The Lauriston Jesuit Centre

Finding God In All Things

Edinburgh Living Theology

A non-residential Summer School in Catholic Theology

Monday 20th – Friday 24th July 2009
St Catharine’s Convent, Lauriston Gardens, Edinburgh EH3 9HH

Click here for printable booklet and application form.

 

Living Theology is a summer school in Catholic theology which has been organised for many years in various parts of Britain by British Jesuits and their collaborators. The tenth consecutive non-residential Edinburgh Living Theology will be held in St Catharine’s Convent, 4 Lauriston Gardens, Edinburgh, from Monday 20th July to Friday 24th July.

In the morning participants choose two from a list of optional courses to enable them to pursue special interests in small groups. In the afternoon all follow the Core Course on a central topic of Catholic thought, which this year will be Jesus for Us, given by Gerald O’Collins SJ. Participants are invited to bring a packed lunch each day, and soup and coffee are provided. The Eucharist is celebrated daily. Participants sign on to attend the full five-day programme from Monday to Friday, and cannot be accepted for only part of each day or part of the week. Early application is advisable in order to secure membership of the optional courses of one’s choice.

 

DAILY TIMETABLE

09.15 Morning Prayer (optional)
09.30 Arrivals
Coffee
10.00 – 11.15 Series A Courses
11.15 – 11.45 Coffee
11.45 – 13.00 Series B Courses
13.00 – 14.15 Lunch break
14.15 – 15.30 Core Course
15.45 – 16.30 Mass
16.30 Tea
Departures

 

CORE COURSE
(Monday – Friday 2.15 p.m.)

 

Jesus for Us
Gerald O’Collins SJ

 

This course will take look at some central themes in Christian faith: how we know Jesus and not merely know about him; Jesus as our High Priest; pondering his Resurrection and how we experience the Risen Christ.

Gerald O’Collins SJ taught for 33 years at the Gregorian University in Rome. He is one of the best known writers on theology in the Church today, the author of innumerable articles in professional and popular journals and of 52 books such as Christology (Oxford Univ. Press), Jesus Our Redeemer (Oxford University Press, 2008), Jesus. A Portrait (Darton, Longman & Todd). