The Vincent Pallotti Institute (VPI) 2009 - 2010 Program Schedule
Come join us at our new location for the launch of our program and luncheon on
Thursday, 15 October from 9:30 am - 12 noon
Monastero di SS Giovanni e Paolo - ROMA
The Lay Centre Entrance: Largo della Sanità Militare, 60
An Amazing Radiance: The Mystery of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta's Interior LIfe
Rev. Paul Murray, OP
Thursday - 15 October 2009
9:30-12:00
Like many who were privileged to meet Mother Teresa during her life, Fr. Paul Murray explains how he was always struck by the radiant joy which seemed to illumine her every expression. And yet, for most of her life, we now know she lived with absolutley no sense of the presence of God. Who would have ever guessed that fact when she visited the Sisters of Charity Convent here at San Gregorio in Rome (as she did so often) and walked among us looking so utterly and completely radiant? There are almost no words adequate to describe or explain this paradox. But relying, first and last, on the wisdom of the spiritual tradition, and also on the memory of a few personal encounters with Mother Teresa, here in Rome and in Calcutta, Fr. Murray will attempt to grapple with this mystery.
Rev. Paul Murray, OP, is a Professor of Spiritual Theology at the Pontifical University of St.
Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome.
He is the author of numerous works,
including: A Journey
with Jonah: The Spirituality of Bewilderment (Columba Press 2003) and The New Wine of Dominican Spirituality: A Drink Called Happiness (Burns & Oates 2006).
A Christian Approach to Human Suffering
Rev. Stephen Rehrauer, CSsR
Thursdays - 22, 29 October; 5, 12, 19, 26 November 2009
9:30-12:00
The gift of human life is experienced as a mixed blessing. We all experience joy and sadness, suffering and elation, in varying degrees. Quite happy and content when things are going well, we resist or often even resent the notion that our comfort and security is threatened by the ever present possibility of pain, sickness, or the loss of those things which give meaning and joy to life. While some people adopt and even preach a pessimistic philosophy in dealing with the darker side of reality, the Christian faith enables us to maintain a deeply rooted and abiding optimism rooted in hope. Living in hope finds meaning not only in the joy and pleasure of life, but in all of life. In this program Fr. Rehrauer will guide us in exploring New Testament insights into the mystery of human suffering.
Rev. Stephen Rehrauer, CSsR, is Associate Professor of Moral Theology at the Accademia Alfonsiana in Rome.
Advent Day of Recollection
Anticipation and Hope: Advent Themes for Today
Rev.
Timothy Costello, SM
Sunday -
29 November 2009
9:30-17:00
Plan on
joining us for a day of respite in order to prepare for the great
Solemnity of Christmas with a renowned speaker and writer at the Lay Centre. The
day will begin at 9:30 with the celebration of Sung Morning Prayer,
and will feature two conferences, lunch, time for private prayer and
the chance to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and the
celebration of the Sunday Eucharist. Sung Evening Prayer will
draw the Lord's Day to a close at 18:00.
Rev.
Timothy Costello, SM, is a Professor of Psychology at the Pontifical Gregorian University.
Exploring Diverse Ways of Praying
Dr. Joan Barclay Lloyd, Rev. Michael Paul Gallagher, SJ, Rev. Allan White, OP
& Rev. Robert Ombres, OP
Thursdays - 14, 21, 28 January; 4, 11 February 2010
9:30-12:00
This study program will explore how iconography, painting, poetry and literature are popular as instruments for entering into prayer. Part I will examine icons from a historical perspective and consider the teaching of the Church regarding icons and their use in public worship (the liturgy of the Eastern Church). It shall also consider some of the icons in Rome, from precious early, pre-iconoclastic icons to more modern displays of miraculous images. Part II will explore how poetry can be an instrument for prayer and a reflection on the role of imagination in meditation. Part III of the study program will consider the role of art in prayer by examining Fra Angelico's paintings as a reflection of praying the Gospel "with a paintbrush." Part IV will explore how poetry and prayer relate in the poems of Elizabeth Jennings (1926-2001).
Dr. Joan Barclay Lloyd is a Professor of Ancient Roman, Early Christian, Byzantine and Medieval Art and Architecture at La Trobe University.
Rev Michael Paul Gallagher, SJ, is a Professor Emeritus of Theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University.
