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DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20251103T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20251103T193000
DTSTAMP:20260531T080018
CREATED:20251001T155442Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251008T002122Z
UID:10001756-1762192800-1762198200@lumenchristi.org
SUMMARY:The Vice of Curiosity
DESCRIPTION:REGISTER BELOW\n6:00 – 7:30 p.m. | Dinner Provided \nThis event is designated for University of Chicago graduate students. Other students interested in attending should contact William Hurley at whurley@lumenchristi.org. Students will receive a copy of the texts. \nThis project is 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. \nIn our Information Age\, we are constantly bombarded by a deluge of new knowledge\, whether it be academic works\, social media alerts\, or 24/7 news blasts. In the academy in particular\, we are taught from an early age that the ideal student is the one with insatiable curiosity –  a never-ending appetite for knowledge in whatever guise it may come. And yet if we are honest\, this ceaseless quest for total knowledge often leaves us more distracted and anxious than ever before. St. Augustine would have a surprising diagnosis for our age – we suffer from the vice of curiositas\, a kind of malformed appetite for knowledge that prizes novelty and control over the intrinsically true\, good\, and beautiful.  \nIn the Vice of Curiosity and Intellectual Appetite\, esteemed theologian Paul J. Griffiths outlines an Augustinian critique of the modern academy’s ways of knowing\, including the history of how modernity turned curiosity from vice into virtue\, a theological criticism of patent law\, and analysis of why plagiarism is not in fact theft. In this five week reading group\, we will dive into the thought of both St. Augustine and Griffiths as we seek to understand what a properly catechized intellectual appetite looks like and how we can rightly desire knowledge as students. \nSchedule:\n\nOct 13 – Week 1: Introduction (Optional Reading\, Intellectual Appetite: 9-18 of Introduction)\nOct 20 – Week 2: The Vice of Curiosity\, p. 1-21 (Optional: I.A. p. 19-22 & 75-91)\nOct 27 – Week 3: V.C.\, p. 22-41 (Optional: I.A. p. 139-162)\nNov 3 – Week 4: V.C.\, p. 41-59 (Optional: I.A. p. 163-186)\nNov 10 – Week 5: V.C.\, p. 60-79 (Optional: I.A. p. 125-138)
URL:https://lumenchristi.org/event/the-vice-of-curiosity/2025-11-03/
LOCATION:Gavin House\, 1220 E 58th St.\, Chicago\, IL\, 60637
CATEGORIES:Reading Groups
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://lumenchristi.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Joseph_Wright_of_Derby_The_Alchemist-scaled.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20251104T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20251104T193000
DTSTAMP:20260531T080018
CREATED:20250904T183913Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251028T150247Z
UID:10001627-1762279200-1762284600@lumenchristi.org
SUMMARY:The Works and Legacy of St. Augustine
DESCRIPTION:REGISTER BELOW \n6:00 Dinner | 6:30 Lecture (last 20 Q & A) | 7:30 End \nThis event is designated for current University of Chicago graduate and undergraduate students. University of Chicago faculty and staff are also welcome to attend. Others interested in auditing should contact William Hurley at whurley@lumenchristi.org. \nIn his first public address\, Pope Leo XIV declared himself “a son of St. Augustine\, who once said\, ‘With you I am a Christian\, and for you I am a bishop.’” This moment served as an ode to the Augustinian order\, of which he is a member\, and marked St. Augustine as a central influence to his papacy.  \nIn order to understand Pope Leo XIV\, we must return to St. Augustine.  \nSt. Augustine of Hippo (A.D. 354–430) was a North African bishop and theologian whose writings\, like The Confessions and The City of God\, shaped Christian thought. After a life of searching and struggling with what is true\, he embraced the Christian faith. His philosophy ultimately centers on the idea of the restless soul finding rest in God. \nJoin us as we survey one of the most prominent theologians in the history of Christianity and explore his enduring legacy on the Church today. \n  \nSchedule: \nOct 7 – Week 1: City of God pt 1 \nWillemien Otten (Dorothy Grant Maclear Professor of Theology and the History of Christianity; also in the College; Associate Faculty in the Department of History\, Social Sciences Division\, The University of Chicago) \nThe City of God is a  major historical-theological work that gives both a macrohistory of the world but also a microhistory of Adam and Eve folded within it. The first two sessions of the class will deal respectively with the dynamics of the macro- and the microhistorical view. \nTo focus on City of God\, books 1\, 5 and 