual praxis of dialogue will be integral to the course.

DC 4010/5010 Latin-Asian Popular Piety: Mexico and the Philippines (3credits)
In a Third World postcolonial context, Catholic faith is not often expressed in doctrinal-philosophical categories but in a spirituality of the day to day or lo cotidiano. Based on a sensuous cognition but rooted deeply into the soil of a rich, indigenous spiritual heritage, Catholic popular piety is a postcolonial dance between the official teachings of the church and folk religious expressions. Although an ocean apart, the scarlet thread of Spanish colonization connects Mexico and the Philippines; it is no surprise that the two cultures share significant similarities in their popular expressions of faith so that Catholic Philippines may well be a fluid Asian mirror of Catholic Mexico. With a focus on devotions to Mexico’s Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Philippines’ Quiapo Black Nazarene, powerful exemplars of an inculturated faith rooted in the creative genius of local religious cultures, the course takes a closer look at “Latin-Asian” popular piety “from within,” giving due consideration to the perspectives of the local faith communities who continue to heroically struggle to re-claim their birthright as co-equal bearers of imago dei.

DC 4020 / DC 5020 Reconciling Narratives: Racialization and the Theology of Robert J. Schreiter (3 credits)
As Robert J. Schreiter wrote, a narrative of the lie is “intended to negate the truth of a people’s own narrative…” (Reconciliation 34). In the 21st century, there are few narratives as powerful as the narrative of racialization that has endured since the 15th century. Unfortunately, in the creation of this narrative Christian Theology has been complicit and the effects have included the genocide of Native Peoples, the enslavement of African peoples, and the reorganization of countless societies into racialized hierarchies. The main way this occurred was through Christian theology aiding and abetting the development of a harmful theological anthropology that later was adopted into philosophical and scientific anthropologies: the human person as racialized.

This course will utilize the theology of Robert J. Schreiter to investigate the origins of this theological anthropology of racialization as a narrative of the lie, its full articulations as an anthropology that became the glue to hold together the colonial project, its current manifestations in a global context, and the ways that Schreiter’s work can assist with retrieving the doctrine of the imago dei that, when interpreted to a degree of relative adequacy in local and global contexts, offers a narrative of truth and reconciliation.

DC 4100 Trinity and Mission: The God of Jesus Christ (3 credits)
This course is an invitation for students to journey into a deeper understanding of God the Trinity whom Christians witness through their lives. It offers a critical and constructive theological reflection on the mystery of the Triune God–a plenitude of self-giving love–in ways that are relevant to the concrete realities of our present world. The course is informed by the perspectives of theological method, the history of doctrine, the practice of ministry, and contextual-intercultural perspectives.

DC 4210 Revelation and Liberation (3 credits)
The seminar will explore how selected theologians from non-Western cultures are proponents of a theology of revelation based on our experience of God’s intervention in human history.

DC 4300 Diversity in Communion: Trinity and Intercultural Cinema
As locus theologicus,—a site for theological discovery—cinema can inspire our theological imagination so that we are able to clarify and integrate a trinitarian vision of living together interculturally. This elective is an invitation for students to deepen in their understanding of God the Trinity whom Christians witness as Diversity-in-Communion. A creative and critical dialogue between contemporary trinitarian theologies and intercultural cinema, we set out on a quest for the Trinity’s divine dance of salvation as experienced in human and eco-human relationships of mutuality.

DC 4311 Introduction to Asian Theologies (3 credits)
As Christianity becomes post-western, the church in Asia will have an increasingly significant role in the church of the future. This course is an introduction to the theology emerging from the Asian church. It begins by looking at the context of Asia and then explores how theology addresses the realities of the many poor, many religions, and many cultures of Asia.

DC 5310 Interreligious Dialogue in Asia (3 credits)
Explores the theory and praxis of interreligious dialogue, including the influence of personal, social, and extra-religious factors. Taking into account the contextual realities, the texts of Christian scriptures and teachings are investigated to discern the church’s theology of religions.

DC 5400 “Understanding the Faiths of Others: Humanist and Theological Approaches” (3 credits)
One of the greatest challenges of our age is for people of different faiths—or of no particular faith—to understand each other more fully. Crucial to this endeavor is the ability of ministerial and academic leaders to cultivate an ability to investigate with critical rigor and theological integrity the stunningly diverse ways of being “religious” that shape the human experience. Designed especially for those interested in interreligious studies and ministries of interreligious dialogue, this course introduces students to: classical Western psychological, sociological, phenomenological, and theological theories of “religion”; de-colonial critiques of these theories; and the relatively new field of comparative theology.

DE 4204/5205 Women in Theology and Ethics (3 credits)
The heroic effort s of a few brave women led to breaking through the exclusively white male Eurocentric domination of the content and methods of Christian systematic theology and theological ethics. Now for more than four generations, inspired and outstanding women have opened new paths in those disciplines. This course examines the key contribution of women from across the globe to both methods and content such as an ethics of power, deeply rooted in mutual relations and renewed images of God, Christ, Church, that culminate in a circle of friends of God and prophets. Prerequisite: E 3000 Introduction to Moral Theology.

DE 4325 Public Theology (3 credits)
Public theology attempts to identify the criteria by which theology can guide public behavior, influence public policy, and shape public discourse. This course will focus on the Catholic tradition of public theology from the New Testament down to the twenty-first century with a particular emphasis on the practical dilemmas these choices raise in ministry.

DE 4330/ DE 5330 Virtues and Ethics Toward a Synodal Church (3 credits)
Pope Francis states quite clearly that “It is precisely this path of synodality which God expects of the Church of the third millennium.” What does this mean and what will this require of the people of God? This course explores synodality and particular virtues (attitudes and practices) that are being called forth if we are to walk this path together.

DE 4350/5350 Reconciliation and Ethics (3 credits)
This course explores the theology and ministry of individual and social reconciliation in various settings today (ie racism, political upheaval, Church, migration, earth community, post-conflict settings). Scriptural, doctrinal and ethical resources will be engaged as we look at the processes of reconciliation that include but are not limited to narratives of trauma, healing of memories, truth-telling, justice and forgiveness. Various methods that move toward reconciliation will be explored.

DH 4220 Rediscovering Vatican II: The Background, the Documents, the Theology (3 credits)
This lecture course will first set the event of Vatican II within its historical context and will offer a brief overview of what happened in the Council’s Four Sessions from 1962 until 1965. It will then reflect on the four major Constitutions that the Council produced–documents on the Liturgy, Revelation, the Church, and the Church in the Modern World–and on selected additional documents, such as those on the Laity, Missionary Activity, Non-Christian Religions, and Religious Freedom. The course will be conducted in two periods. Period One will consist in an hour fifteen minute presentation by a CTU faculty member on a particular document. Then, after a break, students taking the class for credit will spend the remaining time discussing the assigned document and readings.

DS 4010: “Theology and Spirituality of Religious Priesthood” (3 credits)
This course examines the historical and theological origins, development, and spirituality of the ministerial priesthood in consecrated religious life within the context of the common priesthood of all believers and the nature of ministry in the church. It gives special attention to the teachings of Vatican II, post-conciliar theologies of the priesthood, and the identity of the religious presbyter. Furthermore, this course focuses on the spirituality of religious priesthood as expressed in universal church documents and as understood according to the charisms of the particular religious orders, congregations, societies of apostolic life or secular institutes represented in the given semester.

DS 4017 Religious Life for the 21st Century: ‘Creating Communities of Hope on a Global Scale’ (3 credits)
As we read the signs of the times’ and seek to respond to them, we will engage key areas of religious life through lenses of scripture, tradition, interdisciplinary studies and the arts. We will 1) explore our theological and religious imagination; 2) discern key elements of community longed for and needed in the world today; 3) consider hope as it is vital for our time; and 4) examine ethical issues to which consecrated life is called to witness.

DS 4210/5210 Reconciliation and Forgiveness (3 credits)
An exploration of the theology and ministry of individual and social reconciliation in a variety of settings today: domestic violence, the Church, immigration and urban issues, and post-conflict settings. Issues treated include trauma, healing of memories, truth telling, justice, and forgiveness. This course may be taken at the Master’s or the Doctoral level.

HD 5010 Theology of the Second Vatican Council (Seminar) (3 credits)
This Seminar will reflect on the history and theology of the Second Vatican Council as found particularly in the four major Constitutions and in selected Decrees and Declarations.

SD 4310 Spiritual Classics of the Patristic Era (3 credits)
In this course students read and reflect on a selection of the most influential Christian spiritual classics from the Patristic Era (the first six centuries of the Christian era)., including Perpetua, Ignatius of Antioch, Origen, Gregory of Nyssa, Athanasius, Desert Fathers and Mothers, Benedict, Augustine, Pseudo-Dionysius, and others. Students will have opportunities to practice methods of approaching these texts for spiritual benefit, academic study, and pastoral re-appropriation. Themes of history, development of doctrine, physical environment, culture, and gender are also highlighted.

SH 4002a/SH 5002a Origins of Franciscan Spirituality, Part A (1.5 credits)
This asynchronous course introduces the student to the lives and writings of Francis and Clare of Assisi and their companions, as originators of Franciscan Spirituality. Besides reviewing the historical origins of the Franciscan Way of Life, special attention will be given to the contemporary priorities of Franciscan-Clarian life. The course is a prerequisite for participants in the Franciscan Study Tourgrimage (SH4002b/SH5002b Origins of Franciscan Spirituality Part B) and is open to all students and auditors as well.

SH 4002b/SH 5002b Origins of Franciscan Spirituality, Part B (1.5 credits)
This study tourgrimage in Italy provides students with a survey of the spirituality arising from the movement/family begun by Francis and Clare of Assisi in the thirteenth century. We will visit several of the shrines dedicated to the memory of the original members of the three orders of the Franciscan family. The tourgrimage will take place in Rome, Assisi, La Verna and the shrines of the Rieti Valley.

Besides reviewing the origins of the Franciscan Way of Life, special attention will be given to the contemporary priorities of Franciscan-Clarian life: Contemplative Vision of Reality; Preferential Option for Poverty; Mission of Eucharistic Communion; Universal Fellowship; On-going Formation in the Sign of the Cross

This tourgrimage is organized by the John Duns Scotus Chair of Franciscan Spirituality. Franciscan men and women are especially encouraged to participate, but it is open to all students and auditors.

Prerequisite: SH4002a/SH5002a Origins of Franciscan Spirituality, Part A, (asynchronous)

DEC 4400 Hope & Solidarity in Global Cinema (3 credits)
What if cinema can kindle our theological imagination so that we are able to clarify a vision of human hope and solidarity within the contradictions of the world? The course represents an interdisciplinary dialogue between systematic theology and cinema studies. Noteworthy examples of global cinema that spotlight the interweaving issues of culture, class, race, gender, and ecology, are brought into an open-minded but reasoned conversation with a range of theological perspectives that explore the theme of human experience.

DSC 4200/DSC 5200 Sources and Methods in Latin@ Theologies (3 credits)
The integral relationship between the lived daily experiences of Latino/a communities and the theological reflections that emerge from within these contexts is articulated as teología y pastoral en conjunto. This seminar explores sources and methods developed by Latin@ theologians and biblical scholars in their constructing of theological perspectives that recognize this intrinsic connection between theology and ministry.

Ethical Studies (HDS)

E 3000 Introduction to Moral Theology (3 credits)
An introduction to the basic themes of the Christian moral life, including its personal, social, and cosmic dimensions. Attention is given to sources, authorities, and methods used in Roman Catholic theological ethics as well as concepts fundamental to the discipline such as freedom and moral agency, moral norms, and moral reasoning.

E 4003/5003 Social Analysis for Pastoral Praxis (3 credits)
The course teaches and utilizes the pastoral spiral steps of experience, social analysis, faith reflection and action. Input, methods and practical ways are offered for parishes, schools, churches and other faith based social service groups to consider the social issues of the day within a faith context. The course examines how we might look at issues such as environmental concerns, immigration, and trafficking of women and children, among others. Practical aims of the course are to give each participant the skills needed to engage various issues and to bring this method to the classroom, the parish and the community. The process is theological and practical and can be used in various faith communities.

E 4004 Catholic Moral Teaching and Public Policy Debates (3 credits)
This course will examine Catholic moral teachings’ contributions to a range of public policy debates on issues such as health care, labor, poverty reduction, human rights, sustainable development, biomedical research, and governance. A global perspective will be taken in examining selected topics. Responses and reports of various bishops’ conferences and Catholic and Christian organizations that focus on these issues will be considered.

E 4007/5007 Catholic Social Teaching (3 credits)
This course introduces students to the fundamental dimensions of Catholic social ethics. The four dimensions of Divine Revelation, Magisterial Teaching, theoretical considerations from the social sciences, and the wisdom gleaned from the ministerial experience of the community of faith are the sources introduced here. This course builds upon the wider considerations of Catholic moral theology as it pertains to the social dimensions of the human person and her /his life of faith in the social, political, economic, and ecological world. Students are introduced to the corpus of the major social encyclicals that guide committed Christian ministry with peoples struggling for justice and yearning for reconciliation in an ecologically threatened and violent world.

