Category Items
Module I: Laying the Groundwork
Program 1-Dr. Hahn's Conversion Story-- This program focuses on familiarizing the class with Scott Hahn and his journey to
the Church. It's a story as old as Saul of Tarsus, as poignant as that of John Henry Newman and
G. K. Chesterton. Scott, who once pulled Catholics out of the Church, after years of Scripture study, is shocked to discover the Bible supports the claims of the Church. The more Scott studied Scripture, the more serious questions arose in his mind about such issues as sin and redemption, the nature of the Church, the meaning of the Last Supper, Biblical authority and revelation. Like John Henry Newman's, Scott's dedication to follow the truth wherever it led him, even if it led him to Rome, cost him dearly. He lost his job, his position in the evangelical society, many of his friends and his vocation as a public minister. But he gained much more than he lost: the full truth of the Gospel. The former persecutor becomes a great champion and defender of the faith.
Program
2-Kimberly Hahn's Conversion Story--This program like the first, familiarizes the class with Kimberly Hahn and her heartfelt journey into the Catholic Church. The daughter of a prominent Protestant minister, Kimberly had earned a M.A. degree in theology when her husband, Scott, began taking a second look at the teachings of the Catholic Church. Kimberly's own wrestling with the issue of artificial birth control in a class on Christian ethics led her, much to her surprise, to adopt the Catholic position as more in harmony with Scripture. Her account of this journey and the challenges that came when Scott converted before her are riveting audiences all across America.
Program 3-The Splendor of the Church, the Bible and the Church: Both or Neither-- Scott gives an overview of the Church and shares his profound insights on the beauty of the Church, the Bride of Christ, the Family of God. Scott also instills in the viewer a renewed respect for the Catholic Church by revealing the historic splendor of the Church through her apostolic zeal and consistency of doctrine. Scott then shows how the Bible and the Church go together like flesh and blood. They must be accepted or rejected together: both or neither.
Program 4-The Bible and the Church: Both or Neither. This becomes obvious as Scott shows the Biblical and historical evidence to show that the early Church produced the Bible and not vice a versa. This will lay the groundwork for the next few programs and will generate a new interest in the Bible and in the Church's consistency of doctrine, which is found to be constantly supported by Scripture.
Module 2: Salvation History
Program 5--One Holy
Family--Scott lays essential groundwork for understanding the plan of salvation by showing how God the Creator entered into a covenant with His creation: making Himself our Father, us creatures His children and the universe His glorious temple.
Program 6--One Holy
Tribe--Scott traces salvation history from Adam and Eve and the lessons about the consequences of sin to Noah, where the consequences of sin are still being revealed even as God makes a new covenant with His people. The covenant is the vital means by which God relates to His people as a loving Father.
Program 7--One Holy
Nation--Scott traces the salvation history from Noah on showing how the human family became divided into tribes. God chose one of these tribes, Abraham's, with which to make a blood covenant of faith and fidelity.
Program 8 -One Holy
Kingdom--Explores the covenant with Abraham and how it was made manifest with the twelve tribes of Israel: making them Yahweh's own national family and a priestly people. The significance of the covenant and the relationship it establishes between God and man is explored in some depth.
Program 9--One Holy
Church--The institution of the New Covenant at the Last Supper by Christ is the culmination of the covenants between God and man, the beginning of a new dispensation in which all the promises God has made to His people in previous Old Testament covenants are fulfilled. The Church is shown to be the New Israel, part of the Kingdom of God and under the protection of the Holy Spirit.
Program 10--The Church is One--In the first four programs in this module, Scott discusses the four defining characteristics of Christ's Church and how these four marks are rooted in the ancient Christian Faith, beginning with the fundamental unity which Christ prayed for in John 14 and 17 and which is guaranteed by the Holy Spirit.
Program 11--The Church is
Holy--Scott shows us how the epistle to the Ephesians addresses the Church's holiness and that for Christians that holiness is not some abstract concept of otherworldly piety but a very real, concrete attribute of Christian life. Scott shows us how God's demand that the Church be holy is nothing less than a father's concern for the protection of his children.
Program 12--The Church is
Catholic--"Catholic" means "universal" and comes from the Greek words meaning "completely whole." It was used as early as 107 A.D. by St. Ignatius of Antioch, a Bishop, in his letter to the Smyrnaeans, when he noted, ". . .
wherever Jesus is, there is the Catholic Church." The Catholic Church is, therefore, the universal community of all believers.