11-13. See also the article by James Wetzel\, “Augustine on the Origin of Evil: Myth and Metaphysics.” \nOct 14 – Week 2: City of God pt 2 \nWillemien Otten \nThe City of God is a  major historical-theological work that gives both a macrohistory of the world but also a microhistory of Adam and Eve folded within it. The first two sessions of the class will deal respectively with the dynamics of the macro- and the microhistorical view. \nTo focus on City of God\, books 14-15 and 19. See also the article by Willemien Otten\, “Between Exegesis and Naturalization: Gender and Creation in Augustine.” \nOct 21 – Week 3: Confessions \nRyan Coyne (Associate Professor of the Philosophy of Religions and Theology; also in the College\, The University of Chicago) \nOct 28 – Week 4: On The Trinity \nBernard McGinn (Naomi Shenstone Donnelley Professor Emeritus of Historical Theology and of the History of Christianity in the Divinity School and the Committees on Medieval Studies and on General Studies\, The University of Chicago) \nAugustine’s “De Trinitate” is one of his longer and most difficult writings. The book makes three significant contributions to Christian theology of the Trinity: (1) sorting out the biblical basis for the Trinity; (2)  establishing a “grammar” of correct speaking about the doctrine\, and (3) exploring the inner appropriation of the Trinity into the life of the believer. \nNov 4 – Week 5: On Christian Teaching \nScott Moringiello (Chair of the Department of Catholic Studies\, Associate Professor\, DePaul University) \nAugustine’s On Christian Teaching (De Doctrina Christiana) is in some ways an overlooked classic. But this book gets to the heart of Augustine’s theological vision. In explaining the proper way to interpret the Scriptures and to preach Augustine offers a vision of how to do theology. If you read the Scriptures\, and love does not increase in you\, you’re misreading them. \nNov 11 – Week 6: Augustine and the Sociology of the Self \nCassandra Sever (Postdoctoral Fellow\, The Lumen Christi Institute) \nWhat if the key to understanding today’s cultural crises is hidden in an ancient vision of the self? This lecture explores Augustine’s idea of the self as ordered to the sacred and meaning-seeking—and shows how this vision can illuminate the sociology of who we are\, what we long for\, and the fractures of the contemporary world. \nNov 18 – Week 7: History of the Augustinian Order \nFr. Peter Funk\, O.S.B. (Prior of the Monastery of the Holy Cross)
URL:https://lumenchristi.org/event/the-works-and-legacy-of-st-augustine/2025-11-04/
LOCATION:Gavin House\, 1220 E 58th St.\, Chicago\, IL\, 60637
CATEGORIES:Non-Credit Courses
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://lumenchristi.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Triunfo_de_San_Agustin.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20251106T170000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20251106T183000
DTSTAMP:20260531T080018
CREATED:20250922T143903Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251001T150246Z
UID:10001741-1762448400-1762453800@lumenchristi.org
SUMMARY:MacIntyre’s Dependent Rational Animals
DESCRIPTION:REGISTER BELOW\n5:00-6:30 p.m. | Dinner Provided \nThis event is designated for current University of Chicago graduate and undergraduate students. University of Chicago faculty and staff are also welcome to attend. Others interested in auditing should contact William Hurley at whurley@lumenchristi.org. \n“What is ‘in your character’ (NOT ‘in your wallet’)?”  Who is your guide to a happy\, fulfilled life–Nietzsche or Aristotle?  Given the ethical confusion\, indeed meltdown\, afflicting our society\, who offers the most reliable “moral compass” to help us find our way? \nThis reading course will read and discuss Dependent Rational Animals by Alisdair MacIntyre.  Drawing on Aristotle\, MacIntyre describes our biologically rooted condition and the need to cultivate the virtues that take account of our shared human condition.  Macintyre criticizes Aristotle’s ideal of the “great souled” man;  he argues for the cultivation of virtues that acknowledge our inescapable dependence and inter-dependency.  \nA midlife convert from atheistic Marxism to Catholicism\, MacIntyre is considered by many to be the most important moral philosopher of the past 50 years.  He died in the spring of 2025\, making a re-assessment of his life’s work all the more timely. \nCopies of Dependent Rational Animals will be provided to all participants. Weekly meetings are held over dinner. Weekly reading assignments are kept at or below 40 pages. \n  \nSCHEDULE\n\nOct. 16  Introduction (readings available in class Google Folder)\nOct. 23  DRA\, preface + chapters 1-4\, pp. 1-41\nOct. 30  DRA\, chapters 5-7\, pp. 43-80.\nNov. 6  DRA\, chapters 8-9\, pp. 81-118.\nNov. 13  DRA\, chapters 10-11\, pp. 119-146\nNov. 20  DRA\, chapter 12-13\, pp. 147-166
