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Non-Credit Courses

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OPEN TO BOSTON AREA UNDERGRAD/GRAD/RECENT GRADS - REGISTRATION REQUIRED

BIOETHICS: 

PHILOSOPHY AND THEOLOGY

First and Third Saturdays, 3:45-4:45PM
Begins October 5, Fall Term, 4 Sessions
Harvard Catholic Center, Cambridge, MA

Sarah Byers, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Philosophy, Boston College

How do Catholics understand the relationship between the soul & the body? What implications does this relationship have for how we approach bioethical issues? This course will explore these questions, applying them especially to recent developments in biotechnology and medical practice. Readings distributed at meetings. Participants are also invited to the 5:00PM Mass followed by a casual dinner.

This non-credit course is made possible through the support of grant #62372 from the John Templeton Foundation, “In Lumine: Promoting the Catholic Intellectual Tradition on Campuses Nationwide.”

OPEN TO BOSTON AREA UNDERGRADS - REGISTRATION REQUIRED

LEISURE: THE BASIS OF CULTURE

Fridays, 5:00 PM

Fall Term, 6 sessions, begins September 20
Harvard Catholic Center/St. Paul’s, Cambridge, MA

Join us in reading & discussing Josef Pieper's ground-breaking book, Leisure: The Basis of Culture. Pieper traces the true meaning of leisure and its relationship to work, and the crucial difference between leisure and idleness. He reveals how leisure properly understood drastically impacts philosophy, religion, and economics. Reading materials & dinner provided.

This reading group is made possible through the support of grant #62372 from the John Templeton Foundation, “In Lumine: Promoting the Catholic Intellectual Tradition on Campuses Nationwide.”

OPEN TO BOSTON AREA UNDERGRAD/GRAD/RECENT GRADS - REGISTRATION REQUIRED

Co-sponsored by the Abigail Adams Institute

JANE AUSTEN’S

SENSE AND SENSIBILITY

Wednesdays, 6:00PM
Begins September 18, Fall Term

Harvard Catholic Center/St. Paul’s, Cambridge, MA

This group will read and discuss Jane Austen’s first published novel, Sense and Sensibility, a classic story about family, love, moral character, and social expectations. Various themes including aesthetic ideals, realism, and moral reflection will be explored. Dinner provided.

OPEN TO BOSTON AREA UNDERGRADS - REGISTRATION REQUIRED

Co-sponsored by the Harvard Catholic Center Undergraduate Chaplaincy

CATHOLIC SOCIAL THOUGHT: 

CATHOLIC LIFE IN THE MODERN WORLD

Mondays, 8:00-9:15PM, 

Begins September 9, Fall Term

Harvard Catholic Center/St. Paul’s, Cambridge, MA

This reading and discussion group explores key insights found in Catholic Social Thought and examines how these ideas can shape how we respond to contemporary social and political challenges. Reading materials & light refreshments provided.

This group is made possible through the support of grant #62372 from the John Templeton Foundation, “In Lumine: Promoting the Catholic Intellectual Tradition on Campuses Nationwide.” The opinions expressed in this group are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the John Templeton Foundation.

OPEN TO ALL - REGISTRATION REQUIRED

DANTE ALIGHIERI’S

DIVINE COMEDY: PURGATORIO

Second and Fourth Fridays, 12:00-1:15 PM

Begins September 13, Fall Term, 6 Sessions

St. Paul's/Harvard Catholic Center, Harvard Square

Brian FitzGerald, D. Phil., Lecturer on Medieval Studies and the Study of Religion, Harvard University

This course will read in translation and discuss the second part, Purgatorio, of Dante Alighieri’s masterpiece, Divine Comedy. The instructor will pay particular attention to Dante’s conception of the relationship between theology, literature, and the spiritual life. Lunch provided.

OPEN TO BOSTON AREA UNDERGRAD/GRAD/YOUNG PROFESSIONAL

Offered in collaboration with the Harvard Catholic Center

CHORAL TUTORIAL WORKSHOP

Academic Year, Sundays 3:30-4:30 PM before the 5 PM Mass

Offered by HCF Graduate Fellow Adam Ziccardi

For those of any ability or skill level, including beginners. Because musical skills are learned. not innate, the workshop offers that learning in a way that is fun, rewarding, and community-building. Each week, learn techniques, drill fundamentals, and master one hymn or chant that can be sung with the choir and Schola at the 5pm Mass. Attend regularly and become a functional singer in less than one semester, and musically literate in one year - building a lifelong skill that is liturgically useful and personally edifying.

OPEN TO ALL - REGISTRATION REQUIRED

CHRISTIAN LATIN: 

AUGUSTINE’S CONFESSIONS

1st and 3rd Mondays, 7:00 - 8:00 PM (Eastern Time) 

Begins September 16, runs through May 2025

Zoom

Taught by patristics scholar Christopher McLaughlin and Classical languages instructor Michael O’Brien.

Participants should have completed and have some recollection of one year or more of Latin. Read and translate selected passages from this seminal work of world literature and of the Catholic tradition, while reading the full text in English.  Readings distributed for each class; notes and study aids provided. Primary focus is on translation, but theology, history, and rhetoric will be touched on as well.

OPEN TO ALL - REGISTRATION REQUIRED

NEW TESTAMENT GREEK: 

ACTS AND 1 CORINTHIANS

1st and 3rd Tuesdays, 7:00 - 8:00 PM (Eastern Time) 
Begins September 17, through May 2025

Zoom

Taught by Classical languages instructor Michael O’Brien and Deacon Tim O’Donnell (Harvard Catholic Forum).

Participants should have completed and have some recollection of one year or more of Classical or Koine Greek. Fall semester: concluding section from the Acts of the Apostles; Ch. 24-28 (continuing from last year). Spring: Selections from 1 Corinthians in Greek; full letter covered in English. Readings distributed for each class; extensive study aids are available online. Primary focus is on translation, but theology, history, and rhetoric will be touched on as well.

OPEN TO HARVARD UNDERGRAD/GRAD - REGISTRATION REQUIRED

Co-presented by the Harvard Catholic Forum

RATZINGER MEMORIAL SOCIETY: 

SATURDAY DISCUSSION GROUP

Saturdays, 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM 

Begins January 27, Spring Term

St. Paul's/Harvard Catholic Center, Harvard Square

The Ratzinger Memorial Society is rooted in the conviction that theology should form the center of a liberal arts education. The Society runs a discussion group every Saturday at 11:00AM during the academic term, co-presented with the Harvard Catholic Forum. It hosts talks, reading groups, and fellowship that support an intellectually rigorous exploration of the Catholic tradition. Refreshments provided. 

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Co-sponsored by St. Paul’s Parish

SUMMER BOOK CLUB:

SIGRID UNDSET’S OLAV AUDUNSSON

Four Wednesdays, begins June 26, 5:30-6:45 PM

St. Paul’s Campus

Led by Deacon Tim O’Donnell and Reed Morgan, HCF Graduate Student Fellow

Sigrid Undset gives us a gripping four-volume tale of guilt and redemption, love and suffering, violence and divine Providence, centering on the life, times, and family of Olav Audunsson in medieval Norway. The group will discuss one volume at each session, using Tiina Nunnally’s translation. Registration required.

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