Course Catalogue 2025-2026

This course is designed to help students understand the "backstory" to the Bible - the history, geography, culture and practices that made up the normal everyday world of the ancient Israelites and their neighbours, but which are utterly foreign to us. Through this course, students will develop a better understanding of the physical and conceptual context of the Old and New Testaments that will help offer a foundation for understanding and interpreting the Bible.

What does it mean to pray the words, “Thy Kingdom Come” in the Lord’s Prayer? How does one exercise power in leadership? In an era of at-times abusive, and often failed leadership, this course opens an Old Testament theology of divine and human kingship and power. Focused on the Old Testament in its ancient and literary contexts and with attention to a New Testament telos, it explores several loci in which God’s kingship is expressed. These may include creation, covenant, worship, warfare, the monarchy, and Israel’s history. Extending God’s sovereign rule, the office of human king is explored in its various stages including inception, development, and failure. The consideration of key biblical texts works toward forming a biblical theology of God’s kingship within the Old Testament, and its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ.

What does it mean to pray the words, “Thy Kingdom Come” in the Lord’s Prayer? How does one exercise power in leadership? In an era of at-times abusive, and often failed leadership, this course opens an Old Testament theology of divine and human kingship and power. Focused on the Old Testament in its ancient and literary contexts and with attention to a New Testament telos, it explores several loci in which God’s kingship is expressed. These may include creation, covenant, worship, warfare, the monarchy, and Israel’s history. Extending God’s sovereign rule, the office of human king is explored in its various stages including inception, development, and failure. The consideration of key biblical texts works toward forming a biblical theology of God’s kingship within the Old Testament, and its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ.

Catholic education, catechesis, and schooling are rooted in a centuries-long tradition of educating in faith as articulated in a variety of schools of spirituality. These schools of spirituality influence not only what is taught, but the educational approaches and practices that are used. This course will explore the foundational texts from major schools of spirituality and explore the ways that these have led to a variety of pedagogical practices in the formation of faith. Particular attention will be given to how these spiritual traditions inform the life of Catholic schools and universities, but application to other congregational and other ministerial contexts will also be explored.

Examines the theology and sacramental foundations of the priesthood of the baptized and the ministerial priesthood and their interrelationship within the church envisioned as an ordered community.

Examines the theology and sacramental foundations of the priesthood of the baptized and the ministerial priesthood and their interrelationship within the church envisioned as an ordered community.

This course introduces students to Catholic documents that have both explicit and implicit implications for Catholic education. The objective of the course, therefore is to enable students to read these texts closely with a view to drawing out the implications, particularly he first-principles, cultural context, and the key educational issues. Attention will be paid to the pedagogical, theological, cultural, social and foundational issues contained in these texts. The text will also be read through an applied hermeneutical method. As this is a course in reading primary texts, students will be expected to become very knowledgeable of the texts assigned each week.

The Roman Catholic Church is in the midst of a Synodal process, one which Pope Francis has declared to be the ongoing manner of proceeding for the Church. "The Synod is not a parliament or an opinion poll; the Synod is an ecclesial event and its protagonist is the Holy Spirit." This course will trace the theological origins from Vatican II (Lumen Gentium and the particular focus on the People of God) and key characteristics of the process (listening, spiritual conversation, discernment, all of which have a significant theological foundation). The responses already received from the universal church will be considered including concern for: the ecumenical and inter-faith engagements that have occurred; the importance of co-responsibility; the participation of women and young people; and a universal concern for minority groups; the ongoing need for formation. The course will also consider the challenges that the process faces as it continues.

The Roman Catholic Church is in the midst of a Synodal process, one which Pope Francis has declared to be the ongoing manner of proceeding for the Church. "The Synod is not a parliament or an opinion poll; the Synod is an ecclesial event and its protagonist is the Holy Spirit." This course will trace the theological origins from Vatican II (Lumen Gentium and the particular focus on the People of God) and key characteristics of the process (listening, spiritual conversation, discernment, all of which have a significant theological foundation). The responses already received from the universal church will be considered including concern for: the ecumenical and inter-faith engagements that have occurred; the importance of co-responsibility; the participation of women and young people; and a universal concern for minority groups; the ongoing need for formation. The course will also consider the challenges that the process faces as it continues.

This course will focus on the translation of a variety of types of Hellenistic texts (e.g., decrees, sacred laws, magical papyri, aretalogies, Philo, hermeneutic corpus) and on their grammatical and syntactical analysis. Prerequisite: a semesters of Greek.

This is a course in spiritual theology, it explores theologies and practices of Christian spirituality, i.e., the study of the experience of God; what the Reformed Protestant tradition has called ‘piety.’ The course will look at spiritual theologians in the history of Reformed Protestantism, the themes they wrote about, and the implications for spiritual practices today. Throughout, the course we will examine ‘Reformed’ spirituality in relation to catholic, ecumenical, contemporary and Indigenous spiritualities. The first half of the course focuses on the spiritual theology of the sixteenth century Reformer John Calvin, set against the Catholic spirituality which preceded it, and the theology and practices of the means of grace (the Word, the sacraments, and prayer) which emerged from it in the Reformed tradition, including a discussion of the significance of these practices for people of faith today. The second half of the course highlights key moments, figures, and themes in the history of Reformed spirituality, and sets these in conversation with contemporary spiritualities.

The cross-disciplinary (pastoral and theological) course will help students reflect deeply on pastoral practice through interdisciplinary engagement with emerging issues that challenge the practice of pastoral ministry in today’s world. Issues addressed would include the pervasive impact of climate change on physical and mental health, changing family structures, sexuality, and gender, economic privation, racism, and other systemic injustices that undermine the sense of hope in a better future posing immense challenges for the effective practice of pastoral ministry.