Spring 2025

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DOCTRINE | SCRIPTURE | LANGUAGES | PASTORAL THEOLOGY | HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY | MORAL THEOLOGY | SPIRITUALITY | COMPREHENSIVE EXAMS | FIELD EDUCATION | LITURGY | LITURGICAL MUSIC | ONLINE COURSES

Most face-to-face courses are available for on-line/Synchronous participation.

Please note your preference by choosing section 01A for face-to-face classes, section 01B for remote SYNCH classes. 

DOCTRINE

Mary and the Saints

Michael Rubbelke | DOCT 468C | 3 credits
8:00-11:15 AM (Tuesday)   Synchronous Course 

This course will explore the Scriptural, Christological, and ecclesiological bases of the Church’s view of Mary and the saints. Particular focus will be paid to the development of Marian teachings, devotions, and their place in the history of spirituality and in contemporary spiritual life. Additionally, the course will outline the development of devotions to saints, its ecclesial and cultural impact, as well as its relation to a theology of revelation and grace.

Christian Responses to Religious Pluralism

Chris Conway | DOCT 468D| 3 credits
1:15-4:30 PM  (Tuesday)    Synchronous Course 

The reality of religious pluralism–that there are many religions, that many good, sincere, and rational people follow these religious traditions, and that these religions will remain many–has required Christian theology to reflect deeply upon its engagement with and response to non-Christian religions. Although Christian theology has never developed in isolation from other religious traditions, the past two centuries have witnessed an increased awareness of and encounter with religious others. Within Christian theology, two modes of theological reflection have emerged in response to religious pluralism: Theology of Religions and Comparative Theology. This course will focus on both approaches and will explore the questions and methods central to their theological reflection. For Theology of Religions, this will include the questions of truth and salvation in other religions as understood through scriptural and doctrinal resources within the Christian tradition. For Comparative theology, this will include theological insights born from engagement with beliefs and practices of other religious traditions and theologies.

Christian Anthropology

William Orbih | DOCT 411| 3 credits
6:00-9:15 PM  (Wednesday)    Synchronous Course 

This course undertakes a Christian exploration to the question: What does it mean to be human? As a theological discipline, Christian theological anthropology draws from a wide range of sources. These sources include the doctrine of creation, the doctrine of sin and grace, the doctrine of the Trinity, Christology, ecclesiology, and eschatology. This course examines these sources and underscores the historical evolution of Christian theological anthropology.

Lay and Ordained Ministry in the Synodal Church 

Deepan Rajaratnam | DOCT / PTHM 413 | 3 credits
1:00-4:15 PM (Thursday)   Synchronous Course 

This course examines the implications of synodality for lay and ordained ministry. Specifically, the course will examine the foundations for lay and ordained ministry in Scripture and the Second Vatican Council to contextualize the ongoing synodal reception of these ministries. Through the course, students will not only consider the import of synodality for their own ministerial identities but also develop practical skills to promote synodality in their ministerial settings. Cross listed DOCT and PTHM 413.

SCRIPTURE

Reading the New Testament

Micah Kiel | SSNT 400 | 3 credits
1:15-4:30 PM  (Thursday)     Synchronous Course

A general introduction to the history, literature and theology of the New Testament with special emphasis on reading the strategies appropriate to both pastoral work and further academic study. Particular attention is paid to the Gospels and the Pauline Letters.

Pauline Letters

Micah Kiel | SSNT 422 | 3 credits
6:00-9:15 PM (Monday)   Synchronous Course 

A theological, historical and literary analysis of the Pauline letters. Topics may include the conversion and mission of Paul, the historical situation of the Pauline communities, the literary and rhetorical quality of the letters and major theological themes.

PASTORAL THEOLOGY

Hello Church

Daniella Zsupan-Jerome | PTHM 468C | 3 credits
8:00-11:15 AM (Tuesday)  Synchronous Course 

This course explores communication both as a theological act and as a professional skill for healthy and effective ministerial practice.  Building on the foundations of communicative theology, this course invites students to examine and develop pastoral communication skills, including group process and facilitation skills, skills for dialogue, conflict management, navigating difficult conversations, and acquiring basic media literacy for public communication.   

