APPLY HERE
Registration Deadline: June 15th, 2025
Attendance Fee: Before May 15th Early Bird Registration: $250 | After May 15th: $450
Cosponsored by the Archdiocese of Chicago Vocations Office and The University of Saint Mary of the Lake at Mundelein Seminary
“Wherefore if the goodness, beauty, and sweetness of creatures are so alluring to the minds of men, the fountainhead of the goodness of God Himself, in comparison with the rivulets of goodness which we find in creatures, will draw the entranced minds of men wholly to itself.”
-Thomas Aquinas, Summa Contra Gentiles, II.2.3.
“A test of what is real is that it is hard and rough. Joys are found in it, not pleasure. What is pleasant belongs to dreams.”
–Simone Weil, Gravity and Grace
What is Real? Where might we look to find it? And if we do find it, what will it be like to experience it?
In this 5-Day Summer Institute, high school students are introduced to college-level philosophy and theology through an investigation of the three “transcendentals” (truth, goodness, and beauty). Notre Dame professors Jay and Jennifer Newsome Martin will lead students through a discussion of Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Bonaventure, Aquinas, Newman, Ratzinger, von Balthasar, and relevant biblical texts. Throughout, we will investigate the role Truth, Goodness, and Beauty play in the life of the Christian.
We balance academic excellence with spiritual formation. Students learn how to pray the Liturgy of the Hours together, attend Daily Mass, and reflect on the vocation to which God is calling us. We also balance work and play. Mornings are for lectures and discussion; afternoons and evenings for excursions to the city and fun programming (including a trip to the renowned Art Institute and the city of Chicago).
Draft itinerary may be found HERE.
Testimonies
“I now have an entire community backing me up, and I feel empowered to set forth into college strong in my Faith and bring it into my everyday life.”
“Even if I don’t know exactly where I am on my pilgrimage, I know that I’m on my way to Christ.”
“Lumen Christi’s Newman Forum has created and developed a program that we wish every Catholic high school student could attend, not only to help begin them on their own intellectual and spiritual journeys, but also to have a staggering amount of fun, too. The thoughtful balance of intellectual, spiritual, and social activities in the gorgeous natural setting of the Mundelein Seminary campus made this event the highlight of our son’s year…”
-Jenny and Jay Martin, Professors of Theology at Notre Dame (and high school parents!)
