Lumen Christi Institute

On the Consolation of Philosophy Graduate Reading Group
2025-01-23 20:30 - 21:30, 2025-01-30 20:30 - 21:30, 2025-02-06 20:30 - 21:30, 2025-02-13 20:30 - 21:30, 2025-02-20 20:30 - 21:30 (America/Chicago) | Gavin House, 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL, 60637
REGISTER HERE
Open to current graduate students at the University of Chicago. Participants can come to whichever sessions they choose. Drinks and Snacks will be provided.
The Consolation of Philosophy, written by Boethius while awaiting his execution at the hands of the Roman Emperor Theodoric for treason in the AD 523, concerns a man confronted with his own unjust death. Mixing poetry and prose, Greek philosophy and Christian doctrine, the goddess Philosophy appears to the despairing poet in his jail cell and consoles him, reminding him of the teaching he has forgotten in his dire situation. Boethius, one of most learned men of his generation, discusses happiness, fortune, Divine Providence, and the ascent of the soul to God. This work, one of the most influential of the Middle Ages, remains a seminal treatise on the purpose of philosophy and how we ought to live in a world which we have but very limited control over.
SCHEDULE:
This group will meet weekly on Thursdays (beginning January 23rd) from 8:30pm – 9:30pm over dinner.
A copy of On the Consolation of Philosophy will be provided to all participants. The reading may be picked up at Gavin House (1220 E 58th street) during business hours at the start of the fall quarter.

Latin Vulgate Reading Group
2025-01-24 10:30 - 11:30, 2025-01-31 10:30 - 11:30, 2025-02-07 10:30 - 11:30, 2025-02-14 10:30 - 11:30, 2025-02-21 10:30 - 11:30, 2025-02-28 10:30 - 11:30, 2025-03-07 10:30 - 11:30, 2025-04-11 10:30 - 11:30 and 6 more dates | Gavin House, 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL, 60637
REGISTER HERE
Open to current students and faculty at the University of Chicago. Participants can come to whichever sessions they choose. Others interested in participating should contact Emily Barnum at ebarnum@uchicago.edu. Coffee, tea, and pastries will be provided.
St. Jerome’s Latin translation of the Bible was used exclusively by the Western Church for centuries; its significance for the Roman Catholic tradition cannot be overstated. In this group, we will work through sections of the Vulgate in order to appreciate its beauty and practice our Latin. For the first session, no preparation is necessary; we will decide together which texts we will read. Please come with a desire to grow in Latin Bible knowledge with St. Jerome and friends!
SCHEDULE:
This group will meet every Friday (beginning January 24th) from 10:45am – 11:45am over coffee, tea, and pastries.

The Brothers Karamazov Reading Group
2025-01-27 18:00 - 19:30, 2025-02-03 18:00 - 19:30, 2025-02-10 18:00 - 19:30, 2025-02-17 18:00 - 19:30, 2025-02-24 18:00 - 19:30, 2025-03-03 18:00 - 19:30 | Gavin House, 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL, 60637
This event is sponsored by the Lumen Christi Institute’s Nicklin Fellows Program, which supports and encourages University of Chicago undergraduate students to develop their intellectual maturity. Jacob Neplokh, who designed this program, is a Nicklin Fellow. This program is for undergraduate students only.
REGISTER HERE
The Brothers Karamazov, Fyodor Dostoevsky’s final masterpiece, explores the human questions of morality, freedom, reason, and belief, in the context of a captivating family drama.
Rather than merely writing a philosophical treatise, Dostoevsky produced a work of literature, thereby warranting a complete reading of the text.
This weekly dinnertime reading group spread out over two quarters seeks to accomplish that task, primarily focusing on the philosophical and theological themes above, in an enriching communal setting.
Copies of The Brothers Karamazov will be provided.
SCHEDULE:
This group will run over dinner on Mondays from 6 – 7:30pm, starting October 14th.
Winter Quarter:

Week 2: Book Eight (pp. 386-472)
Week 3: NO MEETING (MLK Day)
Week 4: Book Nine (pp. 472-545)
Week 5: Book Ten (pp. 545-596)
Week 6: Book Eleven, chs. 1-5 (pp. 596-639)
Week 7: Book Eleven, chs. 6-10 (pp. 639-696)
Week 8: Book Twelve, chs. 1-9 (pp. 696-769)
Week 9: Book Twelve, chs. 9-14 (pp. 769-803) + Epilogue (803-825)

The Letters of St. Ignatius of Antioch Reading Group
2025-01-27 18:00 - 19:30, 2025-02-03 18:00 - 19:30, 2025-02-10 18:00 - 19:30, 2025-02-17 18:00 - 19:30, 2025-02-24 18:00 - 19:30 | 5554 S. Woodlawn Ave., Chicago, IL 60637, Hyde Park, IL
REGISTER HERE
Open to current graduate students at the University of Chicago. Participants can come to whichever sessions they choose. Others interested in participating should contact Garrett Ashlock at gashlock@uchicago.edu. Books and drinks will be provided. The reading may be picked up at Gavin House (1220 E 58th street) during business hours at the start of the fall quarter. This will be held at the LCI Residence (5554 S Wooodlawn Ave).
Saint Ignatius, the second-century Bishop of Antioch, is known as a martyr, an “Apostolic Father,” and the first writer to call the church “catholic.” However, much like Saint Paul, who served as his literary model, Ignatius did not compose theological treatises, summas, or tractates but seven epistles sent to the churches in Rome and Asia Minor. They represent some of the earliest Christian writings apart from the New Testament itself and are an invaluable resource for theologians and historians alike. This reading group will journey with Ignatius to his eventual martyrdom in Rome, encountering along the way his sophisticated musings and instructions on topics like the nature of Christ, the role of the bishop, the canon of scripture, and the meaning of martyrdom. We will find in him an author who, in addition to being a portal into the early church, is remarkably personal and prescient and an expert guide to thinking about Christianity today.
SCHEDULE:
This group will meet on Mondays (beginning January 27th) from 6:00pm – 7:30pm over dinner.
Jan 27: Letter to the Ephesians
Feb 3: Letter to the Magnesians, Letter to the Trallians
Feb 10: Letter to the Romans
Feb 17: Letter to the Philadelphians, Letter to the Smyrneans
Feb 24: Letter to Polycarp, “On Pseudo-Ignatius”

Non-Credit Course | The Bible and the Big Bang
2025-01-28 18:00 - 19:30, 2025-02-04 18:00 - 19:30, 2025-02-18 18:00 - 19:30, 2025-02-25 18:00 - 19:30 | Gavin House, 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL, 60637
REGISTER HERE
This event is in-person only. Intended for university students, faculty, and staff. Others interested in attending please contact dstrobach@lumenchristi.org. This non-credit is made possible through the support of ‘In Lumine: Supporting the Catholic Intellectual Tradition on Campuses Nationwide’ (Grant #62372) from the John Templeton Foundation.
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 the relation between the Bible and the Big Bang? To many, it seems natural to connect the physical beginning of the cosmos with the Abrahamic doctrine of creation, but this association of science with philosophy and theology bears critical investigation. In this course, we will take a deep dive into both the science of the early Universe and the Biblically-rooted doctrine of creation from nothing, and explore what, if any, is the relation between them. Along the way we will engage with thinkers spanning from Philo of Alexandria in the first century to Stephen Hawking in the twenty-first century, and will explore topics such as the beginning of time, something coming from ‘nothing’, fine-tuning and design.
FORMAT
Tuesdays, Jan 14-Feb 25
6:00pm: Dinner
6:30pm: Presentation
On February 11th, in lieu of the non-credit course, Fr. Adam Hincks will give our Magis Lecture, “Faith, Belief, and Knowledge” at St. Ignatius College Prep. All NCC registrants are invited to attend the reception and lecture. Transportation will be provided.