E 4008 Applied Ethics: Medical and Sexual Ethics for Ministry (3 credits)
This course will examine the ethical principles and methods of the Catholic moral tradition as they are applied in medical and sexual ethics. Consideration will be given to topics such as: beginning of life issues in light of both the Ethical and Religious Directives (ERDs) issued by the USCCB and teachings on responsible parenthood; end of life issues in light of ERDs; issues in sexuality and sexual ethics to which those in pastoral ministry are often called to respond. Prerequisite: E-3000 Introduction to Moral Theology.

E 4009 Moral Decision-Making (3 credits)
Moral decision-making flows out of a way of life which seeks to be attuned to God and God’s movements, living this relationship within a community of faith and responsive to the world, local and global, within which one lives. As so many issues around us ask for responses that flow out of a moral stance, it is essential to be persons who practice discernment on a daily basis.

This course looks at various methods of discernment for decision-making which faith-based persons and communities may utilize. We consider various methods both in theory and practice for looking at ethical issues in the world today. The methods include personal and communal levels of discernment and decision-making. Case studies will be used as we engage different methods.

E 4010/E 5010 Social Ethics, the Person and Integral Ecology (3 credits)
The course will offer a comprehensive survey of social and political issues anchored in the theology of the human person following Vatican II and Pope Francis’ Integral Ecology. It will address the contribution of the paradigm of Integral Ecology and its social perspective based on the recognition of human dignity and fundamental human rights. Special focus will be on the preferential option for the poorest in relation to the natural environment, society and its cultures, institutions, and economy.

E 4015 Western Christian Ethics (3 credits)
This course examines the sources, methods, and norms of Christian social and theological ethics. Particular attention will be given to Roman Catholic thought, though it will also engage with the broad ecumenical tradition of Christian ethical thought. Through the close examination of ethical texts, contexts, and settings, this course will demonstrate how these resources guide ethical understanding, and will apply these insights to particular cases and topics in contemporary society.

 E 4016/ E 5016 Human Dignity in a Cyber World (3 credits)
The course aims to provide students with the conceptual tools to understand the impact of digital technologies on human identity and relationships and to provide the tools to address and explore various aspects of the cyber world in an integral ecological perspective. In particular, students will learn to: 1. understand the anthropological and moral implications of digital technological change such us generative artificial intelligence; 2. apply the conceptual tools to some relevant cases of tension between digital technologies, ethical principles and dynamics of social interaction; 3. use the concepts learned to read some cultural products that reflect on some relevant themes (such as cyber technology and learning, cyber technology and medicine, cyber technology and the environment, cyber addictions, cyber bullying, cyber terrorism, cyber weapons

 E 4020/5020 Organizational Ethics for a Church Context (3 credits)
This course will consider the ethical questions raised within organizational and institutional contexts, particularly that of the church and other religious organizations. Particular attention will be given to questions of leadership, responsibility, and service in the context of the variety of ministries in which students may engage. Through the use of cases and examples, students will develop their understanding of the moral requirements of leadership in the church and how those responsibilities relate to other organizational contexts, such as business, medicine, and other professional contexts.

E 4030/E 5030 Latin@ Feminist Theologies for Justice (3 credits)
This course will explore current justice issues from the perspective of Latin@ feminist theologians and ethicists from within the Christian tradition. Throughout the course, we will discuss the liberative contributions of Latin@ and Chican@ feminist imagination to Christian ethics, paying particular attention to Latin@ calls for justice within the Catholic tradition. These contributions address a range of interdisciplinary topics such as sexuality, gender roles, embodiment, race, class, postcolonial and decolonial theory. Through interaction with contemporary socio-political issues and narratives of lived experience, students will be invited to center marginalized voices within Church and society, and envision new pathways to embodying the kin-dom of God through the lens of Latin@ theology and ethics.

E 4200 Ethics of Power and Racial Justice (3 credits)
“Racist ideologies and behavior are long-standing: they are rooted in the reality of sin . . .” (The Church and Racism, #2). Globally, most experts on racial justice see the Catholic Church primarily among those who “Preach but don’t practice.” In light of this, it is morally imperative for all future ministers to obtain sufficient moral knowledge about the sin of racism and equip themselves with adequate strategies for the task of working for racial justice. This course addresses racial justice using the methods of theology, ethics, and the social sciences. Periodically this course is also offered as a 5000 level seminar for advanced research MA and D. Min. degree students.

E 4301 Radical Hospitality (1.5 credits)
This course will examine the theological and scriptural warrants for radical hospitality as well as consider some of the qualities and characteristics of hospitality that point to ways to cultivate virtues and practices that expand our capacity to live a life of radical hospitality

E 4315 Medical Ethics (3 credits)
This course will examine the general ethical principles and methods that concern the medical profession and the Ethical and Religious Directives issued by the US Catholic Bishops Conference. Consideration will be given to topics such as beginning of life and end of life issues, experimentation with human subjects, genetic engineering, access to healthcare, and patient autonomy. Prerequisite: E 4000 Introduction to Moral Theology.

E 4344 Global Economic Justice and Christian Faith (3 credits)
This course will examine the impact of globalization on economic life in light of Christian faith and the call for justice. Consideration will be given to the ethical dimensions of economic activity, to understandings of justice, particularly as expressed in the Catholic social tradition, and to proposals for addressing inequities.

E 4346 Women, Poverty and Global Justice (1.5 credits)
This course will examine the issue of poverty among women in light of the call for global justice found in Catholic Social Teaching. Consideration will be given to strategies developed to alleviate poverty, especially poverty among women who make up half the world’s population but represent 70% of the world’s poor.

E 4400 Care for the Earth: Ethics and the Environment (3 credits)
This course is a basic introduction to environmental ethics. The focus is on the need for Christians to respect the environment and the behaviors that need to follow from that reverence. Various environmental ethics methods are explored. Christian and Jewish sources, especially the Franciscan tradition and Catholic magisterial statements are plumbed.

E 4405 Sexual Ethics for the Christian (3 credits)
This course investigates the Catholic moral tradition, current magisterial teaching, and other elements that form a contemporary Catholic/Christian vision of sexuality and sexual ethics. Attention is given to issues to which those in pastoral ministry are often called to respond. Prerequisite: E 4000 Introduction to Moral Theology.

E 4406 Current Catholic Social Thought: Just War or Just Policing? (3 credits)
How can the Church understand and actuate its mediatory role between God’s offer of peace in Christ in a world fraught with systemic violence (social, cultural, economic, political, and ecological) and that frequently brings nations and peoples to the brink of war? This course first uses an historical approach to examine critical junctures in the development of biblical and Catholic social teachings, as well as classical Catholic social thought concerning war and peacemaking. Special attention is given to the on-going ethical development of Just War theories including contemporary proposals concerning “post war justice” and “Just Policing” In the second part of the course students will be assisted in examining a situation of violence or warfare in their context of origin, and to develop their own theological, ethical, and pastoral appropriation of God’s offer of peace in a violent world.

E 4407 Bible and Ethics for Pastoral Ministry (3 credits)
This inter-disciplinary course will explore the many dimensions of the relationship between the Bible and Ethics in the Catholic tradition. It will examine the integration of Scripture and Tradition as a basis for ethical reflection, moral imagination, and pastoral ministry. Topics such as justice, violence, reconciliation, and love will be addressed.

E 5002 Women, Poverty, and Global Justice (3 credits)
In light of Catholic Social Teaching and the call for global justice, this course will examine the issue of poverty by focusing on the causes of poverty among women, who make up half the world’s population but represent 70% of the world’s poor. Consideration will also be given to strategies developed to alleviate poverty, especially poverty among women.

E 4410/5410 Reconciliation: Peace Building, Women’s Agency, and the Arts (3 credits)
This course takes as its starting point the call to reconciliation and then looks at three key areas that foster reconciliation: 1) peace building, 2) women’s agency and 3) the arts. First, as building peaceful communities requires a long-term commitment toward developing communities and societies, we will look at practices for reconciliation as an essential component. Second, women’s roles in peace building and reconciliation are significant, yet often underreported and hampered by societies, religious and otherwise. We will examine efforts to promote women’s agency in reconciliation work in religion and society. Third, as increasingly efforts toward reconciliation utilize the arts in various formats, we will examine the use of the arts for fostering reconciliation.

E 4420/ E 5420 Ecological Ethics: Hope Amid Ecological Sin and Climate Emergency (3 credits)
This course provides a positive, hope-oriented overview of Christian Franciscan theology, ethics, and spirituality relevant for ecotheological reflection amid todays “Climate Emergency.” Beginning with a phenomenology of hope rooted in Islam, Judaism, and Christianity, focus is given to the biblical and koranic moral imagination that holds that life overcomes death. Franciscan theology, ethics, and spirituality of St. Francis and St. Clare of Assisi; St. Bonaventure of Bagnoregio, and Bl. John Duns Scotus are engaged with the current crisis. Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’, suffused with Franciscan influence is studied, along with Catholic Social Teaching on water, biodiversity, sustainable energy and divestment from fossil fuels.

ED 4415/5415 The Doctrine of Discover: Ethics of Power, Justice, Moral Luck, and Race (3 credits)
The “Doctrine of Discovery” refers to a series of Papal Bulls, establishing a spiritual, political, and legal justification for colonization, and seizure of indigenous lands not inhabited by Christians. Over 500 years later the result of this injustice still shapes moral imaginations and determines the social, political, and economic wellbeing of millions.

Part I of the seminar will review key documents, especially two papal bulls: (1) Pope Nicholas V, 1455 (2) Pope Alexander VI, 1493 justifying Christian European explorers’ claims to domination and superiority, in Africa, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and the Americas. White Europeans carried out a “divine design,” while, committing atrocities against Indigenous peoples. Arguably the Doctrine still fuels white supremacy today.

In Part II, students will focus on “moral luck” – how access to wealth and power shapes the moral imagination and one’s ability to act morally. Such shaping results from how a person’s sense of self is influenced and formed by forces well outside of an individual’s control. Insofar as we are treated differently, current historical, spiritual, social, political, ecological, or economic aspects of justice have harmed Indigenous peoples. Students will explore such issues in their place of origin considering related CST documents, and the work of Indigenous ethicists.

E 5107 Catholic Environmental Ethics: Sources, Norms, and Issues (3 credits)
Catholic theological ethics has always considered care for the Earth as moral imperative. This seminar explores the Catholic doctrinal and moral grounding for dealing with the complex and often perplexing issues that constitute today’s environmental crisis. Key theological and ethical sources and norms are explored using case studies. Students focus their learning on an actual case project in which they demonstrate ways of achieving conversion from our abusive relationships with the Earth, to moral, sustainable and reverential ways of living.

E 5208 Conscience: Historical and Contemporary Views (3 credits)
This course will explore the concept of conscience. It will examine historical accounts of conscience and the way in which understandings of conscience have developed in the Catholic moral tradition. The relationship of conscience to mature moral development and virtuous character formation will also be considered.

DE 4205/5205 Women in Theology and Ethics (3 credits)
Inspired by the outstanding women who have presented the prestigious St. Mary’s College Madeleva Lectures, and women contributing to the excellent volumes produced from conferences of Catholic Theological Ethics in the World Church, this course features women theologians and ethicists from across the globe. While classes will provide an overview the variety of key contributions from these women, opportunities will be provided for students to have direct contact with one of a select group of theologians (in person or through IT) and sustain a dialogue with her as the student studies her work. Students will present a final project or research paper in which the work of the theologian / ethicist with whom they engaged.

DE 4350/5350 Reconciliation and Ethics (3 credits)
This course explores the theology and ministry of individual and social reconciliation in various settings today (ie racism, political upheaval, Church, migration, earth community, post-conflict settings). Scriptural, doctrinal and ethical resources will be engaged as we look at the processes of reconciliation that include but are not limited to narratives of trauma, healing of memories, truth-telling, justice and forgiveness. Various methods that move toward reconciliation will be explored.

EH 4210 Catholic Social Thought: Movements, Models, & Martyrs (3 credits)
The faith filled contributions of Catholics from a variety of fields of endeavor (beyond theological disciplines) have shaped key principles of Catholic social thought, teachings and action. Such are the influences of the likes of Albert de Munn, Rene de La Tour du Pin, Women of the Plaza de Mayo, Aurora Donoso, religious sisters in Iran – and more. Their faith-filled action, strategy building, and personal witness has brought to the Church more effective and persuasive means for living the values of the Reign of God in the world and across time.

