This is the repository for parent and student information concerning the 9th grade religious education program at St. Raymond of Penafort Catholic Church in Springfield, VA for 2023-2024 school year. The course is a survey of the Catholic Faith. This repository contains home reading and materials covered in the course, along with copies of the post-class emails sent to the parents (and students). For questions, please contact Bob Laird, the instructor, at blaird48@gmail.com. The Classes are listed in reverse order with the latest classes on top.
This course is taught as a survey course on Catholicism. While we cannot cover every corner of our faith, we hope to delve more deeply into several different areas, hoping to make the course interesting enough such that the students will want to explore more on their own. The first semester to cover the details of the Nicene Creed – the one that we pray ever Sunday at Mass. We will encounter many of the sections from the viewpoint of the scientist. Can we prove that there is a God from science? Did Jesus leave us any proofs that he really existed? What about the Roman Catholic Church? Is it really built on the rock of Peter (Matt: 16:18)?
The second semester deals with the third part of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (Life in Christ). There we use the Commandments to discuss the moral life. There are no textbooks for the course. Printed handouts supplement the information provided in the course. These are found for each class below.
Class #26 – May 5, 2024 – Conclusion of Catholic Social teaching
Classes #24 and #25 – April 14 and April 21, 2024 – Continuation of 7th and 10th Commandments (Catholic Social Teaching) and introduction to the “isms” – We continue with the 7th and 10th Commandments, but first spend some time talking about the recent solar eclipse and how precisely we knew of its timing and orientation…all because God put our universe in place in an organized manner.
Parent Email after Class #24 and #25
Class #23 – April 7, 2024 – Seventh and Tenth Commandments (Catholic Social Teaching) – This begins the last segment of the course this year which is the Catholic social teachings. There are many definitions and explanations so please pick up the documents below. We also delve into the “ism’s” which are show what happens when the true Catholic social teachers are not carried out properly.
Class #23 Parent Letter Summarizing the Class
Catholic Social Teaching Definitions
Steps toward Marxism and Resisting Marxism
Class #22 – March 17, 2024 – Eighth Commandment
St. Nicholas Owens – Carpenter
Definitions Related to the 8th Commandment
Bernard Nathanson – His Original Lies and then His Conversion
Don’t Believe Everything that You Hear
Class #21 – March 10, 2024 – Fifth Commandment – Development of Doctrine, Resolving Catholic Ethical Issue
How Do we Know that a Particular Catholic Teaching is Correct
IVF and a Consistent Ethic of Life
The Jeweler’s Shop by Karol Wojtyla (a synopsis)
Class #20 – March 3, 2024 – Questions/Answers with Father De Celles
Class #19 – February 24, 2024 – Theme – Third and Fourth Commandment – The Chair of St. Peter
Examination of Conscience – Fourth and Fifth Commandments
Class #18 – February 18, 2024 – Theme – Conscience and the First Three Commandments
Letter to Parents Class #18 – This is an important letter because it discusses the rationale for many of the papers and discussions from the course. As indicated above, our goal is to stretch the minds of the students in hope that perhaps they may look more deeply into a topic.
St. John Henry Newman on Conscience – See Letter to Parents above for more about this letter.
Examination of Conscience with the Beatitudes
Examination of Conscience with the Third Commandment and Eucharist
Class #17 – February 4, 2024 – Theme – Conscience and Law
Power Point – This Power Point covers both Classes #16 and #17.
Letter to Parents – This letter covers several points which were made in the class on leadership and responsibility which are not reflected in the Power Point.
Class #16 – January 28, 2024 – Theme – Law and Conscience
Power Point – See Class #17 above
Church Persecuted Columns w/Austin Ruse
Father Scalia on Authority – Mark 1:21-28
Class #15 – January 21, 2024 – Theme: Abortion
Marist Poll on Abortion Attitudes in America – Each year Marist College does a poll of prolife attitudes around the country. The poll is very useful because it tells a completely different story than what you hear from the Biden administration. Only a small percentage of the country favors legalized abortion until the time of birth. A majority of the country favors restrictions on abortion after the first trimester. Take a look at the link and read through the presentation.
Class #14 – January 7, 2024
Class #13 – December 17, 2023
Class #12 – December 10, 2023
St. John Henry Newman’s Advent Meditation on Fear of the Lord
Class #11 – December 3, 2023
Class #10 – November 19, 2023
Class #9 – November 12, 2023
Father De Celles answered the students’ questions.
Class # 8 – November 5, 2023
Parent Email Summarizing Class #8
Apparitions of The Blessed Mother
Class #7 – October 29, 2023
Class #6 – October 22, 2023
Parent Email Summarizing Class #6
Facts about Pope Saint John Paul II
Class #5 – October 15, 2023
Parent Email Summarizing Class #5
Class #4 – October 1, 2023
Parent Email Summarizing Class #4
These are the handouts for Class #4
The Four Levels of Love (Healing the Culture Reprint)
The Four Levels of Happiness (Healing the Culture Reprint)
Class #3 – September 24, 2023
Parent Email Summarizing the Class
This is the handout for Class #3
Class #2 – September 17, 2023
Parent Email Summarizing the Class
These are the handouts provided to the students in Class #2
Anthropic Coincidence (The physics of the universe)
Free Will and Original Sin (Class 3 Pre-Read)
Augustine’s Confessions (Class 3 Pre-Read)
Pope Saint John Paul II on Evolution
The 12 Capacities of Man’s Transphysical Soul
Letter to Parents Prior to Class #1
Class #1 – September 10, 2023
Power Point Presentation for Class 1
These are the handouts provided to the in Class #1
Creation – the Scientific Evidence
The Doppler Effect and the Big Bang
St. Thomas Aquinas’ Proofs of the Existence of God
The Logic of Belief by Prof. Randall Smith – discussion of the law of non-contradiction.
Occasionally, we try to feature one or two posts that the students were given in class as supplemental materials.
The story of the finding of the bones of St. Peter
Bob & Gerri Focused 