Lumen Christi Institute

The Prince and Father of Music: Palestrina at 500
2025-04-04 17:00 - 19:20 (America/Chicago) | Loyola Academy McGrath Family Performing Arts Center, 3455 Illinois Rd, Wilmette, IL, 60091
REGISTER HERE
The quincentennial of the birth of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina is an occasion to recognize the outstanding legacy of this talented musician not only in realm of sacred music but also in the history of composition more broadly. In an 80-minute concert presentation without intermission, Schola Antiqua explores an array of Palestrina’s sacred choral works, ranging from hymn and psalm settings to motets and spiritual madrigals. In-concert commentary illuminates Palestrina’s central role as conservator of Catholic plainchant and the ‘perfect art’ of imitative counterpoint.
Schedule:
5:00-5:30pm Reception
5:45-7:15pm Concert
7:15-7:20pm Compline
7:20pm End

Christianity, Culture, and Sport: From Play to Virtue - A Catholic Vision of Culture in the 21st Century | West Suburban Catholic Culture Series
2025-04-24 18:30 - 20:30 | Butterfield Country Club, 2800 Midwest Rd, Oak Brook, IL, 60523, United States
REGISTER HERE
(Business casual attire encouraged. For questions, please email Marial Corona at mcorona@lumenchristi.org).
Schedule: 6:30 p.m. Drinks | 7:00 p.m. Dinner, Lecture, & Q&A | 8:30 p.m. End
April 24: Christianity, Culture, and Sport: From Play to Virtue
Clark Power (University of Notre Dame)
I was his delight day by day,
Playing before him every moment,
playing in his inhabited world,
delighting in Adam’s offspring.
Proverbs 8:30-32 (trans. Brown, 2012: 28-29)
Drawing on Brown’s exegetical exploration of Wisdom’s paideia in the Book of Wisdom, I explore the relationship between Christianity and culture (following Remi Brague) with a focus on sports and more specifically youth sports. I argue that sports is play and as such fosters children’s development of the theological and cardinal virtues. In childhood as well as adulthood, sports should lead us to a transcendent joy that is rooted in freedom, love, and hope for the future of the human community.
SERIES DESCRIPTION
Western culture owes a great deal to Christianity, but Christianity does not require any culture, as a culture, to be built with Christian materials. This does not reflect a weakness or defect in Christianity. It is a consequence of its genius. Christianity can and should inform every human undertaking. In this series, we’ll explore various arenas where human existence is played out and discover how Christianity can transform them. Our point of departure is Remi Brague’s reflection “From What is Left Over,” which takes as its inspiration Pope Benedict’s “The Roots of European Culture.”
SPRING SCHEDULE
May 14th at Ruth Lake Country Club (6200 S Madison St, Hinsdale, IL 60521):
A Catholic Vision of Art: Beauty – The Highway to God
Sarah Crow (University of St. Xavier | St. Gregory’s Hall)

“In everything which gives us the pure authentic feeling of beauty there is really the presence of God…all art of the highest order is religious in essence”
– Simone Weil

Beautiful art reflects the glory of the living, incarnate God, Jesus Christ, whether or not explicitly religious in subject matter. Art is not only an instrument and expression of culture, but also has a prophetic capacity to “prepare the way for the Lord” and transform the hearts of those who encounter it. This lecture will look at great works of art, both sacred and secular, and demonstrate how they can lead us to God.