DEC 4400 Hope & Solidarity in Global Cinema (Online) (3 credits)
What if cinema can kindle our theological imagination so that we are able to clarify a vision of human hope and solidarity within the contradictions of the world? The course represents an interdisciplinary dialogue between systematic theology and cinema studies. Noteworthy examples of global cinema that spotlight the interweaving issues of culture, class, race, gender, and ecology, are brought into an open-minded but reasoned conversation with a range of theological perspectives that explore the theme of human experience.

SE 4300 Anti-Blackness and White Supremacy: Soul Sickness and Moral Choice (1.5 credits)
From police violence to mass incarceration, from environmental racism to micro-aggressions, the moral gravity of anti-black racism is attracting broad attention. How do Christian ideas, Catholic Social Teaching, practices, and institutions contribute to today’s struggle for racial justice? How do they need to be reimagined considering the challenges to white supremacy posed by today’s movements for racial justice?

All sessions will include activities and processes toward the integration of personal and communal spirituality with personal morality and socially just living.

Historical Studies (HDS)

CH 4301 Constants in Context: A Mission Theology for Today (3 credits)
Weaving together a systematic theology with mission at its core and a global history of the world Christian movement, this course traces the patterns by which theological constants are shaped in changing contexts in developing relevant mission theologies.

CH 5322 The History of Muslim-Christian Relations (3 credits)
An investigation of Christian-Muslim relations from the early seventh century CE to the present. Specific contexts of focus include but are not limited to: the early Muslim conquests, the Crusades and the fall of Constantinople, the Bosnian genocide, twentieth-century Algeria, contemporary West Africa, contemporary Southeast Asia, contemporary Palestine, and the rise of Islamophobia in contemporary Europe and the U.S.

DH 4220 Rediscovering Vatican II: The Background, the Documents, the Theology (3 credits)
This lecture course will first set the event of Vatican II within its historical context and will offer a brief overview of what happened in the Council’s Four Sessions from 1962 until 1965. It will then reflect on the four major Constitutions that the Council produced–documents on the Liturgy, Revelation, the Church, and the Church in the Modern World–and on selected additional documents, such as those on the Laity, Missionary Activity, Non-Christian Religions, and Religious Freedom. The course will be conducted in two periods. Period One will consist in an hour fifteen minute presentation by a CTU faculty member on a particular document. Then, after a break, students taking the class for credit will spend the remaining time discussing the assigned document and readings.

EH 4210 Catholic Social Thought: Movements, Models, & Martyrs (3 credits)
The faith filled contributions of Catholics from a variety of fields of endeavor (beyond theological disciplines) have shaped key principles of Catholic social thought, teachings and action. Such are the influences of the likes of Albert de Munn, Rene de La Tour du Pin, Women of the Plaza de Mayo, Aurora Donoso, religious sisters in Iran – and more. Their faith-filled action, strategy building, and personal witness has brought to the Church more effective and persuasive means for living the values of the Reign of God in the world and across time.

HD 5010 Theology of the Second Vatican Council (Seminar) (3 credits)
This Seminar will reflect on the history and theology of the Second Vatican Council as found particularly in the four major Constitutions and in selected Decrees and Declarations.

SH 5001 Christian History and Spirituality through Art and Architecture in Italy (3 credits)
A handful of significant cities have been the backdrop for many of the important events and people that have shaped our Christian faith. This interdisciplinary course studies significant moments, movements and figures pertaining to our history and spirituality. This two-week course takes place in the Italian cities of Rome, Assisi, and Florence. Students learn on site about the role of art and architecture in promoting the Christian faith. (Taught every two years)

C 3000/4010 World Christianity in Intercultural and Interreligious Perspective (3 credits)
In this course, students will be introduced to Christianity as the truly global phenomenon it has always been. Students will explore how historical and cultural context shapes religious experience, in general, and how it shapes ways of being Christian, in particular. Special attention will be given to diversity within the Catholic tradition, the diversity of other Christian confessions (i.e., ecumenism), and the ways in which Christian communities have developed and continue to evolve in interaction with communities of other faiths.

C 4002/5002 The Qur’an and the Prophet Muhammad
This course is designed to introduce students to a study of both the Qur’an and the life of the Prophet Muhammad (s.) It proceeds on the basis of the traditional Muslim premise that an understanding of the life (Ar. sira) and legacy (Ar. sunna) of the Prophet is crucial for both authentic Quranic exegesis as well as for discerning the ethical, ritual, and spiritual norms set by the Prophet’s example. The course is divided into three basic sections. The first is dedicated to introductory matters; the second focuses on the life of the Prophet; and the third on the nature, interpretation and role in Muslim praxis of the Qur’anic revelation.

C 4003 Abraham’s Children: Jews, Christians, and Muslims (3 credits)
Open to participants from any faith or philosophical background, “Abraham’s Children” is designed to introduce some of the basic elements of the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim faith traditions through the lens and dynamic of interreligious relations and understanding. Those who complete the course will have had the experience of studying Judaism, Christianity, and Islam from the perspectives of history and theology and also in an experiential setting with faculty and colleagues of all three faiths. Students will also have the opportunity for encountering aspects of these living faith communities in the “field” of the Greater Chicago Area.

C 4006C/5006 Community Organizing: Interreligious Perspective & Practice (3 credits)
This course has two basic aims. The first is to give students an opportunity for interreligious theological analysis of pressing issues of social justice, particularly surrounding race and the problem of “whiteness” in the history of U.S. American society. The second is to provide training in the practice known as faith-based “community organizing.” Accompanied by a white Catholic and an African American Muslim instructor, students will explore the deep social justice themes in the life of the Prophet Muhammad (s.) and Jesus of Nazareth, as well as place into conversation the work of prominent African American Christian and African American Muslim liberation theologians. They will also undertake training in community organizing in the tradition of Saul Alinsky and Ed Chambers as adapted by the Inner City Muslim Action Network of Chicago’s Southside.

C 4008C/5008 Community Organizing: Project Practicum
Students will also have the option of a taking an additional 1.5 credit hour practicum course designed to give students an opportunity to conduct a proposed community organizing project.

C 4008 Buddhist-Christian Dialogue (3 credits)
In a time of great global challenges– wars, economic exploitation and environmental degradation–it has become imperative that religious traditions learn to work together to create a peaceful world. This course looks at a variety of ways in which Christians and Buddhists have learned from one another. It culminates in an exploration of two complementary types of moral agents: the prophet and the bodhisattva.

C 4014 Islam, Muslims, & Islamophobia: a Catholic Response (3 credits)
This is a six-week crash course in the epidemic of Islamophobia in contemporary U.S. American society. Its aim is: to assess the extent of the problem, including statistics regarding anti-Muslim hate crimes and an analysis of the so-called “Islamophobia industry”; to explore and deconstruct negative and harmful anti-Muslim stereotypes, particularly as key elements of dominant mainstream media, “alt-right” media, and social media narratives; and to articulate a ‘Catholic response’ based on Catholic social teaching, theology of interreligious dialogue, and the longstanding praxis of Catholic-Muslim dialogue in the U.S. in which Catholic Theological Union has played a significant role.

C 4016/C5016 Pilgrimage in Interreligious and Intercultural Perspectives (3 credits)
Pilgrimage is a fascinating and multidimensional phenomenon. On one level, it is highly complex. It unfolds as a journey in space and time. It involves seeking and intent. Its purpose is often to engender transformation and renewal. It is also experienced in and through the complex interplay of literary, oral, and physical expressions across a variety of culturally situated religious, spiritual, social, and ritual contexts. On another level, however, it appears to be a basic human process, addressing basic human needs and aspirations—evident in the fact that countless human beings have been engaging in pilgrimage for millennia and that pilgrimage has been a feature of almost every religious tradition and spiritual movement in history. This course will provide a survey of pilgrimage studies in interreligious and intercultural perspectives. It will pay particular attention to an examination of pilgrimage as spiritual practice, as well as highlighting the emergence of postcolonial pilgrimage as a praxis of reconciliation.

C 4311 Mission Integration (3 credits)
Integrating seminar for those returning from cross-cultural and/or overseas training placements (OTP) of mission/ministry. This course provides a process for deeper understanding of the experience through theological reflection and integration of the past, present, and future.

C 4320 Introduction to Islam: Faith, History, and Modernity (3 credits)
This course will introduce students to the diversity of religious beliefs and practices of Islam. We will survey the rise and early history of Islam, the persona and role of the Prophet Muḥammad, the Qur’ān, core religious doctrines, sectarianism, jurisprudence and laws, philosophy, mysticism, and contemporary issues such as pluralism and gender dynamics. No previous knowledge about Islam required. Approximately 25% of class will take place online at the class appointed time.

C 4325 Introduction to Judaism (3 credits)
Designed to introduce the most important aspects of Jewish practice and belief, particularly stresses questions and problems relevant to contemporary Jews, while setting them within a historical context. Considers issues in the relationship between Judaism and Christianity, including the dialogue that has developed in recent decades.

C 4330 Interreligious Dialogue (3 credits)
Participants investigate forms of dialogue with other religions developed in Catholic Christianity since Vatican II. Attention is given to the dialogue of religious experience and a comparative theology arising from the practice of dialogue. Field trips and various media formats are employed.

C 4331 Jewish-Christian Dialogue After Nostra-Aetate (3 credits)
This course will explore the topic of Jewish-Christian dialogue in modern times including a study of key documents pertaining to Jewish-Christian dialogue as well as key turning points that are central to the history of such dialogue. We will also consider the horizons that lie ahead for Jewish-Christian relations, and techniques to keep in mind when practicing inter-faith dialogue.

C 4420/C5420 Interculturality and Religious Life
Religious congregations encounter more and more diversity, first of all, within their communities–affecting them in the areas of formation, spirituality, leadership, community life, and finances–and secondly, with those they serve in ministry/mission. This course will explore the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and transformation necessary for responding more to both the challenges and opportunities in these contexts.

C 4700/5700 Praxis for Intercultural Transformation (3 credits)
This course is designed to afford students in-depth experience-based preparation for intercultural mission and ministry. The course focuses on the necessity of developing and maintaining a commitment to on-going personal transformation from all forms of ethnocentrism and prejudice as an indispensable element of such preparation. The three principal components of the course are: preparation and orientation for an intensive field experience; an actual field experience; and post-experience integration. The field component has two options: 1) a traveling seminar to the Rosebud and Pine Ridge Reservations in South Dakota, led by our Lakota (Sioux) teachers; or 2) a selection of intercultural and/or interreligious experiences in the Greater Chicago Area developed in consultation between the student and the instructors.

C 5004i The Church and Indigenous Peoples (3 credits)
Offered as a study trip to the diocese of San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico, this course includes a series of lectures and community visits to give participants an overview of the relation between the Church and the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, through the experience of different Mayan Christian communities in that region. Organized in collaboration with several organizations in that local church, a main focus of the course is to help participants understand the past and present struggle of the Indigenous peoples for justice, peace and dignity in the church and society. A special attention will be given to studying the emerging processes of intercultural theology and pastoral ministry in this context.

C 5020 Christianity in the Middle East (3 credits)
The course examines key historical and cultural developments of Christianity in what is today known as the Middle East since the late modern period. Students are introduced to the history of the relation between Eastern Christians communities and the West, particularly during the colonial period. A main focus of the second part of the course is on the current situation of the Christian communities and on the emerging theological and cultural debates concerning their identity and future mission.

C 5030 Theologies of Peace in Intercultural Perspective (3 credits)
Constructing local, contextual theologies of peacemaking is necessary for developing relevant pastoral responses to complex conflicts and experiences of violence—economic, cultural, military, political, religious, ethnic, ecological, etc. Realizing that the ministry of peacemaking is often an ecumenical, intercultural, and interreligious task, building on case studies from different parts of the world this seminar will help students develop theological imagination and pastoral methods for promoting praxes of peacemaking as an integral part of the mission and ministry of local churches.

C 5041 Contemporary Islamic Renewal and Reform Movements (3 credits)
A thoughtful perspective on what is popularly called Islamic “fundamentalism.” This course examines the phenomenon as a response to the effects of western modernity and modernism. It also explores the spectrum of such movements ranging from progressive to extremist.

CD 4210/5210 – Theology of Interreligious Dialogue (3 credits)
Takes as starting point the Second Vatican Council’s declaration Nostra Aetate to examine the Church’s relations with other religions. Begins with a historical perspective and then looks at the theologies and forms of interreligious dialogue today. Discussing examples of actual praxes of dialogue from different parts around the world will be integral to the course.

CD 6001 Inculturation: Theory and Methods (3 credits)
A seminar intended for doctoral and M.A. students exploring the development of contextual or intercultural theologies in the World Church, with special attention to the theory underlying this development and the methods employed. It serves also as a methods course for D.Min. students concentrating in intercultural ministries. Much misunderstood, inculturation will be carefully explicated, theoretically and practically. Study methods by which Christianity and a culture may actually encounter each other. The outcome (with the Spirit and local people) is a new reality: the People of God Transformed.

