http://www.ai.edu RSS feeds for Aquinas Institute of Theology 60 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/75/Homily-on-the-Occasion-of-the-Blessing-of-the-Building.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=75 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=75&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/75/Homily-on-the-Occasion-of-the-Blessing-of-the-Building.aspx There is only one day in the church calendar when we celebrate a building. That is November 9, when we celebrate the dedication of the basilica of St. John Lateran. This feast, one out of 365 liturgical days, is a theological nod to the fact that even though persons are the primordial sacraments, sometimes things that persons create are sacraments, too – at least sacraments in a sense, perhaps with a small “s.” That feast reminds us that sometimes buildings, like other created and beautiful things, can be symbols of God’s presence in the world. The theologian Michael Himes talks about this in a “theological note” about Church institutions. He says that our institutions are not just incidental to the ministry of the Gospel; they are incarnational and we must consider them as “giving skin to Christ,” making Christ’s mission in the world real and actual. He suggests that failure to do so is actually a form of docetism, the heresy that Christ appeared to be human, appeared to have taken flesh; in reality, he never stepped into the real flesh of human existence. Himes writes: If we take the Incarnation seriously, if we believe that the second person of the trinity has become like us in all things except sin, then we must accept the fact that God expresses God’s self in time and space, here and now, not then and there. His point is that God’s self is also expressed in our institutions, embedded and entangled in culture as they are. St. John Lateran has a certain historical and theological pre-eminence for us because it was the first Christian basilica and the official Church of the Holy Father. But there are other churches that stand out for us because they are icons of their own time and place, “giving flesh to Christ” in a certain cultural idiom. Think of other classic Roman basilicas like San Clemente and Santa Sabina; among the earliest churches in Rome, they reflect in their majestic simplicity a growing confidence in a church that was only a few centuries old. Or think of Notre Dame, and Chartres and Rheims and Durham – great expressions of the medieval synthesis and the height of engineering and art. Or imagine Saint Sulpice in Paris, and its overwhelming Baroque exuberance; or Sagrada Familia in Spain, a church which always makes me think of a “melted” Gothic Cathedral, but which still reflects that periods’ artistic aspirations. Think of St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville, reflecting 20th century industrial Bauhaus architecture, or St. Peter’s Lutheran Church nestled, like a cornerstone, in the soaring, aluminum, Citicorp building in midtown Manhattan. The church is remarkable not only for its location but because the sanctuary is below street level. When you walk by you can look down in and see the congregation. This is a very important statement in a period in history when many people view the Church as opaque and obsolete. Then we’ve got this chapel, in a former adding machine factory, of all things. It doesn’t have the majesty of Santa Sabina or Chartres, but it too has an iconic character. It signifies the place that theology and spirituality have in a battered but recovering city; and we hope that it will be a place of truth and spirituality and a bold statement about Gospel hope in a post-industrial world. But of course buildings in themselves, for all their power to inspire and awe, are not enough. I n today’s first reading, St. Paul writes a letter of encouragement to Timothy. The letter is affectionate and warm (even mentioning his mother and grandmother) but the charge he gives is stern; St. Paul might even have been thinking of the words in the Gospel in Mark—which, even if not yet written down, were certainly in the oral tradition “Is a lamp brought in to be placed under a bushel basket or under a bed, and not to be placed on a lamp stand?” He might have been thinking of that lamp as he said to Timothy, “Stir the flame of the Gift you have received from the Lord, and bear your share of hardship for the Gospel.” Stir the flame and bear your share. This reminds us that our new building, wonderful as it is, is not the flame, though it is perhaps the lamp stand. It will achieve its purpose only if we stir the flame, and if we commit to bearing our part for the sake of the Gospel. As we celebrate this first Eucharist in this about-to-be-blessed building, let us pray that it might be, from this day on, not just bricks and mortar and timbers; not a factory or a place of commerce; but rather a home to the rich word of God, studied and prayed, that will spill over into the world around us. Charles Bouchard, O.P. President, Aquinas Institute of Theology SuperUser Account Sun, 26 Feb 2006 19:09:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:75 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/72/Are-You-Saved-Next-Theology-on-Tap-to-Explore-How-Catholics-and-Evangelicals-Relate.