Lumen Christi Institute

The Thought of Rene Girard: Understanding the Faith in a Secular Age
2024-07-13 00:00 - 2024-07-20 00:00 (America/Chicago) | Stanford University, 450 Serra Mall, Stanford, CA 94305, Stanford, CA
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 2024 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.
Application materials are due February 25.
Contact us with any questions at seminars@lumenchristi.org.

Newman Forum Summer Institute | Mystery and Reality: The Eucharist in Catholic Thought, Art, and Life
2024-07-16 16:00 - 2024-07-21 12:00
Over six days, high school students will be introduced to college-level study through an investigation of the theology and artistic depictions of the Eucharist. Notre Dame professors Jay and Jennifer Martin will lead students through a discussion of thinkers like Ignatius of Antioch, Thomas Aquinas, and Joseph Ratzinger along with biblical texts.
We balance academic excellence with spiritual formation. Students learn how to pray the Liturgy of the Hours, attend Daily Mass, and reflect on their vocation. We also balance work and play. Mornings are for lectures and discussion, afternoons and evenings for excursions and fun.
This year we will take part in the 2024 Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis, leaving Friday afternoon and returning early Sunday morning.

Eudaimonia: Philosophical, Theological, and Psychological Perspectives
2024-07-21 00:00 - 2024-07-27 00:00 | University of Pennsylvania, 34th & Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19104
What is a good human life? What are the virtues and community types that enable us to live well? This seminar will explore the nature of virtue and happiness by putting philosophical and theological perspectives on eudaimonia in dialogue with the empirical findings and theoretical frameworks of contemporary psychology, especially the field of positive psychology situated at Penn. Possible topics to be explored include: (1) eudaimonia and its relation to subjective well-being, (2) virtue in the context of community and social institutions, (3) the significance of religion and transcendence for human flourishing, (4) interdisciplinary perspectives on concepts like (a) freedom and grace, conditioning and constraint; (b) acquired virtue and infused virtues, or (c) sin / failure and forgiveness / resilience.
This Magi Summer Seminar is presented by the Collegium Institute and the Lumen Christi Institute, and will feature lectures by Martin E.P. Seligman (University of Pennsylvania), Candace Vogler (University of Chicago), Kristján Kristjánsson (University of Birmingham), Darcia Narvaez (University of Notre Dame), David Cloutier (Catholic University of America), and Sarah Schnitker (Baylor University).
LOCATION AND FORMAT

The seminar will take place at University of Pennsylvania. 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 most meals covered for the duration of the seminar.
Participants will arrive in Pennsylvania on Sunday, July 21 and depart on Saturday, July 27. 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).
Application Deadline is February 2.
15 applicants will be admitted to the seminar.

Contact us with any questions at seminars@lumenchristi.org.
The Application Deadline is Friday February 2.
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.”

Catholic Social Thought: A Critical Investigation
2024-07-27 00:00 - 2024-08-03 00:00 | University of California, Berkeley, S Hall Rd. Berkeley, CA 94720, Berkeley, CA
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.
Most Meals (some on their own) and lodging will be provided for participants.
Participants will receive a stipend of up to $350 to offset travel expenses.
Participants will arrive on Saturday, July 27 and depart on Saturday, August 3.
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 25, 2024.
Contact us with any questions at seminars@lumenchristi.org.

Heart Speaks to Heart: John Henry Newman on Faith, Reason, and Holiness
2024-08-28 18:30 - 20:30 | Gavin House, 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL, 60637
Registration has been closed
(If you would like to be put on a waitlist in case we receive a cancellation, please email mcorona@lumenchristi.org)
Each year, the West Suburban Catholic Culture series presents sophisticated yet accessible lectures drawn from the treasure house of the Church’s intellectual tradition. These lectures explore contemporary themes and issues by presenting faithful Catholic teaching in a way that avoids the acrimony of the culture wars.
As a capstone to the 2023-2024 series on Faith and Reason, the Lumen Christi Institute will hold an intimate dinner-time lecture at its headquarters on the University of Chicago Campus. Associate Director and Scholar-in-Residence Austin Walker will discuss the thought of St. John Henry Newman, one of the most influential and sophisticated modern Catholic thinkers. Dr. Walker will take us through Newman’s famous and insightful account of how we discover, assent to, and communicate the truth and beauty of the faith.
Doors will open and cocktails will be served at 6:30 pm. Dinner and the lecture begin at 7:00 pm. The evening will conclude by 8:30 pm. The format will be the same as we follow at Ruth Lake Country Club; the one difference is that we at Lumen Christi will have the joy of hosting you.

What is Catholic Culture? - A Catholic Vision of Culture in the 21st Century | West Suburban Catholic Culture Series
2024-09-25 18:30 - 20:30 | Ruth Lake Country Club, 6200 South Madison Street, Hinsdale, IL
The West Suburban Catholic Culture Series Fall 2024
A Catholic Vision of Culture in the 21st Century
REGISTRATION
(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
September 25th:
What is Catholic Culture?
Jennifer Newsome Martin (University of Notre Dame)

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.”