​CE 4321/5321 Comparative Christian-Muslim Ethics (3 credits)
This course will introduce students to the beginnings and development of Christian and Muslim ethical systems. It will be comparative in that we will examine how members of each tradition utilized normative sources (e.g., practices/sayings of Jesus and Muḥammad) to discuss, debate, and put forth ethical positions. Some of the prominent scholars to be studied include St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, Ibn Sīna, and al-Ghazali. Time will also be devoted to examining the ways in which Christians and Muslims have applied ethical theories on issues of major concern in modern life such as war and peace, human rights, gender relations, and medicine.

CH 4301/5301 Constants in Context: A Mission Theology for Today (3 credits)
Weaving together a systematic theology with mission at its core and a global history of the world Christian movement, this course traces the patterns by which theological constants are shaped in changing contexts in developing relevant mission theologies.

CH 4322/5322 The History of Muslim-Christian Relations (3 credits)
The course is designed to introduce students to limited slices of the long and richly complex history of Muslim-Christian relations, from the medieval period to the present. Our survey begins in the immediate present as we examine our own contemporary social locations as a basis for identifying our own frames of reference with regard to Muslim-Christian relations. We will then launch ourselves back to the “beginning,” to the 7th century CE/1st century AH, in order to investigate the earliest Muslim view of Christians as presented in the revelation of the Qur’an and the classical sources that recount the story of the life of the Prophet Muhammad (ṣ). We will then proceed to explore snapshots of Muslim-Christian relations during the medieval period, focusing on such dynamics as interreligious polemic, theological exchange, stereotyping, persecution, and violence, as well as peaceful and mutually enriching coexistence. We will then begin our move into the modern period by examining, through the lens of historical fiction, the shifts in Muslim-Christian relations caused by colonialism and the rise of nationalism in the late 19th/13th and early 20th /14th centuries. This will be followed by case studies of more recent contexts of conflict and convivencia/ta`āyush/life together, as well as the potential for a future more fully dedicated to dialogue, reconciliation, and social symbiosis.

CS 5010 Spirituality, Ministry, and Survivors of Human Rights Abuse (3 credits)
The prevalence of torture, human rights abuses and violence in our world challenges the missionary/minister to understand the personal and societal effects of trauma and to develop a spirituality of accompaniment with survivors in their healing and reconciliation. Not open to audit.

CS 5020 Spirituality and Discipleship Today (3 credits)
This course explores discipleship in the New Testament, seeking its applications amid changing lives and in a changing world. First, we are called, then sent; the initiative and the agenda are not our own. Ponder the implications and applications.

CS 5030 The Spirituality of Lakota-Christian Dialogue (3 credits)
In dialogue with Native Americans (Lakota) who practice traditional spirituality and/or Christian faith, this course examines a spirituality of justice and interfaith mission/ministry. Includes a week-long field trip on Rosebud and Pine Ridge Lakota Reservations in South Dakota.

CS4040/ 5040 Islamic Mysticism and Spirituality (3 credits)
An exploration of the Muslim traditions of piety, devotion, and spiritual purification known as “Sufism.” Topics include: early Muslim asceticism; love mysticism; sobriety and ecstasy; the stages and states of the spiritual journey; Sufi prayer and praxis; and classical Sufi poetry.

CW4301/5301 Initiation and Contextualization (3 credits)
After studying the general characteristics of Christian initiation and other types of initiation as cultural-religious phenomena in a variety of historical contexts, this seminar focuses on theological, cultural, liturgical and pastoral issues in the holistic process of contextualizing initiation in particular Christian contexts.

DC 4100 Trinity and Mission: The God of Jesus Christ (3 credits)
This course is an invitation for students to journey into a deeper understanding of God the Trinity whom Christians witness through their lives. It offers a critical and constructive theological reflection on the mystery of the Triune God–a plenitude of self-giving love–in ways that are relevant to the concrete realities of our present world. The course is informed by the perspectives of the practice of ministry, theological method, the history of doctrine, and contextual-intercultural perspectives.

DC 4200 Christology and Culture (3 credits)
An investigation of the meaning of the person and work of Jesus Christ for Christian faith today. Special emphasis given to emerging christologies in the World Church, constructing christologies today, and the final consummation of all things in Christ.

DC 4210 Revelation and Liberation (3 credits)
The seminar will explore how selected theologians from non-Western cultures are proponents of a theology of revelation based on our experience of God’s intervention in human history.

DC 4311 Introduction to Asian Theologies (3 credits)
As Christianity becomes post-western, the church in Asia will have an increasingly significant role in the church of the future. This course is an introduction to the theology emerging from the Asian church. It begins by looking at the context of Asia and then explores how theology addresses the realities of the many poor, many religions, and many cultures of Asia.

DC 5002 Understanding the Faiths of Others: Humanist and Theological Approaches
One of the greatest challenges of our age is for people of different faiths—or of no particular faith—to understand each other more fully. Crucial to this endeavor is the ability of ministerial and academic leaders to cultivate an ability to investigate with critical rigor and theological integrity the stunningly diverse ways of being “religious” that shape the human experience. Designed especially for those interested in interreligious studies and ministries of interreligious dialogue, this course introduces students to: classical Western psychological, sociological, phenomenological, and theological theories of “religion”; decolonial critiques of these theories; and the relatively new field of comparative theology.

DC5003 History of Religions (3 credits)
This course is an advanced seminar designed to introduce students to the research tradition known as the “history of religions”—basically an academic discipline (also known as “religious studies”) centering around the effort to explain and understand “religion” from a perspective independent of any theological framework or faith commitment. Students will read and engage in critical discussion of such classics of this tradition as the works of Durkheim, Weber, Freud, Jung, Otto, Eliade, W.C. Smith, and T. Masuzawa.

DC 5004 Comparative Theology (3 credits)
This course is an advanced seminar designed to introduce students to the relatively new research tradition and spiritual praxis known as “comparative theology.” Pioneered by Catholic thinkers such as Francis Clooney and James Fredericks, comparative theology is anything but a critical juxtaposition of apparent differences and similarities between or among religious traditions. Rather it is rooted in a methodology of placing highly specific elements of one’s own faith tradition into deep dialogue with analogously specific elements in another faith tradition.

DC 5310 Interreligious Dialogue in Asia (3 credits)
Explores the theory and praxis of interreligious dialogue, including the influence of personal, social, and extra-religious factors. Taking into account the contextual realities, the texts of Christian scriptures and teachings are investigated to discern the church’s theology of religions.

DC 5311 Readings in Asian Theology (3 credits)
This is a reading course on the writings of key Christian theologians– especially on how they address the issues arising from the context and realities of Asia. Among the major themes examined from an Asian perspective are post-colonialism, contextualization, hermeneutics, theological methods, inculturation, integral liberation, and interreligious dialogue.

DC 6000 Theological Anthropology in Intercultural Perspective (3 credits)
A doctoral seminar in emerging issues in theological anthropology in the World Church today, as well as new challenges to the Christian understanding of the human being. Emphasis is placed on the different contexts in which these issues and challenges are encountered.

SC 4002 The Spiritual Writings of Sr. Thea Bowman and Howard Thurman (3 credits)
This course is an introduction to the spiritual writings of African American theologians and scholars – Sr. Thea Bowman and theologian Dr. Howard Thurman. The class will focus on their writings on the spiritual life, community and justice and through prayer, lecture, small group discussion, multimedia presentations and other various methods, offer the student resources for understanding the impact of Sr. Thea and Howard Thurman on the spiritual life of contemporary Christians.

SC 4110 Black Spirituality (3 credits)
Black spirituality engages the mind, heart and spirit in a dynamic union with the transcendent and immanent God, as experienced in the heart of community. It is rooted in the history and experience of African peoples in the United States as well as in the Caribbean, and Latin America. Using various resources and methods (prayers, slave narratives, autobiographies, and more) this course will engage students in a critical examination of the roots, development and characteristics of the spirituality of African peoples (primarily in the United States).

SC 4190 Guadalupe and Marian Spirituality (3 credits)
This Course considers how our Lady of Guadalupe fits into and breaks out of traditional Marian Spirituality within Christianity. Particular attention will be given to the themes of historical development, inculturation, evangelization and social justice. The course will be a conducted in a combination of lecture, group discussion and student led Marian celebrations.

SC 5190 Santa María de Guadalupe y Tepeyac y Chicago** (3 credits)
This course reviews the history of Guadalupe and other American Marian events in light of their socio-implications on Christian spirituality. It will consider both Latin American, US American and Latina/o devotion to María as mother of God and sister in the lucha (struggle for justice).

WC 5202 Liturgical Inculturation (3 credits)
This seminar explores the inculturation of the church’s worship in both historical and contemporary perspective with emphasis on current methodological and theological issues raised by the engagement of the church with contemporary cultures promoted by Vatican II.

WC 5205 Liturgy in a Multicultural Community (3 credits)
This seminar explores the complex situation of liturgical celebration in communities comprising people of diverse languages and cultural backgrounds. It takes up the dynamics of intercultural engagement; assumptions, principles, and critiques relating to multiculturalism; importance of popular religiosity; and contemporary models for liturgy that embrace the plurality of cultures in a respectful, inclusive way.

DEC 4400 Hope & Solidarity in Global Cinema (Online) (3 credits)
What if cinema can kindle our theological imagination so that we are able to clarify a vision of human hope and solidarity within the contradictions of the world? The course represents an interdisciplinary dialogue between systematic theology and cinema studies. Noteworthy examples of global cinema that spotlight the interweaving issues of culture, class, race, gender, and ecology, are brought into an open-minded but reasoned conversation with a range of theological perspectives that explore the theme of human experience.

DSC 4200/DSC5200 Sources and Methods in Latin@ Theologies (3 credits)
The integral relationship between the lived daily experiences of Latin@ communities and the theological reflections that emerge from within these contexts is articulated as teología y pastoral en conjunto. This seminar explores sources and methods developed by Latin@ theologians and biblical scholars in their constructing of theological perspectives that recognize this intrinsic connection between theology and ministry.

MPC 4103 Pastoral Ministry in U.S. Hispanic/Latino@ Contexts (3 credits)
Demographics indicate that Latin@s currently constitute the largest and fastest growing population in the U.S. Catholic church. This course privileges Latin@ theological scholarship and explores the histories, experiences, and diversity of these communities and the implications for pastoral ministry. *MAPS students may use this course to fulfill Level 1 requirement.

**Required Level 1 course for MA-HTM.

MPC 4308 Pastoral Care in an African-American Context (3 credits)
Explores the psychological and cultural elements that contributed to the formation of an African-American identity. The goal is a better understanding of the African-American experience and a greater sensitivity to the strength and needs of this cultural tradition. Students develop a better understanding/ability to minister in the African-American community.

MPC 4101 /5101 Pastoral Ministry in U.S. Asian and Pacific Island Contexts (3 credits)
Asian and Pacific Island populations are a growing presence within the U.S. Catholic church. This course explores the histories, experiences, and diversity of these communities and the implications for pastoral ministry.

MPC 5103 Pastoral Ministry in U.S. Hispanic/Latin@ Contexts (3 credits)
Demographics indicate that Latino/as currently constitute the largest and fastest growing population in the U.S. Catholic church. This course privileges Latino/a theological scholarship and explores the histories, experiences, and diversity of these communities, and the implications for pastoral ministry.

SMPC 4132/5132 Black Spirituality as a Source for Ministry (3 credits)
Black spirituality engages the mind, heart and spirit in a dynamic union with the transcendent and immanent God, as experienced in the heart of community. It is rooted in the history and experience of African American peoples in the United States. Using various resources and methods (Prayers, preaching, song, spiritual autobiographies, biographies, slave narratives, spiritual interviews and film), this course will engage students in a critical examination of the roots, development and characteristics of the spirituality of African Americans, as well as a participative experience of Black spirituality as found in the religious expression of the community and ministries.

WSC 5301 Prayer Patterns in the Abrahamic Traditions (3 credits)
This seminar course will examine the development of (non-eucharistic) liturgical prayer patterns in the Abrahamic traditions from ancient Temple and Synagogue prayer patterns into the 21st century. This historical-contextual approach will provide a framework for inquiring to what extent there can be said to be implied spiritualities in the form, structure and performance of these prayer patterns, and how such might shed light on the evolving prayer practices of these traditions today. Historical work will be complemented by shared theological reflection on the patterns we examine.

MP 3000 Theology and Practice of Ministry (3 credits)
Explores ministry as daily lived experiences of accompanying communities and individuals within diverse contexts with particular attention to the Roman Catholic tradition. The relationship between theology and ministry, ecclesiological dimensions of ministry, and the functions of ministry are explored. Students develop means and resources for cultivating ministerial identity, collaborative leadership, pastoral strategies, interreligious and ecumenical sensitivities, intercultural and contextual competencies.

