“Points of Light in the Darkness:” College’s Newest Distance Learning Course to Launch in Late September

“If you’re feeling saddened and concerned about the Catholic Church today,” says Dr. Jim Tonkowich, Wyoming Catholic College’s Director of Distance Learning “consider this: By 1800, the Church seemed as though it was at least on the ropes and possibly down for the count. And new, bigger problems were just starting. And then, God lit up bright points of light against the darkness (see Philippians 2:15-16).”

James TonkowichThe historical period Dr. Tonkowich is referencing was a particularly troubled one in the Church’s history. Beginning in the 1700s, she’d had a series of weak popes who were both bullied and baffled by the aggressiveness of the new nation states and by the intellectual climate as it turned increasingly anti-clerical and anti-Christian. But Dr. Tonkowich believes that it is also a time of great hope in the history of the Church, which is why he made it the basis of the newest distance learning course from Wyoming Catholic College: “Points of Light in the Darkness: The Church in the 19th Century.”

Beginning Thursday, September 29, this six-week course will examine five of the “bright points of light” Dr. Tonkowich mentioned, setting them in the context of the political, cultural, and intellectual life of the era: St. John Vianney, St. John Henry Newman, Archbishop “Dagger” John Hughes, Pope Leo XIII, and St. Therese Lisieux. “While there will be plenty of history, the point of this course is not history, but spiritual awakening,” says Dr. Tonkowich. “How did God bring revival to His Church in that era? How might He do something similar in our own? This course is the story of God’s faithfulness, and I’m confident that it will be enormously encouraging to many of us.”

As is always the case with the College’s Distance Learning offerings, these lectures are offered free of charge, but require registration. Interested parties can sign up HERE.

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