CALENDAR
September 25: What is Catholic Culture?
Jennifer Newsome Martin (University of Notre Dame)
October 16: Literary Traditions and the Pursuit of Truth: A Culture of Humility
Emily Austin (University of Chicago)
November 20: The Story of Catholic Education: Renewing Our Schools, Renewing Our Culture
Michael Naughton (University of St. Thomas)
February 27: Journalism and Catholic Culture – CANCELLED
JD Flynn (The Pillar)
March 20: On Work
Paul Blaschko (University of Notre Dame)
April 24: A Catholic Vision of Sports
Clark Power (University of Notre Dame)

Graduate Student Social
2024-10-03 16:00 - 18:00 | Gavin House, 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL, 60637
REGISTER HERE
Open to current graduate students at the University of Chicago. Advanced registration is encouraged. Hors d’oeuvres and drinks will be provided. This social is co-presented by Calvert House.
Come join us over wine and cheese to celebrate the start of the new academic year. Learn more about the Lumen Christi Institute, Calvert House, and meet new and returning graduate students!
The social will run from 4:00pm – 6:00pm on Thursday, October 3rd at Gavin House (1220 East 58th Street).

Art and Beauty in the Middle Ages: Umberto Eco Graduate Reading Group
2024-10-07 18:00 - 19:30, 2024-10-14 18:00 - 19:30, 2024-10-21 18:00 - 19:30, 2024-10-28 18:00 - 19:30, 2024-11-04 18:00 - 19:30, 2024-11-11 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 Aidan Valente at valenteaidan@uchicago.edu. Books and drinks will be provided. This will be held at the LCI Residence (5554 S Wooodlawn Ave).
“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” – This well-worn aphorism suggests that what we find “beautiful” relies only on subjective taste; and yet, many would agree in finding a Gothic cathedral obviously more beautiful than a brutalist library. Is there, then, an objective component to beauty, and if so, where and how can we locate it?
Philosophers and theologians of the Middle Ages argued for the objectivity of beauty, but they did so in diverse ways. This reading group will follow Umberto Eco’s introduction to medieval aesthetics (in the scholastic context and especially the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas) and will explore both Eco’s sources and his interpretation of medieval attitudes toward art and architecture.
An optional session at the end of the course will take place at the Art Institute of Chicago to examine and discuss medieval art first-hand.
SCHEDULE:
This group will meet on Mondays (beginning Oct 7th) from 6:00pm – 7:30pm over dinner.
Oct 7: Preface, Introduction, and I: The Medieval Aesthetic Sensibility (19 pages)
Oct 14: II, Transcendental Beauty and III, The Aesthetics of Proportion (26 pages)
Oct 21: IV, The Aesthetics of Light and V, Symbol and Allegory (22 pages)
Oct 28: VI, Aesthetic Perception and VII, The Aesthetics of the Organism (19 pages)
Nov 4: VIII, Development and Decline of the Aesthetics of the Organism and IV, Theories of Art (21 pages)
Nov 11: X, Inspiration and the Status of Art and XI, Conlusion (19 pages)
A optional trip, free with a UCID, to the Art Institute of Chicago or Smart Museum will be planned to conclude the group.
A copy of Art and Beauty in the Middle Ages will be provided to all participants. The reading may be picked up at Gavin House (1220 E 58th street) during buisness hours at the start of the fall quarter.

The University of Chicago is famous for its graduate student reading groups, in which students pursue their own intellectual interests among friends in an informal setting. The Lumen Christi Institute supports this endeavor by sponsoring a number of graduate student reading groups each quarter. LCI provides space, hospitality, and books.
Reading groups cover the whole spectrum of ideas. Texts do not need to be explicitly Catholic, though we follow St. Paul’s injunction to attend to whatever is true, noble, right, admirable, and lovely (Phil 4:8). Groups follow LCI’s guiding principles, which…

Affirm the intellectual life as good in itself

Ask questions animated by the principle that “all knowledge forms one whole”

Transcend the ideological / political divide (i.e., programs should not be partisan in nature)

Welcome religious perspectives as part of the intellectual life (i.e., programs need not be theological in nature but conversations should be open to religious insights)

Nurture friendships, to support the pursuit of truth, beauty, and goodness (i.e., programs should have a social component)

Non-Credit Course | Science and Religion: Historical and Philosophical Perspectives
2024-10-08 18:00 - 19:30, 2024-10-15 18:00 - 19:30, 2024-10-22 18:00 - 19:30, 2024-10-29 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 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.
Registrants are free to attend as many sessions as they choose. Sessions do not presuppose previous attendance or prior knowledge of the subject.
It is often assumed, on the basis of contemporary controversies, that science and religion have always been in an oppositional relationship, and that conflict between them is inevitable. In this course we will consider the long history of science-religion relationships, exploring the ways in which religious factors played a positive role in the emergence of modern science, and were important in establishing a permanent and prominent place for scientific activity at the heart of modern Western culture. Specifically, the course will consider how the very ideas of ‘science’ and ‘religion’ came to take on their present form, while examining historical episodes such as the Galileo affair, the publication of Darwin’s Origin of Species, and the nineteenth-century invention of the conflict thesis. We will also discuss how historical insights can provide resources for helping understand present relations between science and religion.
SCHEDULE
October 8th: The Boundaries of Science & Religion

Further Reading: Harrison, Peter, Territories of Science and Religion ch 1 and 2.