Program 13--The Church is
Apostolic--Scott delves into Holy Scripture to show how this universal community has always been guided by Christ through His appointed vicar on earth, the Holy Father. Scott then addresses the 2000 year unbroken apostolic succession. It is the continuous transmission of Christ's authority through the Bishops and their head, the Pope, that gives the Catholic Church its authority to speak for Christ on earth.
Module 4: A Closer Look at Christ's Church
Program 14-15--The Pope, Holy Father--Purgatory, Holy
Fire--Scott shows from Scripture and tradition how the Pope is not an authoritarian overseer but rather a spiritual father appointed by Christ to care for the Family of God on earth. Scott examines Scriptural passages that reflect this authority from Matthew 16 and John 20 to the actions of Peter in the first half of the Acts of the Apostles and Peter's own epistles. He also explains the Catholic doctrine of purgatory and how it is necessary to the application of Christ's redemptive work in salvation. Using Scripture, Scott explains the Hebrew concept of sheol or the netherworld. He also cites passages such as Sirach 7:33, "Withhold not your kindness, O Lord, from the dead," to show how the ancient Hebrew had an intimation that the mercy of God extended even to the dead and cites passages in the New Testament that refer to Purgatory.
Program 16-17--Mary, Holy Mother--Mary, Ark of the Covenant--
There is probably nothing more disturbing to Protestants than the profound devotion which Catholics have for the Blessed Virgin Mary. In this program Scott begins to explain the Marian doctrines by turning to the Bible. He spends a considerable amount of time looking at the Book of Genesis and the Prophet Isaiah to show how the role of Mary in salvation history was foreshadowed in the Old Testament. He then takes these Old Testament insights and shows how the writers of the New Testament see in Mary the Mother of God, the new Eve and the new Mother of humanity.
Program 18-19--Saints, Holy Siblings--Eucharist, Holy
Meal--To approach the veneration of the Saints from a Biblical perspective, Scott begins with the Book of Hebrews and the "Old Testament Hall of Fame". In this program he explains how the Saints are members of God's family in heaven, the "older siblings" of God's sons and daughters on earth. He shows how the Saints constitute a "cloud of witnesses" which hovers over the world giving glory to God and "cheering on" the Christian family on earth. Scott then explains the Eucharist as a sacrifice and as the establishment of the New Covenant. Focusing on the Biblical concept of covenant or blood-oath, Scott explains how the Eucharist is the way in which God swears His final and eternal promise to His children. Finally, Scott highlights the specific objections some have with the Catholic Mass and provides listeners with key scriptural passages that will help anyone to understand the true nature of the Eucharist.
Program 16-17--Mary, Holy Mother--Mary, Ark of the Covenant
Program 18-19--Saints, Holy Siblings--Eucharist, Holy Meal
Program 20-21--Introduction to the Meaning of a
Sacrament--Grace is Forgiving and Forgetting--Scott roots the Catholic understanding of sacrament in the Biblical conception of an oath. The word
sacramentum in the Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible means oath. Christianity is the only religion in the world, Scott explains, which believes that God Himself, in the person of Jesus Christ, swore an oath establishing a New Covenant binding the Christian community to Himself. The New Covenant makes the Christian community the sons and daughters of God and this is expressed in seven specific sacramental oaths. These sacred oaths, the sacraments, are the means by which God binds human beings to the Divine Family. Scott explains the sacred and eternal oaths involved in the Catholic sacraments of Baptism, Penance, Eucharist, Confirmation, Holy Orders, Marriage and Anointing of the Sick.
Program 22-23--Signed, Sealed and Delivered: Baptism, Confirmation & Communion as
Reunion: Baptism, the Sacrament of rebirth, whereby we become children of God, and Confirmation, the Sacrament of Battle, whereby we become soldiers of Christ are discussed in program 22. These are two Sacraments through which human beings respond to the divine promise of covenant by pledging themselves to God in Christ. Both leave an indelible mark on our souls. Scott explains that it is preeminently in the Eucharist, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, that Christ gives Himself to His people and establishes the New Covenant. When Catholics receive Communion, Scott says, they become quite literally what they eat: they become part of the Body of Christ. "For My body is real food, and My blood is real drink."
(John 6:55)
Program 24--Holy Healing: Penance and Anointing of the
Sick--Discusses how the Sacraments provide spiritual healing. Scott confronts head-on the secular world view that doubts the need for spiritual healing as well as the existence of diseases of the soul.
