Grade 10 The Mystery of Redemption Description: During the second semester of Sophomore year, students are challenged to study the mystery of Sin and Christ s redemption for us. In their call for a New Evangelization, the most recent popes have emphasized that the Church must remain focused on the person of Jesus Christ. Indeed, Pope Benedict XVI said Being a Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction. This course, then, aims to give the students a thorough knowledge of this person Jesus Christ s Life, Death, and Resurrection, and how this person Jesus Christ affects them in their lives today. Units Chapter 1- In the Beginning topics include: the original state of grace in which man was created, the nature of Original Sin, the transmission of Original Sin down to this day Chapter 2 Preparing for the Messiah topics include: the proliferation of sin after the Fall, the promises made to Abraham and Moses, how the prophets foreshadow Christ Chapter 3 The Promise is Fulfilled in Christ topics include: the genealogy of Christ, why the Word became Flesh, the Divine Mercy of Christ Chapter 4 Redemption and the Paschal Mystery topics include: the suffering and Passion of Christ, the significance of the Resurrection, and the forgiveness brought about through the Paschal Mystery Chapter 5 Christ Redeems Through His Church topics include: the Church as necessary for Salvation, the four marks of the Church, the Grace of Redemption through the Sacraments Chapter 6 Called to Be Another Christ topics include: the universal call to holiness, the Ten Commandments, the Theological Virtues Chapter 7 The Call to Evangelization topics include: prayer in the Christian life, a more in-depth study of the Sacraments, the corporal and spiritual works of mercy Chapter 8 The Paschal Mystery in the Holy Mass topics include: sacrifice in the Old Testament, the Ends of the Mass, and proper dispositions for participation in the Mass Grade 10 Theology of the Body Description During the first semester of Sophomore year, students receive an introduction to Pope Blessed John Paul II s Theology of the Body, a series of Wednesday Papal Audiences from the early years of his pontificate. Theology of the Body, definedas the study of God, revealed through the body, provides the
lenses necessary to see and comprehend the Church s teaching on sexual morality, the mystical experience of the Eucharist, and how both play a significant role in salvation history. An important aspect of the course is learning about vocational discernment and its significance for living out the universal call to holiness. Learning Objectives Chapter One Created For Love God s love for us and His desire to have an intimate, personal relationship with us. The profound truth taught by our bodies for our existence as well as our purpose in life. Definition of Theology and Theology of the Body God s designation for us to be in communion with Himself and with each other Our bodies make visible the invisible mystery of God Our existence for eternal relationship of love with God in Heaven Opportunities for a deeper relationship with God and others Chapter Two Love Defined: Giving versus Using Definition and explanation of the nature of love Differences between self-donation love and self-indulgent love Difference between abstinence and chastity Recognizing chastity as a way to happiness Recognizing love as the only proper attitude and response towards others Difference between love and lust Chapter Three Naked Without Shame Creation accounts of Genesis in relation to modern situations and consequences God s original plan as evident in the blessings of love, innocence, and fertility Man and woman created in His Image and Likeness and very good Meaning of our existence revealed through the one-flesh marital union of our bodies and the sexual relationship of man and woman The original experience of man: nakedness, solitude, innocence, unity, happiness Benefits of life without lust, shame and selfishness Identifying Satan as the enemy of God whose purpose is to twist and destroy the good that God has created How original sin entered the world and resulted in a host of damaging consequences Comparing and contrasting the original world of life and love with the world after the Fall. Having total freedom to choose God and experiencing great joy while being in relationship with Him Analyze the nuptial meaning of the body and develop practical conclusions based on this reality Chapter Four Hope and Redemption in Christ