October 15: Religion and the Rise of Science

Further Reading: Harrison, Peter, ‘Christianity and the Rise of Western Science’, ABC Religion and Ethics, 8 May, 2012.
Further Reading: Harrison, Peter, Territories of Science and Religion, ch. 3.

October 22: Exemplars of Conflict: Galileo and Darwin

Further Reading: Graney, Christopher, ‘Opposition to Galileo was Scientific, not just Religious’, Aeon Magazine, 21 September, 2016.
Further Reading: Dixon, Thomas and Adam Shapiro, Science and Religion, chs. 2 & 4.

October 29: Science and Modern Naturalism

Further Reading: Harrison, Peter, Some New World, Introduction.

FORMAT
Tuesdays, October 8-October 29
6:00pm: Dinner
6:30pm: Presentation

Undergraduate Student Social
2024-10-09 18:00 - 20:00 | Gavin House, 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL, 60637
REGISTER HERE
Open to current undergraduate students at the University of Chicago. Advanced registration is encouraged. Pizza will be provided.
Come join us over pizza to celebrate the start of the new academic year. Learn more about the Lumen Christi Institute and meet new and returning undergraduate students!
The social will run from 6:00pm – 8:00pm on Wednesday, October 9th at Gavin House (1220 East 58th Street).
Undergraduate Only Events

Fundamental Questions Seminar: Civilization on the Brink? Modern Philosophy and the Abolition of Man

Poverty, Injustice, Liberation: Class Conflict in Latin America and The Theology of Gustavo Gutierrez

The Brothers Karamazov Reading Group

An Inquiry into the Value of Work: A Discussion of Matt Crawford’s Shop Class as Soulcraft
2024-10-10 17:30 - 19:30 | University Club of Chicago, 76 E Monroe St Chicago, IL 60603, Downtown, IL
REGISTER HERE
5:30 Cocktail and Hors d’Oeuvres | 6:30 Opening Remarks | 6:45 Dialogue and Q&A | 7:30 End
Through the generosity of LCI’s donors, undergraduate and graduate students are able to attend this event for free. Interested students should email Marial Corona at mcorona@lumenchristi.org to register.
This event is cosponsored at The Point Magazine.
Published in 2009, Matthew Crawford’s Shop Class as Soulcraft became an unexpected best-seller. Written by a University of Chicago PhD and motorcycle mechanic, the book explored the value of craftsmanship and manual work in a world increasingly dominated by technology and abstract thinking.
Drawing on his own experiences as a philosopher and motorcycle mechanic, Crawford argued that hands-on labor offers a sense of purpose, fulfillment, and autonomy often lacking in the world around us. The book delves into the intellectual and philosophical richness of craftsmanship, challenging the conventional wisdom that separates thinking from doing, and seeks to reintegrate man with the created world.
In this downtown conversation, Crawford will rehearse the major themes of his bestseller. He will then enter into conversation with experts in Catholic social thought, to discuss the ways in which his insights about purposeful work and craft resonate with the Church’s insights about the dignity of labor and the value of the created world.
Crawford will be joined by Kirk Doran, a University of Notre Dame economist and expert in labor economics and Catholic Social Thought, and Elisa Rubbo, a University of Chicago economist, whose research focuses on how macroeconomic variables affect different industries and labor markets.

Dante's Divine Comedy Graduate Reading Group
2024-10-10 18:00 - 19:30, 2024-10-24 18:00 - 19:30, 2024-11-07 18:00 - 19:30, 2024-11-21 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.
In what is perhaps the literary triumph of the European imagination, Dante Alighieri’s Commedia offers a vision of unforgettable cosmic and spiritual grandeur. Join us on this journey from the horrors of Hell, along Mount Purgatory’s breathtaking vistas, all the way into the bosom of the eternal Church Triumphant as our poet-protagonist discovers the meaning of sin, love, virtue, and redemption in conversation with his guides, Virgil and Beatrice.
This reading group will 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 on Thursdays (beginning October 10th) from 6:00pm – 7:30pm over dinner. We will read 10 cantos before each meeting.

Oct 10: Inferno 1-10

Oct 24: Inferno 11-20

Nov 7: Inferno 21-30

Nov 21: Inferno 31-34, Purgatorio 1-6

Dec 5th: Purgatorio 7-17

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 buisness hours at the start of the fall quarter.

