Living
Theology Edinburgh
Monday 20th – Friday 24th July 2009
A
non-residential summer school in
Catholic Theology
St Catharine’s
Convent, 4 Lauriston Gardens, Edinburgh EH3 9HH
In the morning participants chose two from a list of optional courses to enable them to pursue special interests in small groups. In the afternoon all follow the Core Course on a central topic of Catholic thought, which this year was Jesus for
Us, given by Gerald O’Collins SJ.
CORE COURSE
Jesus for Us
Gerald O’Collins SJ
This course will take look at some central themes in Christian faith:
how we know Jesus and not merely know about him; Jesus as our High
Priest; pondering his Resurrection and how we experience the Risen
Christ.
Gerald O’Collins SJ taught for 33 years at the Gregorian University in
Rome. He is one of the best known writers on theology in the Church
today, the author of innumerable articles in professional and popular
journals and of 52 books such as Christology (Oxford Univ. Press), Jesus
Our Redeemer (Oxford University Press, 2008), Jesus. A Portrait
(Darton, Longman & Todd). Most recently he has published The Legacy
of John Paul II (Continuum) and Catholicism: A Very Short Introduction
(Oxford University Press).
OPTIONAL COURSES
Series A
A1 An Image of Belief: Michelangelo's ceiling in the Sistine Chapel:
Gero McLoughlin, SJ
From 1508 to 1512, Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling,
producing one of the world's greatest frescoes - and something more.
This course will look at the theological meaning of the fresco and relate
it to the religious atmosphere on the eve of the Reformation, as well as
explore Michelangelo's concern with the interplay of the religious crisis
and artistic change, his personal religious beliefs and his relationship
with reform-minded circles in early 16th century Italy. The course will
open with an explanation of the commission, the composition of the
fresco and the manner of its execution. There will be extensive use of
visual presentations.
Gero McLoughlin SJ has worked for more than 15 years in Jesuit spirituality
centres and has devoted the last 12 years to developing and running
training courses in Ignatian spirituality in the west of Scotland, Edinburgh,
Perth and Aberdeen. He is also the Jesuit Province Promoter of
Ignatian spirituality, assisting people working outside institutional settings
to develop their work in spirituality.
A2 Priests to Serve our God:
Michael Regan
In the year of the priest as called by Pope Benedict XVI, the course will
examine the nature of baptismal priesthood and ordained priesthood,
the way in which these two interrelate within the life of the Christian
community, with particular attention paid to the prayers of baptismal
initiation and the prayers of priestly ordination.
Michael Regan is a priest of the Archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh.
He is currently the Administrator of St Mary's Cathedral and
Dean of the St Giles (City of Edinburgh) Deanery. He studied liturgy at
the Institut Catholique in Paris and taught for a number of years in Scotus
College, the national Seminary for Scotland.
A3 St Paul’s Epistle to the Philippians:
Robert Murray SJ
In this letter Paul is writing to a community he has founded and loves
about how they should relate to each other as fellow-members in
Christ. It contains some of Paul’s most wonderful teachings. The core
of the letter presents Christ’s self-humiliation, descent, passion and
resurrection as the pattern of Paul’s own history, leaving status in Judaism
to follow Christ in poverty and to rise to life in confident hope of
resurrection. Please bring either the Revised Standard Version or the
New Revised Standard Version of the Bible.
Robert Murray is a research fellow at Heythrop College and is the author
of Symbols of Church and Kingdom, The Cosmic Covenant, and the commentary
on Philippians in The Oxford Bible Commentary.
OPTIONAL COURSES
Series B
B1 Conversion:
Peter Gallagher SJ
Discipleship has involved a change-of-heart and reformation of life for
many (perhaps all) disciples at least since Saint Paul. This course will
examine the concept of conversion and, in particular, its relation to
truth. In what sense is conversion a movement towards the truth? The
themes developed will be illustrated by examples drawn from the reports
of conversion left to us by such figures as Augustine, Ignatius
Loyola, Pascal and Edith Stein.
Peter Gallagher is Head of Philosophy at Heythrop College, University of
London.
B2 Understanding the Parables of the Gospel:
James Crampsey SJ
In the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, a major part of Jesus’ message
is given in the form of stories or parables. We also find parables in
the non-canonical Gospel of Thomas. Sometimes, the meaning of the
parables seems very obvious, but sometimes it is difficult to know exactly
what they are trying to say, and how they relate to Jesus’ proclamation
of the Kingdom and the evangelists’ proclamation of Jesus. The
course will look at the parables and see what meaning they had in their
original contexts and what meaning they have for us today.
James Crampsey SJ is a New Testament scholar, former Jesuit Provincial
and the Parish Priest of Sacred Heart, Lauriston.
B3 The Tasks of Life:
John McDade SJ
This course will look at the writings of some 20th Century Jewish philosophers
which have a bearing on our common human and religious
obligations. The focus will be on how Jewish religious and ethical
thinkers contribute to our understanding of human life, the limits of
what we might know and how in this tradition God relates to the task of
human flourishing. Attention will focus principally on Emmanuel
Levinas and others who cast light on the central issues he addresses.
John McDade SJ is Principal of Heythrop College, University of London
and is President of the Catholic Theological Association of Great Britain.
|