Leadership for a Healthy Ministerial Workplace

Barbara Sutton | PTHM 468D | 3 credits
6:00-8:30 PM; 8:30 AM-3:00 PM (Friday and Saturday)  Synchronous Course

Class Meetings: Friday + Saturday:  2/7-2/8; 2/21-2/22;
4/11-4/12; 5/2-5/3

Ministerial engagement is sustained through institutional culture, self-awareness of individuals, and a commitment to covenant relationships. Engagement is necessary for a thriving mission. This course will offer constructive practices for ministering across intercultural and intersectional differences, such as vocational status, gender, race, national origin, family of origin, varying abilities, polity, and power differential.  Eight indicators of a healthy workplace will be explored:  community, control, fairness, financial, rewards, values, vocation status, and workload.

Lay and Ordained Ministry in the Synodal Church 

Deepan Rajaratnam | DOCT / PTHM 413 | 3 credits
1:00-4:15 PM (Thursday)   Synchronous Course 

This course examines the implications of synodality for lay and ordained ministry. Specifically, the course will examine the foundations for lay and ordained ministry in Scripture and the Second Vatican Council to contextualize the ongoing synodal reception of these ministries. Through the course, students will not only consider the import of synodality for their own ministerial identities but also develop practical skills to promote synodality in their ministerial settings. Cross listed DOCT and PTHM 413.

Theological Research Seminar / Integration Seminar

Daniella Zsupan-Jerome| PTHM 465 | 3 credits
9:00 AM-12:00 noon   (Friday)        Synchronous Course 

This course marks the culmination of the student’s preparation for ministry. Students will demonstrate the ability to analyze and construct a response to pastoral situations utilizing biblical, theological, historical, and social scientific resources.                   

The project utilizes a fourfold method of practical theology that guides pastoral practice:  description, interpretation, theological reflection, and constructive response. Students will engage in theological research to write a paper and present an oral presentation. The course will focus on theological research and audiences in ministry; how to make a persuasive case and argument; how to conduct research, identify sources, use them critically, and cite in footnotes and bibliographies; how to organize and construct a major paper; and how to write in a clear and persuasive way. Students will read and engage other student projects in order to enhance their understanding of theological research and writing. 

HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY

History of Christianity II

Shawn Colberg | HCHR 404   | 3 credits
8:00-11:15 AM   (Thursday)        Synchronous Course

This course will examine the development of the Christian tradition, including the expression of seminal doctrines within the Christian church, from the twelfth century to the present day. The course will explore the main LTGY trends in the development of the institution and primary doctrines of the church within the larger philosophical, social, and political contexts of the second millennium, paying attention to the ways in which the lived experience of Christian peoples informs and shapes its thinking.

Catholics in America

Katharine Harmon | HCHR 408  | 3 credits
8:00-11:15 AM   (Friday)        Synchronous Course

This course examines historical perspectives on what it means to be “Catholic” in a distinctively “American” setting. At the heart of this inquiry will be the question of the mutual influence and relationship between Catholic religious and American political/cultural identities. Our task will be to explore the ways in which “being Catholic in America” may differ from being Catholic in other places, and in doing so, to probe the ways in which American life can be said to shape Catholic perspectives and practices. The course explores American Catholicism from the 16th Century to present day, focusing on questions including religious freedom, social action, cultural diversity.

MORAL THEOLOGY

Fundamental Moral Theology

Matthew Sherman | MORL 421 | 3 credits
8:00-11:15 AM  (Monday)     Synchronous Course 

This course covers the foundations of the Christian moral life and of Christian moral decision making. The fundamental themes to be covered include, but are not limited to: freedom, conscience formation and moral agency, moral normativity, what constitutes moral reasoning, the use of scripture, tradition and natural law in moral decisions, the interplay between sin and grace, virtue ethics, and the ecclesial aspect of moral decisions.

