Catechist Certification and Adult Faith Formation Courses: Basic and Intermediate Levels  

"Getting Up To Today" is a foundational reflection and study of the Catholic Faith through the wisdom and vision of the Second Vatican Council. It provides the essential building blocks for further study and ongoing faith formation.  (You must be officially enrolled in the Searchlight^® Virtual School to receive credit toward certification. If you haven't enrolled, please go to the "Enrollment Process" page.)  For Advanced Catechist Certification, go to the School of Christian Formation Online Division.

• Foundational Principles and Practices for Catechists
• Foundations Course 1: Getting to Know Vatican II
• Foundations Course 2: An Introduction to the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults
• Foundations Course 3: Catechesis - Passing on the Faith: An Overview of the General Directory for Catechesis

• Foundations Course 4: Building A Culture of Life - The Church's Social Teachings
• Foundations Course 5: Living Vatican II Today

Foundational Principles and Practices for Catechists
Based on "When You Are a Catechist" by Judith Dunlap
Hours for completion: Approximately 4

In When You Are a Catechist, veteran catechist Judith Dunlap offers those who teach children, teens, and adults much inspirational and practical help about the call to serve, the gift of faith, the gift of prayer and ritual, the gift of community, and the gift of self.

She helps these "sowers" to unwrap each of these gifts and discover new ways to share them in their ministry. Each topic includes quotations from Scripture, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and the General Directory for Catechesis.

This course will help you identify and carry out the six fundamental tasks of catechesis as outlined in the National Directory for Catechesis and understand how these six catechetical tasks are interdependent and develop together.

Judith Dunlap has more than 25 years' experience in religious education and family-based catechesis. She is a catechetical consultant for St. Anthony Messenger Press, author of Practical Catechesis: Visions and Tasks for Catechetical Leaders and co-author of the God is Calling series (St. Anthony Messenger Press).

Content provided by St. Anthony Messenger Press.
www.americancatholic.org
©Copyright.  All rights reserved.

Foundations Course 1: Getting to Know Vatican II -- The Basic Principles
Based on: Vatican II Reform: The Basic Principles by Cardinal Avery Dulles
Copyright 2008, CHURCH magazine. Published by the National Pastoral Life Center,
18 Bleecker Street, New YorkNY 10012.
Hours for completion: Approximately 2

This course explains that the Second Vatican Council remains the fundamental event in the life of the contemporary Church and why it is the constant reference point for pastoral action. First it will provide the historical background of the Council and then familiarize you with ten basic principles of reform:

• Aggironamento (Updating)
• The Reformability of the Church
• Renewed Attention to the Word of God
• Collegiality
• Religious Freedom
• The Active Role of the Laity
• Regional and Local Variety
• Ecumenism
• Dialogue With Other Religions
• The Social Mission of the Church

Used with permission. Subscription for CHURCH Magazine: $39 per year. 
Web: www.nplc.org

Foundations Course 2: An Introduction to the Rite
of Christian Initiation of Adults
Based on "The RCIA: The Art of Making New Catholics" by Sandra DeGidio
Hours for completion: Approximately 1

This course sets the stage and provides an essential foundation for Course 3. The General Directory for Catechesis (GDC), which is the topic of the next course, sees the adult baptismal catechumenate -- the process by which the Church brings new believers into its communal life -- as the inspiration and model for all catechesis -- all passing on of the faith.

However, if the Church's efforts for catechesis are to be modeled on the adult baptismal catechumenate, all Catechists need at least a foundational understanding of the RCIA process.

This course will help you understand the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults and set the stage for your study of the GDC. It also provides a historical perspective by outlining the initiation practices of the early Church, so you understand that the RCIA is part of our rich Catholic tradition, not necessarily something new.

Content provided by St. Anthony Messenger Press.
www.americancatholic.org
©Copyright.  All rights reserved.

Foundations Course 3: Catechesis -- Passing on the Faith
An Overview of the General Directory for Catechesis
Based on the Catholic Update "New Guide to Teaching the Faith"
by Daniel S. Mulhall and Maureen Shaughnessy, S.C.
Hours for completion: Approximately 1

There is a resource for teachers of the faith that affects everyone in the Church. Published in 1997 by the Vatican's Congregation for the Clergy, it provides the catechetical vision set forth by the Church. The General Directory for Catechesis, already nicknamed the "GDC," shapes the way we pass on the faith in the new millennium.

This course will help you understand what faith-sharing is about and how, as a baptized member of the Body of Christ (the Church), you are called to tell others about Jesus.

As you will learn, catechesis (passing on the faith) is not just the work of a select few. The parish forms a living faith in its members through proclamation, teaching, worship, service, and community: through every dimension of human experience.

The quality of community life affects how well people "catch the faith." By your participation and growth, you share in the Church's mission of evangelization -- of bringing the Gospel message of Jesus to a needy world.

Content provided by St. Anthony Messenger Press.
www.americancatholic.org
©Copyright.  All rights reserved.

Foundations Course 4: Building A Culture of Life
The Church's Social Teachings
Hours for completion: Approximately 4-6

This course is designed to provide the foundational principles of social justice. It will help you understand why the Church's social teachings are one of its richest treasures, but also cause you to wonder why these teachings are not better known to American Catholics.

It will explain that “to work for social justice is embedded in the Gospel message of Jesus Christ, who came ‘to bring good tidings to the poor / ... liberty to captives / and recovery of sight to the blind’” (NDC #42-C).

Topics Covered:

• Building Your Social Justice Vocabulary
• The Popes of Social Justice
• The Social Encyclicals
• Social Justice - More than Private Charity!
• The Biblical Foundations of Social Justice
• Evangelizing For Justice: Based on the Vatican II Document Gaudium et spes, The Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World

Foundations Course 5: Living Vatican II Today
Based on "Vatican 2 Today" -- A Catholic Update Series
Hours for completion: Approximately 12

The Second Vatican Council brought about a new understanding of discipleship and what it means to imitate Jesus. The Council Fathers called all of us to be disciples in the modern world by being servants to humanity, seeking union with Christ, showing concern for the poor, struggling to build peace, and believing in God's love.

This course will help you understand the Church’s mission of proclaiming the Gospel, of welcoming those who seek to know the Lord, of inviting men, women, and children to conversion and discipleship, of celebrating the sacraments, and of motivating the faithful for apostolic witness in the world. It will provide a living vision of faith inspired and founded on the teachings of Vatican II and carried out in a way that “fosters a common language of the faith so that it may be proclaimed, celebrated, lived, and prayed in words familiar to all the faithful” (NDC #25-I).

In this 12 lesson course you will look at the principal documents of the Council with the goal of discerning our progress as Catholics. The Council documents provided a road map for our future; this course will explore our progress along that route.

Lesson Titles:

1. Road Map for the Future - Teachings of Vatican II
2. The Mass - Our Greatest and Best Prayer
3. Seven Sacraments - One Mystery
4. Sacred Scripture - Light for our Path
5. Catholicism Welcomes the World
6. Called to Holiness and Service - Ordained Ministry
7. Called to Holiness and Service - Lay Ministry
8. Marriage and Family Life - The Domestic Church
9. Today's Church - A Look in the Mirror
10. Our Church - Called to be a Sign of Joy and Hope
11. Sharing Our Heritage of Faith
12. Jesus Christ - The Model for All Humanity

Content provided by St. Anthony Messenger Press.
www.americancatholic.org
©Copyright.  All rights reserved.