Master Class on T.S. Eliot's "Four Quartets"
2022-05-13 14:00 (America/Chicago) | Gavin House, 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL, 60637
A master class with poet and professor James Matthew Wilson (University of St. Thomas, Houston). Open to current graduate students, faculty, and advanced University of Chicago undergraduate students. Others interested in participating should contact us. Registrants will receive copies of the prepared reading.
Generally regarded as the greatest poem of the twentieth century, T.S. Eliot’s Four Quartets is not only an important poem but a masterful modern contribution to the long Christian-Platonist tradition of the West. It is at once a work of art and a suggestive vision of Christian humanist metaphysics, ethics, and mystical theology, one to which perhaps only Dante’s Divine Comedy may be compared. In this master class, we will study the form of the poem, make sense of its difficulties, and discover how the sequence as a whole answers that most fundamental of Christian questions: what is the meaning of the Incarnation?

Recovering Hymnography Symposium
2022-05-15 16:00 - 2022-05-16 12:00 | University of Chicago–TBA, N/A, Hyde Park, IL
The Lumen Christi Institute, The Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies, and the Fordham Center for Orthodox Christian Studies Present:
Recovering Hymnography Symposium
May 15-16, 2022 | University of Chicago
Free and open to the public. Please note you must register for each day separately.
This symposium will explore the tradition of hymnography as both prayer and pedagogy, sharing insights about how biblical interpretation, ethical injunction, and theological reflection are combined with ritual reenactment in the texts they consider. Papers on early Christian liturgical hymnography in the Greek, Syriac, and Latin traditions will be shared and discussed with expert respondents. In so doing, the presenting scholars will shed light on the late antique Christian world’s practice of hymnography that is still preserved today by contemporary Eastern Christian worship.
May 15, 2022 | Rockefeller Memorial Chapel (5850 S. Woodlawn Ave. Chicago, IL 60637)
4:00 PM Keynote Address
“Singing the Sacred: Music and the Holy in Ancient Christianity,” by Susan Ashbrook Harvey, Brown University
Why were hymns important for ancient Christianity? What did music add to poetry? Singing was an indelible part of daily life in the ancient Mediterranean world: in household and civic spaces, in celebrations, in mourning, and in religious devotions of all kinds. In the New Testament, singing hymns was fundamental to early Christian worship. Why did hymns matter? How did Christians in antiquity render singing sacred for their own purposes, able to articulate their own distinctive religious truths? What could make music “holy”? And how?
5:00 PM Icons of Sound: Concert with Cappella Romana
The internationally renowned musical group Cappella Romana presents their concert “Icons of Sound” featuring pieces composed by the 9th century nun Kassia and interpretations of medieval Byzantine chant for the feast of the Holy Cross in Constantinople.
May 16, 2022 | Swift Hall Common Room (1025 E. 58th St., Chicago, IL 60637)
9:00 AM – 12:00 PM Symposium presentations
Presentations in this sympsosium include:
Brian Dunkle, “New Songs and Ancient Instruction: The Early Reception of Ambrose’s Hymns.”
Ashley Purpura, “Liturgical Name-Calling: Gender, Power, Performance, and the Akathistos Hymn”
Andrew Summerson, “Christ the Sea Monster: How Hymns Rephrase Patristic Thought on Jonah”
Erin G. Walsh, “Women and the Embodiment of Virtue in Syriac Poetry”
Jeffrey Wickes, “The Voices of the Martyrs’ Mothers in Syriac Liturgical Poetry”

This program is made possible through a Vital Worship Grant from the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, Grand Rapids, Michigan, with funds provided by Lilly Endowment Inc. This program is cosponsored by the Divinity School at the University of Chicago and the Department of Theology at the University of Notre Dame.

Icons of Sound: Concert with Cappella Romana
2022-05-15 17:00
The internationally renowned musical group Cappella Romana presents their concert “Icons of Sound” featuring pieces composed by the 9 th century nun Kassia and interpretations of medieval Byzantine chant for the feast of the Holy Cross in Constantinople
Leading scholar of late-antique Christian poetry Susan Ashbrook Harvey will precede the concert at 4PM with a keynote address to begin our two-day symposium, “Recovering Hymnography.”
The Recovering Hymnography program, including this concert, is made possible through a Vital Worship Grant from the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, Grand Rapids, Michigan, with funds provided by Lilly Endowment Inc. This program is presented by the Lumen Christi Institute, the Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies, and the Fordham Center for Orthodox Christian Studies, and cosponsored by the Divinity School at the University of Chicago and the Department of Theology at the University of Notre Dame.

The Vocation of the Patristic Theologian: Inheriting the Voice of Early Christians
2022-05-28 16:00 | University Club of Chicago, 76 E Monroe St Chicago, IL 60603, Downtown, IL
This forum and reception, following the annual meeting of the North American Patristics Society, is co-sponsored by the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame.
This forum invites graduate students and scholars of patristics to reflect on the nature of the craft and its relationship to contemporary theological studies, the academy, and church today. A panel of scholars, featuring John Cavadini, Lewis Ayres, Ellen Scully, and Bogdan Bucur, will speak on the nature of the vocation of the Patristic theologian and the challenges and opportunities one faces in research, scholarship, and teaching. We will further attend to the question of how patristic theologians participate in a fuller reception of the depth and the breadth of the Christian intellectual tradition in an ecumenical key, as well as provide opportunities for common reflection among the participants on the work of making present the Christian past.

A Marion Moment in Catholic Thought: a Conversation with Jean-Luc Marion and Ken Woodward
2022-05-31 17:00 | ONLINE, World Wide Web, INTERNET
Join us over Zoom for a conversation between Professor Jean-Luc Marion (University of Chicago), and Lumen Christi Institute Writer-in-Residence Ken Woodward.

Economics and Catholic Social Thought: A Primer
2022-06-06 00:00 - 2022-06-08 00:00 | University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, Notre Dame, IN
APPLY HERE
Now in its fifth year, this seminar is designed as an introduction and immersion into Catholic social thought for graduate students and junior faculty in economics, finance, or related fields. Participants will cover foundational principles in Catholic social thought, starting with the human person, dignity, freedom, subsidiarity, solidarity, and the common good, and moving toward applications of these principles to conceptual understandings and ethical considerations involving economic topics such as utility theory, firm and business ethics, wages, markets, globalization, poverty, and development. Participants will delve into social encyclicals, secondary sources, and relevant economics texts.
This seminar is sponsored by the Lumen Christi Institute; the Catholic Research Economists Discussion Organization; the De Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture; the Kellogg Institute for International Studies; and the the Institute for the Scholarship in the Liberal Arts, College of Arts and Letters, University of Notre Dame.

Format: There will be two sessions each day for three days, each featuring a different instructor. Each instructor will open with a lecture, and then we will turn to a seminar-style discussion of the texts and issues at hand. In the final sessions, we will discuss how the material can be applied to each student’s particular area of interest.
Location: The seminar will take place at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. Travel stipends are available on a need basis. All participants will be provided with accommodations and meals.
Application Information: This seminar will be open to PhD students and faculty in economics, finance and related fields.
Applicants will be required to submit a completed online application form, including:

An updated CV.
A brief statement of research interest no longer than 750 words.
One academic writing sample.

All application materials can be submitted via the online application. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Fifteen students will be admitted to this seminar. The application deadline is February 14, 2022.
Please direct any further questions to contact@credo-economists.org.

Catholic Social Thought in Business Education
2022-06-09 09:00 - 2022-06-11 17:00 | University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, Notre Dame, IN
APPLY HERE
We are pleased to announce the fourth annual seminar on “Business and Catholic Social Thought: A Primer.” During the seminar, graduate students and faculty members in business schools will cover foundational principles in Catholic social thought and apply them to their own field of research and teaching. This seminar aims at widening epistemological preconceptions and showing practical implications of Catholic social thought for business in a way that affirms the goodness of business directed toward the common good. Participants will delve into social encyclicals, secondary sources, and relevant business texts that show the path for principled entrepreneurship in order to gain knowledge, exchange experiences, receive help with their syllabi and consider how best to integrate Catholic social thought into business education.
This seminar is cosponsored by the John A. Ryan Institute for Catholic Social Thought at the University of St. Thomas (MN); the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame; the Ciocca Center for Principled Entrepreneurship at the Catholic University of America; the Lumen Christi Institute; and the Markets, Culture and Ethics Research Centre at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Rome.

Location: The seminar will take place at the Mendoza School of Business at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. A limited number of travel stipends are available on a per need basis (see the application form). All participants will be provided with accommodations and meals.
Application Information: This seminar will be open to graduate students and faculty of any specialization in business schools.
Applicants will be required to submit a completed online application, including:

An updated CV/resume.
A brief statement of research interest related to Catholic social thought no longer than 750 words.
One academic writing sample.

All application materials can be submitted via the online application. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Fifteen students will be admitted to this seminar. The application deadline is February 14. 2022.
Please direct any further questions HERE

Monastic Wisdom Seminar
2022-06-20 00:00 - 2022-06-26 00:00 | Our Lady of Dallas Cistercian Abbey, 3550 Cistercian Rd, Dallas, TX
APPLY HERE
Do not be daunted immediately by fear and run away from the road that leads to salvation. It is bound to be narrow at the outset. But as we progress in this way of life and faith, we shall run on the path of God’s commandments, our hearts overflowing with the inexpressible delight of love.”
“My words are meant for you, whoever you are, who laying aside your own will, take up the all-powerful and righteous arms of obedience to fight under the true King, the Lord Jesus Christ.”
– St. Benedict of Nursia, Rule, Prologue
The Lumen Christi Institute and Our Lady of Dallas Cistercian Abbey are partnering to organize a retreat that explores the monastic wisdom tradition. The Cistercian community at Irving, Texas lives according to a continual tradition of Christian monasticism with roots in the early Church.
Students with an interest in theology or spirituality may be familiar with some of the tradition’s major figures—St. Anthony of Egypt, St. John Cassian, St. Benedict of Nursia, St. Bernard of Clairvaux. It is less likely they have spent time putting into practice the lessons of prayer, spiritual reading, and silence in an organized manner.
Monastic disciplines must be practiced to be understood. The seminar proposes such an experience. After reading some core texts in the monastic tradition in advance, participants will then spend a week praying, conferencing, reading and recreating with the monks of Our Lady of Dallas.
The goals of the retreat are fourfold:

Introduce participants to monastic life, the Divine Office, and the history and theology of monasticism.
Introduce participants to monastic practices, including the discipline of silence, community life and lectio divina.
Provide an opportunity for participants to reflect on Catholic practices of daily prayer and their relation to monastic life.
Study of texts of major figures of the monastic tradition.

PRINCIPAL TEXTS FOR DISCUSSION

St. Athanasius, “Life of Antony,” in Early Christian Lives, trans. Carolinne White (Penguin Classics, 1998).
The Desert Fathers: Sayings of the Early Christian Monks, trans. Benedicta Ward (Penguin Classics, 2003).
St. Benedict of Nursia, RB 1980: The Rule of St. Benedict (Liturgical Press, 1981).
St. Bernard of Clairvaux, “On the Steps of Humility and Pride” in Bernard of Clairvaux: Selected Works, trans. G.R. Evans, Classics of Western Spirituality (Paulist Press, 1987).
St. Bernard of Clairvaux, “On Conversion” in Bernard of Clairvaux: Selected Works, trans. G.R. Evans, Classics of Western Spirituality (Paulist Press, 1987).
John Cassian, Institutes, trans. Boniface Ramsey, Ancient Christian Writers 58 (New York, NY: The Newman Press, 2000). Read especially the preface and Books V-XII on the eight vices.
OPTIONAL: Jean Leclercq, The Love of Learning and the Desire for God, trans. Catharine Misrahi (New York: Fordham University Press, 1982).

LOCATION AND FORMAT

The seminar will take place at Our Lady of Dallas Cistercian Abbey in Irving, Texas.
The seminar sessions will be led by the monks of the monastery.
Travel stipends will be available for currently enrolled students.
Lodging, meals, and books will be provided.
Participants will arrive at Our Lady of Dallas on Monday, June 20 (morning),and depart on Sunday, June 26 (afternoon).
Participants will be required to read the assigned materials in preparation for the seminar.

APPLICATION INFORMATION

Open to men aged 18 through 35. Catholics and non-Catholics are invited to apply.
Applicants must submit an online application including a statement of interest, a CV or resume, and a letter of recommendation from a professor or pastor.
Applications will be evaluated on a rolling basis. Apply no later than May 17th to receive full consideration.
A maximum of 15 applicants will be admitted to the seminar.

Aquinas’s Five Ways and Where they Lead
2022-06-26 00:00 - 2022-07-02 00:00 | Gavin House, 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL, 60637
APPLY HERE
This intensive seminar will discuss St. Thomas Aquinas’s Five Ways of proving the existence of a God and the conception that he thinks they yield: that of a God who is at once utterly simple and utterly perfect, and therefore utterly beyond our comprehension. The sessions will center on Summa theologiae, I, qq. 2-4—especially, of course, I, q. 2, a. 3, which contains the Five Ways themselves—and on selected texts from I, qq. 12 & 13. Participants will also discuss relevant passages from other works of St. Thomas, as well as his historical influences and some related contemporary issues.

LOCATION AND FORMAT

The seminar will be held at Gavin House, home of the Lumen Christi Institute in Hyde Park, Chicago.
Breakfast and lunch on the days of the seminar sessions along with several dinners will be provided.
Participants will be responsible for securing your own lodging for the seminar. We can assist and provide information on nearby accommodations. Participants will receive a stipend of up to $850 to offset travel and lodging expenses.
Participants should arrive on Sunday, June 26 and depart on Saturday, July 2 after the final session.
Participants will be required to read the assigned texts in preparation for the seminar.
This seminar was defered in 2020. As a result only a limited number of available spaces are available to new applicants.

QUALIFICATIONS AND APPLICATION
This seminar is open to Ph.D. students in theology, philosophy, classics, and other relevant fields of study.

A completed online application form.
An updated CV.
At least one and no more than two letter(s) of recommendation.
A statement of research interest no longer than 750 words, which includes an explanation of how this seminar might bear on the student’s current or future research plans.
One academic writing sample (30 pages maximum).
All application materials can be submitted via the online application. Incomplete applications will not be considered

THE APPLICATION DEADLINE IS FEBRUARY 15, 2022.
Contact us with any questions.

The Thought of John Henry Newman
2022-07-03 00:00 - 2022-07-08 00:00 | Merton College, Oxford, Merton St, Oxford OX1 4JD, UK, Oxford, United Kingdom
APPLY HERE
Now in its ninth year, this intensive seminar will examine the achievements of Saint John Henry Newman as 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, The Parochial and Plain Sermons, and the Apologia Pro Vita Sua. This seminar will approach Newman’s thought through a critical engagement with these texts.
LOCATION AND FORMAT

The seminar will be held at Merton College, Oxford.
The seminar will be led by Fr. Fields with Fr. Ker serving as a guest lecturer.
Meals and lodging will be provided.
Participants will receive a stipend of up to $700 to offset travel expenses.
Participants will arrive on Saturday, July 2 and depart on Saturday, July 9.
Participants will be required to read the assigned texts in preparation for the seminar.
Fifteen applicants will be admitted to the seminar.

QUALIFICATIONS AND APPLICATION
This seminar is open to Ph.D. students in theology, philosophy, classics, and other relevant fields of study.

A completed online application form.
An updated CV.
At least one and no more than two letter(s) of recommendation.
A statement of research interest no longer than 750 words, which includes an explanation of how this seminar might bear on the student’s current or future research plans.
One academic writing sample (30 pages maximum).
All application materials can be submitted via the online application. Incomplete applications will not be considered

THE APPLICATION DEADLINE IS FEBRUARY 15, 2022.
Contact us with any questions.

Modern Science and Christian Faith for Graduate Students
2022-07-03 09:00 - 2022-07-09 17:00 | Harvard University, Mount Auburn Street, Cambridge, MA
APPLY HERE
The goal of this seminar is to provide students with the background knowledge and conceptual tools necessary to understand and think clearly about the relation of science and faith. This will help them to integrate scientific and theological ways of understanding in their own thinking, and make it possible for them to help others (including their future colleagues and students) to achieve such integration. The overarching goal is to help develop a cadre of people with a broad and informed understanding of these issues who can be the nucleus from which wider outreach efforts might grow.
Among the topics discussed will be the historical relationship of the Church and science; the relation of faith and reason; evidence for God in the existence and order of the cosmos; God and nature; primary and secondary causality; the supernatural and miracles; modern physics and natural theology; creation and providence; the beginning of the universe and modern cosmology; God and time; human origins and human distinctiveness; rationality, freedom, and the soul; physicalist reductionism and the human mind; Genesis and scriptural interpretation; biological evolution; biology and human nature; and the Fall, original sin and concupiscence.
Preparatory readings may include excerpts from:

Modern Physics and Ancient Faith (Stephen M. Barr)

The Believing Scientist (Stephen M. Barr)

Galileo Goes to Jail and Other Myths about Science and Religion (ed. Ronald L. Numbers)

Mind and Cosmos (Thomas Nagel)

The Faith of the Early Fathers (William A. Jurgens)

Confessions (St. Augustine)

City of God (St. Augustine)

On the Literal Meaning of Genesis (St. Augustine)

Summa Contra Gentiles (St. Thomas Aquinas)

In the Beginning (Joseph Ratzinger)

Communion and Stewardship: Human Persons Created in the Image of God (International Theological Commission)

The Blind Watchmaker (Richard Dawkins).

Catechism of the Catholic Church

Addresses and statements on science and religion by Pope St. John Paul II

“Hylomorphism and Human Wholeness: Perspectives on the Mind-Brain Problem.” (Theology and Science), Michael J. Dodds, OP,

“Thomas Aquinas Meets Nim Chimpsky: On the Debate about Human Nature and the Nature of Other Animals.” (The Aquinas Review), Marie I. George

LOCATION AND FORMAT

The seminar will take place at Harvard University in Cambridge, MA. Admitted students will be required to arrange their own travel to and from the seminar.

Admitted students will be granted a stipend of $350 to offset travel costs in addition to having their lodging and meals covered for the duration of the seminar.

Participants will arrive In Cambridge, MA on Sunday, July 3 and depart on Saturday, July 9. The seminar will take place from Monday to Friday, with a lecture and discussion session each morning and afternoon.

Participants will be required to read the assigned materials in preparation for the seminar.

In order to receive the $350 stipend, students must participate fully in all seminar activities and complete a survey at the end of the seminar.

APPLICATION INFORMATION

Open to graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in STEM fields, medicine, the history of science, philosophy, theology, and relevant fields.

Applicants must submit an online application, including details on their course of study, a statement of interest, and a letter of recommendation (optional).

For full consideration, apply by April 15. After April 15, applications will be evaluated on a rolling basis.