Greek New Testament Reading Group
2025-01-29 13:00 - 14:00, 2025-02-05 13:00 - 14:00, 2025-02-12 13:00 - 14:00, 2025-02-19 13:00 - 14:00, 2025-02-26 13:00 - 14:00, 2025-03-05 13:00 - 14:00 | Gavin House, 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL, 60637
REGISTER HERE
Open to current students and faculty at the University of Chicago. Participants can come to whichever sessions they choose. Others interested in participating should contact Joe Haydt at jhaydt@uchicago.edu. Lunch will be provided.
We will work through the Greek text of chapters eight and nine of the Gospel of Luke. Particular attention will be paid to the narrative structure of these chapters. Participants with all levels of Greek are welcome to attend. Lunch will be provided by the Lumen Christi Institute.
SCHEDULE:
This group will meet every Wednesday (beginning January 22nd) from 1pm – 2pm.

Reading Course on The Drama of Atheist Humanism
2025-01-29 18:00 - 19:30, 2025-02-12 18:00 - 19:30, 2025-02-26 18:00 - 19:30 | Gavin House, 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL, 60637
REGISTER HERE
Open to current students at the University of Chicago. Participants can come to whichever sessions they choose. Books, dinner, and beverages will be provided.
Is dependency on God an obstacle to human freedom? Is authentic human autonomy compromised by religious faith? Nietzsche and Dostoevsky epitomize the fundamental option that confronts anyone seeking truth and the meaning of life. Henri de Lubac’s The Drama of Atheist Humanism sets out their worldviews, the consequences of which continue to reverberate in our post-modern, post-truth culture. You are invited to engage with this classic text that casts light on contemporary nihilism at odds with the persistence of religious faith.
Copies of The Drama of Atheist Humanism will be provided. They may be picked up at Gavin House (1220 E 58th street) during business hours at the start of the spring quarter.
SCHEDULE:
This group will meet on Wednesdays (beginning January 15th) from 6:00pm – 7:30pm over dinner.

Jan 15: Intro and Part One [Feuerbach, Nietzsche, and Kierkegaard]
Jan 29: Carry over from 1st Class and selections from Part Two [Comte]
Feb 12: Part Three [Dostoevsky as prophet; comparison with Nietzsche…]
Feb 26: Mystical Confrontations

The Human Person and Biotechnology: Artificial Intelligence and its Limitations
2025-01-30 16:00 - 17:30 | Knapp Center for Biological Discovery Room 1103, 900 E 57th street, Chicago, IL, 60637
REGISTER HERE for IN PERSON
REGISTER HERE for ONLINE
Artificial intelligence is increasingly interfacing with all aspects of human life, raising particular ethical challenges in medicine and biotechnology. The ethical challenges of AI must be grounded in the limits of the discipline it is applied to. Medicine has seen amazing advances in the last few decades, but these advances also raise questions about limits, especially in living patients. We must ask: What are the limits of medicine and biotech – and how does this translate into limits on the use of AI in these fields? This public panel will serve to explore what the limits in medicine and biotech are and what role the wisdom of the Christian tradition can play in forming them.
Students and faculty are also invited to join us on Friday, January 31, for a master class on Technology, Culture, and Virtue, with Professors Jeffrey Bishop. Readings will be provided to registrants

For more information, contact gzokal@lumenchristi.org
This event is cosponsored by the Program on Medicine and Religion at the University of Chicago, and the Albert Gnaegi Center at Saint Louis University. 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.

Dante's Divine Comedy Graduate Reading Group
2025-01-30 18:00 - 19:30, 2025-02-13 18:00 - 19:30, 2025-02-27 18:00 - 19:30, 2025-03-13 18:00 - 19:30 | Gavin House, 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL, 60637
REGISTER HERE
Open to current graduate students at the University of Chicago. Participants can come to whichever sessions they choose. Others interested in participating should contact Kristóf Oltvai at oltvai@uchicago.edu. Books and dinner will be provided.
This winter quarter, become our traveling companion as we continue a pilgrimage of unforgettable cosmic and spiritual grandeur through Dante Alighieri’s Commedia. Having passed through the horrors of hell, our poet-protagonist turns to pondering questions of love, virtue, grace, and divine providence as he journeys along Mount Purgatory’s breathtaking vistas, through the otherworldly astral spheres, into the bosom of the eternal Church Triumphant with his trusted guides: Virgil, Beatrice, and the “last of the fathers,” Bernard of Clairvaux – who, in the mystical climax of this crowning achievement of European literature, brings Dante before the throne of the living God.
Even if you did not have the chance to participate in the fall quarter, we warmly invite you to join as we focus on two themes:
(1) Dante as a moral pedagogue – as one who leads us from accepting the righteousness of God’s judgment; through pursuing virtue as a prerequisite for beatitude; to seeing, at last, even that ethical growth as a gift of grace.
(2) The communion of saints as the fabric of the universe.

SCHEDULE:
This group will meet again bi-weekly on Thursdays (beginning January 16th) from 6:00pm – 7:30pm over dinner. We will read 10 cantos before each meeting.
A copy of Dante’s Divine Comedy will be provided to all participants. The reading may be picked up at Gavin House (1220 E 58th street) during business hours at the start of the fall quarter.

Week 2 (Thursday, Jan. 16): Purgatorio 17-26
Week 4 (Thursday, Jan. 30): Purgatorio 27-33, Paradiso 1-3
Week 6 (Thursday, Feb. 13): Paradiso 4-13
Week 8 (Thursday, Feb. 27): Paradiso 14-23
Week 10 (Thursday, March 13): Paradiso 24-33

Technology, Culture, and Virtue
2025-01-31 14:00 - 17:00 | Gavin House, 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL, 60637
REGISTER HERE
Open to current students and faculty. This event is in-person only. All registrants will receive copies of the selected readings via Dropbox and PDFs which should be read in advance of the class. An optional wine and cheese reception will follow.
Technology is part of our everyday lives. Despite its everydayness, there remains something mysterious about it. In this master class, we will demystify technology, engaging it as a product of culture that both challenges and enhances culture.
Readings:
Martin Heidegger – “The Question Concerning Technology”
Levis, Duganzic, and Scheirer – “Organoids are Multi-Cellular Engineered Living Systems: What is the Path Forward for Their Use in the Laboratory and Beyond?”
Bishop – What is Man that AI is Mindful of Him? and Toward a Liturgical Cosmotechnics
Conwill, Levis, and Scheirer – Chapter 1 and Chapter 6 in Virtues in Virtual Spaces
Schedule:
1:30 PM | pre-event pastries and coffee
2:00 PM | Part 1: Technology as a way of thinking
2:40 PM | Part 2: Technology as a way of doing: Engineering Living Systems
3:20 PM | BREAK
3:40 PM | Part 3: Cosmotechnics: Technology, Culture, and Human Identity
4:20 PM | Part 4: Goods, Virtues, and Virtual Spaces
Class concludes at 5 PM with a reception following.
For more information, contact gzokal@lumenchristi.org
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.

