A Theology of Wonder: An Introduction to the Poetry of Ephrem the Syrian
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Free and open to the public. This event will be presented on Zoom (registration required), as well as through live-stream on YouTube. This event is presented in collaboration with the Godbearer Institute as part of a Fall webinar lecture series on “Eastern Catholic Theology in Action.” St. Ephrem is the common teacher of the Syriac theological tradition whose preferred medium is poetry. Named a doctor of the Church by Benedict XV, Ephrem emphasizes that the ascetical and mystical experience of wonder is the criterion for authentic theologizing. Dr. Hayes will discuss how Ephrem’s notion of wonder purifies our freedom and rendering the…
Venerating the Saints: An Ancient Tradition Actual Today

Free and open to the public. This event is co-presented with the Bollandist Society and America Media, and is co-sponsored by the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University, the Nova Forum, the Harvard Catholic Forum, the Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies at USC, the Hank Center for the Catholic Intellectual Heritage, the Georgetown Office of Mission and Ministry, and the Collegium Institute. This event will be held on Zoom (registration required) and live-streamed to YouTube. Few Christian practices are as ancient and widely popular as veneration of the saints. It is appropriate on this Feast of All Saints to review that history, consider the challenges it has faced, and…
A Good Man is Hard to Find: St. Joseph in Art

This event is co-presented with the Harvard Catholic Forum and co-sponsored by the Saint Benedict Institute, the Nova Forum, the Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies, the Ars Vivendi Arts Initiative of the Collegium Institute, the St. Paul’s Catholic Center, the St. Lawrence Institute for Faith and Culture, and the New England Chapter of the Patron of the Arts Vatican Museums. St. Joseph was an unassuming latecomer to the history of art, but once discovered, his images evolved rapidly to serve the Catholic Church during challenging times. From model for the papacy, to symbol of marriage and fatherhood, to guide for a good death…
How to be a Corinthian

This event is cosponsored by Calvert House Catholic Center. The first recipients of St. Paul’s letters did not keep their letters to themselves; as part of the organic life of the Church that Catholics call “Tradition,” the letters of Paul were collected together and incorporated into the New Testament. One amazing consequence of this Tradition at work is that everyone who reads these letters, regardless of time or place, becomes a Corinthian, or a Roman, or an Ephesian, thanks to the unifying power of the Holy Spirit. This conference will reflect on how the early Church received these letters, and…
The Eucharist in Art: Visualizing Mystery

Free and open to the public. This event will be held online through Zoom (registration required) and live-streamed to YouTube. This event is co-presented with the Harvard Catholic Forum and co-sponsored by the Saint Benedict Institute, the Nova Forum, the Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies, the Ars Vivendi Arts Initiative of the Collegium Institute, the St. Paul’s Catholic Center, the St. Lawrence Institute for Faith and Culture, and the New England Chapter of the Patron of the Arts Vatican Museums. The 17th century Catholic Church found itself engaged in a battle over the sacraments, especially the Eucharist. Most Protestant Reformers rejected the teaching of Transubstantiation,…
The Virgin Mary in the Art of Latin America 1520 – 1820

Free and open to the public. This event will be held online through Zoom (registration required) and live-streamed to YouTube. This event is co-presented with the Harvard Catholic Forum and co-sponsored by the Saint Benedict Institute, the Nova Forum, the Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies, the Ars Vivendi Arts Initiative of the Collegium Institute, the St. Paul’s Catholic Center, the St. Lawrence Institute for Faith and Culture, and the New England Chapter of the Patron of the Arts Vatican Museums. Latin Americans in colonial times had an abounding love for the Virgin Mary. During these 300 years, devotions to Mary proliferated widely, particularly among Amerindian…
West Suburban Catholic Culture Series on “The Liturgy”

REGISTER HERE FOR THE JUNE 9 PRACTICUM In 1918, the German priest Romano Guardini lamented that “the lack of fruitful and lofty culture causes spiritual life to grow numbed and narrow.” The remedy was that “prayer must be simple, wholesome, and powerful,” while also being “rich in ideas and powerful images, and speak a developed but restrained language.” Guardini concluded that this “is precisely the way in which the prayer of the liturgy has been formed.” The events of recent months have made us acutely aware of what we lose when the Church’s rites, ceremonies, and corporate worship (the liturgy) are…
The Riddle of the Ring: Dark Magic & Spiritual Danger in Tolkien

Open to current students and faculty. Dinner at 6:00 p.m. | Lecture at 6:30 p.m. “One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them. In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.” Everyone knows that Sauron made the One Ring, but nobody—including Tolkien—seems to know how it worked, perhaps because nobody—including Tolkien—explained how Sauron made it. Where did Tolkien get the idea of magic rings? What would it mean to make a magic ring? And what might explain its effects? In this lecture, Professor Rachel Fulton…
Michelangelo’s Women: Feminine Genius in the Frescoes of the Sistine Chapel

Cosponsored by the Department of Art History. This convening is open to all invitees regardless of vaccination status and, because of ongoing health risks, particularly to the unvaccinated, participants are expected to adopt the risk mitigation measures (masking and social distancing, etc.) appropriate to their vaccination status as advised by public health officials or to their individual vulnerabilities as advised by a medical professional. Public convening may not be safe for all and carries a risk for contracting COVID-19, particularly for those unvaccinated. Participants will not know the vaccination status of others and should follow appropriate risk mitigation measures. If…
Conversation on “Lost in Thought: The Hidden Pleasures of an Intellectual Life”

Free and open to the public. Cosponsored by the Undergraduate Program in Religious Studies at the University of Chicago. Copies of the book will be available for sale by the Seminary Co-op Bookstore at the event. This program will be held as a hybrid, in-person and online event. Join us for a conversation on Lost in Thought: The Hidden Pleasures of an Intellectual Life (Princeton University Press, 2020) with author Zena Hitz. ABOUT THE BOOK In an overloaded, superficial, technological world, in which almost everything and everybody is judged by its usefulness, where can we turn for escape, lasting pleasure, contemplation, or connection to others? While…