15 applicants will be admitted to the seminar.

This seminar is made possible through the support of grant #62372 from the John Templeton Foundation, “In Lumine: Promoting the Catholic Intellectual Tradition on Campuses Nationwide”

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
I am a PhD student graduating this academic year. Can I still apply? Yes!
I am currently an undergraduate but have been admitted to a graduate program for the next academic year. Can I still apply? Yes, please indicate this in the statement of purpose in your application.
I have attended a Lumen Christi Institute seminar in the past. May I still apply? Yes!
Do I have to be Catholic to apply? No. The Lumen Christi Institute exists to promotes the Catholic intellectual tradition and is committed to the integration of the intellectual and spiritual life. The Institute welcomes seminar participants of all or no religious affiliation, and wants to assure all applicants that the opportunities to participate in devotional activities are optional.

Origen of Alexandria’s On First Principles
2022-07-10 00:00 - 2022-07-15 00:00 | University of St. Michael’s College, 81 St. Mary's Street Toronto, ON M5S 1J4, Toronto, ON
APPLY HERE
This seminar will be a close reading of Origen’s On First Principles, supplemented by various other texts from his corpus. One of the first systematic presentations of the Christian faith, On First Principles, written c. 220, is also a complex text to engage. While we possess some Greek fragments, the whole survives only in a much later Latin translation. At the same time, it is essential to see how the positions that Origen puts forth in this work relate to those we find developed in his biblical exegesis. Accordingly, we will examine texts from the On First Principles in parallel with selections from his Commentary on John, Against Celsus, and his various Old Testament commentaries.
Presented by the Lumen Christi Institute and the Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies at the University of St. Michael’s College in the University of Toronto. Cosponsored by the Centre for Medieval Studies at the University of Toronto.
LOCATION AND FORMAT

The seminar sessions will be held at Windle House, hosted by the Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies, at the University of St. Michael’s College in the University of Toronto.
Meals and lodging will be provided.
Participants will receive a stipend of up to $350 to offset travel expenses.
Participants will arrive at on Sunday, July 9 and depart on Saturday, July 16.
Participants will be provided with a copy of On First Principles (Oxford University Press, 2020) and will be expected to read it in preparation for the seminar.
Fifteen applicants will be admitted to the seminar.

QUALIFICATIONS AND APPLICATION
This seminar is open to PhD students in theology, philosophy, classics, and other relevant fields of study. Working knowledge of relevant ancient languages will be helpful, but not essential.

A completed online application form.
An updated CV.
At least one and no more than two letter(s) of recommendation.
A statement of research interest no longer than 750 words, which includes an explanation of how this seminar might bear on the student’s current or future research plans.
One academic writing sample (30 pages maximum).
All application materials can be submitted via the online application. Incomplete applications will not be considered

THE APPLICATION DEADLINE IS FEBRUARY 15, 2022.
Contact us with any questions.

Newman Forum Summer Institute | Truth, Beauty, and Goodness: The Transcendentals in Philosophy and Theology
2022-07-13 16:00 - 2022-07-17 12:00

Catholic Social Thought: A Critical Investigation
2022-07-31 00:00 - 2022-08-05 00:00 | University of California, Berkeley, S Hall Rd. Berkeley, CA 94720, Berkeley, CA
APPLY HERE
In this seminar, students will read, analyze, and discern continuities and discontinuities in Catholic social thought from the late 19th century to the present. Lectures, seminar reports, and discussion will focus on original sources (encyclicals and other magisterial documents), beginning with Rerum novarum (1892) and concluding with Caritas in veritate (2009) and Evangelii Gaudium (2013). This intensive course is multi-disciplinary, since this tradition of social thought overlaps several disciplines in the contemporary university including political science, political philosophy, law, economics, theology, and history.
LOCATION AND FORMAT

The seminar will be held in Berkeley, CA.
Meals and lodging will be provided.
Participants will receive a stipend of up to $350 to offset travel expenses.
Participants will arrive on Saturday, July 30 and depart on Saturday, August 6.
Participants will be required to read the assigned texts in preparation for the seminar.
Fifteen applicants will be admitted to the seminar.

QUALIFICATIONS AND APPLICATION
This seminar is open to Ph.D. and J.D. students in theology, philosophy, law, social sciences, and relevant fields of study

A completed online application form.
An updated CV.
At least one and no more than two letter(s) of recommendation.
A statement of research interest no longer than 750 words, which includes an explanation of how this seminar might bear on the student’s current or future research plans.
One academic writing sample (30 pages maximum).
All application materials can be submitted via the online application. Incomplete applications will not be considered

THE APPLICATION DEADLINE IS FEBRUARY 15, 2022.
Contact us with any questions.

Modern Science and Christian Faith for Undergraduates
2022-08-07 00:00 - 2022-08-13 00:00 | University of Virginia, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
APPLY HERE
The goal of this seminar is to provide students with the background knowledge and conceptual tools necessary to understand and think clearly about the relation of science and faith. This will help them to integrate scientific and theological ways of understanding in their own thinking, and make it possible for them to help others (including their future colleagues and students) to achieve such integration. The overarching goal is to help develop a cadre of people with a broad and informed understanding of these issues who can be the nucleus from which wider outreach efforts might grow.
Among the topics discussed will be the historical relationship of the Church and science; the relation of faith and reason; evidence for God in the existence and order of the cosmos; God and nature; primary and secondary causality; the supernatural and miracles; modern physics and natural theology; creation and providence; the beginning of the universe and modern cosmology; God and time; human origins and human distinctiveness; rationality, freedom, and the soul; physicalist reductionism and the human mind; Genesis and scriptural interpretation; biological evolution; biology and human nature; and the Fall, original sin and concupiscence.
Preparatory readings will include excerpts from:

Modern Physics and Ancient Faith (Stephen M. Barr)
The Believing Scientist (Stephen M. Barr)
Thomistic Evolution (Fr. Nicanor Austriaco et al.)
Science and Belief in a Nuclear Age (Peter E. Hodgson)
God’s Mechanics (Br. Guy Consolmagno)
God and Reason in the Middle Ages (Edward Grant)
Galileo Goes to Jail and Other Myths about Science and Religion (ed. Ronald L. Numbers)
Mind and Cosmos (Thomas Nagel)
The Faith of the Early Fathers (William A. Jurgens)
Confessions (St. Augustine)
City of God (St. Augustine)
On the Literal Meaning of Genesis (St. Augustine)
Summa Contra Gentiles (St. Thomas Aquinas)
In the Beginning (Joseph Ratzinger)
addresses and statements on science and religion by Pope St. John Paul II
Communion and Stewardship: Human Persons Created in the Image of God (International Theological Commission)
sections of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

LOCATION AND FORMAT

The seminar will take place at the University of Virginia. Admitted students will be required to arrange their own travel to and from the seminar.
Admitted students will be granted a stipend of $350 to offset travel costs in addition to having their lodging and meals covered for the duration of the seminar.
Participants will arrive on Sunday, August 7 and depart on Saturday, August 13. The seminar will take place from Monday to Friday, with a lecture and discussion session each morning and afternoon.
Participants will be required read the assigned materials in preparation for the seminar.
In order to receive the $350 stipend, students must participate fully in all seminar activities and complete a survey at the end of the seminar.

APPLICATION INFORMATION

Open to all undergraduate students, including those who graduate in 2022 and recent graduates.
Applicants must submit an online application, including details on their course of study, a statement of interest, and a letter of recommendation.
For full consideration, apply by April 15. After April 15, applications will be evaluated on a rolling basis.
15 applicants will be admitted to the seminar.

This seminar is made possible through the support of grant #62372 from the John Templeton Foundation, “In Lumine: Promoting the Catholic Intellectual Tradition on Campuses Nationwide”

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
I am a college student graduating this academic year. Can I still apply? Yes!
Do I have to be Catholic to apply? No. The Lumen Christi Institute exists to promotes the Catholic intellectual tradition and is committed to the integration of the intellectual and spiritual life. The Institute welcomes seminar participants of all or no religious affiliation, and wants to assure all applicants that the opportunities to participate in devotional activities are optional.

Two-Day Online Seminar | Galileo: Faith, Reason, and the New Science
2022-08-10 18:00 - 2022-08-13 14:30 | ONLINE, World Wide Web, INTERNET
TWO-DAY ONLINE SEMINAR
Session 1: Wednesday, Aug. 10 | 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Session 2: Saturday, Aug. 13 | 10:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
The Lumen Christi Institute has designed this two-day seminar to introduce major themes and debates from the Catholic Church’s history to a wide online audience. It offers the opportunity to read primary sources in the context of a seminar-style discussion, led by Catholic faculty.
*This course requires no advance training nor prior reading and is open to all for participation. All course reading will be provided electronically.
What happened at the famous Galileo Trial? Galileo Galilei (1564 – 1642) remains a hero of early modern science and is considered a ‘father of modern science.’ His work on Copernican theory and his famous trial have won him a place as a champion of reason and science against the apparent forces of irrational power and authoritarianism. But does the Galileo of history match the Galileo of legend? This course will introduce important contexts before examining Galileo’s own views on faith and reason, the documents and history of Galileo’s later inquisitorial trial, and finally discussing the ways we might interpret Galileo’s meaning today.
COURSE SCHEDULE
Week before class begins:
Online videos will be available for contextualizing and framing our discussion.
Another video will introduce the mechanics of the course, course expectations and methods.
Wednesday 8/10, 6:00 pm-7:30pm
Session 1: Galileo the Astronomer and Theologian
Saturday 8/13, 10:30am-12:00pm
Session 2: Galileo and the Inquisition
Saturday 8/13, 1:00pm-2:30pm
Session 3: Which Galileo?
Click here to see the full syllabus.
Registration | $95

Questions | Austin Walker, awalker@lumenchristi.org

Synodality Series Session 1 | Synodality in the Ancient Church
2022-09-06 19:00 - 20:00 | ONLINE, World Wide Web, INTERNET
Free and open to the public. This online symposium series is being organized by the American Cusanus Society, Nova Forum and the Lumen Christi Institute. Additional Cosponsors include Commonweal, America Media and the St. Anselm Institute for Catholic Thought.
About the Series | In light of Pope Francis’ call for global Catholic communities to enter into a two-year process on synodality, this six-part series will examine both the history of synods and the current dialogue around the future of synodality in the Church. This series is an opportunity to learn more about the topic in advance of the October 2023 Rome summit, “For a Synodal Church.” Pope Francis is inviting the entire Church to reflect on “this path of synodality which God expects of the Church of the third millennium,” an important part of the Church’s own process to achieving participation and living out mission.
About Session 1 | “Synodality and the Ancient Church:” a dialogue investigating the synodal way in the early church. Featuring Robin Darling Young (Catholic University of America) and Christopher Bellitto (Kean University), moderated by Nathan Tilley (Dumbarton Oaks).
Moderator | Nathan Tilley, Dumbarton Oaks

1st Presenter: Robin Darling Young, Catholic University of America

2nd Presenter: Christopher Bellitto, Kean University

Synodality Series Session 2 | Synodality and Medieval Reform
2022-09-15 17:00 - 18:30 | ONLINE, World Wide Web, INTERNET
Free and open to the public. This online symposium series is being organized by the American Cusanus Society, Nova Forum and the Lumen Christi Institute. Additional Cosponsors include Commonweal, Harvard Catholic Forum, America Media, the St. Anselm Institute for Catholic Thought and the Collegium Institute.
About the Series | In light of Pope Francis’ call for global Catholic communities to enter into a two-year process on synodality, this six-part series will examine both the history of synods and the current dialogue around the future of synodality in the Church. This series is an opportunity to learn more about the topic in advance of the October 2023 Rome summit, “For a Synodal Church.” Pope Francis is inviting the entire Church to reflect on “this path of synodality which God expects of the Church of the third millennium,” an important part of the Church’s own process to achieving participation and living out mission.
About Session 1 | A dialogue exploring the connection between conciliarism and synodality cum et sub petro, featuring Margaret Meserve (Notre Dame) and Rick Serina (Concordia Seminary), moderated by Christopher Bellitto (Kean University).
Moderator: Christopher Bellitto, Kean University

Margaret Meserve, Notre Dame

Rick Serina, Concordia Seminary

Reverend Dr. Richard J. Serina, Jr. is associate executive director for the Commission on Theology and Church Relations of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod and teaches at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO. He wrote his dissertation on Nicholas of Cusa’s concepts of ecclesiology and reform, published with EJ Brill in 2016 as Nicholas of Cusa’s Brixen Sermons and Late Medieval Church Reform. He has edited books on Lutheran ecclesiology and Luther’s debate at Leipzig in 1519, and has written numerous essays on ecclesiology and reform in the late Middle Ages and Reformation, including “Irreparable Breach or Late-Medieval Reform? Luther’s Address to the Christian Nobility and the Conciliar Reform Tradition,” which won the 2020 Douglas Murray Prize from Renaissance & Reformation Review.
Margaret Meserve is Glynn Family Honors Collegiate Professor of History and Director of the Glynn Family Honors Program at the University of Notre Dame. She is a scholar of the Italian Renaissance with a special interest in the history of the papacy. She is the author of Papal Bull: Print, Politics, and Propaganda in Renaissance Rome (Johns Hopkins, 2021), which examines how the papacy adopted printing to broadcast news, information, propaganda, and disinformation in Rome in the first decades after Gutenberg. The book was “highly commended” for the DeLong Book History Prize by the Society for the History of Authorship, Reading, and Publishing. Meserve has published several other books including a multivolume translation of the autobiographical Commentaries of the Renaissance Pope Pius II. Meserve has won support for her work from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the American Council of Learned Societies, and the Newberry Library in Chicago. She is also a Fellow of the American Academy in Rome.
Christopher Bellitto is Professor of History at Kean University in New Jersey, where he teaches courses in ancient and medieval history. A specialist in the Middle Ages, church history and reform, he is the author of ten books and over 30 articles and book chapters published in the United States and Europe, He has twice won grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities. In Summer 2019, he was a Fulbright Specialist at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand, and was Visiting Scholar at Princeton Theological Seminary 2021-2022. Dr. Bellitto also serves as series Editor in Chief of Brill’s Companions to the Christian Tradition and Academic Editor at Large for Paulist Press. He offers about 30 public lectures each year; is a member of the Public Scholar Speakers Bureau of the NJ Council for the Humanities, and has taped audio courses for Now You Know Media/Learn 25. A media commentator on church history and contemporary Catholicism, he appears frequently in print, on radio, and television.

Synodality Series Session 3 | Synodality and the Roots of Vatican II
2022-09-19 17:00 - 18:30 | ONLINE, World Wide Web, INTERNET
Free and open to the public. This online symposium series is being organized by the American Cusanus Society, Nova Forum and the Lumen Christi Institute. Additional Cosponsors include Commonweal, Harvard Catholic Forum, America Media, the St. Anselm Institute for Catholic Thought and the Collegium Institute.
About the Series | In light of Pope Francis’ call for global Catholic communities to enter into a two-year process on synodality, this six-part series will examine both the history of synods and the current dialogue around the future of synodality in the Church. This series is an opportunity to learn more about the topic in advance of the October 2023 Rome summit, “For a Synodal Church.” Pope Francis is inviting the entire Church to reflect on “this path of synodality which God expects of the Church of the third millennium,” an important part of the Church’s own process to achieving participation and living out mission.
About Session 3 | A dialogue on the synodality models which emerged from Vatican II, featuring Shaun Blanchard (National Institute for Newman Studies) and Kristin Colberg (St. John’s School of Theology), moderated by Kathy Sprows Cummings (Notre Dame).

Renewing Digital Space: Addressing Pope Francis' Concerns and Warnings
2022-09-23 08:00 - 09:30 | ONLINE, World Wide Web, INTERNET
Pope Francis has challenged the Church and the world to explore “both the pathologies our digital culture imposes – especially on our young – and investigate how this technology can and has helped people reach their full potential.”
Join us for a virtual conversation that will explore the anthropological, theological, sociological and legal constructs that are necessary to address these challenges posed by the digital age.
This online event is free and open to the public. This event is hosted by CAPP-USA and co-sponsored by the Lumen Christi Institute.
SPEAKERS:
Prof. Evelyn Aswad
The University of Oklahoma College of Law’s Herman G. Kaiser Chair in International Law and
Director, Center for International Business and Human Rights
Rev. Dorian Llywelyn, S.J.
President, Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies (IACS) at the University of Southern California
MODERATOR:
Brian Boyd, Ph.D.
University of Notre Dame
The event is hosted by CAPP-USA in partnership with America Media. This event is co-sponsored by the Center on Religion and Culture at Fordham University, the Bernardin Center at Catholic Theological Union, the Boisi Center for Religion & American Public Life at Boston College, the John J. Reilly Center for Science, Technology and Values at the University of Notre Dame, the School of Theology & Religious Studies at the Catholic University of America, the Francis and Ann Curran Center for American Catholic Studies at Fordham University, the Lumen Christi Institute, the Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies (IACS) at the University of Southern California, and the Catholic Medical Association.

Synodality Series Session 4 | Eastern Catholic and Orthodox Christians: Contexts and Dialogue
2022-10-04 19:00 - 20:30 | ONLINE, World Wide Web, INTERNET
Free and open to the public. This online symposium series is being organized by the American Cusanus Society, Nova Forum and the Lumen Christi Institute. Additional Cosponsors include Commonweal, Harvard Catholic Forum, America Media, the St. Anselm Institute for Catholic Thought and the Collegium Institute.
About the Series | In light of Pope Francis’ call for global Catholic communities to enter into a two-year process on synodality, this six-part series will examine both the history of synods and the current dialogue around the future of synodality in the Church. This series is an opportunity to learn more about the topic in advance of the October 2023 Rome summit, “For a Synodal Church.” Pope Francis is inviting the entire Church to reflect on “this path of synodality which God expects of the Church of the third millennium,” an important part of the Church’s own process to achieving participation and living out mission.
For more information about the entire series, including other upcoming sessions, visit our series webpage.
About Session 4 | A dialogue featuring Jaisy Joseph (Seattle University) and Cyril Hovorun (Sankt Ignatius Theological Academy), moderated by Aristotle Papanikolaou (Fordham University).

In Lumine Network Meeting
2022-10-13 00:00 - 2022-10-14 00:00 | Gavin House, 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL, 60637
The In Lumine Network consists of six independent institutes for Catholic Thought located at elite research universities in the United States. Funded by a generous grant from the John Templeton Foundation, the In Lumine network aims to advance dialogue between theology, philosophy, and the natural and social sciences on the campuses they serve.
The founding members of the network include: the Lumen Christi Institute at the University of Chicago, the Nova Forum at the University of Southern California, the Saint Anselm Institute at the University of Virginia, COLLIS at Cornell University, the Collegium Institute at the University of Pennsylvania, and the Harvard Catholic Forum at Harvard University.
Through the development of the In Lumine Network, institutes for Catholic thought at secular universities will be better prepared to humbly but confidently remind the academy of the importance of the Catholic intellectual tradition in the centuries-old dialogue between science and faith. By advocating for the complementarity of epistemologies too often cast as opposites, fruitful and enriching dialogue will certainly result.
More information about the In Lumine Network can be found here.