How to Find Yourself on a Deserted Island: Ibn Tufayl's Philosophical Tale
2025-02-05 18:00 - 19:30, 2025-02-19 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 25. 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 Fundamental Questions Seminar and the Nicklin Fellows are made possible by the First Analysis Institute. “How to Find Yourself on a Deserted Island: Ibn Tufayl’s Philosophical Tale” is presented in partnership with the Seldon Institute.
REGISTER HERE
In the winter quarter, we will discuss Hayy Ibn Yaqzan by Ibn Tufayl (d. 1185). This philosophical tale from medieval Spain tells the story of a child who comes of age on an island, without the influence of any human society. The text explores what a thoughtful human being — with no religious or cultural tradition — might think about God, the world, and the place of humanity in it.
SCHEDULE
6:00 PM Dinner | 6:15 PM Discussion | 7:30 PM Close
The seminar will meet on Wednesday evenings from 6 to 7:30 on Jan. 22, Feb. 5, and Feb. 19 (Wednesday evenings in weeks 3, 5, and 7) at Gavin House, the home of the Lumen Christi Institute (1220 E 58th St).

Session 1: Introduction (pp. 95-103, paragraphs 1-20)
Session 2: pp. 103-134, paragraphs 21-90
Session 3: pp. 134-166, paragraphs 91-156

FUNDAMENTAL QUESTION SEMINAR
This event is part of Lumen Christi’s Fundamental Questions program, a quarterly seminar 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 group welcomes students from all religious and philosophical backgrounds because existential questions of being are of concern to all.
In addition, undergraduate students who participate in this seminar are eligible to become “Nicklin Fellows.” These fellows will have exclusive access to research and development grant funds to pursue their intellectual interests. Grants can be used to do things like the following:

Organize a reading group
Bring a speaker to campus
Organize a movie night
Develop and plan future fundamental questions seminars
Write a paper for a journal
And more!

On the Nature of Angels: Thomas Aquinas Reading Course
2025-02-06 18:00 - 19:30, 2025-02-20 18:00 - 19:30, 2025-03-06 18:00 - 19:30 | Gavin House, 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL, 60637
REGISTER HERE
Open to current students and faculty. Food, beverages, and readings will be provided.
One of Saint Thomas Aquinas’s very last projects was a treatise On Angels. He did not finish it, but the part that he did carry out is exceptionally brilliant, even by his standards. It is a work of theology, but the title under which it came to circulate reflects how philosophical it also is: On Separate Substances. With a more historical approach than that of either Summa on the subject, it addresses such topics the immateriality of angels, their origin, their knowledge, and the distinctions among them, including the distinction between the good ones and the bad ones. Along the way, it offers some of Thomas’s most sophisticated discussions of the metaphysics of creation, hylomorphism, and participation. We will work through it at a leisurely pace.
SCHEDULE:
This group will meet bi-weekly on Thursdays (beginning January 23rd) from 6:00pm – 7:30pm over dinner.
The text can be accessed online HERE in a Latin and English side-by-side. Participants who prefer a bound copy of the English text can request one from dstrobach@lumenchristi.org.

Magis Lecture | Faith, Belief, and Knowledge
2025-02-11 17:00 - 19:15 | Saint Ignatius College Prep, 1076 W Roosevelt Rd, Chicago, IL
REGISTER HERE
5:00 Mass | 5:45 Drinks & Hors d’Oeuvres | 6:30 Lecture | 7:15 End
Co-presented by St. Ignatius College Prep.
Free and open to the public. Registration required. For questions, please contact Marial Corona at mcorona@lumenchristi.org.
“Believers are also thinkers: in believing, they think and in thinking, they believe.” So said St. Augustine of Hippo, in contrast to our typical assumption that belief and knowledge are opposites, with belief associated with religious faith and knowledge with scientific thinking. In actual practice, though, there are many of instances of belief in science and many claims of knowledge in religion. In this talk Fr. Adam Hincks, S.J. (University of Toronto) will present knowledge and belief as interlocking rational activities and explore how they relate to religious faith.
About the Magis Series
The Magis Series on Faith and Reason is a partnership between the Lumen Christi Institute, St. Ignatius College Prep, and Loyola Academy 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. Anyone who desires a lively entrée into the mind of the Church is welcome and encouraged to attend; no affiliation with either high school is needed.

Gender, The Body, and Holiness in the Middle Ages
2025-02-27 16:00 - 17:45 | Swift Hall, First Floor Common Room, 1025 E 58th St,Chicago, IL 60637, Hyde Park, IL
REGISTER HERE
Co-sponsored by the University of Chicago Divinity School, Medieval Studies Workshop, and Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality. For more information, contact dstrobach@lumenchristi.org.
This event will be a symposium on Rachel Smith’s (Villanova University) book, Excessive Saints: Gender, Narrative, and Theological Invention in Thomas of Cantimpré’s Mystical Hagiographies. Rachel Smith will outline the major themes of her work. Then, Willemien Otten (University of Chicago), Bernard McGinn (University of Chicago), and Barbara Newman (Northwestern University) will respond. Ryan Coyne (University of Chicago) will moderate the conversation.
How does the gendering of images work to render Thomas of Cantimpré’s portraits of holy women vivid, compelling, desirable? How is gender undone in his hagiographies, its expectations countered? How does gendering the saint work together with other elements of Thomas’s theology of sanctity? How is the hagiographer gendered in relation to the saint? In what ways might we see the limits of gender as a category of analysis in Thomas’s hagiographical works? How does gendering work in the context of vitae that use apophatic strategies to compose their saintly subjects?