Eschatological man as the experience of full redemption in the perfect marriage of Christ and His Church in heaven View of God s mercy and forgiveness as healing imperfection, hurts and sins of our lives Hope offered in Jesus that we can overcome and heal from the pain and regret of our pasts Forgiveness and reconciliation with God through a free encounter with His mercy in the Sacrament of Reconciliation God revealing our meaning of existence through the nuptial meaning of the body God wanting an eternal union with us beyond anything experienced on earth a marriage relationship with us in heaven Chapter Five Truth and Freedom Definition of freedom and man as created for freedom Freedom only possible by choosing what is good Christ setting us free and what this freedom requires Freedom allows man to participate in authentic love Comparing and contrasting authentic freedom with the cultural view of freedom Being free from the law means being free of the internal constraints of sinful desires Sacrament of Reconciliation helping us in our quest for freedom Chapter Six Language of the Body Ways the body can speak both truth and lies Judging the truthfulness or untruthfulness of sexual behaviors Analyzing the language of the body as the language of love spoke within marriage Pre-marital sex, adultery, pornography and contraception all constituting lies of the body Examples of non-sexual body language The Holy Spirit as the Creator of life in the one-flesh marriage union Chapter Seven Free, Total, Faithful, Fruitful Sexual activity that is self-seeking and sexual love that is self-giving Receiving God s love as a pre-requisite for truly loving self and others Mary as the perfect example of receiving God s love Marriage as an absolute pre-requisite for sex to be free, total, faithful, fruitful Free, total, faithful, fruitful love as they are found in the life of Christ Applying the free, total, faithful and fruitful characteristics of Christ s love to the love spouses display with each other in marriage The love of Christ for the Church in Ephesians 5:21-33, as being free, total, faithful and fruitful Comparing the sacrifice of Christ for His Church to the love of a husband toward his wife in marriage Comparing the Church s relationship with Christ to the role of a wife with her husband Comparing the ideas of free, total, faithful and fruitful love with the commitments made at the altar between spouses
Recognizing that homosexual acts cannot image divine love and are contrary to both the divine and natural laws Chapter Eight Marriage Union of husband and wife as expressing the love of God in a tangible way God as the one who established marriage and is the source of its holiness True meaning of submission in marriage, distinguishing it from distortion The sacrament of marriage as an earthly foreshadowing of the perfect marriage between Christ and the Church in heaven Marriage as the building block upon which civilization is built Christ as the center of Christian marriage and the source of grace, which allows us to love like God Marriage as the primordial (original) sacrament in which grace comes through Christ Chapter Nine Celibacy and Religious Life Celibacy as an exceptional calling from God Celibacy as a vocation just as marriage and a call from God and not just a choice. Connecting celibacy with the nuptial meaning of the body Embracing a life that is a sign of the heavenly marriage to come between Christ and the Church Ministerial priesthood as reserved only for men Essence and value of spiritual fatherhood and motherhood Chapter Ten Finding Your Vocation God having a unique plan for life of every person Human life as being the fruit of a loving act of a generous God Our purpose in life to know, love and serve God in a particular vocation: marriage or celibacy Everyone having a vocation to love and grow in holiness Understanding that man will only find his life when he learn to give it away in love A sacramental life is a key element of knowing God s will and being able to follow it with commitment Silent and vocal prayer as a way to hear God s voice in our lives Biblical characters who heeded God s voice and scripture passages that demonstrate examples of these Gifts God has given us and how to offer them back to Our Lord as live out our vocation Application of five principles for vocational discernment Chapter Eleven Dating with Purpose and Purity The purpose of dating Value of building dating relationships on authentic friendship and seeing others as brothers and sisters in Christ
Healthy versus unhealthy dating Dating versus courting Ways to avoid getting into situations that would compromise a life of purity Sexual intercourse as valuable and worth protecting Difference between being prudent and prudish with sexuality Ways of staying pure while living a radical life for Christ and discerning a vocation Chapter Twelve Living the Good (and Free!) Life Integrating TOB into a life of authentic love and radical holiness Purpose of our body, discovered through TOB The body and sexuality as good gifts given to us by God The meaning of the original experiences of Adam and Eve to modern humanity and daily life