*Option to fulfill MDiv and MAPS 3000 level requirement.

MP 3001 Pastoral Ministry in Ordinary Time (3 credits)
Explores the opportunities, challenges, and daily realities experienced in the contextual practice of ministry with communities of faith. The course considers theological foundations of ministry as accompaniment; develops critical and analytical skills necessary for ministry; and examines cultural and contextual dimensions of ministerial and communal identities.

*Option to fulfill MDiv and MAPS 3000 level requirement.

­­­­­­­­­­­­MP 4001 Current Trends in Theological Reflection (1.5 credits)
Theological Reflection is a critical tool for ministry. This course provides a foundation for understanding its goals, methods and applications. Students will explore multiple current methods, adapt them for various ministerial contexts, and develop skills in forming and facilitating theological reflection in their ministry praxis.

MP 4023a/5023a Ministry with Families in Life’s Early Stages (1.5 credits)
Pastoral ministry with families involves sensitivity to the diverse makeup of today’s families while being able to minister effectively in moments of joy as well as in response to the many complex challenges families face. Part A will cover issues in life’s early stages of accompanying families with children and youth, and will consider complex issues such as immigration, LGBTQ identity, poverty, and domestic abuse.

MP 4023b/5023b Ministry with Families in Life’s Later Stages (1.5 credits)
Pastoral ministry with families involves sensitivity to the diverse makeup of today’s families while being able to minister effectively in moments of joy as well as in response to the many complex challenges families face. Part B will cover issues in life’s later stages of accompanying families of older children, no children, or aging parents as well as complex issues such as mental and physical health, aging, and addictions.

MP 4306 Pastoral Ministry: Developing Skills and Competencies for Cooperative Leadership (3 credits)
Explores ministry as an experience of accompaniment with shared responsibilities and accountabilities. Attention is given to means and resources for cultivating effective leadership styles, developing pastoral plans and strategies, creating and sustaining networks, and addressing conflict and boundary situations.

MP 4307 Pastoral Ministry: Care, Counseling, and Presence (3 credits)
Explores ministry from the perspectives of providing care, counseling, and presence within the context of a faith community. Each of these aspects of ministry is examined with respect to the skills, resources, networks, and theological understandings necessary for effective pastoral responses.

MP4314/MP5314 Ministry, Preaching, and Teaching in Contexts of Latin@ Popular Devotion (3 credits)
For Latin@́ theologies and ministries, popular practices are expressions of the lived faith of people and sources of theologizing. Students will be able to experience Latino/a popular religious practices, identify significant theological threads, ministerial responses, and pastoral implications of accompanying communities through these particular means of traditioning the faith.

MP 5102 Pastoral Ministry on Campus (3 credits)
Explores theological frameworks, means and resources for developing strategies, creating networks, and providing pastoral ministry in educational contexts and within academic communities.

MP 5103 Pastoral Ministry in Healthcare (3 credits)
Explores theological understandings and pastoral ministry within contexts of healthcare. This course seeks to better understand health and health care in a holistic way; to encourage advocacy on a variety of health-related issues; to promote wellness in all dimensions of health—mental, physical, emotional, social, and spiritual. Attention will be given to means and resources for cultivating effective pastoral ministry with regards to issues and contexts such as aging, chronic illness, hospitals, hospice, mental health, and navigating the healthcare system.

MP 5104 Pastoral Ministry with Contemporary Families (3 credits)
Pastoral ministry with families involves sensitivity to diverse cultural backgrounds while being able to minister effectively in response to the many complex challenges families face such as addiction, domestic abuse, mental and physical health, aging, immigration, poverty and joblessness. This course prepares students with the knowledge, skills, and resources necessary to be more pastorally effective in accompanying contemporary families.

EMP 4001 Management and Leadership for Ministry (1.5 credits)
This course explores the responsibility of those called to ministry to provide effective administrative and managerial leadership whether they serve in increasingly complex parishes, religious congregations, diocesan offices, or other Church related organizations. The course gives particular attention to the theological and ethical foundations of pastoral leadership as well as management theory and practice, communications and marketing skills, and fundamental principles of human resource management. It also examines best practices in compliance and organizational ethics with emphasis on mission integration and ongoing professional development of staff.

MPC 4101/MPC 5101 Pastoral Ministry in U.S. Asian and Pacific Island Contexts (3 credits)
Asian and Pacific Island populations are a growing presence within the U.S. Catholic church. This course explores the histories, experiences, and diversity of these communities and the implications for pastoral ministry.

MPC 4103 / MPC 5103 Pastoral Ministry in U.S. Hispanic/Latino/a Contexts (3 credits)
Demographics indicate that Latino/as currently constitute the largest and fastest growing population in the U.S. Catholic church. This course privileges Latino/a theological scholarship and explores the histories, experiences, and diversity of these communities and the implications for pastoral ministry. *Option to fulfill MAPS 3000 level requirement. **Required course for MA-HTM.

MPC 4308 Pastoral Ministry in African-American Contexts (3 credits)
Explores the psychological and cultural elements that contributed to the formation of an African-American identity. The goal is a better understanding of the African-American experience and a greater sensitivity to the strength and needs of this cultural tradition. Students develop a better understanding/ability to minister in the African-American community.

SMP 4311 / SMP 5311 Spirituality of the Lay Vocation and Ministry (3 credits)
This course will analyze and discuss the topics of vocation and ministry in the context of spirituality and its impact on all who identify themselves as Christian disciples and ministers, and more specifically the laity in the Roman Catholic tradition. This course is based on the premise that ministry flows from God’s primary invitation to every human being to self-knowledge, authenticity, integrity, discipleship and a life of faith. The course will be attentive to the historical developments regarding the laity and more specifically developments since Vatican Council II. Ministerial and spiritual formation, diversities of ministries within the Church for laity, culture and context, relationship between laity and ordained ministers, discernment are a few of the themes that will be addressed in this course

SMP 4312 Family Spirituality for Ministry (3 credits)
This course takes a look at spirituality and ministry through the lens of family. It will begin by tracing the traditional as well as newer practices of spirituality and how they engage children and family. Next the course will explore elements of spirituality that are inherent in the experience of families. Finally students will develop a spiritual theology of ministry to inform how they respond ministerially to the spiritual needs of families in parish and community contexts.

SMP 4314 Spirituality and Justice in Parish and Family Life (1.5 credits)
This course will look at the intersections of Spirituality and Justice in the context of parish and family life and ministry. Particular attention will be given to ministers in parish ministry and family life ministry and formation.

SMPC 5132/4132 Black Spirituality as a Source for Ministry (3 credits)
Black spirituality engages the mind, heart and spirit in a dynamic union with the transcendent and immanent God, as experienced in the heart of community. It is rooted in the history and experience of African American peoples in the United States. Using various resources and methods (Prayers, preaching, song, spiritual autobiographies, biographies, slave narratives, spiritual interviews and film), this course will engage students in a critical examination of the roots, development and characteristics of the spirituality of African Americans, as well as a participative experience of Black spirituality as found in the religious expression of the community and ministries.

P 2610 Classical Philosophy: A broad survey of Ancient and Medieval Philosophy (Pre-Socratics to Ockham) to spotlight topics, lessons, and techniques for application to current religious and philosophical concerns.

P 2620 Contemporary Philosophy: A broad survey of several recent and current trends in philosophical thought tracing their origins to the 1600s and the response of Modern philosophers to Ancient and Medieval thought. Phenomenology, Existentialism, Logical Positivism, Ordinary Language Philosophy, Marxism, Critical Theory, and Postmodernism are all examined in light of the common philosophical questions that underlie each.

P 2630 Philosophy of Religious Belief: A survey of basic theories of knowledge and the justification of belief (“epistemology”) with emphasis on whether and how the nature of religious belief is unique. Approaches to “truth” are introduced as are the traditions of Foundationalism, Pragmatism, and Fideism.

P 2640 Philosophy, Science, and Religion: A study of major moments in the history of empirical science and their implications for worldviews and our understanding of how humans have in fact pursued knowledge. Philosophers include Popper and Kuhn, and topics include scientific literacy, scientific method, and scientific modification of religion or philosophy.

P 2650 Ethics and Economics of Climate Change: This course considers the problem of climate change and related environmental problems through the multiple disciplines of ethics, economics, political science, moral psychology, and theology. The moral implications of cost-benefit analysis, of the natural environment seen as a “public good,” and of the international and inter-generational distribution of the burdens of climate change are considered.

P 2660 Existentialism: An exploration of themes and writing techniques in Existentialist thought (including Kierkegaard, Dostoevsky, Nietzsche, Kafka, Sartre) to provide a repertoire of trans-ethical concepts, and non-traditional writing forms, to articulate religious experience, theology and philosophy.

P 2670 God, Suffering, and Evil: A survey of the “problem of evil” from a philosophical perspective, beginning with the theodicy of G.W. Leibniz and extending to contemporary approaches to reconciling a benevolent God with the existence of suffering. Particular attention is afforded to ministerial implications of how both people of faith and those without experience the question of why people suffer seemingly unmerited misfortune.

P 2680 Philosophical Ethics: A study of major philosophical theories of ethics and their application to concrete cases.

P 2690 Philosophy of Death: The course utilizes various classical and contemporary philosophical texts to confront death and related phenomena such as aging, dying, grieving, and bereavement. The undercurrent flows from death as a biomedical event thru religious, spiritual, and existential events to cryonics and mind-uploading. Of particular concern is the way in which one’s approach to death informs one’s approach to life.

P 2700 Political Philosophy: The course begins with Machiavelli’s break from Classical “virtue-based” political philosophy and continues with the political thought of Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Kant, Marx, and Nietzsche. Throughout the course students will apply the material to current and international contexts.

P 2710 Biomedical Ethics: This course surveys the moral questions surrounding the use of medical technology, abortion, and end-of-life issues. While a secular philosophical approach is taken, the course content anticipates that the student will eventually be considering similar questions from a Catholic moral-theological perspective and thus aims to provide a broad foundation intended to foster ministerial competence.

S 3000 Introduction to the Christian Spiritual Life (3 credits)
This course is an introduction to Christian spirituality and the practices and values that comprise it. The course offers a survey and a taste of the components that are included in the five aspects of the spiritual journey: context, participants, content, process and aspiration. These will be considered in both their traditional and contemporary expression. Special attention will be on spiritual practices and disciplines, discernment, the spiritual journey and health as one journeys in the spiritual life. Meets the requirement for Spirituality Foundational/Level One course for MAPS and M.Div.

S 3001 Spiritual Companioning for Ministry (3 credits)
Both in daily life and in explicit ministry, Christians are frequently called upon to offer a companioning presence to people who are concerned about spiritual issues. Students in this course develop an understanding of this “everyday” ministry and practice the skills that will help them exercise it more fruitfully. Themes include how to listen well, presence to those different from oneself, varieties of religious experience, working with images and stories, and discernment. The course design includes input, discussion, and practicum. Meets the requirement for Spirituality Foundational/Level One course for MAPS and M.Div.

S 3002 Spirituality and Justice (3 credits)
This course proposes an alternative to individualistic understandings of spirituality by examining the theological relationship between Christian spirituality and justice. Two distinct yet fundamentally related questions are considered: (1) what is meant by an authentic Christian spirituality? (2) what is meant by justice in the context and practice of transforming society and history? In order to unpack these questions, primary sources including, but not limited to, biblical texts, magisterial documents, and key figures in the development of spirituality are critically engaged. Meets the requirement for Spirituality Foundational/Level One course for MAPS and M.Div.

S 4010 Spirituality, Ministry and Survivors of Human Rights Abuses (3 credits)
A seminar combining theory and praxis with Chicago agencies and groups working with refugees/ survivors of torture and human rights abuses. What is our pastoral responsibility in accompanying survivors on their journey to healing and reconciliation? What are the possibilities and limitations of this ministry (personally and collectively)? What is a spirituality of accompaniment? What is a spirituality of reconciliation? What is beyond reconciliation? How does this process inform and challenge our theology, mission and ministry? How do we attend to our own healing process? How do we deal with the oppressor/wrongdoer/perpetrator? These are the questions and concerns that our class-community will address during this semester. Admission is by consent of instructor.

S 4100 The Spiritual Life: A Latino/a Perspective (3 credits)
This is not a course on Hispanic spirituality, rather this course looks at the whole of Christian Spirituality from a Latino/a perspective and highlighting the contributions made by Hispanics like Isidro de Sevilla, Ignacio de Loyola, Pedro de Alcantara, Teresa de Avila and others to Christian Spirituality.