The University of Chicago is famous for its graduate student reading groups, in which students pursue their own intellectual interests among friends in an informal setting. The Lumen Christi Institute supports this endeavor by sponsoring a number of graduate student reading groups each quarter. LCI provides space, hospitality, and books.
Reading groups cover the whole spectrum of ideas. Texts do not need to be explicitly Catholic, though we follow St. Paul’s injunction to attend to whatever is true, noble, right, admirable, and lovely (Phil 4:8). Groups follow LCI’s guiding principles, which…

Affirm the intellectual life as good in itself

Ask questions animated by the principle that “all knowledge forms one whole”

Transcend the ideological / political divide (i.e., programs should not be partisan in nature)

Welcome religious perspectives as part of the intellectual life (i.e., programs need not be theological in nature but conversations should be open to religious insights)

Nurture friendships, to support the pursuit of truth, beauty, and goodness (i.e., programs should have a social component)

The Boldness of Belief and Timidity of Technology: A Symposium on Gratitude, Creation, and the Technological Mindset
2024-10-11 15:00 - 16:30 | Social Sciences, Tea Room, 1126 E 59th St. Chicago, IL 60637, Hyde Park, IL
REGISTER HERE FOR ZOOM LIVESTREAM
REGISTER HERE FOR IN-PERSON
Open to students and faculty. For more information, contact dstrobach@lumenchristi.org.
This event is cosponsored and supported by the University of Chicago John U. Nef Committee on Social Thought. It is also cosponsored by The Point Magazine. 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.
In his Introduction to Christianity, Joseph Ratzinger saw that at the root of the “technological mindset” was an anxiety about how man can come to know the world. Ratzinger contrasted the technological orientation to the world with an orientation of belief. Belief was not incomplete or provisional knowing, but a trustful standing upon and loyalty to that which is given by Creation.
In this symposium, Matt Crawford and Mark Shiffman will come together to discuss the problem of virtue in light of Ratzinger’s distinction. Crawford will begin by exploring how the virtue of gratitude often eludes us under a technological mindset. A better approach is to boldly entrust oneself to that which one cannot make or fully grasp.
Mark Shiffman will respond by using this same distinction between technocracy and givenness to and explain the difference between optimism and hope. Melanie Barrett will also offer comments.
On Saturday, Matt Crawford and Mark Schiffman will lead a Master Class on Max Scheler’s work, Ressentiment.

Is Christianity a Slave Morality? Max Scheler on Ressentiment
2024-10-12 12:00 - 15:00 | Gavin House, 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL, 60637
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.
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.
In his book Ressentiment, the German philosopher Max Scheler deepens Nietzsche’s account of ressentiment, the life-denying disposition of spite, envy and revenge. Nietzsche finds this spiritual sickness to be the inner secret of so-called Christian love, which is really an expression of weakness. Scheler turns this account upside down, and finds Christianity a life-affirming doctrine that elevates its adepts into generosity and strength. Scheler also sharply distinguishes Christian love from egalitarian humanitarianism. Sometimes called “the Nietzschean Catholic,” Scheler is thus a helpful guide for thinking through the quarrels that are emerging today between the neo-pagan, online Right, which takes its bearings from Nietzsche, and the nascent revival of orthodox Christianity. Scheler equips us to see some overlap in the intuitions of these camps, and to retrieve a more aristocratic and virile strand in the Christian tradition. It is a strand that can speak to our present discontents, and to the pervasive sense of civilizational collapse.
Readings:
We will read Max Scheler’s Ressentiment, which may be found here
The master class will focus on:

Ch. 1
Ch. 3
Ch. 4

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 David Strobach at dstrobach@lumenchristi.org to let us know you are coming.
Discussion Questions Forthcoming
Schedule:
11:30-12:00 | Optional pre-event lunch
12:00-1:20 | Session 1
1:20-1:40 | Coffee break
1:40-3:00 | Session 2
3:00-3:30 | Reception

The Brothers Karamazov Reading Group
2024-10-14 18:00 - 19:30, 2024-10-21 18:00 - 19:30, 2024-10-28 18:00 - 19:30, 2024-11-04 18:00 - 19:30, 2024-11-11 18:00 - 19:30, 2024-11-18 18:00 - 19:30, 2024-11-25 18:00 - 19:30, 2025-01-13 18:00 - 19:30 and 5 more dates | 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)

Greek New Testament Reading Group
2024-10-15 13:00 - 14:00, 2024-10-22 13:00 - 14:00, 2024-10-29 13:00 - 14:00, 2024-11-05 13:00 - 14:00, 2024-11-12 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 Tuesday (beginning October 15th) from 1pm – 2pm.