Master Class: "Adventures of a Primary Care Theologian" with Fr. Roch Kereszty
2022-10-15 10:00 - 12:00 | ONLINE, World Wide Web, INTERNET
Open to current students and faculty. Others interested in participating should contact info@lumenchristi.org. Registrants will receive copies of the prepared reading.
An Online Master Class with Fr. Roch Kereszty, O. Cist
For over 40 years, Fr. Roch Kereszty has taught and published in nearly every area of theology—Christology, ecclesiology, and interreligious dialogue to name a few. During this master class, Fr. Kereszty will discuss selected texts from his own work and discuss his life and vocation: a clandestine novice in Communist Hungary, a student during the years of the Second Vatican Council, long-time professor at the University of Dallas and form master at Cistercian Preparatory School in Irving. This master class reflects on the work of one theologian, inviting students and faculty to do the same.

Synodality Series Session 5 | Pope Francis' Vision of a Synodal Church: CELAM and Ignatian Tradition
2022-10-18 16:00 - 17:30 | ONLINE, World Wide Web, INTERNET
Free and open to the public. This online symposium series is being organized by the American Cusanus Society, Nova Forum and the Lumen Christi Institute. Additional Cosponsors include Commonweal, Harvard Catholic Forum, America Media, the St. Anselm Institute for Catholic Thought and the Collegium Institute.
About the Series | In light of Pope Francis’ call for global Catholic communities to enter into a two-year process on synodality, this six-part series will examine both the history of synods and the current dialogue around the future of synodality in the Church. This series is an opportunity to learn more about the topic in advance of the October 2023 Rome summit, “For a Synodal Church.” Pope Francis is inviting the entire Church to reflect on “this path of synodality which God expects of the Church of the third millennium,” an important part of the Church’s own process to achieving participation and living out mission.
For more information about the entire series, including other upcoming sessions, visit our series webpage.
About Session 5 | A dialogue exploring the roots of Pope Francis’s appeal to synodality, featuring Maria Clara Bingemer (Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro) and Austen Ivereigh (Campion Hall, Oxford University), moderated by Peter Casarella (Duke Divinity School).

Magis Lecture | Pro and Con: Does Faith Ignore Reason?
2022-10-19 17:30 - 19:00 | Saint Ignatius College Prep, 1076 W Roosevelt Rd, Chicago, IL
Free and open to the public.
Every Sunday, Christian worshipers profess the Nicene Creed.
The Creed formulates and supports our belief in one God, but there appears to be scant empirical evidence for many of its claims that we acknowledge to be true. We don’t profess the Creed because we’ve been persuaded by overwhelming evidence. Is it reasonable, then, to believe that the Creed’s claims are true? Or does our profession of faith shove our reason into exile? So says Sam Harris, a recent “popular atheist,” who argues that faith is by nature unreasonable.
But William James, the 19th-century American psychologist, tells another tale. He argues that it can be reasonable to believe some things based on less than compelling evidence. If we don’t, we risk losing out on vitally important truths that could give us the whole purpose of life. And this risk is far greater than the risk of believing something on scant evidence.
Here is a vision in which faith and reason, to work well, must work together to give life its full meaning.
ABOUT THE MAGIS SERIES
The Magis Series on Faith and Reason is a partnership between the Lumen Christi Institute and St. Ignatius College Prep to bring accessible yet sophisticated lectures on the Church’s intellectual tradition to the broad lay public. The event is open to everyone from high school students to retirees. No affiliation with St. Ignatius is needed. Anyone who desires a lively entree into the mind of the Church is welcome and encouraged to attend.
SCHEDULE
5:30 PM | Cocktails and Hors d’oeuvres
6:15 PM | Lecture
7:00 PM | Event concludes

Symposium on "The Future of Christian Art"
2022-10-20 17:00 - 18:30 | Social Sciences, Room 122, 1126 E 59th St. Chicago, IL 60637, Hyde Park, IL
Is there a future for Christian Art? Can beauty save a “modern” world? This symposium features a presentation by Fr. Stephen Fields, SJ (Georgetown) in which he distinguishes between modernity and previous periods of the Western Christian experience and draws upon the work of Hans Urs von Balathasar to argue that Christians must reconceive the meaning of “beauty.” Responses will follow from University of Chicago art historian Karin Krause and Chicago Artist John David Mooney.
This event is being supported by funds from the Fr. Paul V. Mankowski, S.J. Memorial Fund for Jesuit Scholarship. Fr. Paul, former Jesuit Scholar-in-Residence for the Lumen Christi Institute and trained biblicist, was also a humanist with wide ranging interests in art and literature. You can learn more about the fund and Fr. Paul’s life and legacy here.
This event is free and open to the public. This event is cosponsored by the Committee on Social Thought at the University of Chicago. This event will be recorded. Contact us with any questions.

Current students and faculty are also invited to a master class with Fr. Fields on Friday, October 21, entitled Clashing over Mysticism: Balthasar and Rahner on Bonaventure. For more information and to register, see the event page.

Master Class: Clashing over Mysticism: Balthasar and Rahner on Bonaventure
2022-10-21 14:00 | Gavin House, 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL, 60637
Open to current students and faculty. Others interested in participating should contact info@lumenchristi.org. Registrants will receive copies of the prepared reading.
In an era of outstanding theologians who made the teachings of Vatican II possible, Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905-88) and Karl Rahner (1904-84) emerge as titans. Both were German speaking: Rahner came from Baden and Balthasar from Switzerland. Rahner died as a Jesuit, having taught in Innsbruck, Munich, and Muenster. Balthasar left the order in mid-life to serve as chaplain to a secular institute in Basel. Both were prolific writers. Rahner’s chief works are Spirit in the World (1957), a study of Aquinas’s theory of knowledge; Hearer of the Word (1941), a study in Christian philosophy of religion; Foundations of Christian Faith (1976), a systematic theology of Catholicism; and the renowned Theological Investigations (1954- 84), sixteen volumes on a wide range of topics. Balthasar produced, among other works, a renowned trilogy, each multi-volumed: The Glory of the Lord: A Theological Aesthetics (1961-67); Theo-Drama (1973-83); and Theo-Logic (1985-87). I would also mention his influential Theology of Karl Barth (1951).
Although they began their careers as collaborators, especially in reconceiving nature and grace, they ended as antagonists over theological method. Our Master Class will peer into their differences by reading their interpretations of the mystical theology of St. Bonaventure, the thirteen- century Seraphic Doctor. Rahner published his study in 1933 in Revue d’ascétique et de mystique;Balthasar published his in 1961 in the first volume of Glory of the Lord. I will argue that they develop remarkably contrasting views of Bonaventure, because they hold remarkably contrasting views on a broader issue. It concerns the impact of the act of faith on the human person’s faculties.
Our two sessions, each of an hour separated by a break, will deal first with Rahner’s article, then with Balthasar’s, then with the broader issue.
Readings:

Balthasar, Hans Urs von. “Bonaventure.” In Seeing the Form. Glory of the Lord 2. Trans. Andrew Louth et al. San Francisco: Ignatius, 1984: 260-362, at 306-26. Originally as above.

Rahner, Karl. “The Doctrine of the ‘Spiritual Senses’ in the Middle Ages.” In Theological Investigations 16. Trans. David Morland, OSB. New York: Crossroad, 1983: 104-34. Originally as above.

Fields, Stephen. “Balthasar and Rahner on the Spiritual Senses.” Theological Studies 57 (1996): 224-41 (selections).

Questions to Guide the Readings:

How does each thinker see Bonaventure conceiving the relation between soul and body in the human person?

How does each thinker see Bonaventure conceiving the ‘spiritual senses’?

According to each thinker, what is the Object of the spiritual senses?

According to each thinker, what are the important spiritual senses? Why?

How does each thinker interpret Bonaventure’s mysticism as “learned ignorance”?

In your opinion, does Rahner’s interpretation obviate Christ? Does Balthasar’s interpretation finally give any importance to mysticism in Christianity?

Synodality in Perspective: Traditions Past and Present
2022-10-25 12:00 - 13:00 | ONLINE, World Wide Web, INTERNET
This online symposium series is being organized by the American Cusanus Society, Nova Forum and the Lumen Christi Institute. Additional Cosponsors include Commonweal, America Media, St. Anselm Institute for Catholic Thought and the Collegium Institute.
Participation and Registration | All are invited to participate. To attend, please register online. Registration links are provided by each session and date below. Each session will be a dialogue with a moderator hosting a conversation between two scholars.
About the Series | In light of Pope Francis’ call for global Catholic communities to enter into a two-year process on synodality, this six-part series will examine both the history of synods and the current dialogue around the future of synodality in the Church. This series is an opportunity to learn more about the topic in advance of the October 2023 Rome summit, “For a Synodal Church.” Pope Francis is inviting the entire Church to reflect on “this path of synodality which God expects of the Church of the third millennium,” an important part of the Church’s own process to achieving participation and living out mission.
Some of the questions in this online series include:

What was the history of synods in the early church?

What should Catholics expect from the Synod itself next year?

What synodality models emerged from the Second Vatican Council?

What are the roots of Pope Francis’ appeal to synodality?

What can Roman Catholics learn from Eastern Catholic traditions?

SCHEDULE
Session 1. Synodality in the Ancient Church
Tuesday, September 6, 7:00 PM CST
Moderator: Nathan Tilley, Dumbarton Oaks

Robin Darling Young, Catholic University of America

Christopher Bellitto, Kean University

Session 2. Synodality and Medieval Reform
Thursday, September 15, 5:00 PM CST
Moderator: Christopher Bellitto, Kean University

Margaret Meserve, Notre Dame

Rick Serina, Concordia Seminary

Session 3. Synodality and the Roots of Vatican II
Monday, September 19, 5:00 PM CST
Moderator: Kathy Sprows Cummings, Notre Dame

Shaun Blanchard, National Institute for Newman Studies

Kristin Colberg, St. John’s School of Theology

Session 4. Eastern Catholic and Orthodox Christians: Contexts and Dialogue
Tuesday, October 4, 7:00 PM CST
Moderator: Aristotle Papanikolaou, Fordham University

Jaisy Joseph, Villanova University

Cyril Hovorun, Sankt Ignatius Theological Academy

Session 5. Pope Francis’ Vision of a Synodal Church: CELAM and Ignatian tradition
Tuesday, October 18, 4:00 PM CST
Moderator: Peter Casarella, Duke Divinity School

Maria Clara Bingemer, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro

Austen Ivereigh, Campion Hall, Oxford University

Session 6. The Synod of 2023: Process and Prospects
Tuesday, October 25, 12:00 PM CST
Moderator: Peter Casarella, Duke Divinity School

Bishop Oscar Cantú (San Jose, CA)

Sr. Nathalie Becquart, XMCJ, Under-Secretary, General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops

Synodality Series Session 6 | The Synod of 2023: Process and Prospects
2022-10-25 12:00 - 13:30 | ONLINE, World Wide Web, INTERNET
Free and open to the public. This online symposium series is being organized by the American Cusanus Society, Nova Forum and the Lumen Christi Institute. Additional Cosponsors include Commonweal, Harvard Catholic Forum, America Media, the St. Anselm Institute for Catholic Thought and the Collegium Institute.
About the Series | In light of Pope Francis’ call for global Catholic communities to enter into a two-year process on synodality, this six-part series will examine both the history of synods and the current dialogue around the future of synodality in the Church. This series is an opportunity to learn more about the topic in advance of the October 2023 Rome summit, “For a Synodal Church.” Pope Francis is inviting the entire Church to reflect on “this path of synodality which God expects of the Church of the third millennium,” an important part of the Church’s own process to achieving participation and living out mission.
For more information about the entire series, including other upcoming sessions, visit our series webpage.
About Session 6 | A dialogue with Bishop Oscar Cantú (San Jose, CA) and Sr. Nathalie Becquart, XMCJ (General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops), moderated by Peter Casarella (Duke Divinity School).

Society, Law, and Virtue: Colloquium in Honor of Russell Hittinger
2022-10-26 00:00 - 2022-10-30 00:00
This is an invite-only colloquium in honor of Russell Hittinger.
Hittinger has articulated many of the deepest Augustinian and Thomistic sources of natural law theory, given an influential critique of certain trends in contemporary natural law thinking, and shown how various conceptions of natural law have been embraced or rejected in American political debates since the middle of the twentieth century. Finally, his most recent work has shown how natural law principles have been integrated into Catholic social teaching since the French Revolution. This discussion will use Hittinger’s writings as a springboard to explore these perennial and timely topics in order to see where the potential for future developments and applications of natural law theory may be found.

Symposium on "The Future of Natural Law"
2022-10-27 17:00 - 18:30 | Swift Hall, First Floor Common Room, 1025 E 58th St,Chicago, IL 60637, Hyde Park, IL
Natural law theory has long been a central tenet of Christian philosophical and theological reflection on the relationship between God, the moral life, and society, and it has played an important historical role in shaping the political life of the United States and many other nations. The topic of natural law has also been the subject of many disputes and disagreements, both in the contemplative and practical orders. It is therefore important to take stock of this rich and complex history if we are to understand the current state of natural law thinking so as to ascertain what role it may play in the future.
This event is the public portion of an invite-only faculty colloquium in honor of Russell Hittinger. Hittinger has articulated many of the deepest Augustinian and Thomistic sources of natural law theory, given an influential critique of certain trends in contemporary natural law thinking, and shown how various conceptions of natural law have been embraced or rejected in American political debates since the middle of the twentieth century. Finally, his most recent work has shown how natural law principles have been integrated into Catholic social teaching since the French Revolution. This discussion will use Hittinger’s writings as a springboard to explore these perennial and timely topics in order to see where the potential for future developments and applications of natural law theory may be found.

Lunch Discussion: "Are We Falling Back Into Paganism?"
2022-11-01 12:00 | Gavin House, 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL, 60637
Open to current students and faculty. Others interested in participating should contact info@lumenchristi.org.

The Saints: How They Save Us and We Save Them
2022-11-01 17:00 - 19:30 | Saint Ignatius College Prep, 1076 W Roosevelt Rd, Chicago, IL
This event is in-person only. There is no cost to attend. Please register by Thursday, October 27th.
The Lumen Christi Institute, St. Ignatius College Prep, and The Bollandists Society in Belgium invite you to a special evening with Catherine M. Mooney, Associate Professor of Church History at Boston College’s School of Theology and Ministry.

For questions, please reach out to Andrea Lamacki at andrea.lamacki@ignatius.org
Schedule
Mass | 5:00 in Cuneo Chapel at Saint Ignatius College Prep
Reception | 5:30-6:15pm in the Brunswick Room
Presentation | 6:15-7:15pm in the Brunswick Room

The Contribution of Theology to Rationality: a Conference in Honor of Jean-Luc Marion
2022-11-02 14:00 - 2022-11-04 17:30 | Swift Hall, 1025 E 58th St. Chicago, IL 60637, Hyde Park, IL
This event is co-sponsored by the Lumen Christi Institute and organized by the Martin Marty Center. For more information about the speakers, visit https://martycenter.org/events/the-contribution-of-theology-to-rationality
This conference is held in honor of Jean-Luc Marion (Andrew Thomas Greeley and Grace McNichols Greeley Professor of Catholic Studies and Professor of the Philosophy of Religions and Theology, and Professor in Social Thought and Philosophy). It brings together scholars to give lectures that reflect Marion’s past and current interests, highlight and honor his many contributions, and outline and define what he has meant for the Chicago tradition of doing theology as a conversation between reason and revelation.
Schedule
Wednesday
2:00 – 3:30 PM – Opening session I: Metaphysics and Mysticism
Remi Brague, Paris – “Christ as Metaphysician”
Bernard McGinn, Chicago – “Mystical Knowing and the Limits of Reason”
3:30 – 4:00 PM – Tea and coffee break
4:00 – 5:30 PM – Opening session II: Revelation
Sarah Hammerschlag – “Religion of Revelation: Levinas’s Long Escape”
Joseph Cohen, Dublin – “Revealing Sacrifice”
Thursday
9:00 – 10:30 AM – Session I: Givenness and Finitude
Françoise Meltzer, Chicago – “Enigmas of the Gift: the Perspective of Jean-Luc Marion”
Robert Pippin, Chicago – “Thought’s Finitude?”
10:30 – 11:00 AM – Tea and coffee break
11:00 AM – 12:30 PM – Session II: Reason’s Boundaries
Hent de Vries, New York – “The Apocalyptic Motif”
Jeff Kosky, Lexington VA – “A Discipline that is not Scientific”
2:00 – 4:00 PM – Session III: Confession and Manifestation
Philipp Büttgen, Paris – “On Confessing”
Willemien Otten, Chicago – “Pure Nature or Right Reason: Medieval Grace Reconsidered”
Olivier Boulnois, Paris – “The Manifestation of Charity”
4:00 – 4:30 PM – Tea and coffee break
4:30 – 6:30 PM – Session IV: Decentering Tradition
Thomas Carlson, Santa Barbara – “Translating Decisions (on the Intentionality of Love)”
Ryan Coyne, Chicago – “The Center is Everywhere”
Amy Hollywood, Cambridge MA – “Where Theology Happens”
6:30 – 8:30 PM – Reception
Friday
9:30 – 11:30 AM – Session I: Revelation and Forms of Practice
William Schweiker, Chicago – “Revelation of the Good?”
Hans Joas, Berlin – “A Pragmatist Understanding of Revelation”
Dwight Hopkins, Chicago – “Faith Plus Wealth Equals Freedom”
1:30-4:00 PM: Session II – Insights from the Abrahamic Traditions
David Nirenberg, Princeton – “Mathematics and Monotheism: Problems of Sameness and Difference in Christianity and Islam”
Mehdi Azaïez, Louvain-la-Neuve – “D’ailleurs, le Coran. An Islamicist Reads Jean-Luc Marion’s Concept of Revelation”
Sarah Coakley, Alexandria VA – “On Christian Revelation and Apophaticism: A Premodern versus Modern Dilemma?”
4:00 – 4:30 PM – Tea and coffee break
4:30 – 5:30 PM – Jean-Luc Marion, Paris/Chicago: Farewell Address
“The Phenomenality of Revelation: The Parabolic and the Paradoxical”

Master Class: "The Power of the Sacred" with Hans Joas
2022-11-05 10:00 - 13:00 | Gavin House, 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL, 60637
Open to current students and faculty. Others interested in participating should contact info@lumenchristi.org. All registrants will receive pdfs of the selected readings. The first 15 registrants will receive free copies of The Power of the Sacred.

