February 13 – 24, 2023
​​​​​​​
​​​​​​​ONLINE

​Taught by Fr. Joseph Koopman

Course Description:

The class will study the Catholic Church’s teaching on sexual ethics in light of St. John Paul II’s theology of the body.  Beginning with a very brief overview of the foundations of Catholic Morality, drawn from the Catechism and John Paul II’s encyclical Veritatis Splendor, (discussing issues such as freedom, virtue, conscience, and moral action), the course will turn to the Church’s vision of sexuality, rooted in the proper theological understanding of the human person.  Consideration will be given to the importance of the body within Christian anthropology, along with an examination of the virtue of chastity, the vocation of marriage, and John Paul’s understanding of the ‘nuptial meaning of the body.’   We will study the Church’s teaching on contraception, procreative technologies, sterilization, abortion, homosexuality, fornication and cohabitation, masturbation, pornography and more.

Learning Objectives: The course is designed

• to explore the essential principles of the Catholic moral tradition, and the reasons behind the Catholic Church’s teaching on sexuality
• to assess the contributions that John Paul II’s theology of the body offers Catholic sexual ethics
• to understand the differences between natural family planning and contraception
• to assess the reasons that underlie the Church’s teaching that contraception, homosexuality, masturbation, fornication, pornography and other ethical issues related to sexuality are morally wrong
• to assess the primary reasons why many Catholics reject the Church’s teaching on sexual ethics, and to consider ways to more effectively proclaim the Church’s teaching on sexuality.

Assessment for Certification Students: All TOBI Certification students are required to complete an assessment for this course prior to participating in an additional course with TOBI.

Instructor:

Rev. Joseph Koopman, M.Div, M.A., S.T.D., graduated from Franciscan University of Steubenville in 1996, after which he entered St. Mary Seminary in Cleveland, Ohio. He was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Cleveland in 2001, and served as a newly ordained priest at St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Parma. From 2005 to 2009, Fr. Koopman attended the Accademia Alfonsiana in Rome, Italy, where he received a license and doctorate in theology. Since 2009, he has been a professor of moral theology at St. Mary Seminary, along with serving as an advisor in moral theology and ethics for the Diocese of Cleveland and the Ohio Catholic Conference of Bishops.

Theology of the Body I: Head & Heart Immersion Course (Online)

April 17 – 28, 2023

Taught by Christopher West

Christopher West, Th.D.

Christopher West, Th.D., serves as President and Senior Lecturer for the Theology of the Body Institute near Philadelphia. His global lecturing, best-selling books and multiple audio and video programs have made him one of the world’s most recognized teachers of St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body. His work has been featured in The New York Times, on ABC News, MSNBC, Fox News, and countless Catholic and Evangelical media outlets.

“Glorious things are said of you, O city of God” (Ps 87:3).

“One thing I ask, this alone I seek,” says the psalmist, “to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and contemplate his temple” (Ps 27:4).

These Scriptures, and countless others, are fulfilled in the flesh and blood of Mary, which became God’s city, God’s dwelling place. But for far too many Catholics, Mary remains an abstraction, a blue plaster statue, a disincarnate hyper-pious “ideal” far removed from the realities of daily life and the visceral desires of the human heart. Who is Mary, really? “Who is this who comes forth like the dawn, beautiful as the moon, pure as the blazing sun, fearsome as celestial visions?” (Song of Songs 6:10).

Through the lens of St. John Paul II’s TOB and with the help of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the insights of countless saints and mystics throughout the ages, this course seeks to answer that question in such a way as to show what the most influential woman in all of human history means to us here and now, today, in our own personal lives, with all our questions, struggles, and longings. It will demonstrate how all the Marian doctrines of the Church and the call of true devotion to the Mother of God have one and only one goal: to lead us to deeper union with the Word who was made flesh in her womb.

Instructor:

Christopher West, ThD, serves as President and Senior Lecturer for the Theology of the Body Institute near Philadelphia. His global lecturing, best-selling books and multiple audio and video programs have made him one of the world’s most recognized teachers of St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body. His work has been featured in The New York Times, on ABC News, MSNBC, Fox News, and countless Catholic and Evangelical media outlets.

May 28 – June 2, 2023

Schoenstatt Retreat Center

Waukesha, WI

​​​​​​​Taught by Christopher West

Registration Open!

REGISTRATION OPEN!

July 9-14, 2023

Black Rock Retreat Center

Quarryville, PA

​​​​​​​Taught by Christopher West

Registration Open!

Theology of the Body I: Head & Heart Immersion Course (Online)

July 17 – 28, 2023

Taught by Christopher West

Registration Open!

July 30 – August 4, 2023

Black Rock Retreat Center

Quarryville, PA

​​​​​​​Taught by Fr. Boniface Hicks, OSB

Registration will be open soon!

Instructor:

Fr. Boniface Hicks, OSB, Fr. Boniface Hicks, OSB, is a Benedictine monk of St. Vincent Archabbey in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. He has provided spiritual direction for many men and women, including married couples, seminarians, consecrated religious, and priests, even while completing his Ph.D in computer science at Penn State University. He became the programming manager and an on-air contributor for We Are One Body Catholic Radio in 2010 and has recorded thousands of radio programs on theology and the spiritual life. He has extensive experience as a retreat master for laity, consecrated religious, and priests. He became the Director of Spiritual Formation for St. Vincent Seminary in 2016.

Registration Cost:

– $1,295 Early Registration Fee before May 30, 2023

— Price includes room, meals, workbook, and course.

– $1,395 Registration Fee after May 30, 2023

– $100 Optional Airport Shuttle from Philadelphia International Airport

Please click “Register” below to see more information about the course.

Theology of the Body I: Head & Heart Immersion Course (Online)

October 9 – 20, 2023

Taught by Christopher West

Registration Open!

Please click “Register” below for more information about the course.

November 5-10, 2023
​​​​​​​
​​​​​​​Black Rock Retreat Center

​​​​​​​Quarryville, PA

​​​​​​​Taught by Bill Donaghy

New Course! Registration Open!

Please click “Register” below for more information about the course.

Theology of the Body and the New Evangelization Course (Online)

November 6 – 17, 2023

Taught by Christopher West

Please click “Register” below for more information about the course.

Please click “Register” below for more information about the course.