The University of Chicago is famous for its graduate student reading groups, in which students pursue their own intellectual interests among friends in an informal setting. The Lumen Christi Institute supports this endeavor by sponsoring a number of graduate student reading groups each quarter. LCI provides space, hospitality, and books.
Reading groups cover the whole spectrum of ideas. Texts do not need to be explicitly Catholic, though we follow St. Paul’s injunction to attend to whatever is true, noble, right, admirable, and lovely (Phil 4:8). Groups follow LCI’s guiding principles, which…

Affirm the intellectual life as good in itself

Ask questions animated by the principle that “all knowledge forms one whole”

Transcend the ideological / political divide (i.e., programs should not be partisan in nature)

Welcome religious perspectives as part of the intellectual life (i.e., programs need not be theological in nature but conversations should be open to religious insights)

Nurture friendships, to support the pursuit of truth, beauty, and goodness (i.e., programs should have a social component)

Civilization on the Brink? Modern Philosophy and the Abolition of Man
2024-10-16 18:00 - 19:30, 2024-10-30 18:00 - 19:30, 2024-11-13 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.
This seminar and the Nicklin Fellows are cosponsored by the First Analysis Institute, and 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.
REGISTER HERE
In 1944, CS Lewis looked upon civilization and was amazed by what he saw:
In a sort of ghastly simplicity, we remove the organ and demand the function. We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honor and are shocked to find traitors in our midst. We castrate and bid the geldings be fruitful.
What was it about 20th century philosophy that horrified Lewis? Was the embrace of relativism a step towards greater social progress, or did it threaten the foundations of society? Did the conquest of nature result in “nature’s conquest over man”, a victory that made man less than human? Was there a source of universal values, such as natural law, that could prevent the abolition of man? How would one know if such a law existed with a seemingly infinite number of traditions and beliefs?
In The Abolition of Man, C.S. Lewis, from an intentionally non-Christian perspective, delivered a scathing critique of moral relativism and the limitless advancements of science. This seminar will delve into Lewis’s bold arguments and challenge participants to confront uncomfortable questions about the direction of our values, ethics, and what it means to be human.
Professor Erin Walsh, Assistant Professor of New Testament and Early Christian Literature, will join us for the conversation.

Schedule
6:00 PM Dinner | 6:15 PM Discussion | 7:30 PM Close
October 16th: “Men Without Chests” (27 pages)
October 30th: “The Way” (26 pages)
November 13th: “The Abolition of Man” (27 pages)

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 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!

Literary Traditions and the Pursuit of Truth: A Culture of Humility - A Catholic Vision of Culture in the 21st Century | West Suburban Catholic Culture Series
2024-10-16 18:30 - 20:30 | Ruth Lake Country Club, 6200 South Madison Street, Hinsdale, IL
The West Suburban Catholic Culture Series Fall 2024
A Catholic Vision of Culture in the 21st Century
REGISTRATION
(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
October 16th:
Literary Traditions and the Pursuit of Truth: A Culture of Humility
Emily Austin (University of Chicago)
The challenges of our times can make Christians feel embattled and besieged. But the Catholic intellectual tradition, at its best, equips us to look with openness for the Truth, incarnate in the world around us. In this lecture, Prof. Emily Austin will share her perspective as a classicist, reading within a literary tradition. To read within a tradition requires patience and attentiveness, allowing each text to teach you how to read anew. She will argue that a Catholic literary culture requires—and fosters—humility. The pursuit of Truth is most productively sought, in a literary context, within a community of friends
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.”

CALENDAR
September 25: What is Catholic Culture?
Jennifer Newsome Martin (University of Notre Dame)
October 16: Literary Traditions and the Pursuit of Truth: A Culture of Humility
Emily Austin (University of Chicago)
November 20: The Story of Catholic Education: Renewing Our Schools, Renewing Our Culture
Michael Naughton (University of St. Thomas)
February 27: Journalism and Catholic Culture – CANCELLED
JD Flynn (The Pillar)
March 20: On Work
Paul Blaschko (University of Notre Dame)
April 24: A Catholic Vision of Sports
Clark Power (University of Notre Dame)

2024 Annual Meeting of the In Lumine Network
2024-10-17 08:30 - 2024-10-18 18:30 | The Study Hotel, 1227 E 60th St, Chicago, IL, 60637
INVITATION ONLY
The In Lumine Network, consisting of thirteen independent institutes for Catholic Thought located at top research universities throughout the U.S., will hold its annual best practices meeting October 17th-18th at the Study Hotel at the University of Chicago. The meeting will be held in conjunction with Baylor University’s meeting of Christian study centers and institutes for Catholic thought on the topic of developing moral communities within higher education. This is the 3rd annual in-person meeting for the In Lumine Network. The 2 day event will bring together leaders from various Catholic institutes and Christian study centers for workshops and panels on how these institutes and centers can best achieve their missions today at secular universities. The event will also offer an opportunity for fellowship, communal prayer, and participation in the liturgy among the attendees.
While the annual meeting is by invitation only, there will be a public panel titled “Virtue, Moral Formation, and the University” on Thursday, October 17th from 5:00pm – 6:30pm.
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.

