As this Easter approaches, I am recalling an experience I had more than 60 years ago when I was a student in the major seminary. I was reading in chapel a book entitled “Christ in His Mysteries,” by Dom Abbot Marmion. I even remember the color of the book’s cover.
Arts and Culture
Fr. Robert Lauder is a philosophy professor at St. John’s University and the author of “Pope Francis’ Spirituality and Our Story” (Resurrection Press).
Story Time
It’s that time of year when I am involved with two “adult education programs”: the ongoing Monday evening Catholic novel series and the Friday Film Festival. Each program has been going on for more than 30 years. A few months ago, because attendance at each had dropped, I thought about terminating both.
Technology, Guardini And Self-Control
Insights of the great German theologian, Romano Guardini (1885-1968) to reflect on the advantages and dangers that technology can offer. Though many years ago I had read several of Guardini’s books and profited greatly from the insights in them, my current encounter with Guardini’s thought is through an essay about him, “Quiet Prophet of a Distracted Age” by Robert Dean Lurie in the Jesuit magazine, America (November 11, 2019).
Romano Guardini And Technology
I was delighted to discover an essay in the Jesuit weekly America last November about the German Catholic theologian, Romano Guardini. When I was a student in the major seminary back in the 1950s, Guardini was my favorite spiritual writer. I can’t even guess how many of his books I read.
The Power of Ideas
In many of the courses that I teach at St. John’s University, I devote the first few classes to a survey of the philosophy of secular humanism. This practice goes back several years. I mention to the members of the class that while I do not know whether they are familiar with the tenets of secular humanism, or even if they have ever heard of secular humanism, I stress that they have been exposed to it in many ways through the media such as contemporary films, newspapers, magazines, songs, television shows and perhaps even through some courses in science that they may have taken in high school.
A Sacramental World
On the feast of Christ the King, the reading from St. Paul was from Paul’s letter to the Colossians. Though I have often been inspired by this text from Paul, for some reason it seemed to take on new meaning for me.
Hatred and Love
Memories play tricks on us. I have been trying to recall my experience of studying undergraduate philosophy as a seminarian many years ago and comparing it with what I emphasize and stress in the philosophy classes I now teach at St. John’s University. Was there in the courses I took as an undergraduate any emphasis […]
We Are God’s Beloved
For about 30 years, I have been a member of a priest discussion group. I call myself the moderator because I usually pick the date on which we will meet and suggest the book that we will discuss.
Something About Holiness
Just about everyone I have spoken with who has seen the film “A Hidden Life” mentions how the film disturbed their conscience. Watching the story of a man, the Austrian farmer, Franz Jagerstatter, who during the Second World War refused to sign an oath of loyalty to Hitler and so eventually died a martyr, moves viewers to wonder what they would do if they were in his situation.
Challenging a Viewer’s Conscience
Third in a series
In the philosophy and film course that I teach at St. John’s University, I rely on the theory of art of the great Thomist philosopher, Jacques Maritain, to give the students some sense of the ingredients that make up a great film or indeed any great work of art. When I was an undergraduate student in philosophy many years ago, Maritain was referred to in just about every course that I took. I have found his theory of art one of his special contributions. Maritain’s insights, I think, have helped me to interpret novels, plays and films.