SUMMER MINI-SESSION 2002

THE 603: Historical Foundations (Dr. Alan Schreck)

Certain key issues emerged in the main eras of history of Christianity and became focal points of attention for the Church's leaders and scholars for decades. In this question, I would like you to summarize the key figures, issues, and development of thought or doctrine involved in one of the two topics from each of the four major eras of Christianity. (Therefore, you should summarize four issues, one from each period below.)

  1. Patristic period (Christ - 800 A.D.) either:
    1. the doctrine of the Son of God in relation to the Father, and in the Union of His divine and human natures or
    2. the reasons for the persecution of Christians and the Christian response to persecution
  2. Medieval period (800 - 1500 A.D.) either:
    1. Church-State relations, especially the "lay investiture" crisis or
    2. movements of renewal in the Church in the early, middle, and late middle ages
  3. The Reformation and Counter-reformation (1500 - 1750 A.D.) either:
    1. the basic objections against Catholicism of the various Protestant reformers or
    2. the contribution of the various saints of the Catholic reformation to the reform and renewal of the Catholic Church
  4. The "Modern" era (1750 A.D. - present) either:
    1. impact of Enlightenment thought on Christianity or
    2. significant movements of renewal in the Church (Catholic and Protestant) in this era

THE 660A: Nature of Love (Dr. Michael Healy)

Discuss the relation between love of the other person for his own sake and a concern for one's own happiness in life and love. Are these two attitudes necessarily contradictory -- the one altruistic, the other selfish? How can they be integrated?

THE 660B: Biblical Spirituality (Dr. Stephen F. Miletic)

  1. Define (a) the interior life (b) the religious life (c) the spiritual life.
  2. Briefly explain the four stages of lectio divina.
  3. In which context does the individual encounter the objective proclamation of biblical truth?
  4. How does the objective nature of biblical truth transform an individual? Illustrate your answer by interpreting any three biblical texts. When appropriate or applicable, base your interpretation on what the text teaches about (I) the person and nature of God and (ii) the divine plan of salvation.

THE 722A: TP: Apostolic Fathers (Dr. Andrew Minto)

Be prepared to discuss any one of the three author's works of the examiner's choosing from the following list. In other words, the examiner chooses three (3) works and you select one (1) of these three (3). Your discussion must include matters of provenance (authorship, date, locale, audience, and historical situation), literary genre, and at least one major theme/motif, problem or issue (pastoral/theological) of the selected work.

  

  1. 1 Clement
  2. 2 or Pseudo-Clement
  3. Ignatius of Antioch, Epistles to:

    Ephesians

    Magnesians

    Tallians

    Romans

    Philadelphians

    Smyranens

    Polycarp

  4. Polycarp to the Philippians
  5. Martyrdom of Polycarp
  6. Didache
  7. Epistle of Barnabas
  8. Epistle to Diognetus
  9. Shepherd of Hermas

THE 722B: TP: Fr. & Drs.: Theresa of Avila (Prof. Ralph Martin)

Give an account of the 7 stages of spiritual growth (Mansions) that Teresa Avila details in her work "the Interior Castle."

THE 804: Philosophical Foundations of Catechetics (Prof. Patricia Donohue-White)

Answer two of the following essays. Your essays should clearly illustrate a comprehensive knowledge of the relevant readings and lectures from the course as well as an ability to think clearly, critically and creatively about the subject matter.

  1. Platonism and the Patristic period. Present and critically analyze major themes of Platonic philosophy (e.g., the Platonic conception of metaphysics, the hierarchy of being, the nature of divinity, the myths regarding the origins of the world and the destiny of the soul) and the ways in which these were appropriated and transformed by Christian thinkers. Be sure to illustrate your points with examples of specific Church fathers and their specific uses of Platonism.
  2. Aristotelianism and Medieval Scholastic philosophy. Present and critically analyze the Scholastic understanding of the differences/relations between faith and philosophy which developed under the impact of Aristotelianism. Illustrate your points through a consideration of the Scholastic treatment of one of the following themes: God, the cosmos, humanity.
  3. The modern/post modern self. Present and critically analyze the main lines of Charles Taylor's argument in Sources of the Self regarding the formation of the modern identity. Address the ways in which the self is undergoing transformation through the impact of post-modernism. Finally, discuss ways in which contemporary catechesis might best speak to the modern/post-modern self.

SUMMER I 2002


THE 601: Biblical Foundations (Dr. Andrew Minto)

Study all three (3) questions. The proctor will choose one for you to answer at the examination.

  1. Reflecting on the magisterial documents (Profidentissimus Deus, Divino Afflante Spiritu, Dei Verbu, Historicity of the Gospels, and Mysterium Ecclesiae), the NCCB's Pastoral Statement for Catholics on Biblical Fundamentalism, class lecture, and the articles by Frein and Lindbeck, address and answer the following questions. What place and role does Scripture occupy within the Church with respect to the mediation of God's word. How does this view of Scripture, as the privileged instrument of God's word, rest on certain fundamentals, yet, at the same time, resist and contradict fundamentalism?
  2. Reflecting on the article by Ratzinger, the excerpts from Colin's Enlightenment and Alienation, Hayes & Holloday's Biblical Exegesis, and class lecture, write a response to the two articles by R. Brown addressing the key issue of the effect of Enlightenment thinking on modern exegesis and theological reflection and a remedy to this affect.
  3. Reflecting on the magisterial documents (see question #1), the two articles by de la Potterie, the articles by S. M. and F. Martin, and class lecture, write an essay that discusses the meaning and interrelation of the senses of Scripture.

