Now that my last post has given an overview of the different graduate degree programs I have been enrolled in at CUA, I'd like to give an overview of the professors and courses that had the biggest impact on me during my time there.
First, in philosophy, I took two metaphysics courses with the world-renowned philosopher, Fr. John Wippel! He is a foremost scholar of thomihtic philosophy, and I loved his classes! I learned so much and am forever grateful to him!
In the area of Scripture, two of my professors stand out: Fr. Christopher Begg and Fr. Frank Matera. Fr. Begg taught Prophecy in Israel as well as Apocalyptic Literature (audited course). I learned so much from him! His lectures were among the most well-organized and memorable that I've ever experienced. In his course on Prophets, I learned a lot about the history of prophecy throughout the Old Testament time-periods as well as the difference between prophecy, mysticism, and manticism. Manticism would be things linked to the occult or witchcraft, such as reading tea-leaves, oil slicks, entrails, seances, fortune telling, and the like. They were and are forbidden within the Jewish and Catholic religions. (I may do a post on the differences between prophets, mystics, and mantics at some point. It is interesting.) Fr. Mater's course on the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) was excellent. I learned and retained a quite a bit from those courses. Fr. Matera also wrote a book that I used for one of the courses I taught: "New Testament Theology: Exploring Diversity and Unity." It is a great resource, because it presents the emphases in different parts of the New Testament (e.g., Pauline Literature and Johannine Literature) as well as shows how each of their approaches to various doctrinal issues still form a unity. It's extremely well-organized, and it makes a great resource to use along-side regular scripture reading. It is particularly useful for systematic theologians.
In the area of moral theology, standout courses were: Biomedical Ethics, Catholic Social Teaching, and Christian Marriage & Family. Dr. John Bergman taught the Biomedical Ethics course, and I loved it! I learned a ton in his course, and I have retained a healthy amount of what we covered due to his organization and clarity of presentation. Unfortunately, Dr. Berkman was not granted tenure, and he left the university. From what I heard from students who took that course from the professor who replaced him, it went downhill substantially. I think it was a big mistake to not grant Dr. Berkman tenure. He deserved it. Catholic Social Teaching was taught by Joseph Capizzi. I had already learned much of that material, but it was a good refresher and helped me delve deeper into the development from Pope Leo XIII through John Paul II's encyclicals on social doctrine. Dr. John Grabowksi's course on Christian Marriage & Family (including sexual ethics) was really good and solidly faithful to the magisterium.
In Liturgical & Sacramental Theology, I took a course on the Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist), which was an eye-opener for me on the history and theology of those three Sacraments and their relationship to one another. Don't get me started! I've been known to rant on the proper order of receiving those sacraments (hint: Pope Benedict XVI agrees!).
The Eucharist & Ordained Ministries course is sort of both sacramental and systematic theology, so it is fitting as a bridge. It was taught by Msgr. Paul McPartlan from England, who also served (and may still serve) on the official Joint International Commission for Catholic-Orthodox Dialogue. He also taught a doctoral course on the Church and the Eucharist that I took, and he was my S.T.L. Thesis director. I learned a lot from him, both in class and in conversations outside of class. He's a wonderful theologian, whom I greatly appreciated. He also helped me get interested in Henri de Lubac!
Other influential professors of mine were: Fr. John Galvin (Christology, Theology of Karl Rahner, and my dissertation director); Fr. Patrick Granfield (Contemporary Problems in Ecclesiology; The Church as Communion; and a reader for my S.T.L. Thesis); Dr. Peter Casarella (master's level Eschatology; Early Works of von Balthasar; and Theology of St. Bonaventure); Dr. Michael Root (doctoral level Eschatology and a reader for my dissertation); and Dr. Christopher Ruddy (Nouvelle Theology and a reader for my dissertation). Some influential courses but from professors that were not specifically personally influential were Theology of Joseph Ratzinger and Aquinas on the Incarnation and Passion. I argued with the professor of the former. I got along well with the professor of the latter, but we weren't really birds of a feather. Nevertheless, I read and learned a ton in both courses, and they both added a great wealth of knowledge in my studies and theological outlook.
Overall, I was tremendously blessed in my studies at CUA. I really won't talk about classes that were disappoinments there. Unlike my negative experiences in Boston, the courses I didn't care for at CUA were more or less just boring or lacking in positive influence on me rather than causing much of a negative reaction. I truly learned a lot at CUA, and I am grateful for the opportunity to have studied and taught there for so long.
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