Rev Allan White, OP, is a Dominican friar who has mostly been engaged in the university apostolate in Edinburgh, Oxford and Cambridge as chaplain or teacher. After eight years as provincial of the English Province he was named a socius (assistant) to the Master of the Dominican Order in 2008.
Rev Robert Ombres, OP, is a Dominican friar currently at the priory of Santa Sabina in Rome as Procurator General.
The Patrick and Mary Dorgan
2010 Memorial Program
The Seven Deadly Sins Today
Rev.
Jeremy Driscoll, OSB, Donna Orsuto & Abbot Edmund Power, OSB
Thursdays
- 18, 25 February; 4, 11 March 2010
9:30-12:00
This Lenten series begins with two sessions taught by Jeremy Driscoll, OSB, focusing on the fourth century Evagrius Ponticus’ Eight Principal Evil Thoughts, which most scholars think is the basis for the development of the traditional list of the "seven deadly sins." Then Donna Orsuto will continue the series by reflecting on the seven deadly sins as understood in contemporary spiritual theology. Finally, Abbot Edmund Power, OSB will conclude the course with some insights into the seven deadly sins and the theology of the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession).
Rev.
Jeremy Driscoll, OSB, is a Professor of Liturgy and Sacramental Theology at Mount Angel Seminary in Portland, Oregon (USA) and the Pontifical Athenaeum of St Anselm in Rome.
Donna Orsuto is the Director of the Lay Centre at Foyer Unitas and a Professor of Spiritual Theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University.
Rt. Rev. Edmund Power, OSB, is the Abbot of the Monastery of St Paul Outside the Walls in Rome.
The Patrick and Mary
Dorgan 2010 Memorial Series Lenten Retreat Weekend
Alive in Christ
Rev.
Timothy Costello, SM
Friday, 5 March - Sunday, 7 March 2010
Casa di Esercizi
Spirituali of the Passionist Fathers (Rome)
This weekend Lenten retreat at the Casa di Esercizi
Spirituali of the Passionists in Rome will help us reflect on
what it means to be alive in Christ as we journey through the
forty days of preparation for the Easter Triduum. The weekend will include lodging and meals at
the retreat house, lectures, time for personal meditation, and the daily celebration of the Eucharist and the Liturgy of the Hours.
Rev.
Timothy Costello, SM, is a Professor of Psychology at the Pontifical Gregorian University.
The
Patrick & Mary Dorgan Memorial Program and Retreat were established by the retired U.S. Ambassador Jean Wilkowski in loving memory of her grandparents for the faith that they passed on to her family. Patrick and Mary Dorgan were immigrants to the United States from County Kerry, Ireland who settled in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Ambassador Wilkowski served in the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe and Africa. She also spent time working at the United Nations in New York. She is a member of the Board of St. Mary of the Woods College in Indiana and Barry University in Florida. She holds six honorary doctorates, including one from the University of Notre Dame. Having served in Rome, Italy, on two different assignments, she is a frequent visitor to the Eternal City and a friend of the Lay Centre at Foyer Unitas.
The Hidden Treasures of the Caelian Hill: Saints & Holy Sites in Our Neighborhood
Dr. Aurelie Hagstrom, Dr. Elizabeth Lev & Robert White
Thursdays
- 15, 22, 29 April; 6 May 2010
9:30-12:00
The various saints of every age who lived in the neighborhood of the new location of the Lay Centre contributed to the legacy of the Church. This program will help you come to know the Eternal City through the precious witness of these women and men reflected in the sites on the Caelian Hill where they lived and prayed.
Dr. Aurelie Hagstrom is an Associate Professor of Theology at Providence College in Rhode Island (USA).
Dr. Elizabeth Lev is a Professor of Art History at Duquesne University's Rome Campus. She
also writes for Inside the Vatican and is a regular
contributor to the Zenit news agency.
Robert White is the Director's Assistant at the Lay Centre at Foyer Unitas and an Adjunct Professor of Theology at St John's University's Rome Campus.
Oasis in the City Series 2009-2010
In keeping with the long-standing tradition of the VPI to offer laity quality programs of theological and spiritual formation in the heart of historic Rome, the Lay Centre at Foyer Unitas will continue to offer women and men the opportunity to get away from it all after a long day of work without leaving the city. Plan on joining us to nourish your mind, heart and spirit.