Master Class on Augustine's City of God
2025-02-28 14:00 - 17:00 | Swift Hall, First Floor Common Room, 1025 E 58th St,Chicago, IL 60637, Hyde Park, IL
REGISTER HERE
Open to current graduate students and faculty. Advanced undergraduates and others interested in participating should contact dstrobach@lumenchristi.org. This event is in-person only. All registrants will receive copies of the selected readings, which should be read in advance of the class. An optional wine and cheese reception will follow.
For the positivist political scientist, focused on polls, percentages, and prognostications, Augustine’s sprawling masterpiece—City of God (De civitate Dei)—is apt to seem a morass of mythology and otherworldly speculation. I propose, for the conduct of the master class, that we temporarily (and respectfully) shelve our inner positivist, link up with our collective political imagination, and entertain as best we can one of the great political theologies of all time. By great I do not mean unproblematic—there will be plenty of problems and perplexities—I mean greatly influential. For the first 90 minute session, we will focus on two stories of the fall, the dual invention of sin, and Augustine’s struggle not to have to concede to the impossibility of perfection, here or above. For the second session, we will turn more directly to political matters and especially to the “twilight” perspective that Augustine takes us all inescapably to have on true peace.
Jim Wetzel (Professor of Philosophy and Augustinian Endowed Chair in the Thought of St. Augustine at Villanova University) will lead this three hour master class.
Readings:
See the list of readings syllabus HERE.
Both the required and recommended readings will be distributed to participants via Dropbox and PDFs. If you prefer, you can pick up a printout of the readings at Gavin House (1220 E. 58th Street) Mon-Fri, 10am-4pm once they are ready. Please email David Strobach at dstrobach@lumenchristi.org to let us know you are coming.
Schedule:
Location: Swift Hall Common Room
1:30-2:00 | pre-event pastries and coffee
2:00-3:20 | Session 1
3:20-3:40 | Coffee break
3:40-5:00 | Session 2
5:00-5:30 | Reception

Winter Newman Forum Conference for High School Students: What Really Happens When...
2025-03-01 09:30 - 14:30 | University of Saint Mary of the Lake, 1000 East Maple Avenue Mundelein, IL 60060, Mundelein, IL
INDIVIDUAL REGISTRATION
GROUP (10+) REGISTRATION
Presented by the Lumen Christi Institute’s Newman Forum. Open to current high school students. This seminar is cosponsored by the University of Saint Mary of the Lake at Mundelein Seminary, and the Archdiocese of Chicago Vocation Office. Email newmanforum@lumenchristi.org for any questions.
What really happens when Chat-GPT does your homework? When you try to live forever? When a child is born with disabilities? When statues weep and paintings bleed? When the universe seems completely random?
On March 1, 2025, the Newman Forum’s “What Really Happens When…” conference will gather high school students at the University of St. Mary of the Lake to discover the fascinating realities of everyday and misunderstood scientific, historical, literary, and religious topics. Students will meet with presenters and discuss the wonders of science, the lessons of history, the beauty of literature, and the mysteries of faith.
The conference will have three sessions of “lightning-round” talks, where students can choose a talk based on their own interests. Then, after lunch, we will hold “Office Hours,” where students can bring their own questions to the presenters in an informal environment. We will close with Eucharistic Adoration.
To see all the talks and titles, click here.
PROGRAM

Registration
Welcome & Opening Prayer
Lightning Round Talks by invited professors and graduate students from the University of Chicago, Notre Dame, and other Universities
Lunch at the USML dining hall
Office Hours to engage with the faculty and learn about their interest, research, and school
Eucharistic Adoration

COST
$10 by Wednesday, February 5th | $20 after Wednesday, February 5th
Discounts available for groups over 10.

A Philosophy of Work, Leisure, and Catholic Culture - A Catholic Vision of Culture in the 21st Century | West Suburban Catholic Culture Series
2025-03-20 18:30 - 20:30 | Butterfield Country Club, 2800 Midwest Rd, Oak Brook, IL, 60523, United States
REGISTER HERE
(Business casual attire encouraged. For questions, please email Marial Corona at mcorona@lumenchristi.org).
Schedule: 6:30 p.m. Drinks | 7:00 p.m. Dinner, Lecture, & Q&A | 8:30 p.m. End
March 20: A Philosophy of Work, Leisure, and Catholic Culture
Paul Blaschko (University of Notre Dame)
In his well-known and influential essay, Leisure: The Basis of Culture, Josef Pieper claims that we in modern western society have come to inhabit a “world of total work,” and that an essential precondition for escape is recapturing a more ancient notion of “leisure” (in Greek: scholê, in Latin: otium).
While much has been said in support of this claim, especially in Catholic intellectual circles, the focus has typically centered on the nature of leisure, which much of this dialogue takes as the starting point. In this lecture, Prof. Blaschko, who studies the philosophy of work at Notre Dame, will proceed in a different direction, asking “What kind of culture, and what kind of work culture, would we create if we wanted to incorporate genuine leisure into our lives?”
SERIES DESCRIPTION
Western culture owes a great deal to Christianity, but Christianity does not require any culture, as a culture, to be built with Christian materials. This does not reflect a weakness or defect in Christianity. It is a consequence of its genius. Christianity can and should inform every human undertaking. In this series, we’ll explore various arenas where human existence is played out and discover how Christianity can transform them. Our point of departure is Remi Brague’s reflection “From What is Left Over,” which takes as its inspiration Pope Benedict’s “The Roots of European Culture.”
SPRING SCHEDULE
March 20: On Work
Paul Blaschko (University of Notre Dame)
April 24: A Catholic Vision of Sports
Clark Power (University of Notre Dame)
May TBD

Polarization, Social Cohesion, and the Economy
2025-03-27 17:00 - 18:30 | International House at the University of Chicago, 1414 E 59th St. Chicago, IL 60637, Hyde Park, IL
REGISTER HERE for IN PERSON
REGISTER HERE for ONLINE

For more information, contact gzokal@lumenchristi.org
With polarization on the rise around the globe, scholars have pointed to a broader fragmentation of social cohesion. Economics, sociology, theology and philosophy offer different entry points for exploring these problems. How might we better understand this global moment? This marks the 5th anniversary of Pope Francis’s social encyclical, Fratelli Tutti, which sought not only to diagnose these problems, but to also offer moral responses for all people of good will. How might principles derived from Catholic social teaching, such as solidarity, human dignity, and “the preferential option for the poor” operate within local and national economies to contribute towards a greater common good?
This event is on Thursday March 27th, 2025, from 5:00 to 6:30 PM and is free and open to the public. Attendees should enter via the South Dorchester Avenue doors.
This event is cosponsored by the Catholic Research Economists Discussion Organization (CREDO), the International House Global Voices Program,, the Becker Friedman Institute for Economics at the University of Chicago, and the Alliance for the Social Market Economy.
Persons with disabilities who may need assistance should contact International House in advance of the program at (773) 753-2274 or email i-house-programs@uchicago.edu

10th Conference in Economics and Catholic Social Thought: Polarization, Social Cohesion, and the Economy
2025-03-28
This conference will bring together leading thinkers in economics, theology, and ethics to explore how principles derived from Catholic social teaching, such as solidarity, human dignity, and “the preferential option for the poor”, might operate within local and national economies to contribute towards a greater common good.
Session I: 5 years after Fratelli Tutti
· David Cloutier (University of Notre Dame)
· Ursula Nothelle-Wildfeuer (University of Freiburg)
· Moderator: Fr. Martin Schlag (University of St Thomas)
Session II: The impact of the economy on social cohesion
· Nils Goldschmidt (University of Siegen and Weltethos Institute, Tübingen)
· Luigi Zingales (University of Chicago)
· Moderator: Tom Kohler (Boston College)
Session III: Global solidarity, migration, and the economy
· George Borjas (Havard Kennedy School)
· Christopher Gohl (Weltethos Institute at the University of Tübingen)
· Moderator: Kirk Doran (Notre Dame)
Session IV: Importance of solidarity within economies
· Paola Sapienza (Stanford University)
· Holger Zaborowski (University of Erfurt)
· Moderator: Andrew Yuengert (Pepperdine)
This event is cosponsored by the Catholic Research Economists Discussion Organization, the Becker Friedman Institute for Economics at the University of Chicago, and the Alliance for the Social Market Economy.
This event is by invitation only. For more information contact gzokal@lumenchristi.org

