Sacred Studies

Saint Michael the Archangel High School is firmly committed to the teachings of the Catholic Church and promoting a Culture of Life.  The school’s sacred studies program follows the Secondary Religion Guidelines, working draft of 1998 currently in use by the Diocese of Arlington.

In partnership with America’s foremost Catholic Pro-life organization, the American Life League (www.all.org), Saint Michael also provides course material, lectures, activities and internships that espouse a Culture of Life and aid our young people to go out into the world and make a difference for the better. Some of the issues our young men and women will face include personhood, abortion, artificial human reproduction (in vitro fertilization, surrogacy, cloning), stem cell research, contraception, genetic manipulation, fertility care, embryo adoption, abnormal pregnancies, the death penalty, pain management, redemptive suffering, end-of-life medical care, euthanasia, assisted suicide, organ donation, and brain death.  By the careful integration of faith and reason, Saint Michael students learn the true teachings of the Catholic Church on these matters and how they can live out these teachings in order to promote a Culture of Life.

Sacred Studies 9

Sacred Studies 9 is a course designed to introduce students to the fundamental teachings of the Catholic Church. Students will grow in knowledge about how Jesus Christ is the unique Word of Sacred Scripture and how God’s mission of salvation is revealed in both the Old and New Testament.  This course is designed by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.   This class will seek ways to quench the students’ desire to know and love God, especially through praying with Sacred Scripture.  As Saint Michael the Archangel High School also is a “Culture of Life” school, students will be prepared to articulate and defend the meaning and dignity of the human person in accordance within a Christological framework.

Sacred Studies 10

Course description forthcoming.

Sacred Studies 11

Course description forthcoming.

Introduction to Sacred Scriptures 12

This course is a survey of the Old and New Testament.  Students will examine each of the six main covenants leading up to the New Covenant of Christ and the founding of the Church.  Particular attention will be given to the fourteen narrative books that reveal God’s mission of salvation that culminate with the teachings and the traditions of the Apostles.  Covenantal theology, typology and an introduction to systematic theology will be examined.  Students will examine the feasts and rituals of the liturgy of ancient Israel and see how some of these rituals and feasts are exemplified in the liturgy of the Catholic Church.  As Saint Michael the Archangel High School also is a “Culture of Life” school, this course will pay particular attention to the covenantal idea of marriage (as Christ and His bride, the Church, as Sacrament).  This course will address those issues which diminish or are an affront to the purpose and dignity of marriage.

Catholic Apologetics Elective

This course is a survey of the world religions and the Catholic response to their ideologies.  This course is not only a systematic presentation of the truth of Catholicism, but also a class which encourages the practice of virtue and the cultivation of the love for the Church. The course will begin with a brief introduction on “What is good reasoning?”  After the students learn how to defend a belief, the first part will examine the various claims of Hinduism, Buddhism, and other New Age and pantheistic religions. It will also examine Christianity in light of the teachings of Islam. Finally, the class will examine the causes and the ramifications of the divisions within Christendom and analyze the numerous denominations of Christianity and the Catholic response to Protestants.  As Saint Michael the Archangel High School also is a “Culture of Life” school,  this class will focus on those life issues where other denominations or religions have ignored natural law or have changed their position on social issues that is contrary to the orthodox Christian tradition.