Name: The Miraculous and the Supernatural
Start: 2026-01-13T18:00:00-06:00
End: 2026-01-13T19:30:00-06:00
Location: Gavin House

List
Month

November 2025
West Suburban Series

November 12th @ 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm

Augustine the Teacher – Ever Ancient, Ever New: The Sources of Pope Leo XIV | West Suburban Catholic Culture Series

Ruth Lake Country Club 6200 South Madison Street, Hinsdale, IL

Erika Kidd

Doctor of the Church, Saint Augustine of Hippo, has a lot to say about teaching. He writes memorably about the way his early teachers failed him, teaching him to love praise and worldly success. He writes too about the vocation of the teacher, a vocation he lived in many different ways as rhetorician, father, priest, and bishop. In his early work “On the Teacher” he insists teaching is not a matter of passing along information. Instead, he writes, true teaching is an invitation to attend to the voice of Christ. Join Dr. Erika Kidd to learn more about Augustine’s timeless teaching wisdom and its continued relevance today.
Reading Groups

November 13th @ 5:00 pm - 6:30 pm Macintyre’s Dependent Rational Animals

MacIntyre’s Dependent Rational Animals

Gavin House 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL

Fr. Peter Bernardi, SJ, Lumen Christi Institute

Lumen Christi Institute reading courses are faculty-led explorations of an important text. The reading courses are held over a shared meal and all participants are provided a copy of the text.

Fr. Peter Bernardi SJ, LCI’s scholar-in-residence, will lead an exploration of Alisdair MacIntyre’s important late-20th century work, Dependent Rational Animals. MacIntyre both draws from and critiques Aristotle in order to describe our biologically rooted condition and the need to cultivate the virtues that acknowledge our inescapable dependence and inter-dependency.
Reading Groups

November 13th @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm The Silmarillion

The Silmarillion

Gavin House 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL

Each quarter, the Lumen Christi Institute hosts a number of student-led reading groups. The reading groups are usually held over a shared meal and all participants are provided a copy of the text.

InThe Silmarillion, JRR Tolkien spins out the cosmological and mythic stories that undergird The Lord of the Rings. In this group, we will discuss what Tolkien has to say about death, mortality, and suffering, along with his rich worldbuilding and epic tales.
Reading Groups

November 14th @ 10:00 am - 11:00 am Greek New Testament

Greek New Testament

Gavin House 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL

Each quarter, the Lumen Christi Institute hosts a number of student-led reading groups. The reading groups are usually held over a shared meal and all participants are provided a copy of the text.

This quarter, the Greek New Testament reading group will take up the Letter to the Hebrews. All levels of Greek proficiency are encouraged to join. Advance preparation is recommended but not required.
Woodlawn Resident Project

November 14th @ 6:00 pm - 9:30 pm

Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life

5554 S. Woodlawn Ave. Chicago, IL 60637, Hyde Park, IL

REGISTER BELOW 6:00 - Dinner | 6:30 Film | 9:30 End Please reach out to Graham Certain (gtcertain@uchicago.edu) with any questions. Widely considered Terrence Malick’s masterpiece, The Tree of Life is a meditation on the transcendent order of creation and the place of man in it. The film tells the story of Jack O’Brien and his family as he grows up in 1950s suburban Texas, interwoven with scenes from his adulthood and from the dawn of the universe. It is a glimpse into how nature and grace, suffering and beauty, strife and love all come together in a cosmic whole...
November 15th @ 5:00 pm - 7:30 pm

Conversion in the Modern Church: The World, the Flesh, and the Devil

The Monastery of the Holy Cross 3111 South Aberdeen St. Chicago, IL 60608, Chicago, IL

Fr. Peter Funk, OSB, Monastery of the Holy Cross

REGISTER BELOW This event is primarily designated for current University of Chicago students. This event is co-sponsored by the Calvert House. Please reach out to William Hurley (whurley@lumenchristi.org) with any questions. Experience the silence, prayer, and chant with the monks at the Monastery of the Holy Cross. In addition to a taste of the contemplative life, join a conversation hosted by the Prior of the Monastery, Fr. Peter Funk. He will lead a discussion on “Conversion in the Modern World,” with a focus on “The World.” Lumen Christi will coordinate rides to and from the monastery for those without transportation....
Non-Credit Courses

November 18th @ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm The Works and Legacy of St. Augustine

The Works and Legacy of St. Augustine

Gavin House 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL

Cassandra Sever | Scott Moringiello, DePaul University | Ryan Coyne, University of Chicago | Willemien Otten, University of Chicago | Fr. Peter Funk, OSB, Monastery of the Holy Cross | Bernard McGinn, University of Chicago

Each quarter, the Lumen Christi Institute hosts a Tuesday evening non-credit course. Survey-style lectures are given over dinner.