S 4120 Latin@ Liberation Spiritualities (3 credits)
“Liberation Spiritualities emerging from U.S. Latin@ contexts are a more recent and evolving synthesis within Christian Spirituality. This course proposes an exploration of the Christian spiritual tradition in the light of the Latin@ experience. The first part of the course considers themes and issues involved in the creation and description of a Latin@ Spirituality of Liberation. The second part of the course examines how Latin@ theologians have expressed this liberating spirituality for Christian life through their proposals for Christology, worship, evangelization, and social justice.”

S4207 Spirituality of Merton (3 credits)
This course explores the still-relevant contributions of the Trappist monk and best-selling author Thomas Merton, who was one of the most influential voices in Christian spirituality during the twentieth century. In returning to both his well-known and lesser-known works, we will study how Merton’s prophetic writings on subjects such as violence and racism, among other timely themes, continue to speak to our contemporary church and world. Special attention will also be given to the pastoral and ministerial implications of Merton’s insights and contributions.

S 4312 Theology and Practice of Prayer (3 credits)
The course is an introduction to traditional and contemporary methods of Christian prayer and its stages of development. The process entails learning from some of the great teachers of prayer within the Christian tradition, as well as drawing insights from the contribution of other religious traditions. Provides the theological grounding necessary to evaluate and critique prayer practices, and interweaves theory and praxis.

S 4313 Perspectives on Psychological and Spiritual Transformation and Maturity (3 credits)
This course looks at several of the major perspectives or models of human maturity. What are the psychological and spiritual ingredients that contribute to the development of mature adults? How do psychology and spirituality contribute to the development of mature Christians? A lecture-seminar format is used.

S 4314 Religious Life in Context (3 credits)
Explore the understanding of religious life in various historical and cultural contexts. Topics include 1) the various forms of religious life and the historical situations that gave rise to them, 2) the understanding of the vows and how these are expressed differently in different social-cultural contexts, and 3) religious life in the world and church today.

S 4316 French Spirituality in Global Perspective (1.5 credits)
The French spirituality of the seventeenth century has profoundly influenced the theory and practice of religious life, priesthood, and Catholic lay life down to the present day. This course studies major figures of that period as well as later developments, especially the impact of the French missions in Africa, Indochina, the Middle East, North America, and the Caribbean.

S 4341 Spirituality of Clare (1.5credits)
This course examines the historical development, contributions, and spirituality of St. Clare of Assisi in the thirteenth century. Special attention is given to study of her life and contribution to the Franciscan movement, primary source material, and contemporary Clarian scholarship.

S 4342 Spirituality of Third Order Franciscans (1.5 credits)
This course explores the historical development, contributions, and spirituality of Third Order Franciscan women and men in the thirteenth century and beyond. Some of the key figures include Angela of Foligno, Rose of Viterbo, Ramon Lull, Matt Talbot, and others. Attention is given to both the Third Order Regular and Third Order Secular, focusing on their contributions to the Franciscan movement, primary source material, and contemporary scholarship.

S 5000 Earth Spirituality for Christians (3 credits)
Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’ has opened a new era of widespread awareness that the Christian vocation includes responsible participation in the whole community of Earth creatures. This course examines ancient and contemporary sources for Earth spirituality, with a special focus on spiritual practices that encourage and express true “conversion to the Earth.”

S 5004 French Spirituality and Its Worldwide Impact (3 credits)
The French spirituality of the 17th century has profoundly influenced the theory and practice of religious life, priesthood, and Catholic lay life down to the present day. This course studies major figures of that period as well as later developments, especially those impacting on the worldwide missions.

S 5005 Evangelizing the Baptized (3 credits)
Pope Paul VI reminds us that “The Church is an evangelizer, but she begins by being evangelized herself” (EN 15). This course considers the spirituality of “Evangelization in the Modern World” and other documents of evangelization. It also gives students a hands-on approach to giving personal witness and preaching of the kerygma in retreats, days of recollection and parish missions. Students will be expected to preach in a public forum (usually a parish mission/day of recollection) as part of this course.

S 5006 Spirituality and Leadership (3 credits)
A blended course (online and onsite) that will focus on the relationship between leadership and spirituality from a primarily Christian perspective. The course will be attentive to the various ways spirituality shapes one’s understanding of leadership, the importance of context to one’s development as a leader and leadership styles, as well as the intersections between spirituality and leadership.

S 5008 History of Christian Spirituality Seminar (3 credits)
This seminar course will do an exploration of key movements and figures in the history and development of Christian spirituality over the course of 2000 years. Given the interdisciplinary nature of spirituality, this course will focus on the importance of history as a source for the study of Christian spirituality. MA and DMin students will be required to do a historical study of a particular spiritual figure and/or movement to be shared with their classmates.

S 5009 Biology of Spirit (3 credits)
This course will explore contemporary perspectives on such issues as: neuroscience and religious experience, differences and convergences between spiritual and scientific ways of knowing, human spiritual participation in ecospheres, theological and scientific views on the relations among body, mind, and spirit, etc.

S 5010 God Images in the Writings of Theologians of Color (3 credits)
This course will place in conversation the images of God, in postcolonial, liberation and classical theorists with those presented in writers of color including members from Latin@, Black and Asian American communities. Attention will be given to how these God images influence the Christian spiritual life.

S 5101 Foundations and Methods for the Study of Spirituality (3 credits)
This seminar course is designed specifically for students who are concentrating in Christian Spirituality as a theological discipline at the M.A. or D.Min level. It will define spirituality as a field of study, explore the relationship between spiritual praxis and research in spirituality, survey research methods, evaluate the notion of a “spiritual classic,” and examine issues in the historical/theological study of spirituality. It will teach students the crucial work of appropriating spiritual classics for contemporary audiences.

S 5105 Discernment: Classical Traditions, Contemporary Dilemmas (3 credits)
Christian discernment is a way of life in which one seeks constant attunement to the presence and communication of God, a gift of the Holy Spirit, and an art that one learns by participation and practice. It is also a theme upon which spiritual writers and theologians throughout the centuries have written extensively, with different foci depending on their culture and circumstances. This course is an exploration of historical Christian insights into discernment, in view of developing a discerning approach to contemporary dilemmas.

S 5110 Spiritual Formation Seminar (3 credits)
Spiritual formation is a process of being conformed to the image of Christ for the sake of others under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, which is mediated through an ecclesial community. Spiritual formation takes place in widely varying settings and contexts. The process of spiritual formation can take place within religious communities, Christian initiation programs, at schools of ministry as well as places that are not explicitly considered spiritual formation programs, such as in the home, the parish, faith sharing groups, lay volunteer programs. This course will explore the unique character of Christian spiritual formation specifically addressing issues of culture, family, personal history and social location.

S 5112 Spirituality and Health (3 credits)
This course will provide students with an understanding of the relationship of spirituality, faith and health from a cultural perspective. Students will learn to appreciate and understand the relationship between one’s spirituality and faith and wellness/health. This course will focus on recent studies and scholarship on such themes as prayer and healing, power of story, addictions and 12 step programs, care of the person, environment and stress, illness, end of life and aging.

BS 4520 Biblical Foundations of Spirituality (3 credits)
The faith of ancient Israel and of the early Christian communities is explored in order to establish the grounding for a contemporary biblical spirituality. Attention is given to biblical images for God, the various modes of prayer and worship, and the ethical demands for justice and peace in the biblical world and in our own.

CS 5010 Spirituality, Ministry, and Survivors of Human Rights Abuse (3 credits)
The prevalence of torture, human rights abuses and violence in our world challenges the missionary/minister to understand the personal and societal effects of trauma and to develop a spirituality of accompaniment with survivors in their healing and reconciliation. Not open to audit.

CS 5020 Spirituality and Discipleship Today (3 credits)
This course explores discipleship in the New Testament, seeking its applications amid changing lives and in a changing world. First, we are called, then sent; the initiative and the agenda are not our own. Ponder the implications and applications.

CS 5030 The Spirituality of Lakota-Christian Dialogue (3 credits)
In dialogue with Lakota Native Americans who practice traditional spirituality and/or Christian faith, this course examines a spirituality of justice and interfaith mission/ministry. Includes a week-long field trip on Rosebud and Pine Ridge Lakota Reservations in South Dakota.

DS 4010: “Theology and Spirituality of Religious Priesthood” (3 credits)
This course examines the historical and theological origins, development, and spirituality of the ministerial priesthood in consecrated religious life within the context of the common priesthood of all believers and the nature of ministry in the church. It gives special attention to the teachings of Vatican II, post-conciliar theologies of the priesthood, and the identity of the religious presbyter. Furthermore, this course focuses on the spirituality of religious priesthood as expressed in universal church documents and as understood according to the charisms of the particular religious orders, congregations, societies of apostolic life or secular institutes represented in the given semester.

DS 5101 God and Human Suffering (3 credits)
The stark reality of human suffering has challenged the minds of philosophers and religious thinkers through the ages. It also engages the minds and hearts of pastoral ministers. In this course, students explore the ways in which the mystery of human suffering has been addressed in the Bible, the theology of the early Church, medieval theology, and by modern thinkers such as Elie Wiesel, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Jürgen Moltmann, Edward Schillebeeckx, Gustavo Gutiérrez, and Elizabeth Johnson. Students are invited to enter into sustained reflection on the way in which they conceive of God’s relation to suffering people.

DS 4210/5210 Reconciliation and Forgiveness (3 credits)
An exploration of the theology and ministry of individual and social reconciliation in a variety of settings today: domestic violence, the Church, immigration and urban issues, and post-conflict settings. Issues treated include trauma, healing of memories, truth telling, justice, and forgiveness.

DSC 4200/DSC5200 Sources and Methods in Latin@ Theologies (3 credits)
The integral relationship between the lived daily experiences of Latino/a communities and the theological reflections that emerge from within these contexts is articulated as teología y pastoral en conjunto. This seminar explores sources and methods developed by Latin@ theologians and biblical scholars in their constructing of theological perspectives that recognize this intrinsic connection between theology and ministry.

ES 4002 Ethics, Spirituality, and Global Climate Change (3 credits)
Human-forced global climate change is a reality that Christians cannot ignore. While engaging the scientific, economic, and political realities that show the urgency of climate change issues, the deeper spiritual and moral resources available in the Christian and Roman Catholic traditions explore are explored. Students are assisted in finding ways to integrate their spirituality and ethical practice and to engage in concrete actions that seek resolutions to the many issues global climate change presents to our world.

SE 4300 Anti-Blackness and White Supremacy: Soul Sickness and Moral Choice (1.5 credits)
From police violence to mass incarceration, from environmental racism to micro-aggressions, the moral gravity of anti-black racism is attracting broad attention. How do Christian ideas, Catholic Social Teaching, practices, and institutions contribute to today’s struggle for racial justice? How do they need to be reimagined considering the challenges to white supremacy posed by today’s movements for racial justice?

All sessions will include activities and processes toward the integration of personal and communal spirituality with personal morality and socially just living.

SC 4002 The Spiritual Writings of Sr. Thea Bowman and Howard Thurman (1.5 credits)
This course is an introduction to the spiritual writings of African American theologians and scholars – Sr. Thea Bowman and theologian Dr. Howard Thurman. The class will focus on their writings on the spiritual life, community and justice and through prayer, lecture, small group discussion, multimedia presentations and other various methods, offer the student resources for understanding the impact of Sr. Thea and Howard Thurman on the spiritual life of contemporary Christians.

SC 4005 Spirituality, Discipleship and Mission Today (3 credits)
This course looks at the interrelationship of Spirituality, Discipleship and Mission as seen in the life of Jesus Christ as well as followers of Jesus throughout human history and as evident today. Attention will be focused on  the role of prayer and spiritual practice in the journey of discipleship as well as attention to the documents of the church and the role of the recent synod in shaping an understanding of mission and discipleship.

SC 4190 Guadalupe and Marian Spirituality (3 credits)
This Course considers how our Lady of Guadalupe fits into and breaks out of traditional Marian Spirituality within Christianity. Particular attention will be given to the themes of historical development, inculturation, evangelization and social justice. The course will be a conducted in a combination of lecture, group discussion and student led Marian celebrations.

SC 5005 Spirituality, Discipleship and Mission Today (3 credits)
This course looks at the interrelationship of Spirituality, Discipleship and Mission as seen in the life of Jesus Christ as well as followers of Jesus throughout human history and as evident today. Attention will be focused on  the role of prayer and spiritual practice in the journey of discipleship as well as attention to the documents of the church and the role of the recent synod in shaping an understanding of mission and discipleship.

SC 5020 Hispanic Spirituality: History and Religiosity (3 credits)
Provides a general introduction to the foundations, beliefs, and challenges of Hispanic/Latino spirituality. The course covers topics like: Mesoamerican and medieval Spanish religiosity; what Latinos believe about God, Mary, humanity, evil, etc.; and finally, the challenge of evangelizing popular religiosity and of enhancing Latino interest in the Word of God, justice, and liberation.

