Introduction to St. Therese of Lisieux
This course, taught by Deacon Colin Coleman, will give an overview of the life of St. Thérèse and her family. It will introduce you to the principal themes of the spirituality St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, looking at her works including poems, drawings etc. Students will have an opportunity to reflect on why her “Little Way” is so important in the new millennia and how St Thérèse attained the summit of love, which she did by facing the depths of her own powerlessness and by abandoning herself more and more to the incarnation of God’s mercy: Jesus Christ. She gave her life as a victim for souls so that they might know His merciful love. “I beseech You,” She prayed, “To cast Your Divine glance upon a vast number of little souls. I beg You to choose in this world a multitude of little victims worthy of Your Love.”
Vatican II states that all are called to holiness. By entering into the way of humility, suffering, beauty, and spiritual thoughtfulness we to can grow in awareness of being loved by an infinitely merciful Father.
Dates and Time: 8:30 PM – 10:30 PM Eastern, Mar 11, 18, 25, Apr 1, 8, 22 (no class Apr 15)
Register By: March 4, 2019
Gift of the Holy Spirit and the Divine Indwelling
This first-year graduate course is taught by Dr. Michael Gama. Dr. Gama will explore the theology of the Divine Indwelling and the Gift of the Holy Spirit in the life of faith. Besides the visible missions in which the Son and the Holy Spirit are historically manifest, there are invisible, spiritual missions in which the Word of the Father and the Fire of God’s Love are present to the soul in always new and more profound ways. Saint Thomas Aquinas, Saint Pope John Paul II, and Saint Elisabeth of the Trinity help the Church understand this mystery through their theological explanations, pastoral applications, and doctrinal descriptions. By discerning the complementarity of their approaches, this course demonstrates how the ultimate end of the divine economy is anticipated in this life.
Dates and Time: Tuesdays, 8:30 PM – 10:30 PM Eastern, Mar 12, 19, 26, Apr 2, 9, 23, 30, May 7, 14 (no class April 16)
Register By: March 5, 2019
Wisdom of the Saints from St. Athanasius to St. Bernard of Clairvaux
This course, taught by Dr. Michael Gama, provides an overview of the spiritual doctrine of Saint Athanasius, Saint Augustine, Saint Benedict and Saint Bernard. During this first thousand years of the life of the Church, the saints developed an awareness of quaerere Deum, lectio divina, conversatio morum, and habitare secum that informs the whole canon of spiritual literature in the wisdom that follows. Selection of texts has been made on the basis of these themes and their influence on the Schools of Spirituality that follow.
Dates and Time: Thursdays, 8:30 PM – 10:30 PM Eastern, Mar 14, 21, 28, Apr 4, 11, 25, May 2, 9, 16
Register By: Thursday, March 7, 2019
