As the Director of the Lay Division at St. John Vianney Theological Seminary, I have the blessing of overseeing unique programs of study. They are unique because St. John Vianney is not only concerned with forming future clerics but also has a division dedicated to forming the laity. Our mission at the Lay Division is to put people in contact and communion with Jesus, who alone leads us to the heart of the Father in the Spirit. We consider ourselves a part of the Great Commission given by Our Lord to the Church in Matthew 28 to baptize all nations and teach them all that he has commanded. In essence, we’re all about making and maturing disciples. We do this through various offerings that study God’s call to each person to have a personal relationship with him in the Church he established with the Precious Blood of Jesus. Our two flagship programs are the Denver Catholic Biblical School, a four-year study of the Sacred Scriptures, and the Denver Catholic Catechetical School, a two-year study of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. We also offer other programs of study: year-long “enrichment courses” on different topics of the faith, short courses, lecture series throughout the liturgical seasons, day-long workshops and conferences, and free lectures throughout the year. We have something for everybody, no matter where they might be in their faith! The first step towards being a disciple of Christ is to know the faith. This is because we cannot love what we don’t first know. Or, as we may otherwise say, we cannot choose something that we don’t know is there to be chosen. How could we ever think of loving Christ, no less with all our heart, soul and mind, as he declares we must, without first knowing him? So, the first element of fulfilling our mission lies in bringing people the knowledge of Jesus, without which we cannot love him. But of course, it doesn’t end there because, as St. Paul writes, the greatest of all virtues is charity. While there is a logical primacy to knowledge insofar as we cannot love what we don’t first know, there is a moral or spiritual primacy to the supernatural, infused love of God and neighbor, without which our knowledge bears no fruit for the Kingdom of God. As such, we think of our teaching as not so much academic as formative. I don’t mean that our teaching is not intellectually robust, for I think our programs challenge the mind in ways that it has never been challenged. I’m confident that you won’t find anything out there for lay people as intellectually robust as what we offer. I mean formative, then, in the sense that our teaching is meant to transform not just the mind but also the heart. As the Scriptures tell us, we must be doers of the Word, not hearers only. What good is our teaching of the faith if it doesn’t actually transform lives? If it doesn’t lead people to desire a relationship with Christ? To commit themselves to the interior life, the one thing necessary? To be more faithful to the fulfillment of the duties of their state in life as husbands, wives, fathers, mothers? Our programs are intellectually robust, rooted always in the teaching of Holy Mother Church, as expressed most clearly in the Fathers and Doctors of the Church. It’s just that we’re more than that, for our teaching draws not just the mind, but also the heart, deeper into relationship with Christ. To round this out, we can take it a step further: not only can we not love what we don’t first know, but we also won’t share what we don’t first love. This is the culmination of our formation: to bring the student deeper into relationship with Christ and instill the desire and confidence to testify to him, whether by word of mouth or the simple witness to a silent life transformed in Christ. We cannot love what we don’t first know, and we won’t share what we don’t first love. That is our mission: to bring the lay faithful to know, love and share in the life of Christ, just as the apostles did. God willing, our students may one day say, as we read of St. Paul in Galatians 2:20, that “it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” Having said all this, I’m excited to announce that starting this academic year, we are expanding our mission as we offer classes online that are open to anybody, anywhere in the world. The best-kept secret of the Archdiocese of Denver, which has changed the lives of thousands, is now available to anybody, anywhere in the world. I invite you to join us in our mission of discipleship! Check out our class options at sjvlaydivision.org and get ready for your life to change by studying the faith with us! +++ Classes for this upcoming year begin on Monday, September 9. Visit sjvlaydivision.org to see all the options for classes, locations, online times, and information sessions and to register. Study with us to learn your faith and come to know and love Jesus Christ!
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