Dear friends in Christ,
The Ecclesiastes Bible study will start with chapter 2 today, and possibly get into the third chapter (“A time to be born and a time to die,” etc.). It is a strange book, both in its outlook and in its attractive power. You are welcome to join me on the 5th floor at 10 o’clock. Or, as an alternative, you may wish to come to the same class repeated on Thursday at 12:40pm on the 2nd floor.
Dante’s Paradiso takes us into the heavens, as Dante literally conceives them, and to the spirits of the blessed, who greet Dante in ways that are different than his previous encounters with people in hell and purgatory. It is a strange book, and I’m looking forward to discussing it. On Monday (the 17th), between 6:15 and 7:45pm, we’ll have a seminar on cantos 1-17, and if you’ve read them, you’re welcome to join us. (The seminar on the rest of Paradiso will be on Monday, December 15.)
Can faith be a habit? Can faith become part of your character, like courage? Aquinas has interesting things to say about faith, and over the next three Tuesday evenings, you can join a class that is reading through some of his key passages on the topic. November 18 and 25, and December 2, in Andrew Hall, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. No advance reading is expected for this class.
And looking ahead, a happy announcement: Our parishioner Prof. Jeremy Waldron will be giving the prestigious Gifford Lectures at the University of Edinburgh in early 2015. His topic: “One Another’s Equals: The Basis of Human Equality.” Dr. Waldron will then be giving to Saint Thomas a precis of those lectures on three Wednesdays in Lent, beginning February 25, at 6:30pm. You might want to make note of those dates now.
With blessings as we come, once again, to the Lord’s Day,
Father Austin