Oasis in the City Time for Reflection & Prayer
Dignitas Personae: la dignità della persona umana e la trasmissione della vita
S.E.R. Mons. Luis F. Ladaria, SJ
martedi -
10 novembre 2009
18:30-20:00
Alla conclusione della sua prima udienza con Papa Benedetto XVI, al Presidente Obama è stata donata una copia della “Istruzione Dignitas Personae su alcune questioni di bioetica". Domande relative alla dignità della persona umana e l'etica della moderna prassi scientifica e i metodi di ricerca continuano a fare notizia e infiammano sempre nuovi dibattiti. Quando inizia la vita umana? Quali mezzi possono e devono essere utilizzati per aiutare coloro che si occupano della salute riproduttiva e terapeutica per la cura degli ammalati e dei feriti? Chi decide quando finisce la vita umana?
S.E.R. Mons. Ladaria affronterà i temi principali sollevati in questa ultima istruzione della Congregazione per la Dottrina della Fede che sottolineano l'importanza fondamentale di proteggere la vita umana dalle tecnologie e politiche che minacciano la dignità delle donne e degli uomini di oggi.
S.E.R. Mons. Luis F. Ladaria, SJ, è Segretario della Congregazione per la Dottrina della Fede, Professore emerito di Teologia presso la Pontificia Università Gregoriana, e autore di numerevoli libri includendo Antropologia Teologica (Piemme theologica, 1995), La Trinidad: misterio de comunión (Secretariado Trinitario, 2002) e Jesus Christ: Salvation of All (Convivium Press, 2009).
Oasis in the City Time for Reflection & Prayer
The Hebrew Bible, Human Rights & Interreligious Dialogue
Rabbi Jack Bemporad
Tuesday -
1 December 2009
18:30-20:00
Rabbi Jack Bemporad is the Director of the Center for Interreligious Understanding, Carlstadt, New Jersey and the Senior Rabbinic Scholar at Chavurah Beth Shalom in Alpine, New Jersey in the United States. He is also Professor of Interreligious Studies at the Vatican’s Angelicum University in Rome and author of numerous books and articles, including Our Age: The Historic New Era of Christian-Jewish Understanding. Most recently, he was editor of The Inner Journey, Views from the Jewish Tradition. He has received numerous awards, including the Luminosa Award of the Focolare Movement and the “Peace and Tolerance Award” by the Interfaith Dialog Center (Turkish Muslim), and he has been honored for his work in interfaith relations by the Friends of the Pope John Paul II Foundation in September 2006.
Oasis in the City Time for Reflection & Prayer
A Spirituality for the 21st Century
Rev. Timothy Radcliffe, OP
Ash Wednesday -
17 February 2010
17:30-19:00
Rt. Rev. Timothy Radcliffe, OP, is a member of the community at Blackfriars, Oxford, and the former Master of the Order of Preachers. A popular preacher and retreat master, he has written many books including: What is the Point of Being a Christian? (Burns & Oates, 2006), Just One Year: A Global Treasury of Prayer and Worship (Orbis Books, 2007) and Why Go to Church?: The Drama of the Eucharist (Continuum, 2009).
Program Registration & Suggested Contributions
For more information about registration and suggested contributions for any one of this year’s VPI program offerings simply contact the Lay Centre
(e-mail: info@laycentre.org; tel: +39 06 772 6761 or fax: +39 06 772 676 235). Contributions are usually presented with registration or at the first day of each course.
Directions to Reach the Lay Centre
Largo della Sanità Militare, 60 – 00184 Rome
By
car: please use the entrance on the Via Claudia at Largo della Sanità Militare, 60 (a large grey gate): there is ample parking on the
grounds.
On
foot from the Circo Massimo Metro Stop: walk
uphill from Via delle Terme di Caracalla to P.zza SS. Giovanni e
Paolo. Continue down the Via di San Paolo della Croce. Turn left onto the Via Claudia until you reach Largo della Sanità Millitare, 60. The large grey gate will be on your left.
On foot from the Colosseo
Metro Stop: walk down the Via Claudia until you reach the Largo della Sanità Militare, 60. The large grey gate will be on your right.
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