In the last twenty or thirty years, the co-called secularization thesis has lost much of its plausibility. This thesis means more than empirical statements about quantitative developments in the area of religious faith, practices or institutions. Rather, it refers to a particular explanation for such developments – namely, that there is a strong causal connection between societal modernization and the weakening of religion – in such a way that economic growth, rising prosperity and scientific and technological progress increasingly displace religion with inner necessity and ultimately make it superfluous. But if modernization and secularization do not form an indissoluble combination, then the assumptions about the prehistory of modern European secularization are also shaken, especially the most influential of them, namely the narrative, going back to the famous sociologist Max Weber, of a process of disenchantment that had already begun with the Old Testament prophets and made the Christian or the Jewish-Christian tradition appear as a step toward secularization.
In this master class the precise meaning of the concept of disenchantment and the contours of an alternative to this suggestive and highly influential narrative of modernization and modernity will be discussed.
This program is made possible through the support of ‘In Lumine: Supporting the Catholic Intellectual Tradition on Campuses Nationwide’ (Grant #62372) from the John Templeton Foundation.
REQUIRED READING:
Hans Joas, The Power of the Sacred, Introduction, pp. 1-9, 110-153, 234-273.
Recommended reading: pp. 88-110.

Your Mind Is Not A Computer, and God is Not Nice: Learning How To Think About God and Why
2022-11-05 13:00 - 14:00 | ONLINE, World Wide Web, INTERNET
An online interview for high-school students and teachers.
What happens when I think? What makes for good thinking? Can I discover “truth,” and how would I know when I found it? How should I think about God? What is He like and how would my life change if I knew?
To help answer these and other questions, the Newman Forum invites Prof. Ulrich Lehner (University of Notre Dame) to discuss his recent books Think Better: Unlocking the Power of Reason and God is Not Nice: Rejecting Pop Culture Theology and Discovering the God Worth Living For.
The interview will be held online via Zoom on Saturday, November 5th from 1pm to 2pm, followed by an audience Q&A. This event is free and open to current high school students and teachers. Other interested parties may contact Austin Walker at awalker@lumenchristi.org. More information can be found on the Newman Forum website.

Superheroes, the Void, and Utopia: Reading Alan Moore's Watchmen at the End of Days
2022-11-10 19:00 - 20:30 | 5554 S. Woodlawn Ave., Chicago, IL 60637, Hyde Park, IL
Open to current undergraduate students at the University of Chicago. Registration is capped at 20. Students who register after capacity has been reached will be put on a waitlist. Copies of Watchmen will be provided to all participants.
Who watches the Watchmen? The President of the United States is a septuagenarian nervously forced to confront an increasingly reactive Russia. Our technology has outstripped our power to control or even cope with it. Environmental collapse is right around the corner. Paranoia, dread, and hopelessness hover over all.
The year, of course, is 1985, and the American president is…Richard Nixon? And, oh yes, there are superheroes.
In this reading group we will study Watchmen, one of the greatest works of graphic fiction of all time. In the world of Watchmen we meet Rorschach, a psychotic vigilante who terrorizes criminals and terrifies just about everyone else; the Comedian, a nihilistic one-man dirty-tricks operation in the employ of the U.S. government, the god-like Dr. Manhattan, who holds America’s nuclear deterrence (and the fate of the world) in in his once-human hands; and the retired masked adventurer and peak of human perfection Ozymandias.
Watchmen, however, is more than just evocative names and larger-than-life characters. In the face of nuclear annihilation, with our very survival as a species at stake, Watchmen demands that we take a step back and both ask and answer the question: “Who Watches the Watchmen?”
This event is part of Lumen Christi’s Fundamental Questions series, a quarterly reading group designed for undergraduate students at the University of Chicago. By fostering intellectually rigorous conversation around culturally resonant texts, we aim to allow students to experience the force of the deep existential concerns which animate our lives: “Where do my values come from? What is the good life? How can I become happy?” Our aim is not to answer such fundamental questions, but rather to equip students with the intellectual skills needed to recognize and articulate them for themselves.
This fundamental questions seminar meets three times during the quarter. For each session, we will meet and discuss over dinner. Dinner is served at 6:00pm. Discussion begins at 6:15.
SCHEDULE
6:00 PM Dinner | 6:15 PM Discussion
Week 3 : Thursday, October 13 (required reading: Chapters 1-4 of Watchmen)
Week 5 : Thursday, October 27 (required reading: Chapters 5-8 of Watchmen)
Week 7 : Thursday, November 10 (required reading: Chapters 9-12 of Watchmen)

Faith and Scholarship Integration Seminar
2022-11-12 11:00 | 5554 S. Woodlawn Ave., Chicago, IL 60637, Hyde Park, IL
Open only to current graduate students. Registration required. To register, contact Fr. Peter Bernardi, SJ, at bernardisj@gmail.com.
The Lumen Christi Institute will host periodic “integration seminars” at its newly acquired Woodlawn Residence. These seminars will promote discussion and reflection on how to relate one’s Catholic faith to one’s scholarship. Each seminar will feature a Catholic scholar sharing how she or he relates their Catholic faith to their field of research. These scholars will be drawn from a variety of fields: social and natural sciences, philosophy, history, etc. This sharing is intended to animate discussion among the participating students.
Participation is by invitation only. To enable discussion, the number of students will be limited to 10-12; the applications of doctoral and post-doc students will be given priority. It is not necessary to commit to attending every seminar. If you are a graduate student serious about your Catholic faith and your scholarly discipline and would like to participate in these seminars, contact Fr. Pete Bernardi at: “bernardisj@gmail.com”

The first integration seminar is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 12, 10am-12pm, at the Lumen Christi Woodlawn Residence. Dr. Peter Tierney will ‘prime the pump’ by sharing how he integrates his Catholic faith with his area of scholarly expertise: paleontology. Peter’s sharing will open up a discussion among the participating students. Besides the four residential doctoral students, a small number of non-residential graduate students have been invited to participate.
Coffee and pastries will be available, starting at 9:45. For those who can stay beyond noon, lunch will be offered.

If you have any questions, contact Fr. Pete Bernardi at: “bernardisj@gmail.com”

Gold Mass for Scientists
2022-11-15 19:00 | Kindlon Chapel – Benedictine University, 4th Foor Kindlon Hall 5794 College Rd, Lisle, IL
The Lumen Christi Institute is glad to cosponsor a Gold Mass for the Chicago region, organized by the regional chapter of the Society of Catholic Scientists.
Mass will be held at 6:00 PM CST on Tuesday, Nov 15, in the Kindlon Chapel (4th floor of Kindlon Hall) at the Benedictine University Lisle campus (5700 College Road, Lisle, Illinois). The celebrant will be Fr. Andrew Buchanan from St. Mary’s Church in West Chicago.
After the Mass there will be a brief reception. At 7:15 PM. Dr. Suzen Moeller, Professor of Health Sciences at North Park University, will give a talk entitled “We Are What We Eat: Faith, Reason, and the Thirst for Meaning.” All are welcome at the Gold Mass and the talk.
The Mass and talk will also be streamed on Zoom at https://benu.zoom.us/s/81627216656.
For more information, please reach out to Professor Matthew Wiesner at mwiesner@ben.edu.
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What is a Gold Mass?
Gold Masses for scientists are usually votive Masses in honor of St. Albert the Great (patron saint of natural science), whose feast day falls on November 15. Gold masses follow in the tradition of special Masses for members of particular professions. The oldest, the Red Mass for lawyers and lawmakers, was introduced in the 13th century. The first White Mass for health care professionals and Blue Mass for law enforcement personnel were begun in the 1930s. By promoting Gold Masses for Scientists around the world, SCS hopes to create spiritual fellowship among Catholic scientists, science educators and science students at the local level.

Fall Noncredit Course | Modern Mystics Oct. 4 - Nov. 15
2022-11-15 19:00 - 21:00 | Gavin House, 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL, 60637
Tuesdays, Oct. 4 – Nov. 15
6:00pm: Dinner
6:30pm: Presentation
Intended for university students and recent graduates. Others interested in attending please contact info@lumenchristi.org.
Registrants are free to attend as many sessions as they choose. Sessions do not presuppose previous attendance or prior knowledge of the subject.
“The devout Christian of the future will either be a ‘mystic’ – one who has ‘experienced’ something – or he will cease to be anything at all”
– Karl Rahner, Theological Investigations VII
Who is the modern mystic? The study of the history of mysticism, pioneered by scholars like Bernard McGinn, has helped uncover the theological genius of writers and thinkers within the tradition of Christianity who fall outside of the neat parameters of systematic theology. Is the mystic in the modern world different from mystics of previous generations? In this no-prep required non-credit course, professors like Bernard McGinn, Anne Astell, and others will introduce participants to modern mystics from both within and beyond the Catholic tradition, addressing Therese of Lisieux, Thomas Merton, Simone Weil, Gustavo Gutierrez, Edith Stein, and Howard Thurman.
SCHEDULE
6:00 PM Dinner | 6:30 PM Lecture
October 4 | Modern Mystics, Intro (Bernard McGinn, University of Chicago)
October 11 | Therese of Lisieux (Bernard McGinn, University of Chicago)
October 18 | Simone Weil (Ann Astell, Notre Dame)
October 25 | Gustavo Gutierrez (Raul Zegarra, University of Chicago)
Novermber 1 | Edith Stein (Peter Bernardi, Lumen Christi Institute)
November 8 | Thomas Merton (Bernard McGinn, University of Chicago)
November 15 | Howard Thurman (Maurice Charles, University of Chicago)

Gregor Mendel at his Bicentennial: Highlights of his Life and Legacy
2022-11-16 18:00 | Social Sciences 201, 1126 E 59th St, Chicago, IL
As we celebrate the bicentennial of Gregor Mendel’s birth, a few highlights of his life and legacy illustrate the breadth of his contributions and his genius. Born into poverty, he excelled in education in his youth. He entered the St. Thomas Monastery as an Augustinian friar where he joined an extraordinary community of scholars. At the University of Vienna, he studied with some of the world’s finest scientists, especially in mathematics, physics, botany, and evolution, and published his first research papers there. His famous experiments led him to an enduring theory that is more expansive than often portrayed. As Darwin’s contemporary, his annotations in Darwin’s books and Darwinian comments in letters reveal much about his understanding of the role of hybridization in evolution. He was elected as prelate and abbot of the St. Thomas Monastery in 1868, honorably serving in this role until his death in 1884. The neglect and rediscovery of his theory constitute one of the most intriguing stories in the history of science. At the bicentennial of his birth, his theory endures essentially unchanged as the foundation of genetics.
This event is free and open to the public. This event is co-sponsored by the Morris Fishbein Center for the History of Science and Medicine and the Seminary Co-op Bookstore, which will have copies of Professor Fairbanks’ book on-site for purchase. This program is made possible through the support of ‘In Lumine: Supporting the Catholic Intellectual Tradition on Campuses Nationwide’ (Grant #62372) from the John Templeton Foundation. Questions can be directed to info@lumenchristi.org.

Schola Antiqua Presents "Dante 360" at the Athenaeum
2022-11-18 01:00 - 2022-11-20 01:00 | Athenaeum Center for Thought and Culture, 2936 N Southport Ave Chicago, IL 60657, Chicago, IL
Join scholar Elizabeth Lev and Lumen Christi’s resident ensemble Schola Antiqua at the Athenaeum Center for Thought and Culture for a journey through the Divine Comedy, from Inferno to Paradiso. Featuring art historian, Elizabeth Lev, this event will explore the significance of the world’s most famous epic poem and its author, the illustrious Dante Alighieri. Experience the depth and complexity of Dante’s vision through a series of recitations, displays of visual art, and music provided by the vocal ensemble Schola Antiqua, which carry the soul alongside the pilgrim in his ascent to Paradise.
To find out more and purchase tickets, visit https://athenaeumcenter.org/events/2022/dante-360/
Showtimes:
November 18 | 7:00 PM
November 19 | 7:00 PM
November 20 | 3:00 PM

Society of Catholic Scientist Advent/Christmas Celebration
2022-12-03 18:00 | Gavin House, 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL, 60637
Members of the Society of Catholic Scientists and science students, faculty, and staff are invited to an Advent celebration with the Lumen Christi Institute and the Chicago chapter of the Society of Catholic Scientists. This is a family-friendly event, with food and drink on offer, and a supervised room for kids to work on holiday crafts. Come share some holiday cheer and meet other Catholic scientists.
Registration is required. Questions can be directed to Peter Tierney at ptierney@lumenchristi.org

Online Seminar | St. Francis of Assisi in the Footsteps of Christ
2022-12-07 19:00 - 2022-12-10 15:30 | ONLINE, World Wide Web, INTERNET
The Lumen Christi Institute has designed this two-day seminar to introduce major themes and debates from the Catholic Church’s history to a wide online audience. It offers the opportunity to read primary sources in the context of a seminar-style discussion, led by Catholic faculty.
St Francis of Assisi was a ‘little poor man’ who casts a long shadow. His way of life, sayings, and adventures have inspired many and given rise to many interpretations of who Francis was. The myriad interpretations of St Francis gives rise to many questions: What motivated him? Why did he embrace poverty, service, and humility? What goals did he seek? This course will highlight St Francis’ relationship to the model and person of Christ, including Francis’ direct obedience, following the “footsteps” of Christ, a special devotion to the Eucharist, and even the celebration of Christmas. St Francis’ own words and the earliest account about him offer a window into these major themes and ideas.
Preparatory materials will frame St Francis in the larger history of spiritual renunciation and poverty and his more immediate context in the twelfth-century reforms. The three sessions of the course will prioritize discussion of our readings in the tradition of Great Books style discussion. The sessions organize the many facets surrounding St Francis according to topics, such as Living Poverty or Love of Nature.

SCHEDULE
Session 1: Wednesday, December 7 | 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. CST
Session 2: Saturday, December 10 | 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. CST
Session 3: Saturday, December 10 | 1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. CST
COURSE DETAILS
Preparation for the Course
In the great tradition of Great Books reading and Socratic discussion, this online course prioritizes close engagement with the primary sources for St Francis’ life and thought. Online sessions will be most productive for all when students devote significant time to preparing for the course, especially reading and annotating the texts in advance.
Preparatory materials for the course include:

Reading Instructions on Topics (see Sessions and Topics below)
Video on Mechanics of Course
2 Introductory Videos on Monastic, Spiritual Tradition, and on Italian, economic, and cultural contexts
Readings taken from Francis of Assisi and pdfs

Session 1: Wednesday, December 7, 6-7:30pm Central Standard Time

Early Life and Conversion
Early Followers and Papal Approval

Session 2: Saturday, December 10, 10:30am-12:00pm Central Standard Time

The Footsteps of Christ
Living Poverty
Humility and Service

Session 3: Saturday, December 10, 1:30pm-3:00pm Central Standard Time

Love of Nature
Christ in Creation

NOTE: Course Schedule and precise readings are liable to changes.

Ancient Heresies and Why They Matter Today
2023-01-09 14:00 - 15:00 | Calvert House, 5735 S University Ave, Chicago, IL 60637, Chicago, IL
Intended for university students and recent graduates. Others interested in attending please contact m.lechevallier@lumenchristi.org.
Students may assume that studying heresy is the work of apologetics or the work of ancient historians. But heresies played a pivotal role in helping shape the Catholic Church. Further, certain heresies are recurrent.
Join for this lunchtime discussion on Ancient Heresies and why they matter today.

Ancient Heresies and Why They Matter Today
2023-01-09 14:00 - 15:00

The Atomic Bomb and the Technological Imperative
2023-01-19 18:00 - 19:15 | Social Sciences 201, 1126 E 59th St, Chicago, IL
How has technology taken on a life of its own, determining human behavior, thought, and actions in unintended and unexpected ways? Using the development and use of the first atomic bombs as a defining case study, this lecture reflects on the technological momentum that helped to usher in the nuclear age and that remains a defining and determinative feature of modern society.
This event is free and open to the public. It is made possible through the support of ‘In Lumine: Supporting the Catholic Intellectual Tradition on Campuses Nationwide’ (Grant #62372) from the John Templeton Foundation. Questions can be directed to info@lumenchristi.org.
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Students and faculty are also invited to join us Friday, January 20 at 2PM for a master class on Hope, Suffering and the Atom Bomb with Professor Nolan. Readings will be provided to all registrants. See our event page for more detail.

Master Class on "Hope, Suffering, and the Atom Bomb"
2023-01-20 15:00 - 17:00 | Gavin House, 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL, 60637
Open to current students and faculty. Others interested in participating should contact info@lumenchristi.org. All registrants will receive pdfs of the selected readings, which should be read in advance of the class. This event is made possible through the support of ‘In Lumine: Supporting the Catholic Intellectual Tradition on Campuses Nationwide’ (Grant #62372) from the John Templeton Foundation
Following the August 9, 1945 dropping of the second atomic bomb ever used in a military conflict, residents of Nagasaki responded in a unique and surprising way to the vast destruction visited upon their city. As reflected in the writings of Nagasaki radiologist Takashi Nagai, the community emphasized peace and forgiveness, rather than rage, retribution, and political activism. This class will use the example of Nagasaki to consider theologically informed perspectives on the meaning of suffering.
READINGS
Nagai, Takashi. Selections from The Bells of Nagasaki. Kodashana America Inc, 1994.
John Paul II. Salvifici Doloris. Dicastery of Communication – Vatican Library, 1984.
John Paul II. Appeal for Peace at Hiroshima. February 5, 1981.
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Image of Takashi Nagai. Creative Commons

Winter Newman Forum Conference for High School Students: Science, Science Fiction, and God
2023-01-21 09:00 - 14:30

Aristotle's Great-Souled Man in Jane Austen, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, and Saint Augustine
2023-01-26 18:00 - 19:30 | Swift Hall, 3rd Floor Lecture, 1025 E 58th St. Chicago, IL 60637, Hyde Park, IL
This event was co-sponsored by the Undergraduate Program in Religious Studies at the University of Chicago.
Augustine famous referred to the classical virtues as “splendid vices”. Although he stood in the tradition that valued virtue, he was concerned that the pursuit of greatness through the life of virtue – a theme dating back to Aristotle’s ideal of the Great-Souled Man – could actually breed a sense of self-righteousness. Yet there is much to the Aristotelian ideal. The pursuit of greatness in the service of God seems preferable to complacent mediocrity that sadly characterizes so much of our life. This lecture, focusing on Dostoyevsky and Austen, seeks to discover the danger of the pursuit of greatness while examining how the category of “greatness” might be reconceived in Christian terms.