This fall, faculty from the University of Chicago and beyond will investigate the works and legacy of St. Augustine. The fifth-century North African bishop stands as a giant in the history of theology and philosophy. He is also cited as an influence by Pope Leo XIV.

Join us over dinner to learn more about the City of God, On The Trinity, the Confessions, and more!
Reading Groups

November 20th @ 5:00 pm - 6:30 pm Macintyre’s Dependent Rational Animals

MacIntyre’s Dependent Rational Animals

Gavin House 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL

Fr. Peter Bernardi, SJ, Lumen Christi Institute

Lumen Christi Institute reading courses are faculty-led explorations of an important text. The reading courses are held over a shared meal and all participants are provided a copy of the text.

Fr. Peter Bernardi SJ, LCI’s scholar-in-residence, will lead an exploration of Alisdair MacIntyre’s important late-20th century work, Dependent Rational Animals. MacIntyre both draws from and critiques Aristotle in order to describe our biologically rooted condition and the need to cultivate the virtues that acknowledge our inescapable dependence and inter-dependency.
Reading Groups

November 21st @ 10:00 am - 11:00 am Greek New Testament

Greek New Testament

Gavin House 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL

Each quarter, the Lumen Christi Institute hosts a number of student-led reading groups. The reading groups are usually held over a shared meal and all participants are provided a copy of the text.

This quarter, the Greek New Testament reading group will take up the Letter to the Hebrews. All levels of Greek proficiency are encouraged to join. Advance preparation is recommended but not required.
January 2026
Reading Groups

January 8th, 2026 @ 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm [Title Needed] Silmarillion – NF

Mythmaking and the Epic Tradition in Tolkien’s Silmarillion

Gavin House 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL

REGISTER BELOW Meets Weekly on Thursdays: Jan. 8, Jan. 15, Jan. 22, Jan. 29, Feb. 5 7:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. | Dinner Provided This event is designated for University of Chicago undergraduate students. Students will receive a copy of the texts. Please reach out to William Hurley for any questions (whurley@lumenchristi.org). There are few figures as foundational to the epic fantasy genre as J.R.R. Tolkien, and few works as wide-ranging in that genre as The Silmarillion. Written over the course of nearly 60 years and inspired by the folk traditions of northern Europe, Greece, and the personal ethical and...
ONLINE

January 9th, 2026 @ 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm

Virtual Masterclass: The Thought of John Henry Newman

Stephen Fields, Georgetown University

Newly named Doctor of the Church, Saint John Henry Newman was a theologian, philosopher, educator, preacher, and writer. Remarkably, in each of these areas Newman produced works that have come to be recognized as classics: An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine, The Grammar of Assent, The Idea of a University, and the Apologia Pro Vita Sua. Providing a glimpse of the 2026 intensive summer seminar on Newman’s thought, this virtual masterclass will engage adjacent texts on Newman on Faith and Reason. The Zoom link, reading, and syllabus will be distributed in advance of the seminar. This program is restricted to graduate students from any...
Non-Credit Courses

January 13th, 2026 @ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm The Miraculous and the Supernatural

The Miraculous and the Supernatural

Gavin House 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL

Fr. Peter Bernardi, SJ, Lumen Christi Institute

There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy”…or acknowledged by materialistic naturalism!

This 5-session course will study the miraculous and the supernatural. Topics include the miracles of Jesus, Eucharistic miracles, mystical experiences of the saints, exorcisms and the demonic, and near-death experiences. Dinner will be provided at 6pm and the course itself runs from 6:30pm - 7:30pm. No advance preparation is required.

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West Suburban Series

Augustine the Teacher – Ever Ancient, Ever New: The Sources of Pope Leo XIV | West Suburban Catholic Culture Series

Reading Groups

MacIntyre’s Dependent Rational Animals

Reading Groups

The Silmarillion

Reading Groups

Greek New Testament

Woodlawn Resident Project

Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life

Conversion in the Modern Church: The World, the Flesh, and the Devil

Non-Credit Courses

The Works and Legacy of St. Augustine

Reading Groups

MacIntyre’s Dependent Rational Animals

Reading Groups

Greek New Testament

Reading Groups

Mythmaking and the Epic Tradition in Tolkien’s Silmarillion

ONLINE

Virtual Masterclass: The Thought of John Henry Newman

Non-Credit Courses

The Miraculous and the Supernatural

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