SC 5040 Islamic Mysticism and Spirituality (3 credits)
An exploration of the Muslim traditions of piety, devotion, and spiritual purification known as “Sufism.” Topics include: early Muslim asceticism; love mysticism; sobriety and ecstasy; the stages and states of the spiritual journey; Sufi prayer and praxis; and classical Sufi poetry.

SC 5190 Santa María de Guadalupe y Tepeyac y Chicago** (3 credits)
This course reviews the history of Guadalupe and other American Marian events in light of their socio-implications on Christian spirituality. It will consider both Latin American, US American and Latina/o devotion to María as mother of God and sister in the lucha (struggle for justice).

SD 4310 Spiritual Classics of the Patristic Era (3 credits)
In this course students read and reflect on a selection of the most influential Christian spiritual classics from the Patristic Era (the first six centuries of the Christian era)., including Perpetua, Ignatius of Antioch, Origen, Gregory of Nyssa, Athanasius, Desert Fathers and Mothers, Benedict, Augustine, Pseudo-Dionysius, and others. Students will have opportunities to practice methods of approaching these texts for spiritual benefit, academic study, and pastoral re-appropriation. Themes of history, development of doctrine, physical environment, culture, and gender are also highlighted.

SH 4002a/SH 5002a Origins of Franciscan Spirituality, Part A (1.5 credits)
This asynchronous course introduces the student to the lives and writings of Francis and Clare of Assisi and their companions, as originators of Franciscan Spirituality. Besides reviewing the historical origins of the Franciscan Way of Life, special attention will be given to the contemporary priorities of Franciscan-Clarian life. The course is a prerequisite for participants in the Franciscan Study Tourgrimage (SH4002b/SH5002b Origins of Franciscan Spirituality Part B) and is open to all students and auditors as well.

SH 4340 History and Spirituality of the Franciscan Movement (3 credits)
This course provides a survey of the historical development, theological contributions, and spirituality arising from the movement begun by Francis and Clare of Assisi in the thirteenth century and carried on by the generations that followed them. Special attention is given to the central themes of creation, evangelical poverty, the human person, Christology, and prayer, among others. We will examine the historical contributions to Christian spirituality made by members of all three orders of the Franciscan family as well as the manifold way the tradition continues in our own time.

SH 5001 Christian History and Spirituality through Art and Architecture in Italy(3 credits)
A handful of significant cities have been the backdrop for many of the important events and people that have shaped our Christian faith. This interdisciplinary course studies significant moments, movements and figures pertaining to our history and spirituality. This two-week course takes place in the Italian cities of Rome, Assisi, and Florence. Students learn on site about the role of art and architecture in promoting the Christian faith. (Taught every two years)

SH 4002b/SH 5002b Origins of Franciscan Spirituality, Part B (1.5 credits)
This study tourgrimage in Italy provides students with a survey of the spirituality arising from the movement/family begun by Francis and Clare of Assisi in the thirteenth century. We will visit several of the shrines dedicated to the memory of the original members of the three orders of the Franciscan family. The tourgrimage will take place in Rome, Assisi, La Verna and the shrines of the Rieti Valley.

Besides reviewing the origins of the Franciscan Way of Life, special attention will be given to the contemporary priorities of Franciscan-Clarian life: Contemplative Vision of Reality; Preferential Option for Poverty; Mission of Eucharistic Communion; Universal Fellowship; On-going Formation in the Sign of the Cross

This tourgrimage is organized by the John Duns Scotus Chair of Franciscan Spirituality. Franciscan men and women are especially encouraged to participate, but it is open to all students and auditors.

Prerequisite: SH4002a/SH5002a Origins of Franciscan Spirituality, Part A, (asynchronous)

SMP4005/5005 Spiritual and Ministerial Implications of Caste and Race in the Catholic Church (3 credits)
Using the books Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents (Isabel Wilkerson) and Racial Justice and the Catholic Church (Bryan Massingale) as frameworks, this course will address the over 400 years of the system of caste and racism in the United States and specifically focusing on the Catholic Church. The hope is that this course will provide a place to have honest conversations and participants will gain insight for the anti-racist work that we are all called to be engaged.

SMP 4311 Spirituality of the Lay Vocation and Ministry (3 credits)
This course will analyze and discuss the topics of vocation and ministry in the context of spirituality and its impact on all who identify themselves as Christian disciples and ministers, and more specifically the laity in the Roman Catholic tradition. This course is based on the premise that ministry flows from God’s primary invitation to every human being to self-knowledge, authenticity, integrity, discipleship and a life of faith. The course will be attentive to the historical developments regarding the laity and more specifically developments since Vatican Council II. Ministerial and spiritual formation, diversities of ministries within the Church for laity, culture and context, relationship between laity and ordained ministers, discernment are a few of the themes that will be addressed in this course.

SMP 4312 Spirituality of Family for Ministry (3 credits)
This course takes a look at spirituality and ministry through the lens of family. It will begin by tracing the traditional as well as newer practices of spirituality and how they engage children and family. Next the course will explore elements of spirituality that are inherent in the experience of families. Finally students will develop a spiritual theology of ministry to inform how they respond ministerially to the spiritual needs of families in parish and community contexts.

SMP 4314 Spirituality and Justice in Parish and Family Life (1.5 credits)
This course will look at the intersections of Spirituality and Justice in the context of parish and family life and ministry. Particular attention will be given to ministers in parish ministry and family life ministry and formation.

SMPC 4132/ 5132 Black Spirituality as a Source for Ministry (3 credits)
Black spirituality engages the mind, heart and spirit in a dynamic union with the transcendent and immanent God, as experienced in the heart of community. It is rooted in the history and experience of African American peoples in the United States. Using various resources and methods (Prayers, preaching, song, spiritual autobiographies, biographies, slave narratives, spiritual interviews and film), this course will engage students in a critical examination of the roots, development and characteristics of the spirituality of persons of Black African descent (African American, Afro-Latino, Afro-Caribbean, African diaspora) as well as a participative experience of Black spirituality as found in the religious expression of the community and ministries.

WS 4100 Liturgy, Prayer, and Contemplation: Ecclesial Spirituality (3 credits)
This course helps students integrate and communicate an understanding of individual and communal prayer as formation for and the result of apostolic action. The course includes: reading, discussion, lecture, and practical exercises.

WS 5001 Liturgical Foundations for Spirituality (3 credits)
Readings and seminar presentations on the structures, prayer forms, rhythms, and theology of liturgy to uncover liturgical foundations for Christian spirituality. The seminar will conducted in a reading, presentation, and discussion style.

WS 5105 Church Year Prayed and Preached (3 credits)
This seminar explores the Church Year as a liturgical event, spiritual guide and preaching resource. Employing the methods of practical theology, it will consider the relevant contextual, historical, and experiential factors for celebrating, praying, and preaching the liturgical cycle of feasts and seasons.

WS 5301 Patterns of Christian Prayer (3 credits)
This seminar examines the historical development of non-eucharistic liturgical prayer from early Christian prayer patterns through the reforms of Vatican II. This historical-comparative approach provides the context for inquiring to what extent there is an implied spirituality in the form, structure, and performance of such prayer; and how this might be beneficial to contemporary prayer practice.

WSC 5301 Prayer Patterns in the Abrahamic Traditions (3 credits)
This seminar course will examine the development of (non-eucharistic) liturgical prayer patterns in the Abrahamic traditions from ancient Temple and Synagogue prayer patterns into the 21st century. This historical-contextual approach will provide a framework for inquiring to what extent there can be said to be implied spiritualities in the form, structure and performance of these prayer patterns, and how such might shed light on the evolving prayer practices of these traditions today. Historical work will be complemented by shared theological reflection on the patterns we examine.

W 3000 Liturgy: Principles and Practices (3 credits)
Introduces ritual, ecclesial, theological, and practical foundations of liturgy and liturgical celebrations in preparation for ministry in diverse pastoral and cultural contexts.

W 4005/ 5005 Liturgical Time: Feasts, Seasons, and Saints (3 credits)
The Christian sense of time is shaped by the celebrations Christians keep. This course will explore the origins, development, and theological significance of the major feasts, fasts, and seasons of the Church’s liturgical year and consider the emergence and evolution of feasts honoring saints. Topics will include consideration of Sunday as the preeminent Christian feast; the evolution of Easter and Christmas as the most prominent festal occasions in the yearly cycle and the growth of seasons and additional feasts around them (the Lenten and Easter seasons and the feasts of Pentecost and Ascension in the case of Easter and the Advent and Christmas seasons and feast of Epiphany for Christmas); and the rise of the cult of saints celebrating the continued unfolding of the paschal mystery in the lives of Christians through the ages. The focus of the course will be on the history and theology of the celebrations of the liturgical year in various Christian traditions as myriad manifestations of the one mystery of Christ—with consideration of pastoral issues and implications for lived spirituality. No prior knowledge of the subject is expected.

W 4010 Liturgies of Dying and Death (1.5 credits)
This course will examine Roman Catholic liturgical responses to dying and death set out in the Pastoral Care of the Sick (1982) and the Order of Christian Funerals (1989). We will explore the historical, cultural, and theological dimensions of the rites, attend to their pastoral celebration, and assess new situations for which ritual response is needed in today’s diverse pastoral contexts.

W 4019 Canonical Issues in Parish Life (3 credits)
The Code of Canon Law specifies rights, sets forth duties, and provides for the vindication of rights. This course will examine laws of the Church as they pertain to pastoral ministry. It will focus on the nature of law in the Church, the notion of parish, Christian Initiation and the other sacraments, particularly marriage.

W 4100 Special Topics in Preaching (1.5 credits
Prerequisite: W4209 or W4205
This course offers special topics in preaching which vary according to specific term it is offered.

W 4100A Special Topics in Preaching: Storytelling in Preaching
W 4100B Special Topics in Preaching: Stewardship/Fundraising Preaching
W 4100C Special Topics in Preaching: Preaching for Campus Ministry
W 4100D Special Topics in Preaching: Preaching the Solemnities and Feasts of Mary in the Liturgical Year
W 4100E Special Topics in Preaching: Preaching for Parish Missions 1
W 4100F Special Topics in Preaching: Preaching for Parish Missions 2
W 4100G Special Topics in Preaching: Preaching Retreats
W 4100H Special Topics in Preaching: Preaching with Children
W 4100I Special Topics in Preaching: Using Visual Arts as Text for Preaching, Part A
W 4100J Special Topics in Preaching: Using Visual Arts as Text for Preaching, Part B
W 4100K Special Topics in Preaching: Decolonizing the Pulpit, Part A
W 4100L Special Topics in Preaching: Decolonizing the Pulpit, Part B
W 4100M Special Topics in Preaching: Preaching and the Sciences
W 4100n Special Topics in Preaching: Preaching the Liturgies of the Sacred Triduum
W 4100p Special Topics in Preaching: Preaching and the Insights of Positive Psychology
W 4100q Special Topics in Preaching: Preaching to Encourage Resilient Discipleship
W 4100r Special Topics in Preaching: Preaching the Feasts of Christ in the Lectionary
W 4100s Special Topics in Preaching: Patristic Preaching in the West
Engage the traditions of preaching from select church fathers of the Latin-speaking West, focusing on their context, modes of biblical and liturgical interpretation, and their enduring relevance for the contemporary church. Through a performative lens and critical analysis of primary texts in translation, students will delve into the rhetorical strategies, cultural contexts, and theological views that shaped patristic preaching and how that wisdom might be appropriated by preachers today to enrich our life of Christian discipleship. (1.5 credits)

W 4100t Special Topics in Preaching: Patristic Preaching in the East
Engage the traditions of preaching from select church fathers of the Greek- and Syriac-speaking Eastern churches, focusing on their context, modes of biblical and liturgical interpretation, and their enduring relevance for the contemporary church. Through a performative lens and critical analysis of primary texts in translation, students will delve into the rhetorical strategies, cultural contexts, and theological views that shaped patristic preaching and how that wisdom might be appropriated today to enrich our life of Christian discipleship. (1.5 credits)

W 4100u Special Topics in Preaching: Preaching Weddings and Funerals

W 4200 Initiation and Reconciliation (3 credits)
Theological, historical, and pastoral reflection on the experience and sacraments of initiation and reconciliation. Particular attention given to: the RCIA as norm for initiatory practice; the relation of sacramental reconciliation to the church’s life; and foundations of practical skills for celebration.

W 4201 Eucharist and Sacramental Theology (3 credits)
This course serves as a general introduction to sacramental theology, and a particular introduction to the Eucharist, its history, theology, structure, and practice.

W 4204 Canon Law (3 credits)
This course addresses the nature, role, and history of canon law; church structures and ministries; and law regulating sacramental practice. This course fulfills the MDiv requirement in Canon Law.