Master Class on “The Myth of Unconditional Love: Augustine on the Love of God, Neighbor, and Self”
2023-01-27 15:00 - 18:00 | Gavin House, 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL, 60637
Open to current students and faculty. Others interested in participating should contact info@lumenchristi.org. All registrants will receive pdfs of the selected readings, which should be read in advance of the class. An optional wine and cheese reception will follow.
Following Kant’s insistence that individuals must be treated as ends in themselves and not means to something else, Hannah Arendt objected that Augustine’s subordination of the love of people to the love of God did not allow a true love of one’s neighbor. Citing his distinction between love as enjoyment (frui), which alone applied to God, and love as use (uti), which was the proper love of neighbor, she argued that, for Augustine, the love of neighbor was merely a means to attain salvation for oneself. Is Augustine guilty of instrumentalizing the love of neighbors? In his system, are individuals treated merely as objects of charity by which, like rungs on a ladder, the Christian ascends in virtue and merit to God? Can his absolute prioritization of the love of God as the condition for loving one’s neighbor still allow for love of the neighbor that genuinely appreciates persons as individuals?
Readings:
Arendt, Hannah. Love and Saint Augustine. Eds. Joanna Scott and Judith Stark. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996. Pp. 36-44.
Augustine of Hippo. On True Religion 1,1-3,5; 11,21-12,25; 20,38-24,45; 32,59-40,76; 46,86-54,106. Trans. Edmund Hill. The Works of Saint Augustine A Translation for the 21st Century. Hyde Park, NY: New City Press, 1990.
Augustine of Hippo. Confessions IX.viii (17) – xiii (37). Trans. Henry Chadwick. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991.
Schedule:
2:00-3:20 | Session 1
3:20-3:40 | Break
3:40-5:00 | Session 2
5:00-5:30 | Reception

Red Mass with Address by Hanna Holborn Gray
2023-02-04 17:00 - 19:30 | Bond Chapel & Swift Hall, 1025 E. 58th St. Chicago, IL 60637, Hyde Park, IL
This event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact info@lumenchristi.org.
The Lumen Christi Institute is glad to present its second annual Red Mass cosponsored by St. Thomas the Apostle, Calvert House, and the St. Thomas More Society at the University of Chicago Law School.
Mass will be held at Bond Chapel at the University of Chicago. The celebrant will be Fr. Jeremiah Lynch.
After Mass, there will be a reception followed by a lecture held on the third floor of Swift Hall. Hanna Gray, former President of the University of Chicago and Renaissance historian, will speak on St. Thomas More’s Utopia.
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What is a Red Mass?
A Red Mass is a Mass celebrated for members of the legal community. Through prayerful petition and thanksgiving the Red Mass requests guidance from the Holy Spirit for all who seek justice, and offers the legal community an opportunity to reflect on the God-given power and responsibility of all in the legal profession.
Originating in Europe during the High Middle Ages, the Red Mass is so-called from the red vestments traditionally worn in symbolism of the tongues of fire that descended on the Apostles at Pentecost (Acts 2:1–4). Its name also exemplifies the scarlet robes worn by royal judges that attended the Mass centuries ago.

Red Mass Lecture with Hannah Gray
2023-02-04 18:00 - 19:30 | Swift Hall, 3rd Floor Lecture, 1025 E 58th St. Chicago, IL 60637, Hyde Park, IL
REGISTER HERE
This event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact info@lumenchristi.org.
Hannah Gray, former President of the University of Chicago and Renaissance Historian, will speak on St. Thomas More’s Utopia.
Preceding the lecture, there will be a Red Mass at Bond Chapel. You can register to attend the Mass and find more information here.

Catholicism: A Global History from the French Revolution to Pope Francis
2023-02-09 18:00 - 19:30 | Swift Hall, 3rd Floor Lecture, 1025 E 58th St. Chicago, IL 60637, Hyde Park, IL
This event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact info@lumenchristi.org. This event is co-sponsored by the History Department at the University of Chicago.
The story of Roman Catholicism has never followed a singular path. In no time period has this been more true than over the last two centuries. Beginning with the French Revolution, extending to the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s, and concluding with present-day crises, John T. McGreevy chronicles the dramatic upheavals and internal divisions shaping the most multicultural, multilingual, and global institution in the world.
In his latest book, John McGreevy gives a magisterial history of the centuries-long conflict between “progress” and “tradition” in the world’s largest international institution.

Catholicism: A Global History from the French Revolution to Pope Francis
2023-02-09 18:00 - 19:30

Master Class on "Catholicism and Upheaval Between the World Wars"
2023-02-10 15:00 - 18:30 | Gavin House, 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL, 60637
Open to current students and faculty. Others interested in participating should contact info@lumenchristi.org. All registrants will receive pdfs of the selected readings, which should be read in advance of the class. The first 20 registrants will receive a free copy of Catholicism: A Global History from the French Revolution to Pope Francis.
This Master Class will use a mix of primary and secondary sources to examine global Catholicism in the thirty years preceding the opening of the Second Vatican Council in 1962. Themes include the political crisis of the 1930s and the turn toward democracy, Catholicism and post WWII decolonization and the “return to the sources” that so shaped the Second Vatican Council.
Readings:
Required: John T. McGreevy, Catholicism: A Global History from the French Revolution to Pope Francis, (Norton, 2022), ix-xiv, 187-271.
Recommended:
Samuel Moyn, Christian Human Rights, (UPenn Press, 2015), 65-100.
Elizabeth Foster, “’Entirely Christian and Entirely African’: Catholic African Students in France in the Era of Independence,” Journal of African History 56 (2015), 239-59.
“In the Face of the World’s Crisis: A Manifesto by European Catholics Sojourning in America,” Commonweal (August 21, 1942), 415-421.
James Chappel, “The Catholic Origins of Totalitarianism Theory in Interwar Europe,” Modern Intellectual History 8 (2011), 561-590.
Schedule:
2:00-3:20 | Session 1
3:20-3:40 | Break
3:40-5:00 | Session 2
5:00-5:30 | Reception

Winter 2023 Fundamental Questions Seminar: Sophocles' Antigone
2023-02-16 19:00 - 20:30 | Gavin House, 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL, 60637
Open to current undergraduate students at the University of Chicago. Registration is capped at 20. Students who register after capacity has been reached will be put on a waitlist. All registrants will be provided with a copy of the text.
“For death is gain to him whose life, like mine, is full of misery.”
Here is the paradigmatic tragic lament, wrenched from Antigone in Sophocles’ famous play. But what is tragedy? Is life miserable because it is meaningless? Or is the tragedy not that life has no value, but that it has too many values? What does one do when one’s responsibilities to family, country, and religion collide? And how does one hold onto one’s freedom and identity in the face of undeniable, but incompatible, demands? Join us as we explore what this ancient text about a young woman struggling to bury her brother can tell us about our own more modern–and less melodramatic–lives.
This event is part of Lumen Christi’s Fundamental Questions seminar, a quarterly reading group designed for undergraduate students at the University of Chicago. By fostering intellectually rigorous conversation around culturally resonant texts, we aim to allow students to experience the force of the deep existential concerns which animate our lives: “Where do my values come from? What is the good life? How can I become happy?” Our aim is not to answer such fundamental questions, but rather to equip students with the intellectual skills needed to recognize and articulate them for themselves.
This fundamental questions seminar meets three times during the quarter. For each session, we will meet and discuss over dinner. Dinner is served at 6:00pm. Discussion begins at 6:15.
SCHEDULE
6:00 PM Dinner | 6:15 PM Discussion
Week 3 : Thursday, January 19: lines 1-331 (p. 3-16)
Week 5 : Thursday, February 2: lines 332-780 (p. 16-36)
Week 7 : Thursday, February 16: lines 781-end (p. 36-60)

Ash Wednesday Reflection with Archbishop Borys Gudziak
2023-02-22 01:00 | 5554 S. Woodlawn Ave., Chicago, IL 60637, Hyde Park, IL
Registration required. Open only to current students at the Univesity of Chicago. Registration is capped at 20. This event will be held at the Lumen Christi Woodlawn Residence for Graduate Students.
Join us for a special evening program for students with Metropolitan Borys Gudziak.
Metropolitan Borys is the head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in the United States. He is most known his work with the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv. After his PhD at Harvard University, he moved to post-Soviet Ukraine in the 1990’s and helped found–and then lead–the only Catholic University between Poland and Japan. He is currently the chair for the USCCB committee on domestic justice and human development.
The evening will begin at 6 p.m., just after a 5 p.m. Mass at Calvert House, followed by a simple soup supper. Metropolitan Borys will offer some informal remarks and take questions. This is an excellent opportunity to speak with an intelligent, international church leader in an intimate setting. Talk to him about best spiritual practices during Lent, the war in Ukraine, or his favorite gelato flavor in Rome. He will have incisive opinions about all of the above and more. This will be a great way to start this penitential season.
Schedule:
6:00 PM | Gathering
6:30 PM | Simple Soup Supper
7:00 PM | Reflection by Metropolitan Gudziak

Graduate Reading Group on "The Works of Frederick Douglass"
2023-02-22 17:30 - 18:30 | Gavin House, 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL, 60637
Open to current graduate students students at the University of Chicago. Participants can come to whichever sessions they choose. Others interested in participating should contact info@lumenchristi.org. Wine and cheese reception to follow.
Frederick Douglass is, without a doubt, a great American writer and orator. Largely self taught, he wove together the traditions of American rhetoric and law, sacred scripture, classical insight, and the romantic language of his age. In so doing, he became a voice of conscience for the United States, a leading light in the abolition movement, and one of the most famous and respected men of his age–of any color.
Douglass has lasting importance, and his language remains fresh and immediate. His writing shows keen psychological insight, deep faith, and moral fervor. It also throws a unique light on turning points of our national history, on the ideals espoused by Americans, and the legacy these have unto the present day. Douglass’ writings deserve continued study and contemplation for their timeless insights into human nature and the moral life, and his uniquely powerful expression of what it means to be an American.
In a time where Americans are investigating anew the history of slavery and prejudice, Douglass provides a unique lens, grounded substantively in faith and authentic personal experience. This reading group will be an opportunity to explore important themes, like the grounds for an ethic of human dignity, the place of faith in public life, the nature of the American idea, and much more.
SCHEDULE
February 1 – What Does Slavery Do to Human Souls?
4:30-5:30 PM
Autobiography

Selections from the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass and My Bondage and My Freedom

February 8 – The Civil War and Meaning of the Union
4:30-5:30 PM
Speeches

“The Mission of the War”
“What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”

February 15 – Postwar
4:30-5:30 PM
Journalism

“The Lessons of the Hour”

February 22 – Reckoning and Reconciliation
4:30-5:30 PM

‘To my Former Master”
Chapter 37, the reunion narrative, from Life and Times of Frederick Douglass

Lessons from the Past to Heal the Future: A Perspective on healing Ukraine post-war
2023-02-23 13:00 - 14:30 | University Club of Chicago, 76 E Monroe St Chicago, IL 60603, Downtown, IL
This event is open to the public. Registration is required. Please contact info@lumenchristi.org with any questions.
As a Church historian, Metropolitan Borys Gudziak has dedicated his vocation to transcribing and articulating the experience of the underground Church in Ukraine during the 20th century. These lessons of perseverance and adherence to the gospel—embodying the cross, death and resurrection—form the foundation of the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv, where Metropolitan Borys was at the beginnings of its re-birth and now serves as its president.
At this luncheon, hear Metropolitan Gudziak draw deep from these hard-earned lessons from the past to discuss strategies for healing the wounds in the body of Christ in post-war Ukraine.

Ideologies of War and Theologies of Healing: Ukraine one year later
2023-02-23 18:00 - 20:00 | Swift Hall, 3rd Floor Lecture, 1025 E 58th St. Chicago, IL 60637, Hyde Park, IL
This event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact info@lumenchristi.org. This event is co-presented with Fordham University’s Orthodox Christian Studies Center, and co-sponsored by the Sheptysky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies, Commonweal Magazine, America Media, the University of Chicago’s Martin Marty Center for the Public Understanding of Religion, the Three Hierarchs Orthodox Christian Fellowship, and CNEWA.
One year later, the war in Ukraine has risen and fallen in the news cycle but remains an ever-pressing issue in Europe and abroad. Scholars, pundits, and public figures have done much to diagnose the ideological engines that drive the conflict, yet even the most careful public reflection fails to grasp the interrelationship between the religious and cultural forces in play. Just as religion has been weaponized in this geopolitical conflict, so too can it be wielded to tend to these wounds. This panel turns to Church leaders, international relations experts, scientists, and scholars fluent in the traditions of the Christian East common to Russia and Ukraine—to explore principles that can aid in the just-peacemaking and the healing of trauma inflicted by the war.
Join us for this panel discussion featuring Metropolitan Borys Gudziak (Ukrainian Archeparchy of Philadelphia), Elizabeth Prodromou (Boston College), Perry Hamalis (North Central College), and Gayle Woloschak (Northwestern University). The event will be followed by a reception.

Winter Non-Credit Course | Heresies, Ancient and Modern: The Truth about Error
2023-02-28 19:00 - 20:30 | Gavin House, 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL, 60637
Tuesdays, Jan. 10-Feb. 28
6:00pm: Dinner
6:30pm: Presentation
Intended for university students and recent graduates. Others interested in attending please contact info@lumenchristi.org.
Registrants are free to attend as many sessions as they choose. Sessions do not presuppose previous attendance or prior knowledge of the subject.
What is “heresy?” At first glance, the term “heresy” might be dismissed as anachronistic, or even as repellent as the term “inquisition” or “auto-da-fe.” Surprisingly, the Greek root of the term “heresy” does not mean “error,” but “choice.” Heresy entails a selective partiality that in one way or another rejects the integral fullness of catholic truth. Certain heresies are recurrent. For example, Pope Francis has signaled the dangers of neo-gnosticism and neo-Pelagianism, heresies that threatened the integrity of Christian truth in the early Church.
This course will revisit some prominent heresies in their ancient and modern forms and pose these questions: Why do people find a given heresy attractive? How does heresy reveal a particularly pressing issue? How does a specific heresy compromise the fullness of truth?
Schedule:
January 10: What is heresy? Biblical Revelation; Ancient & Modern Gnosticism & the Scandal of the Cross
January 17: A Perfect Church? The Scandal of Sinful Pastors: from 4th century to the Present
January 24: Christological Heresies: Safeguarding the Saving Truth of the Incarnation
January 31: Pelagianism: The Perennial Attraction of Self-Salvation.
February 7: Enthusiasm: the Holy Spirit Run Amok, from 2nd century Montanism to Contemporary Spiritualisms
February 14: Atheism: the Ultimate Heresy? The Idolatries of Mammon, Nation, Body, and Race
February 21: Culture of Relativism: Catholic Fullness vs. Heretical Partialness
February 28: The Spiritual Lives of Contemporary Young People: “Therapeutic, Moralistic Deism?”

Our Troubled Minds, Our Anxious Age, and the Ancient Alternative of Cistercian Spirituality: An Interdisciplinary Dialogue
2023-03-18 13:00 - 15:00 | ONLINE, World Wide Web, INTERNET
Watch the Recording Here
This event is co-presented by the Lumen Christi Institute and the St. Anselm Institute for Catholic Thought at the University of Virginia. Find out more at their website: https://www.stanselminstitute.org/index.php/publicectures/upcominglectures/270-march-18-2023-public-lecture
Have you ever been afflicted by a lack of focus, feelings of loneliness, debilitating anxieties, or inexplicable bouts of sadness, anger or despair in the midst of great personal achievements? Can advances in neurological medicine and pharmaceutical therapies heal our broken hearts, fix our troubled minds, and lead us to even greater personal triumphs? Many hope so, turning to neuro-chemical treatments that soothe our brains without bringing clarity to our difficulties and the social conditions within which we live. But is this type of happiness and lack of meaning what we truly seek? Or are there other unexplored alternatives that reveal who we are along with the realities of our everyday sufferings? Join us for a novel interrogation of these questions that exposes the limits of contemporary interpretations and the time-tested Cistercian perspective of St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153), who offers a salvific “compound that no pharmacist can produce.”
This program is made possible through the support of grant #62372 from the John Templeton Foundation,“In Lumine: Promoting the Catholic Intellectual Tradition on Campuses Nationwide.”

Money and the Good Life: a lunchtime discussion with Mary Hirschfeld
2023-03-30 12:00 - 13:15 | Booth School of Business, 5807 S Woodlawn Avenue, Chicago, IL
Open to current students and faculty. Box lunches will be served. To inquire about registration, please email info@lumenchristi.org.
In 2018, Mary Hirschfeld, economist and theologian, made a landmark intervention in the relationship between economics and theology. By locating the source of economic life in the search for human happiness, Hirschfeld used a Thomistic framework to approach modern problems. Join us for a lunch discussion on how we might move “Toward a Humane Economy.”
Prof. Hirschfeld will also give a lecture later in the day on “Rethinking Economic Inequality: a Theological Perspective.” A response will follow from Amir Sufi (Booth School of Business).
This event is made possible through the support of ‘In Lumine: Supporting the Catholic Intellectual Tradition on Campuses Nationwide’ (Grant #62372) from the John Templeton Foundation.

Rethinking Economic Inequality: a Theological Perspective
2023-03-30 17:00 - 18:30 | Booth School of Business, Room 104-C, 5807 S Woodlawn Avenue, Chicago, IL
This event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact info@lumenchristi.org.
This event is co-presented by the Catholic Research Economists Discussion Organization (CREDO) and cosponsored by the In Lumine Network and Catholics at Booth. This event is made possible through the support of ‘In Lumine: Supporting the Catholic Intellectual Tradition on Campuses Nationwide’ (Grant #62372) from the John Templeton Foundation.
Secular discourse about the problem of economic inequality rests on two foundational premises that are problematic from a theological point of view. First, individuals enter into society with the aim of bettering their own condition. Second, bettering one’s own condition entails accruing more wealth and power so that one can fulfill more of one’s desires.
In this event, Mary Hirschfeld will present on how market behavior shaped by the premises described above can promote economic inequality. Can ethical responses to the problem of economic inequality promote justice without challenging these assumptions? How do we find a theological response to the problem of economic inequality? How does genuine human flourishing depend on communal ties and the higher human goods that material wealth is properly meant to support? Join us for this lecture as we unpack the answers to these questions.
A response will follow from Amir Sufi, Bruce Lindsay Professor of Economics and Public Policy.

