Catholic Homeschool Theology Classes for High School

Update: This live course has concluded and is will be available 02/16/10 as a recorded course through our Subscription Service. This is a great way to learn at your own pace when your schedule allows.To subscribe or learn more: Adult and High School Online Classes

Theology 101: Social Ethics
(Click on title to register)

Session dates: Tuesdays, January 12 to February 2, 2010
Total sessions: 4
Starting time: 1:00 pm, Eastern Standard Time (12 noon Central)
Duration: 1 hour
Presenters: Monica Ashour

Fee: This four week course is regularly $75.
Early registration discount is $15 until December 31, 2009.

Course rationale:
“…[B]y reason of their special vocation it belongs to the laity to seek the kingdom of God by engaging in the temporal affairs and directing them according to God’s will. …There they are called by God that, being led by the spirit to the Gospel, they may contribute to the sanctification of the world, as from within like leaven, by fulfilling their own particular duties” (Lumen Gentium 31). Such a statement undergirds the teaching of this course as we seek to know the proper role of the faithful Catholic in the secular sphere.

Course goal: Each student, comprehending his/her exalted role in society, will acknowledge and begin to live out his/her role as a Catholic in the world.

Course outline:
Session 1: Dignitatis Humanae; “Reverse Clericalism” (Russell Shaw); the role of the laity (Gaudium et Spes); voting and political action; Just War Theory, capital punishment.

Session 2: “The fundamental option for the poor” (its correct and incorrect usage); Liberation Theology (and Pope Benedict’s critique); the fall of communism and its revival in other forms; private property, capitalism.

Session 3: The attack on the Church; media bias; Planned Parenthood, the ACLU and other organizations; the Catholic Moment Theory (Cardinal Stafford); the American Project.

Session 4: Vocations: The Universal Call to Holiness; the Priesthood, Marriage, and Religious Life; discernment (Fr. Michael Scanlon’s 5 C’s), public and person prayer, spirituality.

Instructor's biography:
Having had 20 years of experience in the classroom, 3 years of experience working at St. Mary's Catholic Church at Texas A&M University as one of the Campus Ministers, and Master Degrees in Humanities and Theological Studies from the University of Dallas, Monica Ashour comes to us with a breadth and depth of vision that will solidify and electrify high school students. Orthodox, passionate, and pedogogically adept, Miss Ashour reaches youth especially in the areas of Christian Anthropology, Moral Theology, and Social Ethics. Her former students come to her often with gratitude in preparing them for the various experiences that they faced in college.

Here is a direct quotation from one of her former students who was a junior at the time of writing: "Miss Ashour, I wanted to thank you for preparing me in class for Shakespeare in Italy. I got so much more out of Rome because of my education (you!) prepared me for the wealth of culture and religion it offers. All I have learned in your class about Catholicism and truth made The Vatican and the major basilicas come alive for me." --Mary M.

Theology 101: Social Ethics
(Click on title to register)