Christian Sexual Ethics

Ben Durheim | MORL 428 C | 3 credits
1:15-4:30 PM  (Wednesday)         Synchronous Course 

This course examines Christian theological approaches to the body and sexual ethics, exploring both how Christian theologies have struggled to make sense of human sexuality and the strains of theological ethics that work to discern fulfilling, lifegiving approaches to human sexual life in relation to one another and to God. In addition to classical approaches to Christian sexual ethics, the course will largely employ a lens of justice through which to study issues of sacramentality and the (sexual) body, eros in Christianity, celibacy, reproductive ethics, intimacy, and queer theological approaches to sexual ethics.

Living Ecologically in a Time of Climate Change

Noreen Herzfeld | MORL/SPIR 468 E | 3 credits
1:15-4:30 PM  (Tuesday)        This course is only available for In-Person registration

In his encyclicals Laudato Si and Laudato Deum, Pope Francis notes that we live in a world dominated by a technological paradigm.  Yet we now see the damage our technologies have inflicted on the world around us.  How can our religious and spiritual traditions, practices, and communities stretch in new ways to face the climate and extinction crises we find ourselves in?  How can our Catholic and Benedictine traditions help us find God in experiences of mystery and wildness?  What new visions and vocations will help us better care for both the earth and those already affected by climate change?  We will explore these and other questions through readings, experiences in nature, and discussions with individuals whose connection with the earth has formed their faith and their vocation. Cross Listed MORL and SPIR.

SPIRITUALITY and MONASTIC STUDIES

Living Ecologically in a Time of Climate Change

Noreen Herzfeld | MORL/SPIR 468E | 3 credits
1:15-4:30 PM  (Tuesday)      This course is only available for In-Person registration

In his encyclicals Laudato Si and Laudato Deum, Pope Francis notes that we live in a world dominated by a technological paradigm.  Yet we now see the damage our technologies have inflicted on the world around us.  How can our religious and spiritual traditions, practices, and communities stretch in new ways to face the climate and extinction crises we find ourselves in?  How can our Catholic and Benedictine traditions help us find God in experiences of mystery and wildness?  What new visions and vocations will help us better care for both the earth and those already affected by climate change?  We will explore these and other questions through readings, experiences in nature, and discussions with individuals whose connection with the earth has formed their faith and their vocation. Cross Listed MORL and SPIR.

Monastic Spiritual Theology

John Klassen, OSB | MONS/SPIR 434  | 3 credits
6:00-9:15  PM   (Thursday)         Synchronous Course

The development of monastic spiritual theology will be studied from the perspective of monastic primary sources. Texts will be studied as guides and sourcebooks for models of monastic spiritual progress and human maturity. Special emphasis will be placed on: (1) the original meanings of “active” and “contemplative” in the vocabulary of early monasticism; (2) models of spiritual development in the early church and in the early monastic movement; (3) the interrelationship between the cenobitic and eremetic lifestyles; (4) the theory and practice of lectio divina; (5) the mystical interpretation of the scriptures and the practice of liturgical prayer; (6) monastic reform and renewal; (7) spiritual guidance in the monastic tradition. Cross-listed MONS and SPIR.

Praying the Scriptures with Benedict

Laszlo Simon, OSB | MONS 445 | 1 credit
9:00-11:00 AM (Wednesday)
5 class meetings: 1/22; 1/29; 2/5; 2/26; 3/5 Instructor and all students on zoom

“When you read the Bible, God speaks to you; when you pray, you speak to God.” Saint Augustine’s words quoted here marked Western Christianity for centuries. The Bible is, undoubtedly, the founding text of Christian spirituality. In our everyday lives, how can the Bible prove to be “the support and energy of the Church, the strength of faith for her [children], the food of the soul, the pure and everlasting source of spiritual life,” as the Second Vatican Council emphasizes (Dei Verbum 21)? This course will examine the use of the scriptures as foundational to prayer in the Rule of Saint Benedict.

Discernment in Prayer 

Sam Rahberg | SPIR   437 | 0 credits or 1 credit
6 weeks, Asynchronous January 21-February 28. 
Final Zoom for all, February 28   4:30-6:00 PM            Synchronous Course 

In support of students’ preparation as ministry leaders, this course engages practices of prayerful discernment. Students will learn ways to cultivate awareness of the Divine Presence with their whole selves (cognitive, affective, and sensory motor dimensions), even as they read, write, and interact with others. Special attention will be paid to Benedictine practices. Grading S/U.

