If St. Peter was the cornerstone of the early church, St. Paul was the capstone. A dramatic encounter with the risen Christ transformed him from a persecutor of the first disciples into the Apostle to the Gentiles. He traveled through the cities of the ancient Mediterranean world, moving through cultures, making disciples and establishing churches, instructing them in the foundations of the Christian faith. He wrote nearly a third of the New Testament. This class will follow the life of St. Paul, discovering the world he came out of and moved through as an evangelist. We will explore his conversion on the road to Damascus and his subsequent formation and acceptance by the apostles he formerly persecuted. We will follow him on his missionary journeys progressively deeper into the Roman Empire until they brought him to the city of Rome itself. We will see how, even from the dungeon of the Mamertine Prison in the Roman Forum, he continued to minister to the churches he had started, commissioned his protege St. Timothy, and evangelized even the Praetorian Guard in Ceasar’s palace. And we will follow him to his execution and burial outside the city walls. Join Greg Smith as he leads this seven-session journey through the life and times of St. Paul, Apostle to the Gentiles.Credit: 1.5 Hours per Session in Theology

Audrey Thomas introduces students to the principles of Catholic liturgical music. Credit: 1.5 Hours per Session in Spirituality

Jesus was many things: preacher, miracle worker, heir to King David, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. But he was also a storyteller. Jesus was not only the hero of the greatest story ever told, he was the greatest storyteller that ever lived. The parables of Jesus are evocative and provocative, with unforgettable characters, plots, and images that puzzle our minds but penetrate our hearts. They can be hard to understand—in fact, the apostles themselves asked Jesus why his parables were so hard to grasp. Jesus invites us to enter these stories so that the Holy Spirit can enter our lives. They have the power to change us from the inside out if we will let them in. Through seven sessions, Greg Smith will move through the parables, exploring their context and meaning. Credit: 1.5 Hours per Session in Spirituality