Non-Credit Course | Experience of Grace
2025-04-01 18:00 - 19:30, 2025-04-08 18:00 - 19:30, 2025-04-15 18:00 - 19:30, 2025-04-22 18:00 - 19:30, 2025-04-29 18:00 - 19:30, 2025-05-06 18:00 - 19:30, 2025-05-13 18:00 - 19:30 | Gavin House, 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL, 60637
REGISTER HERE
This event is in-person only. Intended for university students, faculty, and staff. Others interested in attending please contact dstrobach@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.
Christian faith proclaims that we are saved by divine grace. What is “grace” and how do we experience it? What is special about the Catholic understanding of grace? What major controversies have clarified the understanding of grace? This class will draw on Scripture, short autobiographical accounts, and film to show the transformative power of grace in the lives of men and women such as Paul of Tarsus, Augustine of Hippo, Ignatius of Loyola, Edith Stein, Dorothy Day, and Bernard Nathanson who were enabled by grace to flourish beyond what they could “ask or imagine” [Ephesians 3:20].

Tuesdays, April 1-May 14
6:00pm: Dinner
6:30pm: Presentation

April 1: “Immortal Longings”: The Exigence for Transcendence and the Gift of Grace.
April 8: Paul of Tarsus’s Encounter with the Risen Christ.
April 15: Do We Earn Grace? The Pelagian Controversy
April 22: Reformation Grace Controversies: Martin Luther and Ignatius of Loyola
April 29: The Sacramentality of Grace: Jesus Christ, the Church, and the Seven Sacraments
May 6: Autobiographical Testimonies to the Experience of Grace
May 13: “Don’t Call Me a Saint”: “The Long Loneliness” of Dorothy Day.

The Tragic Sense of Life in Men and Nations
2025-04-02 18:00 - 19:30, 2025-04-16 18:00 - 19:30, 2025-04-30 18:00 - 19:30, 2025-05-14 18:00 - 19:30 | Gavin House, 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL, 60637
This event is sponsored by the Lumen Christi Institute’s Nicklin Fellows Program, which supports and encourages University of Chicago undergraduate students to develop their intellectual maturity. Jordan Gabriel, who designed this program, is a 2023-2024 Nicklin Fellow. This program is for undergraduate students only.
REGISTER HERE
“Wherefore my destiny? Why do I possess such a thirst for eternity?” For Spanish existentialist philosopher, Miguel de Unamuno, awareness of these two fundamentally human questions is to possess a “tragic sense of life.” By understanding it, we find the answers to our lives, navigating the conflict between faith and reason, our longing for immortality, and the interplay of faith, hope, and love in the tragicomic nature of life itself.
SCHEDULE:
SESSION 1, April 2nd
Chapter I: “The Man of Flesh and Bone” (Pages 4-23) – This chapter sets the stage for Unamuno’s exploration of the human condition, focusing on the conflict between faith and reason.’
(Optional) Chapter 2: “The Point of Departure” (Pages 24-42) – This chapter delves deeper into Unamuno’s exploration of the human condition and sets a strong foundation for understanding his tragic sense of life.
SESSION II, April 16th
Chapter V: “The Hunger for Immortality” (Pages 43-64) – In this chapter, Unamuno discusses the human desire for immortality and the existential anguish that arises from our awareness of mortality.
(Optional) Chapter VII: “Love, Pain, Compassion, and Personality” (Pages 146-71) – This chapter further explores Unamuno’s existential themes, focusing on the interplay between love, suffering, and the development of personal identity.
SESSION III, April 30th
Chapter IX: “Faith, Hope, and Charity” (Pages 204-235) – This chapter explores Unamuno’s views on religion and the role of faith, hope, and love in the human experience.
SESSION IV, May 7th
Chapter XI: “Don Quixote in the Contemporary European Tragi-Comedy” (Pages 322-360) – Unamuno uses the figure of Don Quixote to illustrate his existentialist ideas and the tragicomic nature of life.
Viewing of While at War (Mientras dure la guerra)

On the Nature of Angels: Thomas Aquinas Reading Course
2025-04-03 18:00 - 19:30, 2025-05-01 18:00 - 19:30, 2025-05-15 18:00 - 19:30 | Gavin House, 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL, 60637
REGISTER HERE
Open to current students and faculty. Food, beverages, and readings will be provided.
One of Saint Thomas Aquinas’s very last projects was a treatise On Angels. He did not finish it, but the part that he did carry out is exceptionally brilliant, even by his standards. It is a work of theology, but the title under which it came to circulate reflects how philosophical it also is: On Separate Substances. With a more historical approach than that of either Summa on the subject, it addresses such topics the immateriality of angels, their origin, their knowledge, and the distinctions among them, including the distinction between the good ones and the bad ones. Along the way, it offers some of Thomas’s most sophisticated discussions of the metaphysics of creation, hylomorphism, and participation. We will work through it at a leisurely pace.
SCHEDULE:
This group will meet bi-weekly on Thursdays (beginning April 3rd) from 6:00pm – 7:30pm over dinner.
The text can be accessed online HERE in a Latin and English side-by-side. Participants who prefer a bound copy of the English text can request one from dstrobach@lumenchristi.org.

Faculty Colloquium on The Uses of Idolatry
2025-04-04 09:00 - 12:30
This event is a colloquium on William T. Cavanaugh’s (DePaul University) book The Uses of Idolatry, which offers a sustained and interdisciplinary argument that worship has not waned in our supposedly “secular” world. Rather, the target of worship has changed, migrating from the explicit worship of God to the implicit worship of things. Cavanaugh examines modern idolatries and the ways in which humans become dominated by our own creations.
J. Michelle Molina (Northwestern University) and Fr. Patrick Gilger, S.J. (Loyola University Chicago) will offer remarks on the book followed by responses from William Cavanaugh. The event will be moderated by Scott Moringiello (DePaul University).
This event is by invitation only. If you would like more information or would like to request to attend, please contact Geoffrey Zokal at gzokal@lumenchristi.org.

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

God-Talk: The Heart of Judaism Reading Course
2025-04-07 18:00 - 19:30, 2025-04-14 18:00 - 19:30, 2025-04-21 18:00 - 19:30, 2025-04-28 18:00 - 19:30 | Gavin House, 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL, 60637
REGISTER HERE
Open to current students at the University of Chicago. Participants can come to whichever sessions they choose. Dinner will be provided.
David Novak, one of the most distinguished Jewish theologians in the world, offers a new interpretation of how the Jewish people and the Jewish tradition talk about God. What does the Torah say about God? How does the God of the Torah talk about Himself? And how does the God of the Torah talk about human beings? The book traces the history and theology of God-talk in Judaism, and how it remains relevant, now more than ever, and speaks directly to contemporary issues such as human rights.
In this reading course over dinner, Fr. Andrew Summerson (University of Toronto) will lead a group through Novak’s book at a leisurely pace. Syllabus forthcoming
SCHEDULE:
This group will meet weekly on Mondays (beginning April 7th) from 6:00pm – 7:30pm over dinner.
A copy of God-Talk: The Heart of Judaism will be provided to all participants. The reading may be picked up at Gavin House (1220 E 58th street) during business hours at the start of the fall quarter.

