Apologetics is a class created to help guide our Dowling students along their Faith Journey by understanding the Catholic Faith well enough to defend it accurately. The focus will be on building strong disciples through studies on Apologetics, discipleship training, and the lives of the Saints. Those that join this class are accepting the challenge to better their lives by understanding Apologetics topics from creation to death and everything in between. We want to prepare our students for the rest of their journey after Dowling. They need to be able to defend their faith as well as be prepared to maneuver through the many obstacles they will face while walking with Christ. This class is for those looking to learn more about discipleship and what it takes to follow Christ.

This course provides students with the foundation needed to address the serious medical and ethical issues of the 21st Century by equipping them with principles specific to the fields of health care and the life sciences. This course is meant for seniors who are passionate about both theology and science and who would like to explore how both subjects work together to form us into educated, Christ-centered leaders.

In this course, students examine theological themes in literature. Students will concentrate on identifying core elements of the Catholic worldview as it infuses the vision of artists and storytellers. This course will consist of four units: fiction/novels, biographies, short stories, and poetry and music. Students will, then, become story tellers and be charged with creating pieces of literature that include components of the Catholic worldview. Juniors taking this course will still be required to take two theology classes their senior year.

This course will focus on the development of the early Christian Church and it's branching into numerous denominations over the course of history. Major Christian denominations will be studied with a focus on the issues of grace, salvation, scripture, Eucharist, hierarchy, and the afterlife.

The purpose of this course is to begin a student's journey at DCHS with a thorough understanding of what Covenant means in the context of salvation history, as revealed to us through the Hebrew Scriptures. By diving in depth into both popular and obscure elements of the Old Testament, students will come to a deeper understanding of how our Covenant with God plays a defining role in their lives.

Ecclesiology                                                                    
Credit:  0.5                                                        
Offered to grade:  10, 2^nd semester

This class covers the story of the Catholic Church and covers major events and insights of the key people, doctrines, and dogma that have shaped the Catholic Church. This class also covers how the Catholic Church lives its mission in the world today.

The purpose of this course is to finish a student's freshman year at DCHS with a thorough understanding of what Faith means in the context of discipleship with Christ, as revealed to us through the New Testament. By diving in depth into both popular and obscure elements of the Gospels, Acts, Letters, and Book of Revelation, students will come to a deeper understanding of and engagement with their Faith in Christ.

Category:  Required                                                                                                                             
This course examines what morality is, both in actions and as a reflection of who we were made to be. Attention is deliberately given to investigating why and how humans were made to be moral beings which reflect the nature of God in the Trinity. In light of this anthropological reality, students will learn how to discern the morality of behaviors based on both natural and supernatural revelation, which like two wings, bring us to full understanding of the Truth. This understanding will be examined, as all doctrine is, in light of the teachings of Christ as presented to us through the Magisterium of the Catholic Church, the true guardian and interpreter of moral law.

This course is designed to allow students a first-hand experience at living out the Gospel message through service to the Dowling Catholic High School community. At its core, the class will emphasize individual and small group spiritual development. Making use of class retreats, student body liturgies, and a variety of service projects, the goal of the class will be to put faith into practice. Students selected as Peer Ministers will be called upon to share their faith in a variety of ways and must be comfortable doing so. Interested juniors must apply during the spring semester to become a student Peer Minister their senior year. There is a formal application process conducted by the Formation and Ministry team, which includes a written application and an interview.

This course presents the Sacraments as the definitive way Jesus remains present to the Church and the world today. It expresses concrete ways for understanding the sacraments, participating in their rites, and benefiting from their graces.

The goal of this course is to explore how Catholic Social Teaching, rooted in the Gospel and communicated through Church teaching, should manifest itself in society at all levels, from the basic family unit to the international level. Students will consider how their intrinsically social identity brings forth rights and responsibilities to care for others and to contribute to the building of a just society. Emphasis will be placed on the importance of solving root issues and empowering individuals and communities to care for themselves.

Blessed John Paul II’s “Theology of the Body” is not only intellectually stimulating, but the truths it proclaims are life-changing, especially for those wounded by the lies of our sexually-charged culture. The Theology of the Body course offers both academic study and seeks to help students integrate the principles of John Paul II’s Theology of the Body into their own lives and relationships. Furthermore, the course addresses questions of Christian identity, the four last things, how to engage the modern culture, the sacramental life, and the new evangelization. This course will also assist students in discerning their vocation in life.