From ESG to Impact Investing: Catholic reflections from the field
2023-04-13 12:00 - 13:15 | Booth School of Business, 5807 S Woodlawn Avenue, Chicago, IL
Registration required. Open to students and faculty only. Email info@lumenchristi.org to inquire about registration.
Should business and finance play larger roles in resolving the great social and environmental challenges of our time? Proponents of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing say yes. They argue that ESG financial strategies can help reverse runaway carbon emissions and fix income and gender inequalities, among other ills. ESG-integrated investments already encompass more than $120 trillion in financial assets. Are they working as promised? If not, how can they be improved?
In his new book Sustainable, Terrence Keeley, a finance-industry veteran offers an insider’s look at the promises, prospects, and perils of ESG investing. Keeley argues that many ESG advocates have been overly optimistic about what it can accomplish. Divestment threats are ineffective tools for altering corporate behavior, and verifiably “good” companies do not systematically generate great returns. Most importantly, business and finance cannot cure social ills on their own: regulators, public policies, civil society, and individuals must all play specific, complementary roles to shape the future we want. Keeley provides comprehensive solutions that would promote more inclusive, sustainable growth. In particular, he recommends reallocating capital from some indexed products toward an emerging class of strategies with more verifiable social and environmental benefits. Keeley identifies dozens of alternative “impact investing” strategies that could generate true double bottom lines. He also highlights promising civic organizations with proven methodologies for achieving widely shared benefits at scale.
Proposing practical, actionable, and in many cases profitable solutions to social and environmental problems, Sustainable offers an incisive vision of the roles business and finance can and should play in building a flourishing society.
Come and join the Lumen Christi Institute and Catholics at Booth for a lunchtime conversation between former Blackrock executive Terrence Keeley and Prof. Luigi Zingales.

Image from Sustainable: Moving Beyond ESG Toward Impact Investing (Columbia Business School Publishing, 2022)

Magis Lecture | Evil and the God of Love
2023-04-18 17:30 - 19:00 | Loyola Academy McGrath Family Performing Arts Center, 3455 Illinois Rd, Wilmette, IL, 60091
Free and open to the public, but advance registration is required. For more information, contact info@lumenchristi.org.
“Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is impotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Whence then is evil?”
So the philosopher David Hume presents the classic ‘problem of evil.’ For Christians, this is no mere logical puzzle. It is a challenge to our relationship with a God who we are convinced is not only all-powerful, but all-loving. How can we love God, and know ourselves to be loved by God, amid all the evils of the world? Fr. Stephen Fields, SJ (Georgetown University) will provide a Catholic perspective on how to confront this perennial problem.

ABOUT THE MAGIS SERIES
The Magis Series on Faith and Reason brings accessible yet sophisticated lectures on the Church’s intellectual tradition to the broad lay public. The event is open to everyone from high school students to retirees. Anyone who desires a lively entree into the mind of the Church is welcome and encouraged to attend.
SCHEDULE
5:30 PM | Cocktails and Hors d’oeuvres
6:15 PM | Lecture
6:50 PM | Q&A
7:00 PM | Event concludes

image: Spanish School. Job, 1618-1630. The Art Institute of Chicago. CC0 Public Domain Designation

Lunch Discussion on "Vatican II after 60 Years: The Legacy of Benedict XVI"
2023-04-19 13:05 - 14:05 | Calvert House, 5735 S University Ave, Chicago, IL 60637, Chicago, IL
Free and open to the public. Registration required. Contact info@lumenchristi.org with any questions about this event. This event is co-presented with Calvert House and co-sponsored by the graduate and undergradate Catholic Students Organization. A Mass will precede the event. Lunch will be provided.
Vatican II was the landmark event in the life of the 20th century Church. But opinions are divided over the extent to which the council was a decisive rupture with past life and practice in the Church. Amid a variety of interpretations in the decades following the council, Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI sought to integrate Vatican II within the wider history of the Church.
Join us for a lunchtime discussion with Fr. Stephen Fields, SJ, who will explore Pope Benedict XVI’s provocative thesis of a ‘hermeneutic of continuity,” which emphasized that authentic renewal could only occur in deep continuity with the past.

Are You Becoming Obsolete?
2023-04-20 19:30 - 21:00 | Breasted Hall, Oriental Institute, 1155 E 58th St. Chicago, IL 60637, Hyde Park, IL
Free and open to the public. No registration required. This event is presented by the Veritas Forum and co-sponsored by the Lumen Christi Institute.
We find ourselves on the cusp of a revolution. In the realm of language, image, and voice, AI technologies showcasing incredible potential, such that distinguishing the work of humans from computers is becoming nearly impossible. What does this mean for human identity and purpose? What might this mean for our future?
Join us for the University of Chicago Veritas Forum as we bring computer science into conversation with theology, philosophy, and ethics. Duke theologian and ethicist Norman Wirzba will participate in a moderated dialogue with University of Chicago computer science researchers Ben Y. Zhao over the implications of an AI-saturated future. A Q&A will follow.

Still Mining the Forgotten: Black Catholic Women's History in the 21st Century with Shannen Dee Williams
2023-04-27 12:00 - 13:30 | Gavin House, 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL, 60637
Open to current students and faculty. Box lunches will be served. Texts will be provided. This event is co-sponsored by the Martin Marty Center for the Public Understanding of Religion.
Despite being the world’s oldest and most popular Black Christian tradition, studies of Black Catholicism remain underrepresented both within popular discourse and academic study. This is especially true in the United States. Shannen Dee Williams is one contemporary scholar working to change this. In Subversive Habits, the first full history of Black Catholic nuns in the United States, Williams sheds light on a too-often overlooked group of Black American churchwomen and freedom fighters. Her book also turns overdue attention to women’s religious life as a stronghold of white supremacy and racial segregation–and thus an important battleground in the long African American struggle for freedom, justice, and human dignity.
Join us for this lunchtime seminar in which Dr. Williams will speak on the growing field of Black Catholic studies and the primary sources which have shaped her scholarship. Copies of Subversive Habits, as well as lunch, will be provided to all participants.
Prof. Williams will give a lecture later in the evening on “America’s Real Sister Act: The Hidden History of Black Catholic Nuns in the United States.”
Readings:

Subversive Habits, Introduction, Chapters 3, 5 (required)
“SUBVERSIVE HABITS: A book discussion with Shannen Dee Williams” in The American Catholic Newsletter (required)
“I Wrote the First Full History of Black Catholic Nuns in the United States” in America Magazine (optional)

America's Real Sister Act: The Hidden History of Black Catholic Nuns in the United States
2023-04-27 17:00 - 18:30 | Swift Hall, 3rd Floor Lecture, 1025 E 58th St. Chicago, IL 60637, Hyde Park, IL
This event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact info@lumenchristi.org.
This event is co-presented by the Lumen Christi Institute and the Martin Marty Center for the Public Understanding of Religion. Cosponsored by St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church in Chicago, America Media, the Center for Gender Studies, the Center for Race, Politics and Culture at the University of Chicago, the History Department at the University of Chicago, the Thea Bowman Foundation, and the Catholic Theological Union.

For most people, Whoopi Goldberg’s performance as Sister Mary Clarence in Sister Act is the dominant interpretation of an African American nun and the desegregation of white Catholic sisterhood in the United States. In this presentation, Dr. Shannen Dee Williams will explore the story of America’s real sister act: the story of how generations of Black women and girls called to the sacred vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience fought against racism, sexism, and exclusion to become and minister as consecrated women of God in the Roman Catholic Church.

Catholic Lawyers Guild Speaker Series | Luncheon with Sr. Helen Prejean
2023-04-28 11:30 - 13:15 | University Club of Chicago, 76 E Monroe St Chicago, IL 60603, Downtown, IL
Registration required. This event is presented by the Catholic Lawyers Guild of Chicago and co-sponsored by the Lumen Christi Institute and the Hank Center of Loyola University Chicago. To find out more, visit https://www.clgchicago.org/events.

Sister Helen Prejean, who is known around the world for her tireless work against the death penalty, will be joining Catholic Lawyers Guild this Spring for a community event. Sr. Helen has been instrumental in sparking national dialogue on capital punishment and in shaping the Catholic Church’s vigorous opposition to all executions. We look forward to welcoming her and invite you to join us for what is sure to be a dynamic and thought-provoking event.
Our time together will consist of a plated lunch, followed by a presentation by Sr. Helen Prejean with an opportunity for Q&A.
One hour of Illinois CLE credit will be provided for this program. Registration is required to attend, please provide ARDC during registration to attain CLE credit.
We hope you can join us!

This event is a CLG Speaker Series Luncheon.

University Club of Chicago
Michigan Room
76 E. Monroe St., Chicago

Lust, Friendship, and Eternity in the Epic of Gilgamesh
2023-05-03 18:00 - 19:30 | Gavin House, 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL, 60637
Open to current undergraduate students at the University of Chicago. Registration is capped at 20. Students who register after capacity has been reached will be put on a waitlist. All registrants will be provided with a free copy of the text.
The Epic of Gilgamesh has been called the oldest surviving book in the history of Earth. Originating thousands of years ago, the story continues to offer profound insights for modern readers about essential human desires for love, power, and everlasting life. Whether you are encountering the book for the first time or re-visiting it, the tale of Gilgamesh promises to teach you something new about your life.

This event is part of Lumen Christi’s Fundamental Questions seminar, a quarterly reading group designed for undergraduate students at the University of Chicago. By fostering intellectually rigorous conversation around culturally resonant texts, we aim to allow students to experience the force of the deep existential concerns which animate our lives: “Where do my values come from? What is the good life? How can I become happy?” Our aim is not to answer such fundamental questions, but rather to equip students with the intellectual skills needed to recognize and articulate them for themselves.
This fundamental questions seminar meets three times during the quarter. For each session, we will meet and discuss over dinner. Dinner is served at 6:00pm. Discussion begins at 6:15.
SCHEDULE
6:00 PM Dinner | 6:15 PM Discussion
Week 3 : Wednesday, April 5: Is power the most fundamental human desire? (Prologue-Book II)
Week 5 : Wednesday, April 19: What qualities make a true friend? (Books III-IV)
Week 7 : Wednesday, May 3: What can humans hope for after death? (Books V-VII)
Image: “Alte Flagge Aramäer” by TruthWin47 via Wikimedia Commons is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International

Graduate Reading Group on "The Short Stories of Tolstoy"
2023-05-04 16:30 - 17:30 | Gavin House, 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL, 60637
Open to current graduate students at the University of Chicago. Participants can come to whichever sessions they choose. Others interested in participating should contact nbeacom@uchicago.edu. Books, food, and beverages will be provided.
Does life have a meaning in the face of unavoidable suffering and impending death? What does it mean to be good, to be authentic, to follow one’s conscience? Questions like these, which still knock at our hearts and minds today, are at the heart of the writing of Leo Tolstoy, widely considered one of the greatest novelists in the history of literature.
In this reading group, we’ll read through some of Tolstoy’s most enduring short stories. We will accompany a rich businessman as he faces his own inevitable physical demise, holy fools, proud priests, murderers, and saints. With Tolstoy and these characters, we will touch some of the most enduring mysteries of human life.
Whether you are a Tolstoy fan or haven’t read a page of his writing, join us over wine, beer, and food for a relaxed discussion of these great works of literature.
A copy of The Death of Ivan Illych and Other Stories, containing all readings, will be provided to all participants.
SCHEDULE:
April 6: Alyosha the Pot
April 13: Father Sergius
April 20: Master and Man
April 27: The Death of Ivan Illych, the First Part
May 4: The Death of Ivan Illych, the Second Part

Retribution and St. Thomas Aquinas's Teaching on Justice
2023-05-05 14:00 - 17:30 | Gavin House, 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL, 60637
Open to current students and faculty. This event is co-sponsored by the St. Thomas More Society at the University of Chicago Law School. Others interested in participating should contact info@lumenchristi.org. This event is in-person only. All registrants will receive pdfs of the selected readings, which should be read in advance of the class. An optional wine and cheese reception will follow.
Thomas Aquinas assigns two functions to punishment, retributive and medicinal. He sees the retributive function as the primary one, pertaining to the very idea of punishment, and it will be the focus of this master class. The aim will be to determine how exactly retribution fits within Aquinas’s teaching on justice. For although there is no doubt that he considers it to be a matter of justice, he has surprisingly little to say about it within his massive treatment of that virtue in the Summa theologiae. Legal theory and theology overlap on this topic, but scholarly literature on it is scant. Yet surely a clear understanding of Aquinas’s teaching on punishment in general is necessary for grasping his teachings on particular issues, such as capital punishment (on which the literature is huge).
There will be several questions to address. To which kind of justice does Thomas think retribution belongs? How does it constitute that kind of justice? Who is given their own or their right through retribution? Does it not really pertain to legal justice? Is it obligatory? The readings provided will furnish the background needed to engage the topic.
Readings:
Required Readings (from the Summa Theologiae): to be completed before class

I.21.1
II-II.57.1
II-II.58.1,2,5,6,7,8,10,11
II-II.59.1,3
II-II.60.1,5
II-II.61.1-4
II.II.62.1,3
II-II.63.1,4
II-II.108.2

Recommended Readings (from the Summa Theologiae):

I-II.21.3,4
I-II.87.1,6,7
I.21.2-4
II-II.67.4
II-II.108.1,3,4
III.85.3

Both the required and recommended readings will be distributed to participants via Dropbox. If you prefer, you can pick up a printout of the readings at Gavin House (1220 E. 58th Street) Mon-Fri, 10am-4pm. Please email Dan Stanley at dstanley@lumenchristi.org to let us know you are coming.
Schedule:
1:30-2:00 | Pre-event coffee and cookies
2:00-3:20 | Session 1
3:20-3:40 | Break
3:40-5:00 | Session 2
5:00-5:30 | Reception

The Vocation of a Theologian: The Legacy of Pope Benedict XVI
2023-05-07 18:30 - 20:00 | ONLINE, World Wide Web, INTERNET
Copresented with The Collegium Institute for Catholic Thought and Culture, First Things, and The Portsmouth Institute for Faith and Culture.
This online-only event is free and open to the public. Registration is required. For more information, please contact info@lumenchristi.org
From his role as a key peritus at the Second Vatican Council, a professor in Germany, to his tenure as prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, Joseph Ratzinger was a part of almost every Catholic theological conversation in the latter half of the 20th century. As pope, he brought his lifetime of learning to bear on his preaching, encyclicals, and continued publishing.
This webinar takes a look at Pope Benedict’s theological vocation and offers perspectives on his enduring legacy and witness.

Catholic Culture Series on "A Catholic Vision of the Person and the World"
2023-05-10 18:30 - 20:30 | Ruth Lake Country Club, 6200 South Madison Street, Hinsdale, IL
The Lumen Christi Institute’s West Suburban Catholic Culture Series returns in 2023 with a monthly series on the theme of “A Catholic Vision of the Person and the World.” REGISTER HERE
THEME | In a 1965 address to the United Nations General Assembly, Pope Paul VI described the Catholic Church as “an expert in humanity.” The Church could teach the U.N. because the Church understood human hearts and human institutions. Bishop Robert Barron has explained the pope’s words in the following manner:
“The Church has two thousand years of watching the human condition unfold – two thousand years of saints and sinners, two thousand years of confessions, two thousand years of great artists, mystics, and scholars. The Church is an expert in humanity. It understands the human heart, what gives it joy and how it get off the rails. That’s something the Church brings to the wider world, this great expertise in humanity.” – Bishop Robert Barron
A Catholic vision of the world is not cramped or cordoned-off, with “religion” over here and the vast secular world over there. For humans to be made “in the image of God,” all creation—all activities and acts—must look in some way back to its Creator. The 2022-2023 West Suburban Catholic Culture Series will explore The Catholic Vision of the Person and the World.
Each month, participants will gather at Ruth Lake Country Club. Over dinner, they will listen to a sophisticated yet accessible lecture offered by accomplished academics. The lectures will introduce insights from the treasure house of the Church’s intellectual tradition and their bearing on contemporary themes and issues, presenting faithful Catholic teaching in a way that avoids the acrimony of the culture wars.
Coming May 10: Gender in the Catholic Cosmos
Abigail Favale (Writer and Professor at the McGrath Institute for Church Life; University of Notre Dame)
What is “gender” when viewed from within the Catholic cosmos? How does this understanding of gender compare with the popular theories of our time? In this talk, Dr. Favale will elucidate the Catholic perspective and show its consonance and dissonance with contemporary gender theory.
SPRING 2023 SEMESTER SCHEDULE
6:30 p.m. cocktails | 7:00 p.m. dinner, lecture, & Q&A | 8:30 p.m. end
March 15: Persons, Divine, Created and Artificial: Living Humanely with Sociable AI
Jordan Wales (Associate Professor and Chair of Theology; Hillsdale College)
April 12: “Everything Will Live Where the River Goes” (Ez 47:9): A Catholic Vision of Ecology
Rev. Terrence Ehrman, CSC (Assistant Professor, Department of Theology; University of Notre Dame)
May 10: Gender in the Catholic Cosmos
Abigail Favale (Writer and Professor at the McGrath Institute for Church Life; University of Notre Dame)
FALL 2022 SEMESTER SCHEDULE
6:30 p.m. cocktails | 7:00 p.m. dinner, lecture, & Q&A | 8:30 p.m. end
SEP 14: Theological Anthropology: Man and Woman in the image of God
Fr. Thomas Loya, S.T.B, M.A. (Director of the Tabor Life Institute; Pastor of Annunciation Byzantine Catholic Church)
OCT 5: Rerum Novarum and New Approaches to Old Things: The Tradition of Catholic Social Thought
John Buchmann, Ph.D. (Director of Development, Lumen Christi Institute and Former Executive Director of the Beatrice Institute & Theologian in Residence at the Collegium Institute)
NOV 2: Doing Evil that Good May Come? Catholic Teaching on Justice in War
John Schwenkler (Humboldt Fellow, University of Leipzig; Institute for Advanced Study, Notre Dame; Professor of Philosophy, Florida State University)

Lunch Discussion with Sally Blount: "Faith, Markets, and Meaning"
2023-05-11 12:00 - 13:15 | Booth School of Business, 5807 S Woodlawn Avenue, Chicago, IL
This event is co-presented by the Lumen Christi Institute and Catholics at Booth. Registration required. Open to students and faculty only. Email m.lechevallier@lumenchristi.org to inquire about registration.
According to the Edelman Trust Barometer, business firms have become the only “trusted” social Institution. Simultaneously, there has been a growing drumbeat around corporate “purpose” over the last 10 years – with companies writing ever more expansive purpose statements about how their firms “improve the world,” “make lives more joyful,” and “create meaningful community.” Yet, business leaders have little training in moral philosophy or religion; markets systems are not inherently wise, kind, or fair. And, at its heart, a company’s purpose must be, first and foremost, its promise to its customers and investors. As people of faith, our hope must be in something bigger and more profound . . . What might Catholic Social Teaching suggest?