April 7th:

Chapter 1: “Introduction: Speaking on Strange Ground”

April 14th:

Chapter 2: “What is Jewish Theology?: Two Views of Jewish Theology?

April 21st:

Chapter 3: “The Inner Life of God: God’s Thoughts”

April 28th:

Chapter 4 and 5: “Seeing God: Desiring the Vision of God” and “Natural Law and Natural Theology: Two Approaches to Natural Law”

Confederacy of Dunces Graduate Reading Group
2025-04-10 20:00 - 21:00, 2025-04-24 20:00 - 21:00, 2025-05-01 20:00 - 21:00, 2025-05-08 20:00 - 21:00, 2025-05-15 20:00 - 21:00 | Gavin House, 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL, 60637
REGISTER HERE
Open to current graduate students at the University of Chicago. Participants can come to whichever sessions they choose. Drinks and Snacks will be provided.
Take a journey with us through the vibrant streets of New Orleans’ French Quarter as we read A Confederacy of Dunces, John Kennedy Toole’s masterpiece of humor and a character study of one of the giants of literature, Ignatius J. Reilly. In this group, we will explore the book’s cadre of distinctive characters and Toole’s synthesis of New Orleans’ contradictory gumbo of vice, race, and French Catholicism. We hope we’ll be able to balance the belly laughs with the thoughtful insights the book offers into the absurdity of the modern world, the struggle to live an authentic life, and whether a Medieval tome works better as a guide to living a good life or a doorstop.
SCHEDULE:
This group will meet weekly on Thursdays (beginning April 10th) from 8:00pm – 9:00pm over drinks and snacks.
A copy of the book will be provided to all participants. The reading may be picked up at Gavin House (1220 E 58th street) during business hours at the start of the fall quarter.

4/10: Chapter 1: pp. 1-27
4/15: Chapters 2-3: pp. 28-81
4/24: Chapters 4-6: pp. 82-151
5/1: Chapters 7-9: pp. 152-234
5/8: Chapters 10-11: pp. 235-302
5/15: Chapters 12-14: pp. 303-394

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

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

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

"Listening in on 'The Great Conversation'" | The University of Chicago in the 1940s — 1960s
2025-05-07
PRIVATE EVENT, BY INVITE ONLY
For questions, please email David Strobach at dstrobach@lumenchristi.org.

What was college life like at the University of Chicago at mid century? Atomic fission was being achieved under Stagg Field; the intensive four-year Core Curriculum was in full swing; and world-historical scholars like Friedrich Hayek, Leo Strauss, and Hannah Arendt were on faculty. The eminent political philosopher (AB ’47) Ralph Lerner and renowned theologian David Novak (AB ’61) will reflect on their undergraduate years at the college, the role the University played in their intellectual journeys, and the place of religious belief in the life of the mind.
They will be joined by John Boyer, longtime Dean of the College, professor of history, and author of The University of Chicago: A History; and Danny Wasserman, Executive Director of the Lumen Christi Institute and College alumnus (’05). Boyer and Wasserman will provide historical and contemporary perspective to the evening’s discussion.

Maimonides on Christianity and Islam
2025-05-08 16:30 - 18:00 | Kent Hall, Room 120, 1020 E 58th St. Chicago, IL 60637, Hyde Park, IL
REGISTER HERE
For questions, please email David Strobach at dstrobach@gmail.com.
Cosponsored by the Regenstein Foundation, University of Chicago Medieval Studies Workshop, University of Chicago Divinity School, The Catholic-Muslim Studies Program at Catholic Theological Union, and Seldon Institute.
What did Maimonides say about Christianity and Islam? How would Al-Ghazali or Thomas Aquinas have responded to him?
This symposium will be a thought-experiment in interreligious dialogue.
David Novak (University of Toronto) will begin by explicating Maimonides’ position. Yousef Casewit (University of Chicago) will put on the persona of Al-Ghazali to reply. And Matthew Levering (University of St. Mary of the Lake) will reply as if he were Thomas Aquinas. A conversation moderated by James Robinson (University of Chicago) and an audience Q-and-A will follow.
In biblical times, the religious divide between the Jews and the Gentiles was straightforward: the Gentiles worship a variety of “other gods” (polytheism); the Jews alone worship the One and Only God, the Creator of the universe (monotheism). But with the rise of Christianity and Islam, there are now two peoples claiming to worship the same God as do the Jews. How did Maimonides accept these claims, yet cogently affirm the superiority of Judaism?

What Can We Say About God? An Interview with David Novak on God-Talk
2025-05-09 11:30 - 13:00 | University Club of Chicago, 76 E Monroe St Chicago, IL 60603, Downtown, IL
11:15am Doors Open | 11:45am Welcome, Blessing, Lunch is Served | 12:00pm Interview | 1:00pm End
REGISTER HERE
The dress code and parking information for the University Club is here.
For questions, please email Marial Corona at mcorona@lumenchristi.org.
This event is copresented by the Regenstein Foundation. It is cosponsored by Public Discourse, the Tikvah Fund, and Spertus Institute.

David Novak, one of the most distinguished Jewish theologians in the world, offers a new interpretation of how the Jewish people and the Jewish tradition talk about God. What does the Torah say about God? How does the God of the Torah talk about Himself? And how does the God of the Torah talk about human beings? The book traces the history and theology of God-talk in Judaism, and how it remains relevant, now more than ever, and speaks directly to contemporary issues such as human rights.

Join us over lunch as Melanie Barrett, professor of moral theology at the University of Saint Mary of the Lake, interviews David Novak on his new book on God-talk in Judaism.

A Catholic Vision of Art: Beauty - The Highway to God - A Catholic Vision of Culture in the 21st Century | West Suburban Catholic Culture Series
2025-05-14 18:30 - 20:30 | Ruth Lake Country Club, 6200 South Madison Street, Hinsdale, IL
REGISTER HERE
(Business casual attire encouraged. For questions, please email Marial Corona at mcorona@lumenchristi.org).
Schedule: 6:30 p.m. Drinks | 7:00 p.m. Dinner, Lecture, & Q&A | 8:30 p.m. End
May 14: A Catholic Vision of Art: Beauty – The Highway to God
Sarah Crow (Saint Xavier University | St. Gregory’s Hall)

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

Beautiful art reflects the glory of the living, incarnate God, Jesus Christ, whether or not explicitly religious in subject matter. Art is not only an instrument and expression of culture, but also has a prophetic capacity to “prepare the way for the Lord” and transform the hearts of those who encounter it. This lecture will look at great works of art, both sacred and secular, and demonstrate how they can lead us to God.
SERIES DESCRIPTION
Western culture owes a great deal to Christianity, but Christianity does not require any culture, as a culture, to be built with Christian materials. This does not reflect a weakness or defect in Christianity. It is a consequence of its genius. Christianity can and should inform every human undertaking. In this series, we’ll explore various arenas where human existence is played out and discover how Christianity can transform them. Our point of departure is Remi Brague’s reflection “From What is Left Over,” which takes as its inspiration Pope Benedict’s “The Roots of European Culture.”