URL:https://lumenchristi.org/event/macintyres-dependent-rational-animals/2025-11-06/
LOCATION:Gavin House\, 1220 E 58th St.\, Chicago\, IL\, 60637
CATEGORIES:Reading Groups,Courses
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://lumenchristi.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/71z-L09Tf8L._UF10001000_QL80_.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20251106T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20251106T203000
DTSTAMP:20260531T080018
CREATED:20251001T150817Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251001T161959Z
UID:10001760-1762455600-1762461000@lumenchristi.org
SUMMARY:The Silmarillion
DESCRIPTION:REGISTER BELOW\n7:00 – 8:30 p.m. | Dinner Provided \nThis event is designated for University of Chicago graduate students. Other students interested in attending should contact William Hurley at whurley@lumenchristi.org. Students will receive a copy of the texts. \nPeter Thiel wants to live forever\, and he’s cited the works of JRR Tolkien as a justification: “why can’t we be elves?” But a careful reader of Tolkien’s works\, especially the cosmological and mythic stories in The Silmarillion\, knows that the answer to that question is very complicated. In this group\, we will discuss what Tolkien has to say about death\, mortality\, and suffering\, along with his rich worldbuilding and epic tales. \nSchedule:\n\nOct 16 – Week One (52 pages): Ainulindalë (pages 13-23)\, Quenta Silmarillion chapters 1-8 (pages 35-77)\nOct 23 – Week Two (52 pages): QS chapters 9-16 (78-130)\nOct 30 – Week Three (56 pages): QS chapters 17-19 (131-187)\nNov 6 – Week Four (49 pages): QS chapters 20-22 (188-237)\nNov 13 – Week Five (45 pages): QS chapters 23-24 (238-257)\, Akallabêth (257-283)
URL:https://lumenchristi.org/event/the-silmarillion/2025-11-06/
LOCATION:Gavin House\, 1220 E 58th St.\, Chicago\, IL\, 60637
CATEGORIES:Reading Groups
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://lumenchristi.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/7332.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20251110T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20251110T193000
DTSTAMP:20260531T080018
CREATED:20251001T155442Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251008T002122Z
UID:10001757-1762797600-1762803000@lumenchristi.org
SUMMARY:The Vice of Curiosity
DESCRIPTION:REGISTER BELOW\n6:00 – 7:30 p.m. | Dinner Provided \nThis event is designated for University of Chicago graduate students. Other students interested in attending should contact William Hurley at whurley@lumenchristi.org. Students will receive a copy of the texts. \nThis project is 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. \nIn our Information Age\, we are constantly bombarded by a deluge of new knowledge\, whether it be academic works\, social media alerts\, or 24/7 news blasts. In the academy in particular\, we are taught from an early age that the ideal student is the one with insatiable curiosity –  a never-ending appetite for knowledge in whatever guise it may come. And yet if we are honest\, this ceaseless quest for total knowledge often leaves us more distracted and anxious than ever before. St. Augustine would have a surprising diagnosis for our age – we suffer from the vice of curiositas\, a kind of malformed appetite for knowledge that prizes novelty and control over the intrinsically true\, good\, and beautiful.  \nIn the Vice of Curiosity and Intellectual Appetite\, esteemed theologian Paul J. Griffiths outlines an Augustinian critique of the modern academy’s ways of knowing\, including the history of how modernity turned curiosity from vice into virtue\, a theological criticism of patent law\, and analysis of why plagiarism is not in fact theft. In this five week reading group\, we will dive into the thought of both St. Augustine and Griffiths as we seek to understand what a properly catechized intellectual appetite looks like and how we can rightly desire knowledge as students. \nSchedule:\n\nOct 13 – Week 1: Introduction (Optional Reading\, Intellectual Appetite: 9-18 of Introduction)\nOct 20 – Week 2: The Vice of Curiosity\, p. 1-21 (Optional: I.A. p. 19-22 & 75-91)\nOct 27 – Week 3: V.C.\, p. 22-41 (Optional: I.A. p. 139-162)\nNov 3 – Week 4: V.C.\, p. 41-59 (Optional: I.A. p. 163-186)\nNov 10 – Week 5: V.C.\, p. 60-79 (Optional: I.A. p. 125-138)
URL:https://lumenchristi.org/event/the-vice-of-curiosity/2025-11-10/
LOCATION:Gavin House\, 1220 E 58th St.\, Chicago\, IL\, 60637
CATEGORIES:Reading Groups
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://lumenchristi.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Joseph_Wright_of_Derby_The_Alchemist-scaled.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20251111T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20251111T193000