Maximus the Confessor Reading Group
2023-05-15 16:30 - 18:00 | Gavin House, 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL, 60637
Mondays, April 17- May 15, 2023 | 4:30- 6:00 PM
Open to current students and faculty at the University of Chicago. Copies of the Ambigua will be provided. Participants can come to whichever sessions they choose. No previous knowledge of the subject-matter required. Non-students interested in participating should contact info@lumenchristi.org. Food and beverages will be provided.
Maximus the Confessor (580-662) is considered one of the most speculative and creative theologians from the first millennium of Christianity. Yet, Maximus’s genius is at its most generative in conversation with the past. His largest work, the Ambigua, comments on difficult passages in the works of Gregory Nazianzen (4th century) and Dionysius the Areopagite (6th century). Maximus’ broad and deep thinking is on full display throughout this commentary, responses to single passages becoming small treatises in their own right.
The Ambigua reveals Maximus’ wide ranging interests in metaphysics, cosmology, anthropology, Christology, language, and time. His wide learning in all these areas are put at the service of exploring these earlier Christian works.
This reading group seizes upon the insight gleaned from Maximus’ method: creativity is born from a rigorous engagement with the past. Through a reading of selected Ambigua, we will explore his bold, christological vision of the cosmos, rooted in the deep reading of his priors.
Food, beverages, and Greek/English copies of the Ambigua will be provided.
SCHEDULE
April 17: Quid Ambigua?

“Ambiguum 21,” 421-447
Recommended Reading:

“Prologue to Ambigua to Thomas,” 3-7
“Prologue to Ambigua to John,” 63-69

April 24: Trinity & Christology

“Ambiguum 1,” 7-11
“Ambiguum 5,” 31-59

May 1: Creation & Salvation

“Ambiguum 7,” Selections

May 8: Interpretation: Scripture & Cosmos

“Ambiguum 10,” Selections

May 15: The Practice of Theology

“Ambiguum 13,” 349-355

Spring Non-Credit Course | Shame, Suffering, and the Scandal of the Cross
2023-05-16 18:00 - 19:30 | Gavin House, 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL, 60637
Tuesdays, March 28-May 16
6:00pm: Dinner
6:30pm: Presentation
This event is in-person only. Intended for university students and recent graduates. Others interested in attending please contact info@lumenchristi.org.
Registrants are free to attend as many sessions as they choose. Sessions do not presuppose previous attendance or prior knowledge of the subject.
The human experiences of suffering, shame, and evil are assaults on our deepest desire for happiness. The atrocities that darken human history, especially the Holocaust, and disasters like the recent earthquakes in Turkey & Syria call into question the Christian belief in God’s Providence. Correspondingly, Christ’s public passion and tortured death have always been a scandal to human reason (St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians 1:18-25). Nevertheless, Christian faith proclaims that the Cross of Christ has saved us (Ibid., 15:3-5).
This Lumen Christi Institute spring quarter class will consider the redemptive ‘causality’ of the cross, its relationship to our own experiences of suffering, and the credibility of the claim of Christ’s bodily resurrection.
SCHEDULE
March 28: The Evil of Auschwitz, the Scandal of the Cross, and the Death of God
April 4: Things aren’t the way they are supposed to be: the Fall and the Need for Salvation.
April 11: The Cross of Christ: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
April 18: The Saving Efficacy of the Cross of Christ: the Eastern Christian Tradition
April 25: The Saving Efficacy of the Cross of Christ: the Western Christian Tradition
May 2: The Resurrection of Jesus Christ: Linchpin of Hope for the Victory of Good over Evil.
May 9: The Shroud of Turin: Photographic negative of a tortured, crucified man: Artifact of the Bodily Resurrection of Jesus Christ?
May 16: Living the Paschal Mystery: “This is a trustworthy saying: If we die with him, we will also live with him. If we endure hardship, we will reign with him.” [2 Timothy 2:11]

Catholic Social Thought in Business Education
2023-05-23 00:00 - 2023-05-26 00:00 | Catholic University of America, 620 Michigan Ave NE, Washington, DC 20064, Washington, DC
APPLY HERE
We are pleased to announce the third annual seminar on “Business and Catholic Social Thought: A Primer.” During the seminar, graduate students and faculty members in business schools will cover foundational principles in Catholic social thought and apply them to their own field of research and teaching. This seminar aims at widening epistemological preconceptions and showing practical implications of Catholic social thought for business in a way that affirms the goodness of business directed toward the common good. Participants will delve into social encyclicals, secondary sources, and relevant business texts that show the path for principled entrepreneurship in order to gain knowledge, exchange experiences, receive help with their syllabi and consider how best to integrate Catholic social thought into business education.
LOCATION
The seminar will take place at the Catholic University of America in Washington D.C. between Tuesday May 23 and Friday May 26.
A limited number of travel stipends for students are available on a per need basis (see the application form). All participants will be provided with accommodations and meals.

APPLICATION INFORMATION
This seminar will be open to graduate students and faculty of any specialization in business schools. Applicants will be required to submit a completed online application, including:

An updated CV/resume.
A brief statement of research interest related to Catholic social thought no longer than 750 words.
One academic writing sample.
All application materials can be submitted via the online application. Incomplete applications will not be considered.
Fifteen students will be admitted to this seminar.

Application materials are due February 21, 2023.
APPLICATION DEADLINE HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO MARCH 8, 2023.
This seminar is cosponsored by the John A. Ryan Institute for Catholic Social Thought at the University of St. Thomas (MN); the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame; the Ciocca Center for Principled Entrepreneurship at the Catholic University of America; the Lumen Christi Institute; and the Markets, Culture and Ethics Research Centre at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Rome.

Monastic Wisdom Seminar: "The Schola Caritatis"
2023-06-05 00:00 - 2023-06-11 00:00 | Our Lady of the Angels Monastery, 3365 Monastery Drive Crozet, VA 22932, Crozet, VA
APPLY HERE
The Lumen Christi Institute, the St. Anselm Institute and Our Lady of the Angels Monastery, a Trappistine monastery located near Crozet, Virginia are partnering for the first time to organize a retreat that explores the monastic wisdom tradition. The Trappistine Community at Crozet, Virginia lives according to a continual tradition of Christian monasticism with its roots in the Cistercian Tradition. This seminar will offer the possibility of not only learning the guiding principles that foster a good and balanced life according to the monastic tradition, but of putting them into practice, since it is experience alone that leads not only to correct understanding but to real wisdom.
After reading some core texts in the monastic tradition in advance, participants will then spend a week praying, working, reading, and learning from the Sisters during two daily conferences and other times of sharing and mutual exchange.
The goals of the seminar are fourfold:
1. Introduce participants to monastic life and the history and theology of monasticism.
2. Introduce participants to monastic practices, including community life, lectio divina, the Divine Office, the discipline of silence, and manual labor, and see how these practices form a balanced whole that fosters human and spiritual growth.
3. Provide an opportunity for participants to learn more about the longstanding ascetical and mystical guidelines that support prayer in the Catholic monastic tradition.
4. Study texts of major figures of the monastic tradition and see how their teaching can illuminate and enrich our human experience.
PRINCIPAL TEXTS FOR DISCUSSION

Evagrius Ponticus, Praktikos and Chapters on Prayer, trans. John Eudes Bamberger, CS 4 (Cistercian Publications, 1972).
Benedict of Nursia, RB 1980: The Rule of St. Benedict (Liturgical Press, 1981).
Michael Casey, The Road to Eternal Life: Reflections on the Prologue of Benedict’s Rule, (Liturgical Press, 2010).
Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons on the Song of Songs I, trans. Kilian Walsh, CF 4 (Cistercian Publications, 1971).
William of St Thierry, The Mirror of Faith, trans. Thomas X Davis, CF 15 (Cistercian Publications, 1979)
Beatrice of Nazareth, The Seven Modes of Love

How to read the texts: Besides taking advantage of the introductions to be found in these books, slow reading is the best approach to these texts. It’s also helpful to bear in mind Bernard McGinn’s advice in his introduction to the Sermons of Isaac of Stella (Cistercian Publications, 1979). Dr. McGinn encourages the reader to be challenged by the texts instead of attempting to fit them into the confines of their own horizons. Doing this implies being prepared to bracket our spontaneous critical reactions, and renouncing the attitude of picking out what seems useful and rejecting the rest. It’s precisely by the effort to appreciate this “strangeness” in the texts that we will come away from our reading richer than when we began, our horizons widened, our world expanded.
LOCATION AND FORMAT

The seminar will take place at Our Lady of the Angels Monastery in Crozet, Virginia.
The seminar sessions will be led by the Sisters of the monastery.
Travel stipends will be available for currently enrolled students.
Lodging, meals, and books will be provided.
Participants will arrive at Our Lady of the Angels Monastery on Monday, June 5 (before 5 pm), and depart on Sunday, June 11 (after 9:30 am).
Participants will be required to read the assigned materials in preparation for the seminar.

APPLICATION INFORMATION

Open to women age 18 through 40. Catholics and non-Catholics are invited to apply.
Applicants must submit an online application including a statement of interest, a CV or resume, and a letter of recommendation from a professor or pastor.
Application materials are due February 21, 2023
APPLICATION DEADLINE HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO MARCH 8, 2023.

The Trinitarian Theology of Karl Barth
2023-06-17 10:30 - 15:00 | ONLINE, World Wide Web, INTERNET
The Lumen Christi Institute has designed this two-day seminar to introduce major themes and debates from the Catholic Church’s history to a wide online audience. It offers the opportunity to read primary sources in the context of a seminar-style discussion, led by Catholic faculty.
The enrollment fee for this short course is $95 USD. Because we believe the Catholic Intellectual Tradition should be made available to everyone, a limited number of scholarships are available. Contact info@lumenchristi.org for more details.
This is one of three short courses hosted by the Lumen Christi Institute this summer. If you would like to take a deep dive into the Church’s tradition by signing up for all three short courses for the discounted price of $200, you can do so HERE.
When we say “God is love,” what do we really mean? The renewed attention to the dogma of the Trinity so important to the last century of Catholic theology gets to the heart of this question. Standing in the background of this development, though, is a Protestant theologian whom Pope Pius XII allegedly called “the greatest since Thomas Aquinas”: Karl Barth. In this seminar, we will look at Barth’s understanding of the Trinity using short selections from his masterpiece, the Church Dogmatics. We will explore how, for Barth, the biblical idea of a covenant is that of an exclusive, noninterchangeable partnership between a superior lover who chooses and a subordinate beloved who is chosen. This means, in his interpretation, that the relationships between God and the world—and between man and woman—mirror, in time, a covenant between God the Father and God the Son in eternity. We will thus ask if Barth offers us a way of thinking about human participation in God’s Triune life that lets the human be made holy or even godlike while still respecting the human creature’s physical and intellectual limits.
Schedule
Session 1: Tuesday, June 13: 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM
Session 2: Saturday, June 17: 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM
Session 3: Saturday, June 17: 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM

Readings
Session 1:

Church Dogmatics II/2, pp. 175-181 (selection from “The Eternal Will of God in the Election of Jesus Christ”)
Church Dogmatics, IV/1, pp. 200-205 (selection from “The Way of the Son of God into the Far Country”)

Session 2:

Church Dogmatics III/1, pp. 42-53, 288-291, & 311-324 (selections from “Creation, History, and Creation History” and “The Covenant as the Internal Basis of Creation”)

Session 3: (note: please read in this order)

Church Dogmatics IV/2, pp. 20-31 (selection from “The Homecoming of the Son of Man”)
Church Dogmatics IV/1, pp. 259-273 (selection from “The Judge Judged in Our Place”)

​​*Pdfs. of all readings will be provided to participants.

Explorations in Integral Ecology: Science, Theology, and Creation
2023-06-18 00:00 - 2023-06-24 00:00 | Cornell University, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
APPLY HERE
COLLIS Institute for Catholic Thought and Culture at Cornell University, the In Lumine Network, and the Lumen Christi Institute partner to organize “Explorations in Integral Ecology: Science, Theology, and Creation,” a weeklong intensive seminar at Cornell University integrating theological study with direct scientific observation of the natural world and experiences of creation. Led by Sr. Damien Marie Savino, F.S.E., PhD (Dean of Science and Sustainability, Aquinas College) and Fr. Terrence Ehrman, C.S.C, PhD (Department of Theology, University of Notre Dame), this program aims to inspire and educate undergraduates of all academic backgrounds to pursue a God-centered response to current environmental challenges in the holistic spirit of integral ecology. With its setting at Cornell University’s Ithaca campus in the heart of the Finger Lakes region, the seminar will allow participants to explore the rich natural beauty of the area through field-based study and excursions which may include visits to Cayuga Lake, Cascadilla Gorge, Ithaca Falls, and the “living laboratory” of Cornell University’s 3,600-acre Botanic Gardens. In the classroom, participants will delve into a range of theological texts, including authors such as St. Basil the Great, St. Bonaventure, St. Francis of Assisi, Pope Francis, and Josef Pieper. Students may also have the opportunity to meet leaders in sustainability research at Cornell University. This program is free for accepted students; undergraduate students of all backgrounds are invited to apply.
LOCATION AND FORMAT

The seminar will take place at Cornell University, in Ithaca, NY. Admitted students will be required to arrange their own travel to and from the seminar.
Admitted students will be granted a stipend of $350 to offset travel costs
Lodging and meals will be provided for the duration of the seminar.
Participants will arrive on Sunday, June 18 and depart on Saturday, June 24. The seminar will take place from Monday to Friday, with lecture, discussion, and/or field excursions throughout the day
Participants will be required read the assigned materials in preparation for the seminar.
In order to receive the $350 stipend, students must participate fully in all seminar activities and complete a survey at the end of the seminar.

APPLICATION INFORMATION

Open to all undergraduate students, including those who graduate in 2023 and recent graduates.
Applicants must submit an online application, including details on their course of study, a statement of interest, and a letter of recommendation.
Applications will be evaluated on a rolling basis (Updated April 3)
15 applicants will be admitted to the seminar.

This seminar is made possible through the support of grant #62372 from the John Templeton Foundation, “In Lumine: Promoting the Catholic Intellectual Tradition on Campuses Nationwide.” This event is cosponsored by the St. Kateri Institute and member institutes of the In Lumine Network, including the Harvard Catholic Forum, the Nova Forum, COLLIS, the St. Anselm Institute.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is integral ecology? Integral ecology (from Latin integralis, meaning “whole”) is a theme of Catholic Social Teaching. It proposes a holistic framing of creation, emphasizing the connections and relationship between its parts. Integral ecology calls for the integration of knowledge from various academic disciplines and other domains to repair ruptures in these relationships.
I’m not an environmental studies or ecology major. Can I still apply? This program does not presuppose any specific science background. We welcome applications of all majors and backgrounds.
I am a college student graduating this academic year. Can I still apply? Yes!
Do I have to be Catholic to apply? No. The Lumen Christi Institute and other institutes within the In Lumine Network exist to promote the Catholic intellectual tradition and are committed to the integration of the intellectual and spiritual life. We welcome seminar participants of all or no religious affiliation, and wants to assure all applicants that the opportunities to participate in devotional activities are optional.
Application Deadline: Rolling Basis

Economics and Catholic Social Thought: A Primer
2023-06-19 00:00 - 2023-06-23 00:00 | Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Rome, Piazza Santa Apollinare, 49, 00186 Roma, Italy, Rome, Italy
APPLY HERE
Now in its sixth year, this seminar is designed as an introduction and immersion into Catholic social thought for graduate students and faculty in economics, finance, or related fields. Participants will cover foundational principles in Catholic social thought, starting with the human person, dignity, freedom, subsidiarity, solidarity, and the common good, and moving toward applications of these principles to conceptual understandings and ethical considerations involving economic topics such as utility theory, firm and business ethics, wages, markets, globalization, poverty, and development. Participants will delve into social encyclicals, secondary sources, and relevant economics texts.
FORMAT
There will be two or three sessions each day for five days, each featuring a different instructor. Each instructor will open with a lecture, and then we will turn to a seminar-style discussion of the texts and issues at hand. In the final sessions, we will discuss how the material can be applied to each student’s particular area of interest.
LOCATION
The seminar will take place at the Pontifical University of Santa Croce in Rome. Travel stipends are available on a need basis. All participants will be provided with accommodations and meals.
APPLICATION INFORMATION
This seminar will be open to PhD students and faculty in economics, finance and related fields. Applicants will be required to submit a completed online application form, including:

An updated CV.
A brief statement of research interest no longer than 750 words.
One academic writing sample.
All application materials can be submitted via the online application. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Fifteen students will be admitted to this seminar.

Application materials are due February 21, 2023.
APPLICATION DEADLINE HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO MARCH 8, 2023.
This seminar is sponsored by the Lumen Christi Institute; the Catholic Research Economists Discussion Organization; the De Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture; the Kellogg Institute for International Studies; and the Institute for the Scholarship in the Liberal Arts, College of Arts and Letters, University of Notre Dame.
Please direct any further questions to contact@credo-economists.org.

Gregory Nazianzen’s Five Theological Orations
2023-06-25 00:00 - 2023-07-01 00:00 | University of St. Michael’s College, 81 St. Mary's Street Toronto, ON M5S 1J4, Toronto, ON
APPLY HERE
Professor Lewis Ayres and Fr. Andrew Summerson will lead a summer seminar of graduate students in a close reading of Gregory Nazianzen’s Theological Orations. A difficult character who for a time presided over the Council of Constantinople in 381, Gregory (c.330 – 390) was one of the most well-educated among fourth-century Christian thinkers. His five Theological Orations, delivered during his tenure in Constantinople between 379 and 381, are works of high art, as well as complex theology, and generated extensive commentary throughout later Byzantine history. The Orations are sometimes enigmatic, lacking the prolixity of Basil of Caesarea and Gregory of Nyssa’s works, but the attack on Eunomius (and others) to defend the Nicene faith found in the Orations is no less fascinating or profound. Gregory’s Orations constitute one of the key works that define pro-Nicene theology and shape the orthodox Trinitarian faith.
LOCATION AND FORMAT
· The seminar will be held at Windle House, hosted by the Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies at the University of St. Michael’s College in the University of Toronto.
· Meals and lodging will be provided.
· Participants will receive a stipend of up to $350 to offset travel expenses.
· Participants will arrive on Sunday, June 25 and depart on Friday, July 1.
· Participants will be provided with a copy of On God and Christ: The Five Theological Orations and two Letters to Cledonius, trans. L. Wickham and R. Norris (Crestwood: SVS Press, 2002).
· Fifteen applicants will be admitted to the seminar.
Working knowledge of relevant ancient languages will be helpful, but not essential. Preference will be given to Ph.D. students in theology, philosophy, classics, and other relevant fields of study, though advanced M.A. students will be considered.
There will be two sessions each day in the morning and in the afternoon. Each session will include lectures and seminar-style discussions working through all five orations, and parallel texts from Gregory, other Cappadocian theologians, and select passages from Maximus the Confessor’s principal commentary on Gregory, the Ambigua. Students will be expected to prepare the readings carefully and participate in the discussions of the material.
The application deadline is March 13, 2023. Contact us with any questions at seminars@lumenchristi.org.

