Theology and Philosophy

The theological curriculum is designed to provide a coherent account of the Catholic Faith that builds upon the knowledge of each previous year. The ultimate goal of the curriculum is to give the students the knowledge necessary to fulfill the apostolate given by God in the sacrament of Confirmation: the conversion of souls. This education is not simply for the student’s own good, but also for the good of others, especially for the renewal of the life of the Church in our time.

The philosophical curriculum in the high school at Providence Academy is designed to provide the foundations of philosophy in the Church’s tradition. Philosophy differs from theology in that it studies reality by the light of reason alone, and not using divine revelation. We follow as our guide especially St. Thomas Aquinas, whose philosophy has been given the greatest authority by the Church.

Courses and Central Texts

Sacred Scripture (Theology I)

  • The Holy Bible

  • Commentaries by the Church Fathers, St. Thomas Aquinas, and Cornelius a Lapide

Church History (Theology II) 

  • All readings are from handouts containing primary sources

Moral Theology (Theology III) 

  • Introduction to the Devout Life, St. Francis de Sales

  • Talking with God: Four Treatises on the Interior Life, St. Alphonsus Liguori

  • Selections from several other spiritual classics

Apologetics (Theology IV) 

  • The Case for Jesus, Brant Pitre

  • The Council of Trent

  • Institutes of Christian Doctrine, John Calvin

  • The Holy Bible

  • Selections from the Early Church Fathers

  • Pascendi Dominici Gregis, St. Pius X

  • Other magisterial texts of the 19th and 20th centuries

Logic (Philosophy I) 

  • Traditional Logic: Introduction to Formal Logic, Martin Cothran

  • Aristotle’s Material Logic, Martin Cothran

Aesthetics (Philosophy II) 

  • Students learn to identify dozens of pieces of music, painting, architecture, and sculpture over the course of both semesters.

Ethics (Philosophy III) 

  • Euthyphro, Plato

  • Orthodoxy, G. K. Chesterton

  • Summa Theologica, St. Thomas Aquinas

  • Nichomachean Ethics, Aristotle

  • Moral Theology: A Complete Course, McHugh & Callan

Metaphysics (Philosophy IV) 

  • Summa Theologica, St. Thomas Aquinas