DTSTAMP:20260531T080018
CREATED:20250904T183913Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251028T150247Z
UID:10001628-1762884000-1762889400@lumenchristi.org
SUMMARY:The Works and Legacy of St. Augustine
DESCRIPTION:REGISTER BELOW \n6:00 Dinner | 6:30 Lecture (last 20 Q & A) | 7:30 End \nThis event is designated for current University of Chicago graduate and undergraduate students. University of Chicago faculty and staff are also welcome to attend. Others interested in auditing should contact William Hurley at whurley@lumenchristi.org. \nIn his first public address\, Pope Leo XIV declared himself “a son of St. Augustine\, who once said\, ‘With you I am a Christian\, and for you I am a bishop.’” This moment served as an ode to the Augustinian order\, of which he is a member\, and marked St. Augustine as a central influence to his papacy.  \nIn order to understand Pope Leo XIV\, we must return to St. Augustine.  \nSt. Augustine of Hippo (A.D. 354–430) was a North African bishop and theologian whose writings\, like The Confessions and The City of God\, shaped Christian thought. After a life of searching and struggling with what is true\, he embraced the Christian faith. His philosophy ultimately centers on the idea of the restless soul finding rest in God. \nJoin us as we survey one of the most prominent theologians in the history of Christianity and explore his enduring legacy on the Church today. \n  \nSchedule: \nOct 7 – Week 1: City of God pt 1 \nWillemien Otten (Dorothy Grant Maclear Professor of Theology and the History of Christianity; also in the College; Associate Faculty in the Department of History\, Social Sciences Division\, The University of Chicago) \nThe City of God is a  major historical-theological work that gives both a macrohistory of the world but also a microhistory of Adam and Eve folded within it. The first two sessions of the class will deal respectively with the dynamics of the macro- and the microhistorical view. \nTo focus on City of God\, books 1\, 5 and 11-13. See also the article by James Wetzel\, “Augustine on the Origin of Evil: Myth and Metaphysics.” \nOct 14 – Week 2: City of God pt 2 \nWillemien Otten \nThe City of God is a  major historical-theological work that gives both a macrohistory of the world but also a microhistory of Adam and Eve folded within it. The first two sessions of the class will deal respectively with the dynamics of the macro- and the microhistorical view. \nTo focus on City of God\, books 14-15 and 19. See also the article by Willemien Otten\, “Between Exegesis and Naturalization: Gender and Creation in Augustine.” \nOct 21 – Week 3: Confessions \nRyan Coyne (Associate Professor of the Philosophy of Religions and Theology; also in the College\, The University of Chicago) \nOct 28 – Week 4: On The Trinity \nBernard McGinn (Naomi Shenstone Donnelley Professor Emeritus of Historical Theology and of the History of Christianity in the Divinity School and the Committees on Medieval Studies and on General Studies\, The University of Chicago) \nAugustine’s “De Trinitate” is one of his longer and most difficult writings. The book makes three significant contributions to Christian theology of the Trinity: (1) sorting out the biblical basis for the Trinity; (2)  establishing a “grammar” of correct speaking about the doctrine\, and (3) exploring the inner appropriation of the Trinity into the life of the believer. \nNov 4 – Week 5: On Christian Teaching \nScott Moringiello (Chair of the Department of Catholic Studies\, Associate Professor\, DePaul University) \nAugustine’s On Christian Teaching (De Doctrina Christiana) is in some ways an overlooked classic. But this book gets to the heart of Augustine’s theological vision. In explaining the proper way to interpret the Scriptures and to preach Augustine offers a vision of how to do theology. If you read the Scriptures\, and love does not increase in you\, you’re misreading them. \nNov 11 – Week 6: Augustine and the Sociology of the Self \nCassandra Sever (Postdoctoral Fellow\, The Lumen Christi Institute) \nWhat if the key to understanding today’s cultural crises is hidden in an ancient vision of the self? This lecture explores Augustine’s idea of the self as ordered to the sacred and meaning-seeking—and shows how this vision can illuminate the sociology of who we are\, what we long for\, and the fractures of the contemporary world. \nNov 18 – Week 7: History of the Augustinian Order \nFr. Peter Funk\, O.S.B. (Prior of the Monastery of the Holy Cross)
URL:https://lumenchristi.org/event/the-works-and-legacy-of-st-augustine/2025-11-11/
LOCATION:Gavin House\, 1220 E 58th St.\, Chicago\, IL\, 60637
CATEGORIES:Non-Credit Courses
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://lumenchristi.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Triunfo_de_San_Agustin.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20251112T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20251112T193000