THE 602: Theological Foundations (Dr. Regis Martin)

In his summary of the basic and abiding content of the Christian belief, Joseph Ratzinger provides "a few graspable statements," pursuant to what being a Christian really means (i.e., his "Excursus: Christian Structures," from Introduction to Christianity). Seven (7) propositions follow in which the nub of a man's faith in Christianity crystallize. What are they and why is it necessary to present them in the way that he has?

THE 740/436: TI: Women in Early Christianity (Prof. Patricia Donohue-White)

Answers are to be in essay form. Essays should clearly illustrate a comprehensive knowledge of the relevant readings and lectures from the course as well as an ability to think clearly, critically and creatively about the subject matter.

 

  1. Women in the New Testament (Bible, Women's Bible Commentary, Malone, Women and Christianity).
    • Describe in general terms the principles of interpretation we used to examine NT texts on women, explaining the limits of what can be derived from the texts about the actual lives of women.
    • Briefly outline the various types of women encountered in the texts and describe their relations to Jesus (Gospels) and their standing in the early churches (Acts, Pauline Epistles).
    • Examine in detail one of the following sets of texts,: (a) the woman who anoints Jesus (Mark 14:3-9; Mt 26: 6-13; Lk 7:36-50; Jn 12:1-8). (b) Women in the passion narratives (Mark 15:40 - 16:8; Mt 26:1 - 28:10; Luke 23:49, 24:1-12; John 19:25 - 27, 20: 1-18).
  2. Women in early Church hagiography (Course Pack, Women and Christianity)
    • Describe in general terms the principles of interpretation we used to analyze these texts, explaining the difference between what the texts tell us about the actual lives of women and what they tell us about cultural ideals of women and sanctity.
    • Analyze the ideal of virginity which motivated these women and the men who wrote about them, illustrating your analysis with examples from the texts (including the writings of the Fathers on virginity).
    • Examine in detail one of the "lives" and explore some of the key motifs and symbols (Perpetua, Macrina, Olympias, Melania the younger).
  3. "Harlots of the Desert" (Ward Harlots of the Desert)
    • Analyze the theme of repentance as symbolized in the figure of Mary Magdalen and as understood by the desert ascetics.
    • Examine in detail one of the following stories, exploring the various symbols and motifs: Mary of Egypt, Pelagia, Maria the niece of Abraham.

SUMMER II 2002

THE 655: Mary in the Modern World (Dr. Regis Martin)

Mary constitutes the pedagogy which the world needs if it is to recover the Gospel message in its fullness. Discuss this proposition in the light of the six reasons cited in class which underscore the continuing importance of Mary in the scheme of Salvation and in the life of the Church. (In other words, using Ratzinger's phrase concerning "the equilibrium and completeness of Catholic faith," how does an authentic Mariology contribute to this necessary integration?)

THE 660A: PI: Catechetical Saints (Sr. M. Johanna Paruch, FSGM)

  1. Discuss the Blessed Mother and St. Joseph as "catechetical" saints, supported by material from Redemptoris Mater and Redemptoris Custos.
  2. Discuss the elements necessary for a saint to be noted as a "Catechetical Saint". You must cite catechetical documents of the Church and then illustrate these characteristics in the life of one specific catechetical saint.

THE 660B: PI: Sacramental Preparation (Prof. Barbara Morgan)

Discuss the unchangeable, universal elements of sacramental prep and correlate them with the modern situation of religious ignorance, especially sacramental/liturgical ignorance.

THE 740: TI: Theology of the Holy Spirit (Dr. Alan Schreck)

Discuss some of the important aspects of the identity and work of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament and explain how these aspects are presented in later theological reflections and teaching on the Holy Spirit, such as by St. Augustine, St. Symeon the New Theologian, St. Bernard of Clairvaux, St. Thomas Aquinas, and Pope John Paul II. (You need only show how these aspects are presented or explained in some of these writers, not all of them.)

SUMMER III 2002

THE 660: PI: Nature of Love and Sexuality (Dr. Michael Healy)

Discuss the relation between love of the other person for his own sake and a concern for one's own happiness in life and love. Are these two attitudes necessarily contradictory -- the one altruistic, the other selfish? How can they be integrated?

THE 700: Contemporary Moral Problems (Prof. Kevin Miller)

Answer either (1) or (2):

  1. Thoroughly discuss and evaluate the several understandings of the interrelationships among politics, morality, and faith that were stated or implied in the readings on this topic.
  2. What is medicine, and what does its nature have to do with medical ethics; what does theology add to our understanding of the purpose and content of medical ethics? In light of the above and of any other relevant considerations, discuss and explain how to resolve key beginning- and end-of-life (include some argument for when human life begins and ends) and reproductive-technology ethical issues.

THE 730: Grace and the Virtues (Dr. Regis Martin)

  1. Trace the development of the Church's teaching on grace from St. Paul, through Augustine, to the councils of Orange and Trent.
  2. What has been the impact of that teaching in terms of understanding of virtue?

 
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