At the heart of the course is a requirement that students submit comprehensive action plans, showing how they will teach or demonstrate the Christian values of each of the six themes. For instance, in a class on the theme of holiness, students examined traditional Christian models of holiness such as the contemplative, the martyr and the service provider. Then they looked at marriage as a contemporary model of holiness. There's a real need to teach the sanctity of marriage, especially to kids. One of the action plans submitted to teach marriage as a venue to holiness was establishing a children's ministry to the newly married.
First grade takes couples at their first anniversary.
Second grade takes couples who've been married two years, and so on. Other plans included focusing on marriage as a vocation during a school's annual vocation week and studying the spouses of great historical figures. Students explore the themes through a variety of mediums, including readings, reflection, listening to audio cassettes, viewing videos, observing paintings and icons and through silent prayer. Silence is a consistent component of the class format. Fifteen minutes before the end of the class, he sets aside another 15 minutes for silent prayer.