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=72 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=72&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/72/Are-You-Saved-Next-Theology-on-Tap-to-Explore-How-Catholics-and-Evangelicals-Relate.aspx Evangelicals often ask questions of Catholics that don’t invite quick answers. Join Aquinas Institute of Theology for a conversation that will bring understanding to those questions—and explore possible answers. Russ Peterson, associate director of religious education for the Diocese of Belleville and an Aquinas Institute alumnus, will lead “Are You Saved?—A Loving Approach to Evangelicals” at the next Theology on Tap. His presentation begins at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 8, at the Tap Room at Locust and 21st streets. Doors open at 6 p.m. Aquinas Institute of Theology is a Roman Catholic graduate school. Part of the mission of the school is to engage Catholics in dialogue that will help keep their faith lives relevant amid the demands of their professional and personal lives. Theology on Tap is designed to provide a casual gathering place for Catholics to sip beer, hear brief presentations and ask questions. To find out more about Theology on Tap or the presentation March 8, call Aquinas Institute at 314.256.8857. SuperUser Account Wed, 22 Feb 2006 19:05:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:72 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/73/Aquinas-Institute-SLU-to-Host-Daylong-Conference-on-Spiritual-Healing.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=73 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=73&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/73/Aquinas-Institute-SLU-to-Host-Daylong-Conference-on-Spiritual-Healing.aspx Saint Louis University and Aquinas Institute will bring together theologians, physicians, psychiatrists and others on Saturday, March 4 for a daylong conversation on the meanings, controversies and possible uses for spiritual healing. “Interest in spiritual healing has become a major cultural phenomenon in America,” said Candy Gunther Brown, Ph.D., a professor in the American Studies Department at SLU and a moderator for the conference. “Alongside unprecedented medical achievements, more and more Catholics, Protestants, and empirical researchers have begun asking whether spirituality can improve health.” Keynote speakers are Francis MacNutt, Ph.D., and Judith MacNutt, directors of the ecumenical Christian Healing Ministries in Jacksonville, Fla.; John T. Chibnall, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry in the School of Medicine at SLU; and Randy Clark, director of Global Awakening, a non-denominational, Christian missions organization in Mechanicsburg, Pa. Sessions will include talks on the possibilities in praying for physical healing, a psychotherapist’s discovery of the need for emotional healing, research and clinical evidence related to religion and spirituality in health and medicine, and the theology, history and experience of healing prayer. The conference is 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. March 4 in Rooms 170-173 at Busch Student Center at Saint Louis University. The event is free but registration is required. Register by email at spiritualhealing@slu.edu or by phone at 314.977.2911. Include your full name, address, phone number and email address. For additional information about speakers or the schedule of events, go to www.slu.edu/conferences/healing. The Spiritual Healing Conference is sponsored by the Saint Louis University departments of American Studies, Theological Studies, School of Medicine, and Aquinas Institute of Theology. SuperUser Account Sat, 18 Feb 2006 19:06:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:73 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/74/Lecture-Will-Focus-on-Important-Connection-Between-Jesus-and-Judaism.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=74 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=74&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/74/Lecture-Will-Focus-on-Important-Connection-Between-Jesus-and-Judaism.aspx The separation of Jesus and Judaism is bad for Christian theology, bad for interfaith relations and bad for biblical understanding. That is the premise of the 2006 Aquinas Lecture, presented by Amy-Jill Levine, Ph.D., a theology professor at Vanderbilt University. The 24th annual lecture is 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 9, in the ballroom of St. Francis Xavier “College” Church, Grand Avenue and Lindell Boulevard. Admission is free and open to the public. At 5 p.m., Aquinas Institute will hold an evening prayer service at College Church, which also is open to the public. Levine, in “Jesus and Judaism: The Connection Matters,” will address the increasing separation between Jesus and Judaism in popular culture and biblical studies, what is behind the separation, how it can be stopped, and why it is important for Christians and Jews today. Levine is director of the Carpenter Program in Religion, Gender and Sexuality and the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Professor of New Testament Studies at Vanderbilt. The Aquinas Lecture traditionally focuses on a contemporary theological question and often applies the thinking of St. Thomas Aquinas, a Dominican and a great theologian, to a 21st-century issue. Aquinas Institute, which is sponsored by the Dominican order, prepares priesthood candidates for ordination. Seminarians study alongside vowed religious women and laypeople who want to pursue careers in the Catholic Church or simply better understand their faith tradition. SuperUser Account Thu, 16 Feb 2006 19:08:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:74