The Vocation of the Patristic Theologian: Teaching Nicaea
2025-05-24 15:00 - 17:00 | Lewis Towers, Loyola University of Chicago Water Tower Campus, 111 E Pearson St, Chicago, 60611, United States
This event is open to graduate students and faculty. For more information and to receive the registration link contact gzokal@lumenchristi.org
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 will speak to this topic in reference to the teaching of Nicaea in commemoration of the 1700th anniversary. What does the teaching of this council, its creed, its attendant historical context and reception, communicate about the essential character of the Patristic theologian?
This reception and forum, following the annual meeting of the North American Patristics Society, is co-organized by the Hank Center for the Catholic Intellectual Heritage at the Loyola University of Chicago, the Pappas Patristic Institute, Baylor Institute for Faith and Learning, the Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies, and The Lumen Christi Institute.
Featured Speakers
Khaled Anatolios
University of Notre Dame
Lewis Ayres
Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas – Angelicum, Rome
Paul Blowers
Milligan University
Michael C. Magree, S.J.
Boston College
Erin Walsh
University of Chicago

The Thought of René Girard
2025-06-15 - 2025-06-21 | University of Southern California, University Park Campus 3551 Trousdale Pkwy, Los Angeles, CA, 90007
Apply here
Description:

One of the most influential 20th century Catholic thinkers, René Girard transformed our understanding of culture, religion, and human desire. Through an intensive reading of Girard’s works, in conjunction with the fiction of the greatest writers, this five-day seminar will explore imitation, conflict, and scapegoating, connecting them to central themes of Christian theology.
The seminar is co-sponsored by the Nova Forum for Catholic Thought.
Location and Format:
This seminar will be held at University of Southern California in Los Angeles.
Students will meet twice daily during 2.5 hr sessions in seminar style lecture and discussion. Students will be expected to prepare the readings carefully, submit study questions in advance, and participate in each session.
Application Information

This seminar is open to all undergraduate students (including 2025 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 through the online application interface. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Fifteen applicants will be admitted to this 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.

Application Deadline is February 2, 2025

Cynthia L. Haven is an American literary scholar, author, critic, Slavicist, and journalist.
While at the University of Michigan, she studied with Nobel poet Joseph Brodsky. Her books include Evolution of Desire: A Life of René Girard, which the San Francisco Chronicle named one of the best books of 2018. The biography was also named a 2019 CHOICE Magazine Outstanding Academic Title. Her Czesław Miłosz: A California Life was a finalist for a Northern California Book Award. She is a National Endowment for the Humanities Public Scholar.
Her Penguin Modern Classics anthology for the selected writings of René Girard was published in June 2023, and a short German anthology was published in 2022 with the Leipzig publisher Reclam, for its popular “Was bedeutet das alles?” series.
She has been a Milena Jesenská Journalism Fellow with the Institut für die Wissenschaften vom Menschen in Vienna and a visiting scholar at Stanford University’s Division of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages while researching her book on French theorist René Girard. She was a Voegelin fellow at the Hoover Institution while working on her book on Nobel poet Joseph Brodsky and his translator, George L. Kline.

Grant Kaplan is professor of historical and systematic theology at Saint Louis University (USA). He is the author of three monographs, including René Girard, Unlikely Apologist: Mimetic Theory and Fundamental Theology (University of Notre Dame Press, 2016), Answering the Enlightenment: The Catholic Recovery of Historical Revelation (Crossroad/Herder, 2006), and Faith and Reason through Christian History: A Theological Essay (Catholic University of America Press, 2022). He is the author of many scholarly articles, essays, and reviews in such venues as Theological Studies, America Magazine, Modern Theology, Pro Ecclesia, Newman Studies Journal, and First Things.

Trevor Cribben Merrill teaches French and French literature at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). He is the author of The Book of Imitation and Desire (Bloomsbury, 2013) and The Situation of the Catholic Novelist (Wiseblood Books, 2021). He collaborated with Jean-Michel Oughourlian on Psychopolitics: Conversations with Trevor Cribben Merrill (Michigan State University Press, 2012) and co-edited René Girard’s La Conversion de l’art (Grasset, 2023) with Benoît Chantre. He is co-producer of the documentary film Things Hidden: The Life and Legacy of René Girard.

Catholic Social Thought in Business Education
2025-06-16 - 2025-06-19 | University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, Notre Dame, IN
Apply here
We are pleased to announce the fifth 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.

The seminar is co-sponsored by the Terrence J. Murphy Institute for Catholic Thought, Law, and Business, 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 University of Notre Dame between Monday June 16 (day of Arrival) and Thursday June 19 (Departure after lunch).

A limited number of travel grants are available. To apply for financial assistance, please complete and submit the attached request for funds to murphyinstit@stthomas.edu by May 5, 2025

Click for the Attachment

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 interface. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Fifteen students will be admitted to this seminar.

Application materials are due March 16, 2025.

This seminar will be led by:

James Otteson, University of Notre Dame

Lloyd Sandelands, University of Michigan

Msgr. Martin Schlag, University of St. Thomas

Andreas Widmer, The Catholic University of America

Dionysius the Areopagite: The Corpus and Its Legacy
2025-06-22 - 2025-06-27 | University of St. Michael’s College, 81 St. Mary's Street Toronto, ON M5S 1J4, Toronto, ON
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Co-presented with the Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies at the University of St. Michael’s College, University of Toronto.
Dionysius the Areopagite is a figure who is as elusive as his prose is powerful. The course will involve a close reading of his entire corpus and situating his writings in the intellectual and historical context of the first millennium. We will further outline the indelible marks he leaves on subsequent Christian theology, liturgy, and the broader philosophical tradition.

LOCATION AND FORMAT

The seminar will be held at Sheptytsky House at the University of St. Michael’s College in the University of Toronto. Admitted students will be required to arrange their own travel to and from the seminar
Participants will receive a stipend of up to $350 to offset travel expenses.
Lodging will be provided to participants.

Meals will also be provided, although students will be responsible for meals when on their own outside the seminar

Participants will arrive on Sunday, June 22 and depart on Friday, June 27.
Participants will be provided with the relevant books.
There will be two sessions each day in the morning and in the afternoon. Each session will include lectures and seminar-style discussions. Students will be expected to prepare the readings carefully and participate in the discussions of the material.