DTSTAMP:20260531T080018
CREATED:20250918T161748Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251203T155853Z
UID:10001685-1762970400-1762975800@lumenchristi.org
SUMMARY:Religion\, Politics\, and Revolution in The Ancient City
DESCRIPTION:REGISTER BELOW\n6:00 p.m. Dinner | 6:15 p.m. Discussion | 7:30 p.m. End \nThis event is designated for current University of Chicago undergraduate students. All registrants will be provided with a free copy of the text.  \nThis seminar and the Nicklin Fellows are made possible by the First Analysis Institute. This seminar is co-sponsored by the Seldon Institute and is 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. \nDescription:\nNothing could be stranger than life in the cities of ancient Greece and Rome: \n\nProperty is private\, but its sale is forbidden\nCelibacy is illegal\nMarriage ceremonies combine ritualized force and denunciation of ancestors\nPolitics is all-consuming\n\nThe more one looks at the ancient world\, the odder it appears–until one realizes that ancient religion was the key to the social state. \nThe Ancient City is the great masterpiece of the 19th century French historian\, Numa Denis Fustel de Coulanges. By turning an incisive eye towards the primary sources of Ancient Greece and Rome\, supplemented by comparisons to ancient Hindu texts\, Coulanges reconstructed the basis of ancient Greek and Roman society. At the root of this society was ancient religion and the domestic cult.  Only by understanding ancient religion could one begin to understand the nature of ancient law\, property relations\, and political organization.  \nCoulanges traced the origin and development of the ancient city\, its transformation among various social and political revolutions\, and its demise. Coulanges’ new approach to old things paved the way for 20th century developments in anthropology and the sociology of religion. \nJoin us as we read selections of The Ancient City and discuss Fustel’s theses about the beginnings of religion\, the birth of political life\, and the nature of human society. \nSchedule:\nEach session will have about 15 pages of assigned reading. An additional 30 pages of recommended reading are suggested as well. \n\nOct 15 – Week 1: The Family and the Domestic Cult\nOct 29 – Week 2: The City\nNov 12 – Week 3: Revolutions\n\nPlease click here for the syllabus with more detailed reading assignments. PDFs of readings for the first session can be found here. \n\n\n \n\n \n  \nSeries Description:\nFundamental Questions Seminar \nThis 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. \nIn 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: \n\nOrganize a reading group\nBring a speaker to campus\nOrganize a movie night\nDevelop and plan future fundamental questions seminars\nWrite a paper for a journal\nAnd more!
URL:https://lumenchristi.org/event/religion-politics-and-revolution-in-the-ancient-city/2025-11-12/
LOCATION:Gavin House\, 1220 E 58th St.\, Chicago\, IL\, 60637
CATEGORIES:Fundamental Questions Seminar
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://lumenchristi.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Rome-_Ruins_of_the_Forum_Looking_towards_the_Capitol.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20251112T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20251112T203000
DTSTAMP:20260531T080018
CREATED:20250821T135355Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251216T161832Z
UID:10001618-1762972200-1762979400@lumenchristi.org
SUMMARY:Augustine the Teacher – Ever Ancient\, Ever New: The Sources of Pope Leo XIV | West Suburban Catholic Culture Series
DESCRIPTION:The West Suburban Catholic Culture Series\n\nEver Ancient\, Ever New:\nThe Sources of Pope Leo XIV\nREGISTER HERE\n\n  \nNovember 12th:\nAugustine the Teacher\nSchedule: 6:30 p.m. Drinks | 7:00 p.m. Dinner\, Lecture\, & Q&A | 8:30 p.m. End \nLECTURE DESCRIPTION \nDoctor of the Church\, Saint Augustine of Hippo\, has a lot to say about teaching. He writes memorably about the way his early teachers failed him\, teaching him to love praise and worldly success. He writes too about the vocation of the teacher\, a vocation he lived in many different ways as rhetorician\, father\, priest\, and bishop. In his early work “On the Teacher” he insists teaching is not a matter of passing along information. Instead\, he writes\, true teaching is an invitation to attend to the voice of Christ. Join Dr. Erika Kidd to learn more about Augustine’s timeless teaching wisdom and its continued relevance today. \nBusiness casual attire encouraged. For questions\, or if you would like to request a comped ticket as a priest\, religious\, or high school teacher\, please email Margaux (Killackey) Taffet at mtaffet@lumenchristi.org.
