Programs

Continuing Education Program

The Continuing Education Series is designed for adults who would like to further their theological formation without embarking on graduate-level academic work. In addition to these general-interest students, high school teachers in the Diocese of Virginia and the Archdiocese of Washington may use these courses toward their VCEA or CEU requirements.

Classes are offered four times a year: one course in the fall semester, one in the spring semester, and two during the summer months. These courses are not part of the Institute’s regular graduate offerings but mirror such courses in theme and content.

During the fall and spring semesters, CE courses meet once a week on Wednesday evenings. During the summer months, each course is offered in intensive format—usually both mornings and afternoons of a single week, Monday through Friday.

To bring the curriculum of the Institute to a wider audience, class sessions are offered in hybrid format, both on campus and online.

Students are not required to have completed a bachelor’s degree to participate in CE classes.

Past courses have included:

The Summer 2025 courses in the Institute’s ongoing Continuing Education Series will be “Called to Love: Theology of the Body” from July 21-25 and “Spirit of the Liturgy: Life and Liturgy in the Thought of Joseph Ratzinger” from July 28 until August 1

“Called to Love” will examine St. John Paul II’s famous “Catechesis on Human Love” by a close reading of the text and an exploration of the philosophical and biblical sources of his powerful vision. It will also delve into supplementary texts that will aid students in understanding human love in its fullness. The aim is to see the intimate connection of this human love with its Divine source, the Trinitarian God who is Love, and how the human being, in his entirety, images Him.

“Spirit of the Liturgy” will center on a close reading of Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger’s seminal work The Spirit of the Liturgy supplemented by the work of contemporary theologians such as Fr. Alexander Schmemann and David Fagerberg. Students will consider the intrinsic connection between liturgy and everyday life as inscribed in the order of creation and expressed in the concrete liturgical practices of the Church. Throughout the course, we will consider the question of “the spirit of the liturgy” which sustains the Church as a living organism united to God and capable of spreading divine grace into the world.

The courses will be taught in person and offered online simultaneously.

Each course fee is $150. To register, please complete the online registration form. Payment can be submitted via check, cash, or credit card. To submit a credit card payment, please click here.

These courses can be taken toward renewal requirements for VCEA licensure. Numerous high schools in the Archdiocese of Washington accept the course for CEU credits.

If you have questions please contact emartin@johnpaulii.edu.

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