Thanks to the generous support of the Knights of Columbus Finger Lakes Chapter, St. Bernard's is delighted to offer the opportunity of auditing one summer course for free. We are a Catholic graduate school committed to featuring courses that enhance the truths of our faith, and as such, wish to share our offerings with as many people as possible.
Courses may be accessed online via Zoom from anywhere in the world. All Catholic theology courses online are listed in Eastern Standard Time (EST/EDT). If a location is listed, this indicates the location from which the course will be taught: students who are within commuting distance to that location are encouraged to attend in person. Further details on distance learning can be found here.
Summer 2026 Courses
May 11th - June 26th (Session I) | June 29th - August 14th (Session II)
Application deadline for Session I is April 24th; application deadline for Session II is June 19th.
Add/drop deadlines are May 18th [Session I] and July 6th [Session II].
ROC (Rochester Campus)
Session I
A205: Introduction to Biblical Studies (Matthew Ramage, Ph.D.)
The sequence of Sacred Scripture courses at St. Bernard’s is meant to instill habits and skills of reading the Bible that will nourish the spiritual life of the student and candidate for ministry. This first course lays a foundation for all other Scripture courses. It intends to head off simplistic and hackneyed interpretations of Dei Verbum and instead to pursue the development of a rigorous ecclesial hermeneutic. Students will learn the practical building blocks and essential theoretical principles for a Catholic theological approach to the interpretation of Sacred Scripture. Topics treated include biblical geography, biblical history, biblical languages, biblical narrative, the framework of theology, textual criticism, historical criticism, biblical canon, patristic interpretation, the four senses of Scripture, philosophical hermeneutics, and Dei Verbum.
3 credits | Online
Wednesdays, 6:30 - 9:30pm EDT, May 13th, May 20th, May 27th, June 3rd, June 10th, June 17th, June 24th
B/C441: Liturgical Development and Reforms: A History of Western Liturgy (Rev. Anthony Barratt, Ph.D.)
This course will examine the development of liturgical forms in the Western churches: the liturgy as “always reforming.” It will begin with some foundational questions about liturgy and development and then follow a synchronic approach, studying the roots and growth of the liturgy until the present. Particular attention will be given to the factors behind such development, and there will be an assessment and evaluation of the liturgies examined. The course will also study some specific examples of a liturgy developing over time and will conclude with an examination of some pastoral issues, such as inculturation and translation. Throughout the course, the students will have plenty of contact with liturgical texts, and they will be encouraged to develop skills of interpretation and evaluation.
3 credits | Online
Mondays, 6:00 - 9:00pm EDT, May 11th, May 18th, May 25th, June 1st, June 8th, June 15th, June 22nd
B/D338: American Saints and Blesseds (Lisa Lickona, S.T.L.)
This course seeks to uncover the face of American sanctity by diving into the lives and spirituality of thirteen Americans who have been canonized or are on the path: Kateri Tekakwitha, Isaac Jogues, Elizabeth Ann Seton, John Neumann, Frances Xavier Cabrini, Katharine Drexel, Michael McGivney, Dorothy Day, Solanus Casey, Stanley Rother, Fulton Sheen, Thea Bowman, and Walter Ciszek. How did these men and women encounter Christ in America? And what can they teach us about seeking Christ in our own time and place? These questions will drive our exploration.
3 credits | ROC and Online
Wednesdays, 6:00 - 9:00pm EDT,May 13th, May 20th, May 27th, June 3rd, June 10th, June 17th, June 24th
CP433: At the Origin of Technology (Marco Stango, Ph.D.)
It is often the case that the most common phenomena are also the phenomena which are the least reflected upon and understood. The essence of technology, whose role is so pervasive and seemingly omnipresent in our society, is much debated, but hardly grasped. Who were the first thinkers who first philosophized about technology? And what is technology anyway? Is technology just a phenomenon among others, or is it something that has to do with the depth of human nature? What is the difference between a written text, an automaton, and AI? And could the human being, confronted with the enormous danger brought about by ever more powerful devices, decide to become a-technological? Or perhaps, on the opposite view, could the human being reject any idea of a given nature and embrace a fully technological view of being? This course addresses these and related questions by attempting a philosophical reconstruction of the idea of technology through the ancient, modern, and contemporary eras. The authors discussed may include, but are not limited to, Plato, Aristotle, St. Thomas Aquinas, Descartes, Bacon, Heidegger, Günther Anders, and Byun-Chul Han.