Theology for Engineers and Scientists: Technology, Environment, and the Pursuit of Wisdom
2023-06-25 00:00 - 2023-07-01 00:00 | Duke University, Chapel Drive Durham , NC 27708, Durham, NC
APPLY HERE
“Theology for Engineers and Scientists” aims to give graduate students with little or no background in Theology an introduction to the integration of Catholic theology with their respective fields of research or professional training. The goal is not comprehensive knowledge of an emerging field but the building of a bridge between disciplines that seem remote from one another and even in opposition. The theological part will be drawn principally from Romano Guardini’s The End of the Modern World and Pope Francis’s Laudato Si’ because these texts look at the technocratic paradigm generously and critically with the goal of gathering wisdom from many domains of experience and learning for the sake of genuine integration. The practical part will include work on a farm or local ecological restoration project. We also expect to consult with experts at Duke and in the Durham area who have some perspective on theology and engineering (Edgardo Colón-Emeric, Fr. Juan José Hernández), the climate crisis team at Duke (Norman Wirzba), and the placemaking division of the Ormond Center at Duke.
LOCATION AND FORMAT

The seminar will take place at Duke University in Durham, NC. Admitted students will be required to arrange their own travel to and from the seminar.

Admitted students will be granted a stipend of $350 to offset travel costs

Lodging and meals will be provided for the duration of the seminar.

Participants will arrive in Durham, NC on Sunday, June 25 and depart on Saturday, July 1. The seminar will take place from Monday to Friday, with a lecture and discussion session each morning and afternoon.

Participants will be required to read the assigned materials in preparation for the seminar.

In order to receive the $350 stipend, students must participate fully in all seminar activities and complete a survey at the end of the seminar.

APPLICATION INFORMATION

Open to graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in STEM fields, medicine, the history of science, philosophy, theology, and relevant fields.

Applicants must submit an online application, including details on their course of study, a statement of interest, and a letter of recommendation (optional).

Applications will be evaluated on a rolling basis (Updated April 3).

15 applicants will be admitted to the seminar.

This seminar is made possible through the support of grant #62372 from the John Templeton Foundation, “In Lumine: Promoting the Catholic Intellectual Tradition on Campuses Nationwide.” This program is copresented by Fons Vitae at Duke University, and the Nova Forum. This program is cosponsored by institutes of the In Lumine Network: the Collegium Institute, the Harvard Catholic Forum, COLLIS, the Saint Anselm Institute, and the Lumen Christi Institute

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
I am a PhD student graduating this academic year. Can I still apply? Yes!
I am currently an undergraduate but have been admitted to a graduate program for the next academic year. Can I still apply? Yes, please indicate this in the statement of purpose in your application.
I have attended a Lumen Christi Institute or In Lumine Network seminar in the past. May I still apply? Yes!
Do I have to be Catholic to apply? No. The Lumen Christi Institute exists to promotes the Catholic intellectual tradition and is committed to the integration of the intellectual and spiritual life. The Institute welcomes seminar participants of all or no religious affiliation, and wants to assure all applicants that the opportunities to participate in devotional activities are optional.
Application Deadline: Rolling Basis

Thomas Aquinas Reading Group
2023-06-29 13:00 - 14:00 | Gavin House, 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL, 60637
Open to current graduate students and faculty. Participants can come to whichever sessions they choose. Those interested in participating should contact Gregory Brown at gregdbrown@uchicago.edu. Food, beverages, and readings will be provided.
St. Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Theologica is a masterpiece of both theology and philosophy. Come join us as we read and discuss the work of one of the greatest philosophers and saints in history.
Each week, we closely read and discuss a short selection from the Summa. Our current focus is on Aquinas’ treatment of the soul in the Treatise on Man. Prereading is not required. Newcomers are always welcome.

The Thought of John Henry Newman
2023-07-01 00:00 - 2023-07-08 00:00 | Merton College, Oxford, Merton St, Oxford OX1 4JD, UK, Oxford, United Kingdom
APPLY HERE
Now in its tenth year, this intensive seminar will examine the achievements of Saint John Henry Newman as 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, The Parochial and Plain Sermons, and the Apologia Pro Vita Sua. This seminar will approach Newman’s thought through a critical engagement with these texts.
LOCATION AND FORMAT

The seminar will be held at Merton College, Oxford.
Meals and lodging will be provided.
Participants will receive a stipend of up to $700 to offset travel expenses.
Participants will arrive on Saturday, July 1 and depart on Saturday, July 8.
Participants will be required to read the assigned texts in preparation for the seminar.
Fifteen applicants will be admitted to the seminar.

QUALIFICATIONS AND APPLICATION
This seminar is open to Ph.D. students in theology, philosophy, classics, and other relevant fields of study.

A completed online application form.
An updated CV.
At least one and no more than two letter(s) of recommendation.
A statement of research interest no longer than 750 words, which includes an explanation of how this seminar might bear on the student’s current or future research plans.
One academic writing sample (30 pages maximum).
All application materials can be submitted via the online application. Incomplete applications will not be considered

Application materials are due February 21, 2023.
APPLICATION DEADLINE HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO MARCH 8, 2023.
Contact us with any questions at seminars@lumenchristi.org.

Newman Forum Summer Institute | There and Back Again: The Adventures of Pilgrims, Heroes, and Saints
2023-07-05 16:00 - 2023-07-09 12:00

The Thought of Rene Girard: Understanding the Faith in a Secular Age
2023-07-09 00:00 - 2023-07-15 00:00 | Stanford University, 450 Serra Mall, Stanford, CA 94305, Stanford, CA
Photo Credit: Linda A. Cicero / Stanford News Service
APPLY HERE
[Direct link: https://lumenchristi.submittable.com/submit/fe249b0c-362e-4d83-b3e9-4c86180e2e37/2023-the-thought-of-rene-girard-understanding-the-faith-in-a-secular-age ]
One of the most influential 20th century Catholic thinkers, René Girard transformed our understanding of culture, religion, and human behavior. His “mimetic theory” builds on the demystifying power of the Old and New Testaments to illuminate the religious history of mankind. Through an intensive reading of his more accessible works, in conjunction with the fiction of the greatest writers, this five-day seminar will explore Girard’s key insights into imitation, conflict, and scapegoating, connecting them to central themes of Christian theology.
Location and Format
This seminar will be held at Stanford Univeristy.
There will be two 2.5-hour sessions on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. On Tuesday and Thursday, the morning session will be followed by a post-lunch excursion. Each session will a seminar-style discussion of the text and the issues at hand. Students will be expected to prepare the readings carefully, submit study questions in advance, and participate actively in each session.
Application Information
This seminar is open to all undergraduate students (including 2023 graduates) interested in understanding the thought of one of the great modern Christian apologists.
Applicants will be required to submit an online application form including:

A list of completed coursework.
At least one and as many as two letter(s) of recommendation from a professor at the school in which the student is currently enrolled.
A statement of interest no longer than 750 words, which includes an explanation of how this seminar might bear on the student’s current intellectual interests.

All application materials can be submitted via the online application. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Fifteen applicants will be admitted to this seminar. Admitted students will receive lodging and meals for the duration of the seminar and a $350 travel stipend.
Admissions accepted on a rolling basis until full.

Tolkien, Christianity, and Art
2023-07-18 18:00 - 2023-07-22 15:00 | ONLINE, World Wide Web, INTERNET
The Lumen Christi Institute has designed this two-day seminar to introduce major themes and debates from the Catholic Church’s history to a wide online audience. It offers the opportunity to read primary sources in the context of a seminar-style discussion, led by Catholic faculty.
The enrollment fee for this short course is $95 USD. Because we believe the Catholic Intellectual Tradition should be made available to everyone, a limited number of scholarships are available. Contact info@lumenchristi.org for more details.
This is one of three short courses hosted by the Lumen Christi Institute this summer. If you would like to take a deep dive into the Church’s tradition by signing up for all three short courses for the discounted price of $200, you can do so HERE.
JRR Tolkien stands as a colossus among modern fantasy writers and mythmakers. Many are familiar with his Christian faith and his famous books, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings and many discuss whether or how his Christian faith figures into these fantasy stories or whether his fantasy is separable or only superficially related to his personal Christian belief. This course will examine Tolkien’s robust concept of creativity and art in his other writings: ‘Leaf by Niggle,’ ‘On Fairy Stories,’ and selected letters, and excerpts from his Silmarillion. In these texts Tolkien articulates his ideas of subcreation, ‘the long defeat,’ and ‘eucatastrophe’, the promise and danger of art as well as art’s redemption.
Preparatory materials will focus on Tolkien’s essays and art that discusses his theory and practice of art and creativity and how his Christian beliefs informs this vision of and practice of creativity. Introductory videos will frame the overall life of Tolkien and introduce our readings. The three sessions of the course will prioritize discussion of our readings in the tradition of Great Books style seminars. Primary topics will include the practice of art, its promise, danger, and possible redemption; the value of myth for truth and living for truth. ‘Fairy Stories’ will introduce central concepts, including subcreation and eucatastrophe. Finally, we shall see the performance of these ideas in the myths of the Silmarillion in the creation of Middle-Earth, the subcreation of Middle-Earth, and ingenious and hazardous creation of the silmarils by heroic Feanor. We shall also bring this back to re-read Leaf with new eyes.
Schedule
Session 1: Tuesday, July 18: 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM
Session 2: Saturday, July 22: 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM
Session 3: Saturday, July 22: 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM
Readings
Session 1: The Promise and Danger of Art

‘Leaf by Niggle’
‘Mythopoeia’

Session 2: Theory of Fantasy / Creative Art (‘Subcreation’ and Eucatastrophe)

‘On Fairy Stories’
Introduction to the Creativity Narratives of Silmarillion

Session 3: The Promise and Dangers of Subcreation

Silmarillion, selections
‘Leaf by Niggle’

​​*Pdfs. of all readings will be provided to participants.

Truth and Authority in Augustine's City of God
2023-07-30 00:00 - 2023-08-05 00:00 | University of California, Berkeley, S Hall Rd. Berkeley, CA 94720, Berkeley, CA
APPLY HERE
This seminar is an intensive week-long course in how to read, analyze, and discern the many themes in Augustine’s most ambitious and sprawling work. The City of God tells the history of two societies, and their respective origins, progress, and appointed ends. The story is engaged first from the evidence of profane history (I-XI) and then from the evidence of revelation (XII-XXII). In this seminar, participants will discuss how Augustine reckons with the crisis of the ancient and the human city, and whether it is possible to reconcile truth and authority across the competing domains of polity, religion, and philosophical wisdom. These themes will be approached from an interdisciplinary perspective, addressing questions pertinent to students in political science, philosophy, law, theology, religious studies, and history.
Format
There will be two 2.5-hour sessions each day. Each session will include an opening lecture and seminar-style discussion of the text and the issues at hand. Students will be expected to prepare the readings carefully and participate in the discussions of the material.
Location
The seminar will take place at the University of California, Berkeley. Students will be provided with lodging, meals, and a travel stipend of up to $350.
Application Information
This seminar will be open to JD, PhD students, postdoctoral fellows, and junior faculty in the humanities and relevant fields (such as philosophy, theology, English, classics, law and history).
Applicants will be required to submit:

A completed online application form.
An updated CV.
At least one and as many as two letter(s) of recommendation from a member of the program in which the student is currently enrolled.
A statement of research interest no longer than 750 words, which includes an explanation of how this seminar might bear on the student’s current or future research plans.
One academic writing sample (30 pages maximum).

All application materials can be submitted via the online application. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Fifteen students will be admitted to this seminar.
Application materials are due February 21, 2023.
APPLICATION DEADLINE HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO MARCH 8, 2023.
Any further questions can be directed to seminars@lumenchristi.org.

Religion and Human Flourishing
2023-08-07 00:00 - 2023-08-11 00:00 | Harvard University, Mount Auburn Street, Cambridge, MA
APPLY HERE
Christianity, like other great spiritual traditions, is centrally concerned with the good life, with that “perfect peace” promised to those who trust in God (Isa. 26:3), or that “life abundant” which Christ came to offer (Jn. 10:10). Christian thinkers in every generation have reflected on the nature of human flourishing, the evils that threaten it, and the complex relationships among the temporal and eternal goods that comprise it.
Until recently, by contrast, the younger social sciences tended to focus myopically on understanding and preventing human illness and suffering, seeking (in Freud’s words) to “turn hysterical misery into ordinary unhappiness.” That has begun to change, with the rise of fields such as “positive psychology” and even “positive epidemiology,” which have sought instead to understand and promote human flourishing. Moreover, scholars from these fields have increasingly emphasized that religious participation promotes many aspects of well-being.
Co-sponsored by the Lumen Christi Institute, the Harvard Catholic Forum, and the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard University, and with generous support from the John Templeton Foundation, this seminar will consider the relationship between religion and human flourishing from the perspective both of the Christian theological tradition and contemporary social science. The seminar will be led by Dr. Brendan Case, a theologian and Associate Director for Research of the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard University, and will include instruction by notable social scientists and humanists, including Dr. Tyler VanderWeele (Harvard University), Dr. Jennifer Frey (University of Tulsa), and the interdisciplinary research team at the Human Flourishing Program.
Topics to be considered include 1) the nature and interrelation of theology and the social sciences; 2) the nature of human flourishing, and especially the relationship of temporal and eternal goods; 3) the nature of “religion” as a sociological category, and its relationship both to Christianity and to flourishing; 4) the significance of death and suffering for a flourishing life; 5) the nature and distribution of the moral virtues and vices; and 6) the role of interpersonal love in a flourishing life.
Application Information
Applications are welcome from doctoral students in theology, philosophy, psychology, sociology, anthropology, public health, or related fields. Please submit the following:

A completed online application form.
An updated CV.
At least one and no more than two letter(s) of recommendation.
A statement of research interest no longer than 750 words, which includes an explanation of how this seminar might bear on the student’s current or future research plans.
One academic writing sample (30 pages maximum).

All application materials can be submitted via the online application. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Admitted students will receive lodging and meals for the duration of the seminar and a $350 travel stipend.
For full consideration, applications should be submitted by May 14.
This seminar is made possible through the support of grant #62372 from the John Templeton Foundation, “In Lumine: Promoting the Catholic Intellectual Tradition on Campuses Nationwide.” This event is cosponsored by the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard’s Institute for Quantitative Social Science and member institutes of the In Lumine Network, including the Harvard Catholic Forum, the Nova Forum, the Collegium Institute, COLLIS, the St. Anselm Institute, and the Lumen Christi Institute.

Brideshead Revisited Reading Group
2023-08-31 00:00 | ONLINE, World Wide Web, INTERNET
LCI alumni of the René Girard seminar for undergraduates are the primary audience for this group. However, if you are interested in joining, please contact John-Paul Heil at heil@msmary.edu. The cost for participation is $25.
Singled out by Bishop Robert Barron as the “best Catholic novel of the twentieth century,” Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited remains the exemplar not just of Catholic literature, but of the novel as a genre. Over the course of four months, this group will revisit Waugh’s classic and explore the text’s contribution to the Catholic intellectual tradition, the models it offers of lives well- and ill-lived, and its central theme of conversion (with some reference to the thought of Girard).
Four monthly meetings beginning in August

Golden Calf: Philosophy and Theology in the Early Church - Faith and Reason | West Suburban Catholic Culture Series
2023-09-13 18:30 - 20:30 | Ruth Lake Country Club, 6200 South Madison Street, Hinsdale, IL
The West Suburban Catholic Culture Series returns in 2024 to continue its series on
“Faith and Reason as the Two Wings:
The History and Enduring Importance of Catholic Philosophy“
(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
Sep 13:
Golden Calf: Philosophy and Theology in the Early Church
Kenneth Calvert (Hillsdale College)
The Greek and Roman world was, to say the least, immensely religious. The early Christians did not have not to convince their contemporaries of the existence of the divine, but to proclaim the nature and work of the incarnate God. The ideas and language of philosophy offered them many possibilities. As St. Justin Martyr wrote, “Whatever things were rightly said among all men are the property of us Christians.” Christians found great use of Greek and Roman philosophy, but they also found significant obstacles. The “gold” that was philosophy both clarified and confused Christians and their detractors.
In this lecture, Prof. Calvert will walk us through the fascinating exchange and enrichment that occurred between philosophy and theology in the early Church, allowing us to discover possibilities to better engage today’s world with the tools that philosophy affords us.
SERIES DESCRIPTION
In his 2006 Regensburg Address, Pope Benedict XVI argued that “it is necessary and reasonable to raise the question of God through the use of reason, and to do so in the context of the tradition of the Christian Faith.”
Christianity shared a sense of “reason” with Greek philosophy. Jesus himself was the Word (Logos), the Greek word for reason and speech. St. Paul himself reminded us that Christian worship is “reasonable worship” (logike latreia) (Rom. 12:1), and while love “transcends” knowledge and can perceive more than thought alone, it remains the love of the God who is Logos (Eph. 3:19).
Faith and reason support one another; however, many have tried to tear them asunder. The Reformation tried to get to a “pure” faith without reason; modern atheism has claimed that nothing can be “known” about God. When faith and reason are pulled apart, we lose sight of God and of ourselves, since we are made to know and love God.
In this year’s WSCCS, we will challenge the all-too-common assumption that the Church’s faith stands in opposition to reason. Join us as we examine the philosophical, monastic, and artistic geniuses who have borne the Church aloft through their engagement and enrichment of worldly wisdom.
Each month, we will gather at Ruth Lake Country Club. Over dinner, we will listen to a sophisticated yet accessible lecture offered by accomplished academics. The lectures will introduce insights from the treasure house of the Church’s intellectual tradition and their bearing on contemporary themes and issues, presenting faithful Catholic teaching in a way that avoids the acrimony of the culture wars.
CALENDAR
September 13: Golden Calf: Philosophy and Theology in the Early Church
Kenneth Calvert (Professor of History, Director of the Oxford Program, Hillsdale College)
October 4: The One Thing Necessary: Monasticism and Philosophy
Prior Peter Funk, OSB (Monastery of the Holy Cross)
November 9: Integrity, Creation, and a Restless Heart: Augustine’s Contribution to Philosophy
Jared Ortiz (Professor of Theology, Founder and Executive Director of the St. Benedict Institute, Hope College)
March 20: Catholic Women in the Arts and Sciences: An Underappreciated Tradition
Bronwen McShea (Professor of History, Augustine Institute)
April 10: Is Free Will an Illusion? St. Thomas Aquinas and Human Action
Fr. Stephen Brock (Professor of Medieval Philosophy, Pontifical University of the Holy Cross)
May 15: The Bond of All Creation: Renaissance Humanism and the Incarnate Word
Matthew Gaetano (Professor of History, Hillsdale College)
SEPTEMBER SPEAKER
Kenneth Calvert