Virtue, Moral Formation, and the University
2024-10-17 17:00 - 18:30 | Swift Hall, 3rd Floor Lecture, 1025 E 58th St. Chicago, IL 60637, Hyde Park, IL
REGISTER HERE FOR IN-PERSON
REGISTER HERE FOR LIVESTREAM
Open to students and faculty. 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.
As scholars such as Julie Reuben have documented, there has been a decline in the mission of moral formation of students over the history of US higher education and this role of the university is no longer to be taken for granted. What role, if any, does the university play in the moral formation of its students? Is moral formation beyond the bounds of its mission or is it inescapable? What virtues are formed in the modern university? This public panel, part of the Annual Meeting of the In Lumine Network, will serve to provide a broad conversation about the role of the university in regard to virtue and moral formation.
Image courtesy of: Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library

Latin Vulgate Reading Group
2024-10-18 10:45 - 11:45, 2024-10-25 10:45 - 11:45, 2024-11-01 10:45 - 11:45, 2024-11-08 10:45 - 11:45, 2024-11-15 10:45 - 11:45 | 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 Oct 18th) from 10:45am – 11:45am over coffee, tea, and pastries.

The University of Chicago is famous for its graduate student reading groups, in which students pursue their own intellectual interests among friends in an informal setting. The Lumen Christi Institute supports this endeavor by sponsoring a number of graduate student reading groups each quarter. LCI provides space, hospitality, and books.
Reading groups cover the whole spectrum of ideas. Texts do not need to be explicitly Catholic, though we follow St. Paul’s injunction to attend to whatever is true, noble, right, admirable, and lovely (Phil 4:8). Groups follow LCI’s guiding principles, which…

Affirm the intellectual life as good in itself

Ask questions animated by the principle that “all knowledge forms one whole”

Transcend the ideological / political divide (i.e., programs should not be partisan in nature)

Welcome religious perspectives as part of the intellectual life (i.e., programs need not be theological in nature but conversations should be open to religious insights)

Nurture friendships, to support the pursuit of truth, beauty, and goodness (i.e., programs should have a social component)

Poverty, Injustice, Liberation: Class Conflict in Latin America and The Theology of Gustavo Gutierrez
2024-10-18 15:00 - 18:00 | Gavin House, 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL, 60637
REGISTER HERE
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. Fabricio Wei, who designed this program, is a Nicklin Fellow. This program is for undergraduate students only.
What is the task of Christian theology in our time? How can we talk about God in the midst of poverty and injustice, without being naive or paternalistic? How can theology help us understand the call for liberation coming from people experiencing marginalization, violence and destitution?
In this class, we will address these and other key questions drawing from the work of one of the most influential theologians of the 20th and 21st centuries, Gustavo Gutierrez. We will focus on Gutierrez’s diagnosis of Modernity and how modern values such as autonomy and freedom, together with growing industrialization and capitalism shaped most theological discourse during the 20th century. With Gutierrez, we will examine whether modern, European and North American theology has been mainly focused on the needs of the most privileged in society, being often complicit with systems that cause poverty and inequality. In turn, we will study the emergence and main tenets of liberation theology as a response to both the inadequacies of modern theology and the needs of the poor and most vulnerable. Can theology be both a source for political liberation and spiritual growth, especially for those who experience the destructive effects of poverty, racism, and other affronts to our human dignity? Liberation theology’s answer is in the affirmative. Our task–through close textual analysis and critical discussion–will be to examine how Gutierrez and the liberation theology movement reached such a conclusion, while drawing lessons for the present.
Readings:
We will read Gustavo Gutierrez’s The Power of the Poor in History (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1992 [1979]), Chapter 7, “Theology from the Underside of History.” Optional reading includes the 1st Chapter of A Revolutionary Faith (Stanford UP, 2023) by Dr. Raul Zegarra.
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:
2:30-3:00 | pre-event pastries and coffee
3:00-4:20 | Session 1
4:20-4:40 | Coffee break
4:40-6:00 | Session 2

Christian Martyrdom in the Reformation Era: Reflections on Salvation at Stake (1999) after Twenty-Five Years
2024-10-24 17:00 - 19:30 | Saint Ignatius College Prep, 1076 W Roosevelt Rd, Chicago, IL
5:00 p.m. Mass.
Lecture & reception to follow
Cosponsored by the Bollandist Society, St. Ignatius College Prep. Supported by the Fr. Paul V. Mankowski, S.J., Memorial Fund for Jesuit Scholarship at Lumen Christi.
Free and open to the public. Registration required.
In Reformation Europe, several thousand Christian men and women were executed for their religious beliefs. Brad Gregory told their stories and analyzed the implications in Salvation at Stake, his ground-breaking 1999 book comparing how Catholic, Protestant, and Anabaptist martyrs understood themselves. His book has been acclaimed widely and has shaped how many historians now write about religious belief and practice. In this lecture, Prof. Gregory will reflect on the themes of his research on Christian martyrdom, especially in light of more recent developments that point to why the study of history and martyrdom continue to be relevant today.

