The Church Fathers: The Shaping of Christian Orthodoxy, Non-Credit Course

Lecture, 7:00pm Informal Dinner, 6:30pm Intended for University students, faculty, and recent graduates. Others interested in attending, contact info@lumenchristi.org. January 19 Athanasius of Alexandria: Theologian of the Incarnation†Aaron Canty (St. Xavier University) January 26 Jerome in Bethlehem Robin Darling Young (University of Notre Dame) February 2, 7:15pm Social Sciences 122 The Grand Design: An Augustinian Reply to Stephen Hawking John Cavadini (University of Notre Dame) February 9 Origen: Christian Faith and Greek Wisdom Andrew Radde-Gallwitz (Loyola University Chicago) February 16 St. Augustine on Love Jean-Luc Marion (University of Chicago, University Paris-Sorbonne) Registration closed. The event has reached seating capacity. February 23 Swift Hall, Third […]
Symposium on Timothy Matovina’s new book, “Latino Catholicism: Transformation in America’s Largest Church”

Cosponsored by The American Religious History Workshop and The Center for Latin American Studies Finely researched, engagingly written, and more comprehensive than any other book on the subject, Timothy Matovina’s Latino Catholicism is a scholarly labor of love that does justice to the historic presence of Latino Catholics in America….His book raises the bar for studies of U.S. religion and society. -Allan Figueroa Deck, S.J. Timothy Matovina (University of Notre Dame) with responses from: Peter Casarella (DePaul University) Kathleen Conzen (University of Chicago)
“The Grand Design: An Augustinian Reply to Stephen Hawking”

Cosponsored by The Theology Workshop Stephen Hawking has recently declared that philosophy is dead, and that science is the only reasonable method for securing knowledge. In response, Professor Cavadini will argue that philosophy is rooted in man’s wonder about the universe, and that scientific inquiry is only one aspect of true wisdom and should not be privileged over others.
“Benedict’s Teaching for Dark Ages, His and Ours”

While Roman civilization collapsed around him, Benedict a fifth-century monk and abbot authored his Rule for monks and set forth a way of life for the monasteries that would become one of the few lights of wisdom and civility in an age of increasing darkness and social isolation. Benedict taught those who lived in these dark ages how to make their daily lives an integrated whole of prayer and work, enlightened by the wisdom of Christ. In this respect, his Rule contains many lessons that apply to Christians in contemporary life.
“Thomas Aquinas on God and Evil”

Many people find that they cannot reconcile belief in the existence of God with the reality of evil; for if an all powerful and perfectly good God exists, then why is there so much suffering and injustice? Brian Davies, in his most recent book, Thomas Aquinas on God and Evil, argues that Aquinas gives us the proper theoretical framework for dealing with these tensions.
“Emotion and Virtue in Thomas Aquinas”

Co-sponsored by the Templeton Foundation and The Philosophy Department Abstract: For Aquinas, ethics is nothing other than the study of human psychology insofar as it flourishes or fails to flourish. Consequently, his thought on emotion is crucial to his account of virtue. This lecture will discuss Aquinas’s theory of the emotions and its implications for his virtue theory.
Newman, Vatican II, and the Hermeneutic of Continuity

Often called the Father of the Second Vatican Council, Newman both anticipated a number of its teachings and, through his recovery of the thought of the early Church, provides a hermeneutic of continuity for interpreting the Council’s documents.
The Unintended Reformation”

Co-sponsored by the Department of History and The Early Modern Workshop In his latest book, The Unintended Reformation, Brad Gregory identifies the unintended consequences of the Protestant Reformation and traces how it has shaped the modern condition. He argues that hyperpluralism, an absence of a shared sense of the common good, and the triumph of consumerism are each the long-term effects of a distinctive religious movement that marked the end of a period of history in which Christianity provided a framework for a shared intellectual, social, and moral life in the West.
“John Climacus” Non-Credit Course

Lecture, 7:00pm Informal Dinner, 6:30pm Intended for University students, faculty, and recent graduates. Others interested in attending, contact info@lumenchristi.org. May 24 “John Climacus: Cleansing, Death, and Resurrection in his “The Ladder of Divine Ascent” Perry Hamalis (North Central College) Co-sponsored by the Orthodox Christian Fellowship John Climacus (ca. 579-ca. 659) uses a number of analogies to describe the dynamics of spiritual development in his famous ascetical work, The Ladder of Divine Ascent. In addition to the image of a “ladder,” embedded in the work’s title, St. John uses a range of medical imagery, appeals to figures and events from the Hebrew Bible, and even […]
“The Making of Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Theologiae”

Co-sponsored by the Medieval Studies Workshop The Summa Theologiae of Thomas Aquinas stands among the finest expressions of the Catholic “understanding of faith” (intellectus fidei). Over a thousand commentaries have been written on it. A leading historian of Medieval Christian thought, Bernard McGinn explores Thomas’s reason for writing the Summa and its principles, structure, and originality.