LITURGY

Initiation and Eucharist

Ben Durheim | LTGY 405   | 3 credit
1:15-4:30 PM  (Monday)     Synchronous Course

The origins of rites of initiation and eucharist, East and West, and their historical development. Theological and doctrinal perspectives. Examination of the postconciliar Roman rite and its attendant documents, with some treatment of other Christian traditions. Issues in contemporary pastoral practice.

History of Sacramental Theology

Hansol Goo| LTGY 468A | 3 credits
8:00-11:15 AM  (Wednesday)  Synchronous Course 

This course provides a survey of the theology of sacraments from a historical perspective. Students will be introduced to the concept of the sacred and the human participation in it, by examining the ways in which it was shaped historically from the Middle Ages, Council of Trent, Reformation, to Modernity and Postmodernity.

Liturgical Presidency

Johan Van Parys | LTGY 426 | 3 credits
Class Meetings: initial Zoom: 1/21: 6-8 PM 
Friday + Saturday:  1/31-2/1; 2/14-15;2/28-3/1; 3/28-29; 4/4-5   

Friday: 6:30-9:00 PM; Saturday 8:30 AM-12:00 noon

This course is only available for In-Person registration     

Training in all aspects of liturgical presiding for those who will lead worship, including study of directives and rubrics in the relevant official documents. Use of gesture and voice, including singing, to relate well to the assembly and to other liturgical ministers. For future priests, emphasis on celebrating Mass. For future deacons, emphasis on their role at Mass, as well as presiding at Sunday Celebrations in the Absence of a Priest and other rites such as baptism. For lay students, emphasis on Sunday Celebrations in Absence of a Priest, and other rites such as funeral vigils. Prerequisite: Introduction to Pastoral Liturgy.

FIELD EDUCATION 

Clinical Pastoral Education 

Deepan Rajaratnam / Kelley Deshler | PTHM 412 | 3 credits
Students participate in a basic unit of an accredited Clinical Pastoral Education program.

Practicum/Theological Reflection

Deepan Rajaratnam/ Kelley Deshler | PTHM 459 A-D | 1-6 credits

Students work with an organization, project, or parish in the area of their ministerial interest. The supervised experience requires students to integrate theological competence with pastoral practice in developing vocational identity as a public minister, exploring issues of leadership, power and authority; and gaining facility in articulating the Christian faith and in fostering the development of faith with others. Students will reflect on the practice of ministry in theological reflection groups.

FOCUS AREAS:

Practicum / Theological Reflection:  Spiritual Direction Practicum 

Sam Rahberg | PTHM 459C | reserved for those in Spiritual Direction Practicum

MAM Ministry Portfolio

Deepan Rajaratnam |  PTHM 598 | 0 credit–registration required

The final formation assessment provides students to review their formational aspirations and ministerial growth during their overall program of study.  Reflecting on one’s intellectual, human, pastoral and spiritual formation, the student articulates their readiness for ministry by presenting a clearly articulated understanding of the theology of ministry, an understanding of the gifts and skills, strengths and weaknesses, challenges and successes the student presently utilizes and experiences in ministry, and a discussion of future goals and desires for professional and ministerial growth.  The format of the assessment is an integrated paper which builds on previous coursework. Offered for S/U grading only.

MDIV Ministry Mid-Degree Assessment

Deepan Rajaratnam | PTHM 599| 0 credit–registration required

The mid-degree assessment provides the student an opportunity for self-assessment and feedback from others in terms of their ministerial growth.  Students are asked to revisit their academic work, ministerial reflections and spiritual practices and make revised claims about learning and events from earlier in the degree program. The assessment involves revisiting the student’s intention for graduate theological education, vocational aspirations and their readiness for ministry.  The format of the assessment includes completing a questionnaire, reviewing feedback from formators and peers, and an assessment interview with the Director of Ministerial Formation. Offered for S/U grading only.