URL:https://lumenchristi.org/event/augustine-the-teacher-ever-ancient-ever-new-the-sources-of-pope-leo-xiv-west-suburban-catholic-culture-series/
LOCATION:Ruth Lake Country Club\, 6200 South Madison Street\, Hinsdale\, IL
CATEGORIES:West Suburban Series
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://lumenchristi.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/cq5dam.thumbnail.cropped.750.422.jpeg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20251113T170000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20251113T183000
DTSTAMP:20260531T080018
CREATED:20250922T143903Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251001T150246Z
UID:10001742-1763053200-1763058600@lumenchristi.org
SUMMARY:MacIntyre’s Dependent Rational Animals
DESCRIPTION:REGISTER BELOW\n5:00-6:30 p.m. | Dinner Provided \nThis event is designated for current University of Chicago graduate and undergraduate students. University of Chicago faculty and staff are also welcome to attend. Others interested in auditing should contact William Hurley at whurley@lumenchristi.org. \n“What is ‘in your character’ (NOT ‘in your wallet’)?”  Who is your guide to a happy\, fulfilled life–Nietzsche or Aristotle?  Given the ethical confusion\, indeed meltdown\, afflicting our society\, who offers the most reliable “moral compass” to help us find our way? \nThis reading course will read and discuss Dependent Rational Animals by Alisdair MacIntyre.  Drawing on Aristotle\, MacIntyre describes our biologically rooted condition and the need to cultivate the virtues that take account of our shared human condition.  Macintyre criticizes Aristotle’s ideal of the “great souled” man;  he argues for the cultivation of virtues that acknowledge our inescapable dependence and inter-dependency.  \nA midlife convert from atheistic Marxism to Catholicism\, MacIntyre is considered by many to be the most important moral philosopher of the past 50 years.  He died in the spring of 2025\, making a re-assessment of his life’s work all the more timely. \nCopies of Dependent Rational Animals will be provided to all participants. Weekly meetings are held over dinner. Weekly reading assignments are kept at or below 40 pages. \n  \nSCHEDULE\n\nOct. 16  Introduction (readings available in class Google Folder)\nOct. 23  DRA\, preface + chapters 1-4\, pp. 1-41\nOct. 30  DRA\, chapters 5-7\, pp. 43-80.\nNov. 6  DRA\, chapters 8-9\, pp. 81-118.\nNov. 13  DRA\, chapters 10-11\, pp. 119-146\nNov. 20  DRA\, chapter 12-13\, pp. 147-166
URL:https://lumenchristi.org/event/macintyres-dependent-rational-animals/2025-11-13/
LOCATION:Gavin House\, 1220 E 58th St.\, Chicago\, IL\, 60637
CATEGORIES:Reading Groups,Courses
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DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20251113T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20251113T203000
DTSTAMP:20260531T080018
CREATED:20251001T150817Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251001T161959Z
UID:10001761-1763060400-1763065800@lumenchristi.org
SUMMARY:The Silmarillion
DESCRIPTION:REGISTER BELOW\n7:00 – 8:30 p.m. | Dinner Provided \nThis event is designated for University of Chicago graduate students. Other students interested in attending should contact William Hurley at whurley@lumenchristi.org. Students will receive a copy of the texts. \nPeter Thiel wants to live forever\, and he’s cited the works of JRR Tolkien as a justification: “why can’t we be elves?” But a careful reader of Tolkien’s works\, especially the cosmological and mythic stories in The Silmarillion\, knows that the answer to that question is very complicated. In this group\, we will discuss what Tolkien has to say about death\, mortality\, and suffering\, along with his rich worldbuilding and epic tales. \nSchedule:\n\nOct 16 – Week One (52 pages): Ainulindalë (pages 13-23)\, Quenta Silmarillion chapters 1-8 (pages 35-77)\nOct 23 – Week Two (52 pages): QS chapters 9-16 (78-130)\nOct 30 – Week Three (56 pages): QS chapters 17-19 (131-187)\nNov 6 – Week Four (49 pages): QS chapters 20-22 (188-237)\nNov 13 – Week Five (45 pages): QS chapters 23-24 (238-257)\, Akallabêth (257-283)
URL:https://lumenchristi.org/event/the-silmarillion/2025-11-13/
LOCATION:Gavin House\, 1220 E 58th St.\, Chicago\, IL\, 60637
CATEGORIES:Reading Groups
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DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20251114T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20251114T213000
DTSTAMP:20260531T080018
CREATED:20251029T001442Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251030T212338Z
UID:10001768-1763143200-1763155800@lumenchristi.org
SUMMARY:Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life
