Welcome!

In association with Homeschool Connections, Aquinas Connections now offers online, interactive courses for adults.  These courses are designed to be continuing education courses to improve your knowledge about the Catholic faith.  

As a student, you will have weekly access to some wonderful apologists, academics, and theologians.  It is like they are coming over to your house and teaching in your living room!

We will have our own site up soon but for now all the information concerning  courses resides here!

Aquinas Connections: Jesus’ Journey to Jerusalem In St. Luke’s Gospel
(now part of our subscription service)

Class dates: Mondays, August 2 to September 13, 2010 (we will not meet Labor Day)
Total classes: 6
Starting time:  9:30 pm Eastern (8:30 Central)
Duration: 1 hour
Fee: $125 for entire 6-week course.
Instructor:  Fr. Mitchell Pacwa, S.J. with Ignatius Productions
Prerequisite: None
Description:   In Luke 9:51 Jesus sets his face toward Jerusalem, and mention of his destination is repeated in 13:22, 17:11, and 18:34, with allusions to the journey in 9:57, 10:38, 11:53, 14:25. This journey links the beginning of Christ’s public ministry with its purpose in his death and resurrection. During this Year of Cycle C Readings, the Church presents readings from this unit of the Gospel, from the Thirteenth through the Thirtieth Sundays in Ordinary Time. It is easy to hear each episode during the Sunday readings, but that would miss seeing the unity of these episodes and their function within the message of the whole Gospel. This course will limit itself to examining the Journey to Jerusalem. While the individual units of the Gospel will be examined in as much detail as is possible, the focus will be on making the links between each unit and the theme of the Journey, as well as the connections with other parts of the Gospel of St. Luke.

Aquinas Connections: Practical Apologetics for Adults 
(now part of our subscription service)

Class dates: Thursdays, October 21 to December 16, 2010 (we will not meet on Nov. 25)
Total classes: 8
Starting time:  9:00 pm Eastern (8:00 Central)
Duration: 1 hour
Fee: $100 for entire 9-week course
Instructor:  Gary Michuta
Prerequisite: None
Description:   These classes focus on apologetic material that has been developed in the field and proven to helpful and effective. You will learn two or three lines of explaination / argument concerning such doctrines as salvation, sola Scriptura, the papacy, the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, the Mass, intercession of the saints, and Mary.

Upon completing the course the students will be able to give an effective defense of the most often attacked Catholic doctrines and practices. You will gain confidence in defending the Faith and have a better appreciation of how Protestants read and understand the Bible.

Aquinas Connections: Who is Knocking On My Door? How to Answer Jehovah Witnesses 
(cancelled–will be rescheduled for Fall 2011)

Class dates: Wednesdays, June 29 to July 20, 2011
Total classes: 4
Starting time:  8:00 pm Eastern (7:00 Central)
Duration: 1 hour
Fee: $50 for entire 4-week course
Instructor:  Gary Michuta
Prerequisite: None
Description:   Learn the basics about who the Jehovah’s Witnesses are and how to explain key doctrines. Over this four week course, we will cover their history, prophecy, doctrine, and how to effectively respond to Jehovah Witnesses.

Class 1 – History – Jehovah’s Witnesses beliefs are based upon the Watchtower authority. Learn how the Jehovah’s Witnesses really started and what they wouldn’t tell you about their history at your door.

Class 2 – Prophecy – Study of the major false prophecies of the WTBS up until present. Learn how to use these false prophecies when sharing the faith with Witnesses.

Class 3 – Doctrine – Learn the strange and unusual teachings and practices of the Jehovah’s Witnesses and how these teachings differ from historic Christianity. 

Class 4 – Apologetics – What is the best way to explain your Catholic Faith to Jehovah’s Witness. What to talk about and what to avoid. 

Aquinas Connections: Love according to John Paul II–CANCELLED

Class dates: Thursdays, February 10 through March 31, 2011
Total classes: 8
Start time: 8:30 p.m. ET
Duration: 1 hour 15 minutes
Fee: $80
Intructor: Robert Gotcher, Ph. D.
Prerequisite: None
Audience: Adult
Description: Even before the Second Vatican Council Karol Wojtyla, the future John Paul II, was reflecting on the meaning of love and marriage. In the late 1950s he wrote a ground-breaking book on the subject called Love and Responsibility in which he anticipated much of the later reflection of the Church on these subject. Among the themes in this book are the difference between loving and using someone, the relationships between the various kinds of love, the barriers to love, and the meaning of marriage for our relationship with God, each other, and society. 

This class will be an eight week seminar-type discussion group on the text of the book Love and Responsibility (L & R).  There will be very little lecture.  Each participant will be expected to actively contribute to the discussion. For this reason, everyone will need a functioning headset with a microphone. 
Homework:  Reading the assigned chapters of the book.  If you don’t read the passages, you won’t get much out of the discussion. There will also be outlines and resources on the Moodle page.
Course materials: Karol Wojtyla (John Paul II), Love and Responsibility (San Francisco, Ignatius Press, 1981).

More classes are to be scheduled soon!

Frequently Asked Question

Q: How do I “attend class”?
A: You will receive an email with a link to the “classroom.” Classes take place in an audio/visual classroom where the teacher and students meet in a real time environment. The instructor converses directly with students. The student is able to see and hear the voice of the instructor. Students can respond two ways. They can type in chat or “raise their hand” to respond orally using their headset.

Q: What if I miss a class?
A: All classes are recorded and made available to students within 24 hours. In the case of a missed class, a student can go back and watch the recorded class.

Q:What are the system requirements for the webinars? 
A: Usually, a computer purchased in the last seven years, a DSL or better connection to the internet, and a headset with microphone.

 Link to this page

 Link to this page