W 4205 Lay Leadership of Prayer and Preaching (3 credits)
Recommended taken later in one’s program. Prerequisite: W3000; W4200 OR W4201; B3000 and B3001. A practicum to develop competency in the leadership of the community’s prayer, including Liturgy of the Hours, catechumenal rites, the funeral Vigil, penitential liturgies, liturgies of Word and Communion, and ministry to the sick and dying. In conjunction with these settings, it will also consider the liturgical, canonical, and pastoral dynamics and practical skills of lay preaching.

W 4207 Presiding I (3 credits)
Prerequisites: W4200; W4201; W4206 and 4209.
A practicum designed for priesthood candidates to develop competency in leadership of sacramental rites, including initiation, weddings, wakes, and funerals. Special emphasis is given to Eucharist.

W 4209 Preaching I (3 credits)
This practicum explores the homily as a liturgical action within the Christian assembly. Participants consider the basics of homiletics and the liturgical, pastoral, contextual, and practical dynamics of preaching for Sundays, Feasts, and Liturgical Seasons.

W 4213 Presiding II (1.5 credits)
Prerequisites: W4200; W4201; W4206 and 4209.
A practicum designed for priesthood candidates to develop competency in the pastoral care and anointing of the sick and in the ministry of reconciliation. Open to students in their final year.

W 4216 Marriage and Anointing of the Sick (1.5 credits)
Liturgical and theological exploration of the sacrament of marriage and the sacrament of anointing and the pastoral care of the sick and dying. Particular attention is given to the interplay of liturgy and pastoral care.

W 4217 Worship with Children (3 credits)
Christians who are children because of their chronological age (birth to approximately 12 years old) claim their role as children of God in worship in unique ways. This course will explore theological foundations, catechetical principles, and pastoral strategies for engaging children in the worship of the entire assembly and for preparing and celebrating liturgies in contexts where the majority of the worshipers are children (such as Children’s Liturgy of the Word and Masses with Children in parish and school settings).

W 4218—Liturgy Lab: Reconciliation (1.5 credits)
This 1.5 credit elective provides candidates for presbyteral ordination with supplemental training for celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation, especially Form I – individual confession and absolution. Confessions with children, women, those with disabilities, and those in difficult pastoral situations, such as divorce and remarriage, etc., will be examined and pastorally addressed. The goal of the course will be the further development of effective skills of hearing confessions and offering suitable counsel and penances. Requirements: Presiding II – either before or concurrent with Liturgy Lab: Reconciliation.

W 4222/5210 Liturgical Catechesis and Mystagogy (3 credits)
Drawing upon the nature of liturgical celebration and principles of adult education, this seminar explores the nature and role of liturgical catechesis and mystagogy, and examines several models for experientially based learning and formation for adult worshipers.

W 4302/5302 Women and the Diaconate: A Liturgical Theology (1.5 Credits)
The question of the ordination of women to the diaconate in the Roman Catholic Church remains open to date. Reading the signs of the times, Pope Francis established a commission to study the possibilities in 2016. This course will examine the state of the question using lenses of a liturgical theology: biblical, historical, ritual, theological, contextual, and pastoral. We will investigate biblical foreground and then historical evidence for various formal roles of women with regard to diaconal ministry in east and west. We will analyze the development of diaconal ordination rites and break open the implications of Vatican II’s renewal of the diaconate and current trends in the theology of the diaconate a whole. We will conclude by proposing a constructive approach to the promises, problems, and possibilities of the ordination of women to the order of deacons in the Roman Catholic Church today.

W 4402: Experiencing Liturgy: Mystagogy and Catechesis (3 credits)
Liturgy is one mode of engaging the mystery of God’s self-revelation, and experience of the Church’s liturgies provides a fruitful source for theological reflection and inspiration for Christian life. This course will immerse students in the Church’s long tradition of mystagogical reflection on liturgical celebrations, from the Emmaus encounter to the contemporary Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. It will also explore practical pastoral strategies for implementing a mystagogical approach to the liturgy that respects the sensibilities of diverse participants. Students will learn to let the symbols of the rites “speak” as they prepare and celebrate liturgies, to draw from the Church’s public prayer as they preach, and to use embodied experience of the Church’s liturgical rites in catechesis so that they may become mystagogues who lead others into the mysteries of the liturgy.

W 5001 Catechesis and Religious Education in the Worshiping Community (3 credits)
This seminar explores the interplay of life, liturgy, and adult faith formation to promote a praxis of a holistic, transformative catechesis in the spirit of the General Directory for Catechesis. Offers an overview of the history of catechetical education; critical study of recent major catechetical documents; contemporary trends in adult faith formation; and the intersection of liturgy and catechesis.

W 5003 Theology of Word and Sacrament (3 credits)
Joining together theological interpretation and pastoral reflection, this seminar explores various topics in liturgical and sacramental theology in historical, contemporary, and emerging contexts.

W 5004 Liturgy and the New Evangelization (3 credits)
Building on contemporary discussions of the important connections between evangelization and liturgy, this seminar-style course will explore the evangelical and formative dimensions of liturgical celebrations and aid students in developing strategies for catechetical and spiritual practices that are rooted in the liturgy and which promote the work of evangelization in the world today.

W 5006 Women in Worship: Historical Perspectives (3 credits)
Women do not figure prominently in the standard histories of worship, which tend to focus on the people perceived to have had the most influence through their connections to institutional structures of power. Women also have been very present in worship, however, and this seminar will explore some literary and material traces of the ways women have shaped and been shaped by their experiences of worship in the distant and more recent past. Students will explore how women have occupied and sanctified spaces for worship, exerted ritual authority and leadership in both official and unofficial capacities, contributed to worship through the liturgical arts (including music), and prepared themselves and others to worship well. Although the syllabus will emphasize the role of women in the history of Christian worship, students may choose to focus on women in worship in other religious traditions in their in-class presentations of case studies and final research projects.

W 5021 Liturgy and Popular Religiosity (3 credits)
This seminar will explore the “non-official” contribution to Christian worship of the “plebs sancta Dei” (the holy, common people of God) who, though not theologians and church leaders, provide a cultural context for the liturgy. Through readings, seminar presentations, and discussions, participants in the seminar will examine both historic and contemporary influences of popular religion on Christian worship (open to auditors).

W 5230 Liturgical Methods (3 credits)
This seminar introduces students to the major methodological trends in the field of liturgy. Students engage both in the reading of the classic and contemporary works and in the exploration of the various methods by applying them to a study of liturgical rites and texts.

W 5240 Readings in Ritual Studies (3 credits)
This seminar explores the ritual dimensions of liturgical celebration. Student presentations are based on field observation and readings in ritual theory from various social sciences.

W 5241 Liturgical History (3 credits)
This course provides an overview of Christian liturgy from its Jewish matrix until the present, especially in the west. It introduces significant movements, places, events, liturgical sources, and individuals that provide basic historical, social, cultural, and theological frameworks for understanding the development of Christian worship.

CW 4301 Initiation and Contextualization (3 credits)
After studying the general characteristics of Christian initiation and other types of initiation as cultural-religious phenomena in a variety of historical contexts, this seminar focuses on theological, cultural, liturgical and pastoral issues in the holistic process of contextualizing initiation in particular Christian contexts.

WC 4212 / WC5212 A Worshiping World: Liturgy, Culture, Context (3 credits)
This course takes up the theory and practice of liturgical inculturation, engaging the approaches of contextual and intercultural theologies to reflect critically on the role of culture in the shaping of liturgical celebration. With global and ecumenical scope, we examine the historical and contemporary interplay of liturgy and culture, with a particular attention to entanglements with colonialism and racism. Attending to complex cultural
negotiations in every liturgical event shapes the future of liturgy and local ecclesial transformation.

WS 4100/ 5100 Liturgy, Contemplation, and Mission: Ecclesial Spirituality (3 credits)
This course integrates aspects of liturgy, prayer and contemplation which ground and shape an ecclesial spirituality for the evangelizing mission of the church, and it explores the Trinitarian basis for this integration. Lecture, reading, discussion, and integrating exercises. Previous coursework in liturgy and spirituality required. (auditors welcome)

WS4110/5110 Eastern Christian Liturgies and Spiritualities (3 credits)
The liturgical and spiritual traditions of the Christian East are outstanding examples of contextualization, theological and liturgical diversity, and rich visions of Christian life lived in ever deepening communion with the Triune God. Using historical, comparative, and theological lenses, we will examine the Byzantine and the Syriac-speaking traditions, looking at the key moments in liturgical development, the theologies of the Paschal mystery expressed therein, and the key themes and figures of the spiritual life that flow to and from these liturgies. We will attend to the Coptic, Ethiopic, and Armenian rites, and reception of the Syriac traditions in India. Interdisciplinary study—through ritual, art, music, and literature—of these often minoritized traditions aims to expand understanding of the contextualization of Christianity through the breadth of its non-Western liturgical expressions.

WS 5001 Liturgical Foundations for Spirituality (3 credits)
Readings and seminar presentations on the structures, prayer forms, rhythms, and theology of liturgy to uncover liturgical foundations for Christian spirituality. The seminar will be conducted in a reading, presentation, and discussion style. (auditors welcome)

WS 5510 Patterns of Christian Prayer
This seminar examines the historical development of non-eucharistic liturgical prayer from early Christian prayer patterns through the reforms of Vatican II. This historical-comparative approach provides the context for inquiring to what extent there is an implied spirituality in the form, structure, and performance of such prayer; and how this might be beneficial to contemporary prayer practice.

 

I 4000C Portfolio Capstone Course / I5999 M.Div Capstone Seminar (1.5 credits)
Designed to be a culminating experience for students obtaining the Master of Divinity Degree this course provides students the opportunity to demonstrate the way in which their time at CTU has prepared them for ministry. Engaging in reflection on the materials in their personal portfolios, students will deepen their understanding of the relation between theological education, pastoral ministry, and personal and social transformation. In addition, each student will complete a personal five-year plan for ongoing theological and pastoral education and formation for active ministry.

I 4003 Healthy Human Sexuality for Pastoral Ministry
Designed to raise awareness that sexuality is a constitutive part of the human person as a pastoral minister where healthy relationships with self, others and God are central. The major themes are: sexuality and spirituality; sexuality and psychology and practical integration for healthy collaborative pastoral ministry. This course will also explore healthy professional and personal boundaries and ways to foster greater affective maturity.

I 5310 MAPS and MAs in Specialized Ministry: Pastoral Project or Professional Paper
This project or paper is produced by the individual student under the direction of a faculty advisor.

I 5311 Capstone Seminar: MAPS/Mas in Specialized Ministry
The Capstone Seminar provides an option for MAPS students and other MA in specialized ministry students to work collaboratively, benefitting from peer critique, input and evaluation. Designed as an alternative to the traditional academic paper, this collaborative learning process creates a space for students to discern your theology of ministry both theoretically and pastorally and to integrate that theology into a practical response. In the course students will design an outline and prepare a presentation on a relevant pastoral project that meets the learning goals of the program, building on their theological studies and pastoral experience.

I 6005 Core I: Seminar in Practical Theology (3 credits)
Building on the foundation of the late summer Doctor of Ministry Program Immersion, this seminar provides participants with an advanced introduction to the discipline of practical theology, enabling them to: (i) identify and critically assess a variety of theories and methods in the field; (ii) articulate and synthesize the praxes and analytical frameworks most pertinent to their research interests; and (iii) develop substantive, meaningful, and porous identities as practical theologians.   

I 6010 Core II: Thesis-Project Proposal Seminar (3 credits)
This seminar is the capstone course for all Doctor of Ministry students and designed to provide a structured and collaborative context for the drafting of the thesis-project proposal. To be eligible to enroll, students must have completed Core 1 and at least fifteen of the eighteen total credit hours allotted for all concentration and elective coursework. 

L 4001 Introduction to Latin
This course will introduce the student to the fundamentals of Latin grammar and vocabulary, with a distinct orientation toward ecclesiastical Latin. By the end of the course, the student will have acquired the ability to understand and translate certain liturgical, doctrinal, and theological texts at a beginning-to-intermediate level. At the same time, the student will have developed a foundation upon which to build in order to reach a more advanced level.

MA 2201 Research and Bibliographic Skills for Graduate Theological Education (1.5 credits)

This course is designed as a general introduction to graduate level theological research and proper citation methods using the Chicago Manual of Style, which is the accepted citation method at CTU. The major assignment is a bibliography due at the end of class. The class is offered online with some Zoom sessions so students can work through the material week by week. The course is intended to help students form a set of skills foundational to successful graduate research work in theology. 

M 4210/M 4211 – Ministry Practicum

This course provides students the opportunity to be engaged in field education placements and to reflect theologically on their respective ministries. Students bring their lived experience into creative conversation with sources of their faith tradition. The Ministry Practicum includes an 8 hour per week supervised ministry experience at an approved site and weekly theological reflection with a facilitator in small groups. Students explore, critique and employ varying methodologies and starting points for theological reflection with sensitivity toward cross-cultural perspectives and resources.