DESCRIPTION:REGISTER BELOW\n6:00 – Dinner | 6:30 Film | 9:30 End \nPlease reach out to Graham Certain (gtcertain@uchicago.edu) with any questions. \nWidely considered Terrence Malick’s masterpiece\, The Tree of Life is a meditation on the transcendent order of creation and the place of man in it. The film tells the story of Jack O’Brien and his family as he grows up in 1950s suburban Texas\, interwoven with scenes from his adulthood and from the dawn of the universe. It is a glimpse into how nature and grace\, suffering and beauty\, strife and love all come together in a cosmic whole which surpasses understanding. \nThe event will consist of dinner beginning at 6pm\, some brief introductory remarks beginning at 6:30\, the film itself immediately following\, and a discussion to conclude. Runtime is 139m. \nThe movie screening will be held at the Woodlawn House\, a Victorian mansion located at 5554 S Woodlawn Ave. It is the site of the Lumen Christi Institute’s residential student community. \n 
URL:https://lumenchristi.org/event/terrence-malicks-the-tree-of-life/
LOCATION:5554 S. Woodlawn Ave.\, Chicago\, IL 60637\, Hyde Park\, IL
CATEGORIES:Woodlawn Resident Project
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20251115T170000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20251115T193000
DTSTAMP:20260531T080018
CREATED:20251029T001425Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251106T212625Z
UID:10001623-1763226000-1763235000@lumenchristi.org
SUMMARY:Conversion in the Modern Church: The World\, the Flesh\, and the Devil
DESCRIPTION:REGISTER BELOW\nThis event is primarily designated for current University of Chicago students. This event is co-sponsored by the Calvert House. Please reach out to William Hurley (whurley@lumenchristi.org) with any questions. \nExperience the silence\, prayer\, and chant with the monks at the Monastery of the Holy Cross. In addition to a taste of the contemplative life\, join a conversation hosted by the Prior of the Monastery\, Fr. Peter Funk. He will lead a discussion on “Conversion in the Modern World\,” with a focus on “The World.” \nLumen Christi will coordinate rides to and from the monastery for those without transportation. \nSCHEDULE:\n\n5pm      –     Arrival\n5:15pm –    Vespers\n6:00pm –    Dinner (with reading)\n6:20pm –    Silent Prayer\n6:40pm –    Discussion\n7:05pm –    End Discussion\n7:15pm –    Compline\n7:30pm –    End
URL:https://lumenchristi.org/event/conversion-in-the-modern-church-the-world-the-flesh-and-the-devil/
LOCATION:The Monastery of the Holy Cross\, 3111 South Aberdeen St.\nChicago\, IL 60608\, Chicago\, IL
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20251118T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20251118T193000
DTSTAMP:20260531T080018
CREATED:20250904T183913Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251028T150247Z
UID:10001629-1763488800-1763494200@lumenchristi.org
SUMMARY:The Works and Legacy of St. Augustine
DESCRIPTION:REGISTER BELOW \n6:00 Dinner | 6:30 Lecture (last 20 Q & A) | 7:30 End \nThis event is designated for current University of Chicago graduate and undergraduate students. University of Chicago faculty and staff are also welcome to attend. Others interested in auditing should contact William Hurley at whurley@lumenchristi.org. \nIn his first public address\, Pope Leo XIV declared himself “a son of St. Augustine\, who once said\, ‘With you I am a Christian\, and for you I am a bishop.’” This moment served as an ode to the Augustinian order\, of which he is a member\, and marked St. Augustine as a central influence to his papacy.  \nIn order to understand Pope Leo XIV\, we must return to St. Augustine.  \nSt. Augustine of Hippo (A.D. 354–430) was a North African bishop and theologian whose writings\, like The Confessions and The City of God\, shaped Christian thought. After a life of searching and struggling with what is true\, he embraced the Christian faith. His philosophy ultimately centers on the idea of the restless soul finding rest in God. \nJoin us as we survey one of the most prominent theologians in the history of Christianity and explore his enduring legacy on the Church today. \n  \nSchedule: \nOct 7 – Week 1: City of God pt 1 \nWillemien Otten (Dorothy Grant Maclear Professor of Theology and the History of Christianity; also in the College; Associate Faculty in the Department of History\, Social Sciences Division\, The University of Chicago) \nThe City of God is a  major historical-theological work that gives both a macrohistory of the world but also a microhistory of Adam and Eve folded within it. The first two sessions of the class will deal respectively with the dynamics of the macro- and the microhistorical view. \nTo focus on City of God\, books 1\, 5 and 11-13. See also the article by James Wetzel\, “Augustine on the Origin of Evil: Myth and Metaphysics.” \nOct 14 – Week 2: City of God pt 2 \nWillemien Otten \nThe City of