In addition to our flagship Biblical and Catechetical School programs, the Lay Division of St. John Vianney Theological Seminary offers a number of year-long enrichment courses. These courses do not require homework or tests, do not have small groups, and do not yield a certificate. They run for 30 weeks from September through May. Other short courses (4-8 weeks) are regularly offered throughout the year and registration for those courses will be posted as they are scheduled.
Enrichment Courses
The Art of Living: Mastering the Virtuous Life
Cost: $425, plus a $20 registration fee (discounts available for seniors, active military, veteran, first responders, and full-time employees for a Catholic ministry/Diocesan department)
This is an introduction to Morality and Christian Anthropology, developed and taught by Mr. Daniel Campbell. The overarching intent of the course is to examine what it means to think and act like a rational human being, and subsequently the same as it concerns the life of Christ in the soul for the grace-filled Catholic. The material is taught in a manner accessible to all levels of student – no prior philosophical or theological training is necessary.
2019-2020 CLASS LOCATION:
St. Mary (Littleton): Wednesdays, 9:00-11:00 a.m.
Information Sessions: Wednesdays, Aug 7 and Aug 28 at 9:00 a.m.
Apologetics for the New Evangelization: Practical Catholicism
Cost: $425, plus a $20 registration fee (discounts available for seniors, active military, veteran, first responders, and full-time employees for a Catholic ministry/Diocesan department)
This is an introduction to Catholic Apologetics, developed and taught by Mr. John LaBarbara. This class explores the foundations for many of the important teachings of the Church by looking at the writings of the early Church Fathers, Vatican II, the magisterial documents and encyclicals since Vatican II, and the Scriptures. In this class, you’ll discover the “why” behind many of the Catholic Church’s practices. This class is also a great way to learn basic apologetics so you can be equipped, in the words of St. Peter, to “always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who calls you to account for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15).
2019-2020 CLASS LOCATIONS:
Pax Christi (Littleton): Mondays, 9:45-11:45 a.m.
Information Sessions: Mondays, Aug 5 and Aug 28 at 9:45 a.m.
Holy Trinity (Westminster): Mondays, 7:00-9:00 p.m.
Information Sessions: Mondays, Aug 12 and Aug 26 at 7:00 p.m.
St. Martin de Porres (Boulder): Wednesdays, 9:30-11:30 a.m.
Information Sessions: Wednesdays, Aug 7 and Aug 28 at 9:30 a.m.
Notre Dame (Denver): Wednesdays, 7:00-9:00 a.m.
Information Sessions: Wednesdays, Aug 7 and Aug 28 at 7:00 p.m.
Pilgrimage: A Journey Through Church History
Cost: $425, plus a $20 registration fee (discounts available for seniors, active military, veteran, first responders, and full-time employees for a Catholic ministry/Diocesan department)
This is an introduction to Catholic Church history, developed and taught by Dr. Jared Staudt. The class explores the history of the Catholic Church by examining its major figures, events, and writings. The first semester of the course covers the years 33 A.D. through the Great Schism of 1054, and will examine the growth of the early Church, her martyrs, Councils, the rise of monastic life, the conversion of the barbarians, the beginnings of Islam, and the growth of the new culture of Christendom. The second semester covers the Middle Ages to the present and looks at the Crusades, new religious orders, the Reformation, missionary expansion, modern revolutions, and the Second Vatican Council. Both semesters will explore the expression of the Christian faith through art.
2019-2020 CLASS LOCATION:
St. John Paul II Center (Denver): Mondays, 9:00-10:30 a.m.
Information Sessions: Aug 5 and Aug 26 at 9:00 a.m.
Dante’s Divine Comedy: A User’s Guide to Salvation
Cost: $425, plus a $20 registration fee (discounts available for seniors, active military, veteran, first responders, and full-time employees for a Catholic ministry/Diocesan department)
This is our newest Enrichment Course, developed and taught by Dr. Seth Fabian! This class will teach the student to read the Divine Comedy as Dante intended us to: as a work of practical literature for Christians striving to be more Christ-like: literally a guide to salvation. We will follow Dante’s footsteps and see how pride and selfishness create chaos on Earth and lead to Hell (Inferno), how the human soul purifies itself by learning to desire and to love rightly (Purgatorio), and how our journey ultimately leads us back to our origin in the shared vision of our Creator (Paradiso). Lectures will focus on Dante’s portrayal of human desires and the consequences for good and ill of our daily choices.
Above all, the class will examine a Catholic poet and his Catholic poem. The beauty of Dante’s poetry, the uncanny realism of his psychology, and his awesome descriptive powers are always in the service of his ultimate purpose: demonstrating Truth as revealed in the lived experiences of the souls he encounters in Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Divine Comedy is a call to conversion that demands a response from its audience– this response will be the focus of our discussions. Let us use Dante as a lens to examine our daily choices and life-long aspirations.
2019-2020 CLASS LOCATIONS:
Immaculate Heart of Mary (Northglenn): Mondays, 7:00-8:30 p.m.
Information Sessions: Aug 5, Aug 26 at 7:00 p.m.
St. Vicent de Paul (Denver): Tuesdays, 7:00-8:30 p.m.
Information Sessions: Aug 6, Aug 27 at 7:00 p.m.