3 credits | Online
Thursdays, 6:00 - 9:00pm EDT, May 14th, May 21st, May 28th, June 4th, June 11th, June 18th, June 25th
CP661: Philosophical Ethics (Marco Stango, Ph.D.)
This course will articulate the general components necessary to a sustained, unified, and useful investigation into the moral life. With a privilege accorded to the Socratic, Platonic, Aristotelian, Augustinian, and Thomistic traditions, the course will consider the question of human purpose, namely to be happy, and the means that must be marshalled in order to achieve this happiness. Among the components to be examined are the following: how virtue, vice, and habit are related to the development of human character; how do we understand free choice and the many and varied roles that both reason and will play in the realization of a free choice; what is meant by conscience and its role in the moral life; is the society we live in and the friendships we enjoy necessary to the realization of a happy life; can the purely secular approach to human happiness succeed, or must this be realized within a religious context?
3 credits | Online
Tuesdays, 6:00pm - 9:00pm EDT, May 12th, May 19th, May 26th, June 2nd, June 9th, June 16th, June 23rd
Session II
A/C388: The Gospel of John: Theological Themes and Textual Analysis (Matthew Kuhner, Ph.D.)
"We may be bold enough to say that the Gospels are the first fruits of all the Scriptures, and that the Gospel of John represents the first fruits of the Gospels" (Origen of Alexandria). This course will meditate upon and study the Gospel of John, lauded throughout the centuries for its expressive richness and its spiritual depth as it communicates the person of Jesus Christ. In terms of method, this course will provide a dynamic combination of theological exposition and textual analysis. Because a comprehensive treatment lies beyond the scope of a single course, crucial theological themes and texts will be discussed: themes such as glory, love, life, and truth, and texts such as the prologue, the signs, the high priestly prayer, and the crucifixion narrative will be studied (among others). Finally, the impact and significance of the Johannine witness throughout the life of the Church (especially in the 20th and 21st centuries) will be considered throughout.
3 credits | ROC and Online
Tuesdays, 6:00 - 9:00pm EDT, June 30th, July 7th, July 14th, July 21st, July 28th, August 4th, August 11th
B/C361: Revelation, God, and the Angels According to Thomas Aquinas (Stephen Loughlin, Ph.D.)
This course is the first of six dedicated to a reading of St. Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Theologiae, a work that constitutes his mature thought concerning those things essential to the Christian Faith: revelation, God, creation, the human person, the Christian life, the theological and cardinal virtues, and Jesus Christ and the sacraments. We begin by considering the first 64 questions of the first part of the Summa (the prima pars). We deal, first, with his brief but well considered views concerning the nature of Sacred Doctrine. From this, we then launch into the quality of our knowledge of God, both concerning His existence and what can be known of Him both in His unity and in His trinity, and all of this according to both natural reason and revelation. We then complete this course with a consideration of God's creative activity, beginning with those beings that are purely immaterial, namely the angels and the demons (with the remaining questions of the prima pars treated in B/C362).
3 credits | ROC and Online
Wednesdays, 6:00 - 9:00pm EDT, July 1st, July 8th, July 15th, July 22nd, July 29th, August 5th, August 12th
B/C461: Tolkien the Artist: Creativity and the Image of God (Siobhan Latar, S.T.D.)
"We make because we are made in the image of a Maker” (J.R.R. Tolkien). What is the role of creativity in human life? Is it just an incidental addition, reserved for those with a particular skill set or extra time? Or is it something that speaks to the heart of what it means to be a human person? This course will explore the work and thought of beloved author, J.R.R. Tolkien, a devout Catholic and a devoted artist, to see how he himself answers this question. We will uncover Tolkien’s understanding of the role of creativity and what it shows us about our relationship with creation, ourselves, and God the Creator.
3 credits | Online
Thursdays, 6:00 - 9:00pm EDT, July 2nd, July 9th, July 16th, July 23rd, July 30th, August 6th, August 13th
CP641: Philosophy of God (Marco Stango, Ph.D.)
This course concerns the natural ascent of the human mind to a knowledge of the existence and the attributes of God – can God’s existence be proven, and can our language at least begin to represent God’s attributes without falling purely into metaphorical language or simple anthropomorphisms?
3 credits | Online
Thursdays, 6:00 - 9:00pm EDT, July 2nd, July 9th, July 16th, July 23rd, July 30th, August 6th, August 13th