Non-Credit Course | Reasonably Vicious
2024-11-05 18:00 - 19:30, 2024-11-12 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.
Reasonably Vicious, originally published in 2002, has been praised by Alasdair MacIntyre as a “distinctive, well-argued, in some key respects original and beautifully written account of practical reason.”
Philosopher Candace Vogler explores the problem of evil, with Aquinas and Anscombe as her main interlocutors. She challenges contemporary moral psychology with a nuanced perspective that ties together practical reason, practical good, and the source of wrongdoing.
Vogler offers a complex understanding of moral agency by examining how moral actions are shaped by rationality, human desires, and motivations.
Reasonably Vicious has for twenty years remained a significant contribution to contemporary ethical discourse by making traditional philosophy relevant to modern moral challenges.
Join us as Prof. Vogler takes us through her work in a 3 session non-credit course. Participants will receive a copy of Reasonably Vicious.
FORMAT
Tuesdays, Nov 5-Nov 12
6:00pm: Dinner
6:30pm: Presentation

On the Dignity of Society: Catholic Social Teaching and Natural Law
2024-11-07 17:00 - 18:30 | Swift Hall, First Floor Common Room, 1025 E 58th St,Chicago, IL 60637, Hyde Park, IL
REGISTER HERE
For more information, contact dstrobach@lumenchristi.org.
Co-sponsored by the Catholic University of America Press.
Russell Hittinger has long been one of the world’s leading scholars of Catholic social teaching and natural law theory. His most recent book, On the Dignity of Society, presents the fruit of his mature thinking on fundamental issues in Catholic political thought. Rooted in Thomistic philosophy and natural law theory, but also animated by his study of St. Augustine and thus sensitive to historical contexts and arenas for moral and theological disputation, Hittinger articulates the deepest principles of the Church’s social teaching and sheds considerable light on their historical applications. At this event, Profs. Mary Hirschfeld and R. H. Helmholz will discuss Hittinger’s latest work, and the event will conclude with a response from Prof. Hittinger.
On Saturday, Russ Hittinger and Scott Roniger will lead a master class titled “What Is a Society? On the Coherence of Catholic Social Thought from Pope Leo XIII to Pope Francis.“

What Is a Society? On the Coherence of Catholic Social Thought from Pope Leo XIII to Pope Francis
2024-11-08 14:00 - 17:00 | Gavin House, 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL, 60637
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.
In this masterclass, we will discuss one of the most fundamental questions in Catholic social teaching: What is a society? We will track the various ways this question has been raised and answered in papal teaching from Leo XIII through the current pontificate of Pope Francis. We will see that tracing the magisterium’s treatment of the nature of society allows us to assess the coherence of modern Catholic social doctrine, and it also enables us to explore other pressing issues. Are there societies necessary for human flourishing? If so, which ones? Can we truthfully speak of an international or global society? If so, what are our obligations to such a society?
Readings:
The readings will consist of an essay by Russell Hittinger and selections from papal documents from Leo XIII to Francis.
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:
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

Magis Lecture | Technology, Liturgy, and the Work of Human Hands
2024-11-14 17:00 - 19:15 | Loyola Academy McGrath Family Performing Arts Center, 3455 Illinois Rd, Wilmette, IL, 60091
REGISTER HERE
5:00 Mass | 5:45 Drinks & Hors d’Oeuvres | 6:30 Lecture | 7:15 End
Co-presented by Loyola Academy.
Free and open to the public. Registration required. For questions, please contact Marial Corona at mcorona@lumenchristi.org.
Technology always pushes the limits of our thinking and challenges us morally. In this presentation, we will see that our difficulty with evaluating the morality of technology is because technology sits very close to human identity. Human culture just is technology. Technology/culture is produced by us, but it in turn comes to produce human identity. If this is true, what do we make of the work of human hands as Christians?
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 entree into the mind of the Church is welcome and encouraged to attend; no affiliation with either high school is needed.

The Story of Catholic Education: Renewing our Schools, Renewing our Culture - A Catholic Vision of Culture in the 21st Century | West Suburban Catholic Culture Series
2024-11-20 18:30 - 20:30 | Ruth Lake Country Club, 6200 South Madison Street, Hinsdale, IL
The West Suburban Catholic Culture Series Fall 2024
A Catholic Vision of Culture in the 21st Century
REGISTRATION
(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
November 20th:
The Story of Catholic Education: Renewing our Schools, Renewing our Culture
Michael Naughton (University of St. Thomas)
If we do not know where we come from, it is hard to know what role we play. Dr. Michael Naughton provides a compelling narrative of Catholic education that draws upon our personal, institutional, and cosmic stories. This narrative gives us a vision both to see our current educational challenges more clearly, and to act with confidence and creativity to renew the mission and culture of our Catholic schools.
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.”

