Center for Catholic Studies Visiting Scholar Lecture Series

ABOUT THE LECTURE Kevin Grove lectures on the importance of memory in providing access to God. Grove, ordained a Holy Cross priest in 2010 at the University of Notre Dame, discusses the weight that the Catholic tradition places on memory. "Do this in memory of me," the Body of Christ, sacramental memory and more provide a basis for the religion. He will explore how far memory will take us, and more importantly where it will fail, in searching for God, using Scripture and a desire for God expressed in prayer. ABOUT THE LECTURER Father Kevin is a 2015-2016 research fellow at the Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study (NDIAS). Previously, he worked as a post-doctoral research fellow at L'Institut Catholique in Paris and completed his Ph.D. in philosophical at the University of Cambridge in England.

ABOUT THE LECTURE Glenn Hughes, Ph.D. joined the Center for Catholic Studies at SHU on Dec. 3, 2015. He discussed how great works of art, in order to exercise the most beneficial effects upon those who dwell with them, must be approached and responded to with an attitude of loving trust. He then focused on how such encounters might be occasions for, or contribute toward, that ongoing transformation in one's spiritual life that rightly bears the name of "religious conversion." ABOUT THE SPEAKER Glenn Hughes is Professor of Philosophy at St. Mary's University in San Antonio, TX, where he has recently been appointed St. Mary's chair in Catholic Philosophy. He is the author of three books of philosophy, numerous journal articles and book chapters, and two poetry chapbooks. His most recent book is "A More Beautiful Question: The Spiritual in Poetry and Art" (2011). He has been the recipient of a Fulbright research grant, an Earhart Foundation writing grant, an NEH pilot course development grant, and a St. Mary's University Distinguished Faculty Award.

ABOUT THE LECTURE Our bodies provide the foundation for everything we do as human beings. To do anything persistently amounts to the creation of habits and patterns in one's body. To pray unceasingly is no exception. In this presentation, Dr. LaChance explores the role of the body in prayer and draws from the work of the psychologist Eugene Gendlin.  He will describe a way of being more bodily present in prayer by increasing emotional self-awareness. Yet, prayer is not simply a human activity. Dr. LaChance will also discuss Karl Rahner and Basil Pennington in order to distinguish the psychological from the theological elements of prayer. ABOUT THE SPEAKER Dr. Paul LaChance is an independent researcher and psychotherapist.  His professional interests have been greatly inspired by the works of Fr. Bernard Lonergan and include the role of faith in human development.  He runs a private practice in Easton, PA and works with adolescents and adults facing the effects of trauma, loss and relational conflict. 

ABOUT THE LECTURE As the University of Toronto Press prepares to publish the English translation of Bernard Lonergan’s The Incarnate Word, written in Rome in the 1960s, Professor Jeremy Wilkins will set Lonergan’s writings on Christ within the context of his efforts to link ancient doctrine with contemporary concerns. Besides presenting an overview of The Incarnate Word and identifying some of Lonergan’s important contributions, he will take a more detailed look at what Lonergan had to say about Jesus’ knowledge of himself and his mission. ABOUT THE SPEAKER Jeremy Wilkins is Associate Professor of Theology at Regis College, the Jesuit faculty of theology at the University of Toronto. He is Director of the Lonergan Research Institute, the home of Lonergan's archives and center for the production of his Collected Works. The author of numerous articles on theological and philosophical topics, he is also co-editor, with Robert Doran, of The Incarnate Word and The Redemption, volumes 8 and 9 in the Collected Works of Bernard Lonergan.

ABOUT THE LECTURE How do we understand conflict between persons and groups?  How can the healing of such conflict take place?  In her talk Dr. Picard will discuss the "insight approach" to conflict mediation rooted in Bernard Lonergan’s theory of human understanding.  She will also share some concrete strategies and skills aimed at arriving at mutual understanding.  The talk will also provide ample time for questions and discussion designed to generate new ways of responding to conflict in both our professional and personal lives.   ABOUT THE SPEAKER Cheryl Picard, Professor Emeritus, Department of Law, Carleton University, Ottawa, is a practitioner, educator, and researcher in conflict management and mediation. She founded the Mediation Centre at Carleton University and is the co-author, with Kenneth Melchin, of Transforming Conflict through Insight.