The Bible and The Virgin Mary: An Online Course from Emmaus Academy

By taking an online course, Jasmine Kuzner finds new reasons to deepen her relationship with our Blessed Mother.

As a Catholic mom and lay person who leads several parish ministries, I find myself in frequent conversations about how to “have (or grow or deepen) a personal relationship with God (or Jesus or Mary).” While I am blessed to have these conversations with bright and thoughtful people, I admit that—through my own faults—I don’t have a “go-to” formula for anyone looking to do just this. If someone were to ask me how to go about having these relationships, I would most likely recommend prayer and perhaps a few books of a spiritual bent that I have enjoyed.

When it comes to sharing straightforward and practical to-dos, however, I don’t have a clear way of expressing how one can go about having these personal relationships with our Lord or the Blessed Mother. That is, at least, until I received a chance to review “The Bible and The Virgin Mary,” an online course from St. Paul’s Center’s Emmaus Academy.

The Emmaus Academy is an online program designed for an individual or groups who wish to pursue their knowledge of a certain topic of Catholicity, especially as they pertain to biblical theology. Created and produced by an executive team including individuals such as award-winning authors, Dr. Scott Hahn and Mike Aquilina, Emmaus Academy offers a wealth of information on a variety of topics. After a few click-throughs around the site, I found the courses to be well organized and well presented through a variety of media including blogs, audio and video presentations, and book and text suggestions. Patrons may subscribe to access this material on a monthly or yearly basis. There is an option that allows access to the site’s podcasts, blogs, and virtual events for free.

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When I clicked on the link to begin “The Bible and The Virgin Mary,” I was instantly presented with a clear layout of the course. Expectations for the study were set and—just as I would or should ask myself when entering a relationship with any human being—I was asked to wonder and reflect on my own intentions. Why, for example, was I interested in knowing more about the Blessed Virgin? What do I know or think I already know about her? What role, if any, do I ask of her to play in my life? How does the relationship I have with her inform the truth of my life, and moreover, how does this affect my relationship with and knowledge of Christ Jesus? Finally, I was asked to consider how I would respond if a friend who didn’t know her asked about her, and why she was so important to me.

Students of “The Bible and the Virgin Mary” are given ample information to form their own answers to these questions. The goal of the course is to “show connections between the Bible and the liturgy” and to “help Catholics find their place in the eternal story.” Through biblical typology, “The Bible and the Virgin Mary” explores the biblical foundations of Marian dogmas. The course also covers and clarifies common Marian misconceptions and Marian apparitions. While each episode was short (roughly 20 to 40 minutes long), each was comprehensive and jam-packed with scripture and information. As a guest reviewer, the amount of time I had to preview the course “The Bible and The Virgin Mary'' was limited. Subscribers to Emmaus Academy would certainly benefit from the ability to rewatch each episode and to take more time to engage with the material presented.

The opportunity to review “The Bible and The Virgin Mary” course renewed the way I approached my ever-growing relationship with our Blessed Mother. The answer to why I or any good Catholic would want to learn more about our Blessed Mother can sometimes be taken for granted. Of course one would want to learn more about our Blessed Mother, just as one would assume we would want to learn more about a newfound or distant relative when given the opportunity.

Being given this opportunity to learn more about the Virgin Mary by way of this course programming, however, allowed me to order and specify my desire. I did want to learn more about the Blessed Mother not just because she is the Blessed Mother, but because I need to know how she is my Blessed Mother. Gaining knowledge about how she is my Mother, gives me greater insight into how I—and friends and loved ones—are beloved sons and daughters of a King.

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