APPLICATION INFORMATION

This seminar is open to graduate students. 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.
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 through the online application interface. Incomplete applications will not be considered.
Fifteen applicants will be admitted to this seminar.
Application Deadline is February 2, 2025

This seminar will be led by:

Lewis Ayres, Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas/Durham University

Paul Blowers, Milligan University

Fr. Andrew Summerson, Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies

Self Knowledge as "First Philosophy:" Introducing Bernard Lonergan
2025-06-22 - 2025-06-28 | Boston College, 140 Commonwealth Avenue, Chestnut Hill, MA, 02467, United States
Apply Here
The seminar is co-presented by the Lonergan Institute.
This graduate seminar is designed as an advanced introduction to the thought of Bernard Lonergan, SJ. The seminar will examine Lonergan’s approach to self-knowledge and “self-appropriation,” epistemology, and method in metaphysics and theology. The main text for the course will be Lonergan’s seminal Insight: A Study of Human Understanding. Upon first publication in 1957, Insight was greeted by reviewers as “probably… one of the great philosophical treatises of the century,” “a profound book… evincing an extraordinary sense for the persistent significance of ancient and medieval thought in the light of modern science,” “a Catholic Phenomenology of Mind with a personalist orientation.”
Our principal objectives will be to understand the fundamental ideas animating Lonergan’s project, to facilitate the personal “philosophic experience” Insight was intended to provoke, and to introduce a critique of methods to help participants begin to make sense of the deep sources of disagreement in the humanities, particularly philosophy and theology. Although it would be impossible to communicate the whole of Lonergan’s thought in a week, the seminar will attempt to give a sense of the whole “in” Lonergan’s thought, that is, of the through-line linking the project of Insight to his theological work and to the framework for methodical collaboration he proposed in Method in Theology, his sequel to Insight.
Application Information:
This seminar will be of interest to students in philosophy, theology, and other disciplines that address foundational questions in the humanities and human sciences, including law, economics, politics, and history. Although primarily intended for doctoral students, advanced master’s degree candidates will be considered. Previous familiarity with Lonergan is not required.
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.
Application deadline is February 2, 2025

The seminar will take place at Boston College between June 22 and June 28, 2025
Admitted students will be provided housing and most meals during the seminar. They can submit for up to $350 travel reimbursement after the conclusion of the seminar.
For full consideration, applications should be submitted by February 2.

Jeremy D. Wilkins is Associate Professor of Systematic Theology at Boston College, and Director of the Lonergan Institute. He is the author of Before Truth: Lonergan, Aquinas, and the Problem of Wisdom (The Catholic University of America, 2018). In addition to the philosophy and theology of Bernard Lonergan, his research focuses on Thomas Aquinas, Trinitarian theology, Christology, and grace.
Roberto J. De La Noval is Assistant Professor of Theology at Mount St. Mary’s University (Emmitsburg, MD). A systematic and historical theologian, his research concerns Russian religious thought, eschatology, and the thought of Bernard Lonergan.

Truth and Authority in Augustines City of God
2025-07-27 - 2025-08-02 | 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.
The Seminar will be led by Prof. Russel Hittinger and Fr. Michael Sherwin OP.
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 complete and submit an online application form including:

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 interface. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Fifteen students will be admitted to this seminar.
The applications is due on February 2, 2025.

Any further questions can be directed to seminars@lumenchristi.org.

Economics and Catholic Social Thought - A Primer
2025-07-28 - 2025-08-01 | Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, Av. Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Macul, Santiago de Chile, Chile
Apply here
Now in its eight 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, 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 Catholic University of Chile, between July 28 and August 1. Partial travel reimbursement funds 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 March 16, 2025.

Please direct any further questions to contact@credo-economists.org or seminars@lumenchristi.org

Newman Forum Summer Institute | Encountering Transcendence: Truth, Beauty, and Goodness in the Catholic Intellectual Tradition
2025-08-06 - 2025-08-10
APPLY HERE
Registration for the Newman Forum Summer Institute is currently full. All new applications will be placed on a waitlist.
Registration Deadline: June 15th, 2025 | $450
Attendance Fee: EXTENDED to May 22nd, Early Bird Registration | $250
This project was made possible through the support of In Lumine Tuo: Expanding and Sustaining the Catholic Intellectual Tradition Nationwide (grant #63614) from the John Templeton Foundation and the generous support of our donors.
Cosponsored by the Archdiocese of Chicago Vocations Office and The University of Saint Mary of the Lake at Mundelein Seminary.

“Wherefore if the goodness, beauty, and sweetness of creatures are so alluring to the minds of men, the fountainhead of the goodness of God Himself, in comparison with the rivulets of goodness which we find in creatures, will draw the entranced minds of men wholly to itself.”
-Thomas Aquinas, Summa Contra Gentiles, II.2.3.
“A test of what is real is that it is hard and rough. Joys are found in it, not pleasure. What is pleasant belongs to dreams.”

–Simone Weil, Gravity and Grace
What is Real? Where might we look to find it? And if we do find it, what will it be like to experience it?
In this 5-Day Summer Institute, high school students are introduced to college-level philosophy and theology through an investigation of the three “transcendentals” (truth, goodness, and beauty). Notre Dame professors Jay and Jennifer Newsome Martin will lead students through a discussion of Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Bonaventure, Aquinas, Newman, Ratzinger, von Balthasar, and relevant biblical texts. Throughout, we will investigate the role Truth, Goodness, and Beauty play in the life of the Christian.
We balance academic excellence with spiritual formation. Students learn how to pray the Liturgy of the Hours together, attend Daily Mass, and reflect on the vocation to which God is calling us. We also balance work and play. Mornings are for lectures and discussion; afternoons and evenings for excursions including an art tour and workshop at St. Gregory’s in Andersonville
Draft itinerary may be found HERE.
Testimonies
“I now have an entire community backing me up, and I feel empowered to set forth into college strong in my Faith and bring it into my everyday life.”
“Even if I don’t know exactly where I am on my pilgrimage, I know that I’m on my way to Christ.”
“Lumen Christi’s Newman Forum has created and developed a program that we wish every Catholic high school student could attend, not only to help begin them on their own intellectual and spiritual journeys, but also to have a staggering amount of fun, too. The thoughtful balance of intellectual, spiritual, and social activities in the gorgeous natural setting of the Mundelein Seminary campus made this event the highlight of our son’s year…”
-Jenny and Jay Martin, Professors of Theology at Notre Dame (and high school parents!)

Vocation of the Catholic Scholar
2025-08-10 - 2025-08-15 | Gavin House, 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL, 60637
The Vocation of the Catholic Scholar seminar was catalyzed by LCI’s Postdoctoral Fellows Program in Catholic Studies, which launched this fall. For the inaugural cohort of fellows, the institute was only able to accept two out of a pool of nearly seventy, highly-qualified candidates. This week-long seminar was born out of the interest of so many talented young Catholic scholars, seeking intellectual community and greater connection with the Church’s rich tradition. The seminar made it possible to bring an additional eleven of these young scholars for a week of formation, friendship, and discussion about the meaning of the role in the Church to which God has called them.
Each morning, Fr. Stephen Fields, SJ (Georgetown University) led a conversation on the seminar’s primary text: St. John Henry Newman’s The Idea of a University. Each afternoon, senior scholars shared their own reflections on research and teaching in the university in the light of their faith. They encouraged seminar participants to consider how the Catholic tradition enriches the scholarly vocation.
