Avila Institute Fall Courses
Contemplative Prayer and the Angelic Doctor
(SSF 250)
Too often, our modern minds consider St. Thomas Aquinas to be something of a rigid and sterile academic. Nothing could be further from the truth. His piercing intellectual receptivity, his child-like purity, and his poetic intuition are just a few reasons the Church lifts him up as Her Common and Angelic Doctor.
Studying the work of the Angelic Doctor alongside selections from St. John of the Cross and St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, this course will consider the gifts of the Holy Spirit – as well as present a humble program for that work’s practical application in the life of any Catholic seeking to deepen mystical union with the One who is loving us into being.
Register By Date: Friday, October 26
Instructor: John Johnson
Class Dates: Nov 2, 9, 16, 30, Dec 7, 14
Class Time: Fridays, 8:30 pm – 10:30 pm Eastern Time
Growth in Holiness: Doctors of the Interior Life
(SSF 248)
Sir, we would see Jesus . . . This was the urgent request from the Greeks in John’s gospel who had met and listened to Jesus’ disciples. And it has also been, essentially, the same ultimate desire of the saints and Doctors of the Church who wished nothing more — or less — than to see Our Lord and be transformed by a growth in holiness and purity of heart, knowing that it is the pure in heart who shall see God.
In this class, we will explore the fruits and lessons of this grand desire in the lives and writings of these saints and Doctors of the Church and their pursuit of God. We will look for guidance in our own pursuit of holiness, to saints from both the east and the west. Saints such as Gregory the Great, St. John of the Cross, St. Teresa of Avila, St. Therese de Lisieux (The Little Flower), St. Bernard of Clairvaux, St. Maximus the Confessor and St. Isaac the Syrian. The great Doctors of the Church enjoyed and explored their own unique paths toward holiness and knowing God, originating from different vantage points, but all conforming, as it has been said, to “that great riverbed of Scripture and Tradition.”
Register By Date: Tuesday, October 30
Instructor: Dr. Michael Gama
Class Dates: Nov 6, 13, 20, 27, Dec 4, 11
Class Time: Tuesdays, 8:30 pm – 10:30 pm Eastern Time
All Avila Institute courses are LIVE, ONLINE, and INTERACTIVE. Avila students find themselves immersed in a global network of friends who share the same goal of sanctification. We learn together, pray together, and grow together. Our state-of-the-art online meeting technology allows for an intensely personal classroom experience. Students discuss, ask questions, and interact with the professor in real time. All courses are recorded, so students can watch and re-watch any time.
Learn more and apply here: avila-institute.org/apply.
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Art for this post on Avila Institute Fall Courses: Therese Martin Histoire D Une Ame A20 Of Lisieux Of The Holy Face And The Child Jesus and Vision Of Saint St John Of The Cross Jesus Christ Carrying Cross Jacob Van Oost The Younger.
