I want a Laity not arrogant not rash in speech, not disputatious, but who know their Religion, who enter into it, who know just where they stand, who know what they hold and what they do not, who know their Creed so well that they can give an account of it, who know so much of history that they can defend it. I want an intelligent, well-instructed Laity. I wish you to enlarge your knowledge, to cultivate your reason, to get an insight into the relation of Truth to Truth, to learn to view things as they are, to understand how Faith and Reason stand to each other, what are the bases and principles of Catholicism.
AoA Blended & Distance Learning Courses are designed to train and educate students to be truly mission-ready – for the parish, for the diocese, for the world. AoA’s programmes equip students to work effectively in the Lord’s vineyard so that they can communicate the Joy of the Gospel as they invite souls to a more intentional discipleship.
AoA’s practical and applied programmes are not detached from the real world, real parish and diocesan life. These programmes provide not only the foundational study in Scripture (the Bible) and Catholic Theology, but they also aim to help students to be able to communicate the foundational theological truths using contemporary examples and illustrations. These programmes endeavour to equip the student to answer the call (of St John Paul II and the recent popes) for the use of new methods, and to communicate the Catholic faith with new ardour.
AoA Certificate in the New Evangelization
AoA offers a two-year non-degree level course – AoA Certificate in the New Evangelization – for those who wish to receive an introduction to the Catechism of the Catholic Church and its contents, those who wish to deepen their understanding of the Catholic faith, and those who wish to participate in the work of the New Evangelization as catechists and teachers of religious education.
AoA Conferences
For those who are local, AoA offers lecture & discussion series over a period of several weeks; for those who live at a distance, AoA offers a variety of short conferences (3 days) – in various subject areas including Faith & Reason, Theology, Apologetics, Discipleship, Catechesis, Spiritual Theology, and Biblical Studies.
Programmes, Conferences, and Workshops cover a variety of themes – all of them underscoring the Scriptural Foundations of the Church’s teaching. Over the first three years topics include:
- Old Testament & New Testament
- The Word of God & Biblical Theology
- Dei Verbum & Verbum Domini
- The Triune God
- The Person of Jesus Christ
- The Blessed Virgin Mary
- The Seven Sacraments / the Divine Mysteries
- The Sacraments of Initiation
- Apologetics & Reasons for Faith
- Evangelization & Catechesis
- The Theological Virtues and the Moral Virtues
- Fundamental Moral Theology – Life in Christ
- The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit & the Charisms
- The Theology of Grace
- The universal call to holiness & the life of prayer
- Lectio Divina
- Discursive meditation & infused contemplation
- Discipleship
- Spiritual Direction
- The path of the soul as it advances toward union with God
- The Angels & the Saints
- Various Other Scriptural and Dogmatic Topics