Program 25--Going on Vocation: Marriage & Holy
Orders--In this final program on the Sacraments, Scott offers excellent practical advice for young men considering the priesthood. For young couples pursuing marriage, he explains, how the sacrament of Matrimony is in fact, a reflection of the Blessed Trinity; where two become one, and become three. Scott goes on to show how priesthood and marriage are both means of sanctification for different people.
Program 26--The Lamb's Supper: The Holy Sacrifice of the
Mass--All of the previous lessons find their fulfillment and climax in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. This program is designed to explain the Catholic Mass as a Biblical prayer that unites heaven and earth, angels and men, all of creation in an eternal hymn of praise to God. Scott explains how the once and for all sacrifice is fulfilled by Christ in the Last Supper and on the Cross. He shows how Christ is not re-sacrificed but rather how the never ending sacrifice is re-presented on our altars. He also provides key insights to help us see the Mass, not as a dead ritual, but as the earthly liturgy reflecting the heavenly liturgy, which comes to culmination in the marriage feast of the Lamb as described by St. John in the book of Revelation.
Program 27--Christ & the Church: A Model for Marriage--Explores the intimate relationship between Christ and His Church (see Ephesians 5), which is the perfect model for all marriages and expands upon St. Paul's teaching on this most Holy Union.
Program 28--The Holy Family: A Model for the Catholic
Home--This program underscores the fact that Joseph, Mary and Jesus are the perfect model for all Catholic homes. Scott looks at each of their roles in the family as presented in the Scripture and examines the example each one sets for all of us.
Program 29--Children: A Model for Family Growth-- In this program Kimberly Hahn takes the class through her own study of Scripture and the teaching of the Catholic Church about children. Kimberly explains in detail that, contrary to the view of secular society, these little children are actually blessings from God. They are the embodiment of the total self-giving love of husband and wife and, in a real sense, complete the familial reflection of the Blessed Trinity that was originally intended by God in the marital covenant. This familial reflection gives new meaning to God's word in Genesis, "God created man in His own image and likeness."
Program 30--Catechizing the
Family--In this program Kimberly expands upon program 29. She focuses on the vocation of marriage and the call, not only to procreate children, but to educate them as well. Kimberly, drawing from her many years of study as a theologian, and her experience as a mother of four, explains not only the spiritual dimension of this vocation involving children, but also the practical applications of educating them as well.
Program 31--Know Your Rites: Living the Sacramental Life as a
Family--Kimberly, drawing from Philippians 1:6, shows how God, through the Sacraments, begins a great work in all who receive them and that it is God who brings that
work to completion in each of us. Kimberly takes the class through the seven Sacraments and explains how the Sacraments are God's way of infusing grace, His own divine life, into His children: His sons and daughters. She goes on to emphasize the need for all families to apply these Sacraments to their lives and to make them a part of their everyday experience.
Program 32--Overworked and
Under-prayed: Catholic Devotions--This program builds upon program 31. Kimberly begins this presentation with a close look at the relationship between Mary and Joseph and emphasizes the need for fatherly spiritual leadership in the family. From there she continues her discussion of the Sacraments and moves into developing Catholic spirituality as a family.
Program 33--Catechizing and Evangelizing the Family: A Vision for the 21st Century-- In this program Scott takes a look at what it means to catechize and to evangelize. Because these two words and their meanings are commonly lumped together without distinction, there is a lack of adequate catechizing and effective evangelization. Scott not only explains what is involved in proper Catechesis and evangelization, but offers us as well the techniques to do it. He explains certain methods that work within the family for catechizing children, methods for evangelizing ourselves and methods for reaching out to our separated brothers and sisters.
Program 34--The Great Omission: Why Catholics Don’t
Evangelize--Scott takes a look at what it really means to be a Catholic—what it means to be in Christ, and how we can impart the Christian faith, especially to our children. His focus is the Scripture and how its message applies to us.
Program 35--The Catholic Gospel: More Than Saving
Sinners--In this program Scott draws from the points he brought out in programs 33 and 34. He explains what the Good News is that we are called to share. Scott explains that the Catholic gospel is no less than God establishing sinners as sons and daughters in the Family of God, a truth that has been taught for almost two thousand years.
This series consists of six modules, including 35 videos, that take you on an
in-depth look at the Catholic Church from its beliefs and Saints to its devotions and liturgy. It takes a special look at the Sacraments, individually examing each one, and on Mary and evangelization of our families. This is series that should be in every church.