The Theology curriculum is based on the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Core Curriculum in accordance with the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas.
FRESHMAN YEAR
1A | The Revelation of Jesus Christ in Scripture
The purpose of this course is to give students a general knowledge and appreciation of the Sacred Scriptures. In the course they will learn about the Bible, authored by God through inspiration, and its value to people throughout the world. If they have not been taught this earlier, they will learn how to read the Bible and will become familiar with the major sections of the Bible and the books included in each section.
1B | Who Is Jesus Christ? | Mission of Jesus Christ
The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the mystery of Jesus Christ, the living Word of God, and the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. In this course students will understand that Jesus Christ is the ultimate revelation to us from God. In learning about who he is, the students will also learn who he calls them to be. They will also be introduced to what it means to be a disciple of Christ and what life as a disciple entails.
SOPHOMORE YEAR
2A | Jesus Christ’s Mission Continues in the Church
The purpose of this course is to help the students understand that in and through the Church they encounter the living Jesus Christ. They will be introduced to the fact that the Church was founded by Christ through the Apostles and is sustained by him through the Holy Spirit. The students will come to know that the Church is the living Body of Christ today. This Body has both divine and human elements. In this course, students will learn about the sacred nature of the Church. In this course, students will learn about the Church’s 2,000 years of history and about how the Church is led and governed by the successors of the Apostles.
2B | Sacraments as Privileged Encounters with Jesus Christ
The purpose of this course is to help students understand that they can encounter Christ today in a full and real way in and through the sacraments, and especially through the Eucharist. Students will examine each of the sacraments in detail so as to learn how they may encounter Christ throughout life.
JUNIOR YEAR
3A | Life in Jesus Christ
The purpose of this course is to help students understand that it is only through Christ that they can fully live out God’s plans for their lives. Students are to learn the moral concepts and precepts that govern the lives of Christ’s disciples.
3B | Theology of the Body
This course is based on the collection of 129 talks on human sexuality given by Pope John Paul II between September 1979 and November 1984 and is designed specifically for teens. The course will address the profound interconnection between sexuality and the Christian mystery.
SENIOR YEAR
4A | Living Justice & Peace
The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the Church’s social teaching. In this course, students are to learn how Christ’s concern for others, especially the poor and needy, is present today in the Church’s social teaching and mission.
4B | Apologetics
The purpose of this course is to equip students with the apologetic resources necessary to explain and defend their belief in God, in the divine saving power of Jesus Christ, and in the Catholic Church. The course will familiarize students with the interrelationship between faith, reason, apologetics, evangelization and personal prayer as the basis for being an effective missionary disciple as they go out into the world. Students will learn the basic proofs for God’s existence and the various contemporary atheistic objections to religion, as well as the responses to those objections. Students will learn the evidence supporting the divinity of Jesus as well as arguments on behalf of the Resurrection. Finally, the course will cover the grounds for the Catholic Church’s claim to being the one true Church of Jesus and will demonstrate how it is that Christ continues to be present in every time and place, in word and deed, through the instrumentality of the Church.
SENIOR ELECTIVES
CAMPUS MINISTRY
This course is a step toward fostering and promoting the well-being of Hayden High School as a community of faith. Recognizing and drawing on the unique gifts of each individual, the course is a vehicle for constructing a foundation for peer ministry amongst the broader Hayden community. Activities are aimed toward building an atmosphere conducive to the growth of individual, spiritual, and communal needs. Students are commissioned to serve as campus ministers and are engaged in enhancing the liturgical and spiritual life of the Hayden Catholic community. This course does not fulfill Theology requirements for graduation.
FAITH IN ACTION
The social mission of the Church is exemplified in this semester course of community service. Students will volunteer their services at any of several institutions in the city. Students will need their own transportation. This course does not fulfill Theology requirements for graduation.
INTEGRATED SEMINAR ON FAITH AND REASON
This class will offer the chance to integrate knowledge and skills from many different subjects into a broad consideration of the relationship between faith and reason. The structure of the class is a Socratic seminar centered primarily around a deep reading of the Confessions by St. Augustine of Hippo. The aim of this course is to ground students in the perennial wisdom of Catholic teaching and its relationship to the freedom of reason and inquiry. By taking Augustine as a guide, students will be emboldened to continue growing in familiarity with great souls of the past and be formed by pivotal figures within the inherited Catholic tradition. This course does not fulfill Theology requirements of graduation.
CALLED TO BE MORE | RUAH WOODS CURRICULUM
Theology of the Body is an uplifting, inspiring Christian education in what it means to be human - the gift of being made in the image and likeness of God, as male and female, called to love one another as God loves. It gives us a profound perspective on why we are here and how we are to reach our ultimate destiny. St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body plunges us into “the perspective of the whole gospel, of the whole teaching, even more, of the whole mission of Christ.” (TOB 49:3)
Called to be More is a supplemental high school curriculum based on St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body. Seven to ten lessons are provided for eight semesters of the USCCB’s framework for catechetical instruction. This approach enables educators to weave a relevant and authentic understanding of the human person created in God’s image and likeness into four years - a response to St. John Paul II’s observation that the crisis of our day is a “degradation indeed a pulverization of the fundamental uniqueness of the human person.”
Questions?
Ms. Angela Herman, Theology Department Chair