God is a  major historical-theological work that gives both a macrohistory of the world but also a microhistory of Adam and Eve folded within it. The first two sessions of the class will deal respectively with the dynamics of the macro- and the microhistorical view. \nTo focus on City of God\, books 14-15 and 19. See also the article by Willemien Otten\, “Between Exegesis and Naturalization: Gender and Creation in Augustine.” \nOct 21 – Week 3: Confessions \nRyan Coyne (Associate Professor of the Philosophy of Religions and Theology; also in the College\, The University of Chicago) \nOct 28 – Week 4: On The Trinity \nBernard McGinn (Naomi Shenstone Donnelley Professor Emeritus of Historical Theology and of the History of Christianity in the Divinity School and the Committees on Medieval Studies and on General Studies\, The University of Chicago) \nAugustine’s “De Trinitate” is one of his longer and most difficult writings. The book makes three significant contributions to Christian theology of the Trinity: (1) sorting out the biblical basis for the Trinity; (2)  establishing a “grammar” of correct speaking about the doctrine\, and (3) exploring the inner appropriation of the Trinity into the life of the believer. \nNov 4 – Week 5: On Christian Teaching \nScott Moringiello (Chair of the Department of Catholic Studies\, Associate Professor\, DePaul University) \nAugustine’s On Christian Teaching (De Doctrina Christiana) is in some ways an overlooked classic. But this book gets to the heart of Augustine’s theological vision. In explaining the proper way to interpret the Scriptures and to preach Augustine offers a vision of how to do theology. If you read the Scriptures\, and love does not increase in you\, you’re misreading them. \nNov 11 – Week 6: Augustine and the Sociology of the Self \nCassandra Sever (Postdoctoral Fellow\, The Lumen Christi Institute) \nWhat if the key to understanding today’s cultural crises is hidden in an ancient vision of the self? This lecture explores Augustine’s idea of the self as ordered to the sacred and meaning-seeking—and shows how this vision can illuminate the sociology of who we are\, what we long for\, and the fractures of the contemporary world. \nNov 18 – Week 7: History of the Augustinian Order \nFr. Peter Funk\, O.S.B. (Prior of the Monastery of the Holy Cross)
URL:https://lumenchristi.org/event/the-works-and-legacy-of-st-augustine/2025-11-18/
LOCATION:Gavin House\, 1220 E 58th St.\, Chicago\, IL\, 60637
CATEGORIES:Non-Credit Courses
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20251120T170000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20251120T183000
DTSTAMP:20260531T080018
CREATED:20250922T143903Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251001T150246Z
UID:10001743-1763658000-1763663400@lumenchristi.org
SUMMARY:MacIntyre’s Dependent Rational Animals
DESCRIPTION:REGISTER BELOW\n5:00-6:30 p.m. | Dinner Provided \nThis event is designated for current University of Chicago graduate and undergraduate students. University of Chicago faculty and staff are also welcome to attend. Others interested in auditing should contact William Hurley at whurley@lumenchristi.org. \n“What is ‘in your character’ (NOT ‘in your wallet’)?”  Who is your guide to a happy\, fulfilled life–Nietzsche or Aristotle?  Given the ethical confusion\, indeed meltdown\, afflicting our society\, who offers the most reliable “moral compass” to help us find our way? \nThis reading course will read and discuss Dependent Rational Animals by Alisdair MacIntyre.  Drawing on Aristotle\, MacIntyre describes our biologically rooted condition and the need to cultivate the virtues that take account of our shared human condition.  Macintyre criticizes Aristotle’s ideal of the “great souled” man;  he argues for the cultivation of virtues that acknowledge our inescapable dependence and inter-dependency.  \nA midlife convert from atheistic Marxism to Catholicism\, MacIntyre is considered by many to be the most important moral philosopher of the past 50 years.  He died in the spring of 2025\, making a re-assessment of his life’s work all the more timely. \nCopies of Dependent Rational Animals will be provided to all participants. Weekly meetings are held over dinner. Weekly reading assignments are kept at or below 40 pages. \n  \nSCHEDULE\n\nOct. 16  Introduction (readings available in class Google Folder)\nOct. 23  DRA\, preface + chapters 1-4\, pp. 1-41\nOct. 30  DRA\, chapters 5-7\, pp. 43-80.\nNov. 6  DRA\, chapters 8-9\, pp. 81-118.\nNov. 13  DRA\, chapters 10-11\, pp. 119-146\nNov. 20  DRA\, chapter 12-13\, pp. 147-166
URL:https://lumenchristi.org/event/macintyres-dependent-rational-animals/2025-11-20/
LOCATION:Gavin House\, 1220 E 58th St.\, Chicago\, IL\, 60637
CATEGORIES:Reading Groups,Courses
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