Course Catalogue 2025-2026

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.

This course provides an overview of the essential models of psychotherapy in use today, including psychodynamic, existential, humanistic, cognitive-behavioral, family systems, postmodern, social constructivist, somatic, and creative arts therapies. Techniques and skills associated with each modality will be explored, with an emphasis on how to sensitively and responsibly integrate theory with the practice of spiritual care and psychospiritual therapy. The course provides students with a foundation for ongoing study of specific psychotherapeutic models, and for the ongoing integration of concepts into clinical practice within a supervised learning process. Knowledge of various modalities will also help students make appropriate referrals when a client’s needs lie outside their scope of practice. The course supports the competencies of the Canadian Association for Spiritual Care (CASC) and the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO) and will also benefit students of theology who wish to augment their spiritual care skills.

This course will introduce central theoretical concepts in psychoanalytic psychotherapy and their importance in effective clinical work. An underlying premise of the course is that therapeutic action occurs within the relationship between therapist and patient, two individuals who struggle together to reclaim and deepen their shared humanity. While theory is essential to the task of providing responsible clinical care, it is understood that it always follows deeply attentive, empathic observation, not only of the patient, but of the psychodynamic processes that occur between the therapist and patient. Theory helps to ‘hold’ and ‘contain’ the therapist as she enters the unique, often strange and at times disturbing inner world of the person who seeks her help. Theory must always be held lightly while it is actively operative in the mind of the therapist as he navigates his way through the world that emerges within the analytic setting. A solid grounding in psychodynamic theory helps the therapist maintain a calm receptivity to the patient in the midst of unknowing, which most often characterizes the immediacy of clinical work. It also helps the therapist cultivate and sustain a reflective use of herself that establishes a safe and supportive professional framework that holds and protects both parties in the clinical dyad.

Postmodern-Constructivism continues to exert a powerful beneficial effect in the world of psychotherapy assessment and treatment by challenging traditional, modernist models of care. This intensive survey course is inspired by postmodern philosophical perspectives (J. Derrida, M. Foucault), Personal Construct Psychology (G. Kelly), and Social Constructivism (K. Gergen). We will examine and compare the major postmodern perspectives from the standpoint of integrative psychological and spiritual care, with introductory exposure to Narrative Therapy (M. White, D. Epston); Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (S. de Shazer, I. Kim Berg); Collaborative Language Systems Therapy (H. Goolishian, H. Anderson); Meaning-Based Therapies (V. Frankl, T. Wong); Strengths-Based Therapies (M. Seligman, Y. J. Wong); Constructivist Ethics (J. Guterman, J. Raskin); and Integrative Models (B. Zinnbauer, K. Pargament).