CALENDAR
September 25: What is Catholic Culture?
Jennifer Newsome Martin (University of Notre Dame)
October 16: Literary Traditions and the Pursuit of Truth: A Culture of Humility
Emily Austin (University of Chicago)
November 20: The Story of Catholic Education: Renewing Our Schools, Renewing Our Culture
Michael Naughton (University of St. Thomas)
February 27: Journalism and Catholic Culture – CANCELLED
JD Flynn (The Pillar)
March 20: On Work
Paul Blaschko (University of Notre Dame)
April 24: A Catholic Vision of Sports
Clark Power (University of Notre Dame)

The Brothers Karamazov Reading Group
2024-11-25 18:00 - 19:30 | Gavin House, 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL, 60637
There will be no group on 11/25.
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)

Visit to the Monastery of the Holy Cross
2024-12-07 16:00 - 20:00 | The Monastery of the Holy Cross, 3111 South Aberdeen St. Chicago, IL 60608, Chicago, IL
REGISTER HERE
Open to current university students and faculty. Others interested in attending please contact dstrobach@lumenchristi.org. Transportation will be provided.
Join us for an edifying evening of prayer, dinner, and conversation with the Benedictine monks at the Monastery of the Holy Cross on the south side of Chicago. We will pray the Divine Office (Vespers and Compline), have dinner, and discuss a spiritual topic with prior of the monastery and University of Chicago alum Fr. Peter Funk, OSB. Following monastic tradition of oral reading during meals, selections of a text will be read during dinner and discussion will follow.
More information about the monastery can be found here.
Schedule
4:15pm Meet at Gavin House (1220 E. 58th St.)
4:30pm Depart from Hyde Park
5:00pm Arrive at the Monastery, welcome by Prior Funk
5:15pm Office of Vespers
6:00pm Dinner & Discussion
7:15pm Office of Compline
8:00pm Arrive back in Hyde Park

Winter Student Social
2025-01-09 17:00 - 19:00 | Gavin House, 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL, 60637
REGISTER HERE
Open to current students at the University of Chicago. Advanced registration is encouraged. Dinner and drinks will be provided.
Come join us over pizza and drinks to kick off the start of the winter quarter. Learn more about the Lumen Christi Institute and enjoy an evening of fellowship!
The social will run from 5:00pm – 7:00pm on Thursday, January 9th at Gavin House (1220 East 58th Street).

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.

Non-Credit Course | The Bible and the Big Bang
2025-01-14 18:00 - 19:30, 2025-01-21 18:00 - 19:30, 2025-01-28 18:00 - 19:30, 2025-02-04 18:00 - 19:30, 2025-02-18 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.

Reading Course on The Drama of Atheist Humanism
2025-01-15 18:00 - 19:30, 2025-01-29 18:00 - 19:30, 2025-02-12 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

Dante's Divine Comedy Graduate Reading Group
2025-01-16 18:00 - 19:30, 2025-01-30 18:00 - 19:30, 2025-02-13 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

Eros, Order, and the Human Person: Dostoevsky and Plato on the Soul
2025-01-17 14:00 - 17:00 | Gavin House, 1220 E 58th St., Chicago, IL, 60637
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.
Perhaps the most fundamental themes in Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov are the struggle to disclose the truth of human nature and the way in which social life must be rooted in the truth of what it is to be a person. In this master class, we will show that the members of the Karamazov family can be understood as incarnations of the various “parts” of the human soul. Thus, their family drama represents the struggle to unify the desires of the soul in pursuit of truth and the social consequences of succeeding or failing to achieve this unity. By structuring the novel around the mystery of the human person as fundamental for political life, Dostoevsky gives a Christian recapitulation of the deepest themes in Plato’s Gorgias, where Socrates and his triad of interlocutors similarly present the dimensions of human nature and show the individual and social drama inherent in the education of the soul’s eros. Further, by presenting the truth of the human person as the foundation of a healthy society, Dostoevsky anticipates one of the most important themes in the work of Pope St. John Paul II.
Readings:
The readings will consist of selections of the Brothers Karamazov and the Gorgias.
Brothers Karamazov (Picador Edition): 3-26, 71-81, 258-261, 337-339, 349, 361, 383-385, 536-538, 585-591, 623-630, 660-665, 670-673, 675-678, 681-683, 688-690, 719-720, 737-740, 766-767, 821-823

Gorgias: 447d-449a, 452d-453a, 454b-455a, 456b-457c, 459a-459c, 461b-462b, 464b-466e, 469b-d, 470d-e, 472c-473e, 481b-484d, 491a-493a, 503d-504e, 505e, 507a-508b, 510d-511a, 521d-522a
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:
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

Greek New Testament Reading Group
2025-01-22 13:00 - 14:00, 2025-01-29 13:00 - 14:00, 2025-02-05 13:00 - 14:00, 2025-02-12 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.

How to Find Yourself on a Deserted Island: Ibn Tufayl's Philosophical Tale
2025-01-22 18:00 - 19:30, 2025-02-05 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
2025-01-23 18:00 - 19:30, 2025-02-06 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.

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 | 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 | 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 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 | 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”

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.

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.

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.