MDIV Seminary Spiritual Formation

William Orbih | SPIR 468A | 3 credits
Times TBA

THM THESIS

Thesis

Shawn Colberg | THY  580 | 6 credits
TBA–Director will arrange meetings with student.
The Thesis is the capstone project for the ThM degree.

COMPREHENSIVE EXAMS

Reading for Comprehensive Exams

Shawn Colberg | THY  598 | 3 credits

Students may register for up to 6 credits of THY 598 Reading for Comprehensive Exams to insure full time enrollment and to earn credit for preparing for Comprehensive Exams:  reading 10-book reading list, preparing the annotated bibliography and summary of research or integrated paper, and preparing for the oral exam.

Comprehensive Exams

Shawn Colberg | THY   599 | 0 credit–registration only
Comprehensive Exams is the capstone project for the MTS and the MAT degrees

LITURGICAL MUSIC

Applied Piano

David Jenkins | Robert Koopmann, OSB | Amy Grinsteiner |  LMUS 406 | 1 credit

Students will develop technical skills and knowledge of performance practices at the graduate level, including the ability to play a large variety of repertoire fluently and with understanding. Secondary organ students will develop sufficient techniques and familiarity with the instrument to play knowledgeably and/or coach others in parish settings. Open to Liturgical Music students.

Applied Organ

 David Jenkins | LMUS 407 | 1 credit

Students will develop technical skills and knowledge of performance practices at the graduate level, including the ability to play a large variety of repertoire fluently and with understanding. Major works of significant periods and schools of organ literature will be studied and performed. Secondary organ students will develop sufficient techniques and familiarity with the instrument to play knowledge ably and/or coach others in parish settings.

Applied Voice

Gyehyun Jung | LMUS 408 | 1 credit

Fundamentals of singing and vocal pedagogy (breathing, efficient use of voice, diction, etc.) addressing differing musical styles and their interpretation based on the performance practices of given periods in music history. Study and performance of significant bodies of solo repertoire. Technique and pedagogical skills appropriate to choral directors, section leaders, and coaches for cantors and song leaders.

Applied Composition

Brian Campbell | LMUS 409 | 1 credit

Individualized coaching in advanced composition of sacred music and music appropriate for liturgical use. Work in various forms and styles, depending on the needs and interests of individual students. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor and the liturgical music program director.

Service Playing

David Jenkins | LMUS 433 | 1 credit

This course seeks to develop the qualified church organist as leader and enabler of the assembly’s singing. The course will require high proficiency levels of assembly leadership and accompanimental skills (hymns, masses, psalm forms) as well as vocal and choral accompaniment. Students will also develop abilities in sight-reading, modulation, transposing, and extemporization.   Open to Liturgical Music Students.

Chapel Choir

David Jenkins |  LMUS 412 | 0 credits or 1 credit
10:00 -11:15 AM (Thursday)

A liturgical choir open to all graduate students which sings regularly for SOT worship. Choral music in a wide variety of styles including contemporary and world music. Offered every semester. May be taken for 0 or 1 credit.

LANGUAGES

Reading Ecclesial Latin II

Jason Schlude | LANG 402 | 3 credits

1:50-2:45 PM (Monday/Wednesday/Friday) Synchronous Course
Continuation of an overview the grammatical structure of the language and practice in reading short works. The course is graded pass/fail.

ONLINE COURSES      

Praying the Scriptures with Benedict

Laszlo Simon, OSB | MONS 445 | 1 credit
9:00-11:00 AM (Wednesday)
5 class meetings: 1/22; 1/29; 2/5; 2/26; 3/5 Instructor and students all on zoom

“When you read the Bible, God speaks to you; when you pray, you speak to God.” Saint Augustine’s words quoted here marked Western Christianity for centuries. The Bible is, undoubtedly, the founding text of Christian spirituality. In our everyday lives, how can the Bible prove to be “the support and energy of the Church, the strength of faith for her [children], the food of the soul, the pure and everlasting source of spiritual life,” as the Second Vatican Council emphasizes (Dei Verbum 21)? This course will examine the use of the scriptures as foundational to prayer in the Rule of Saint Benedict.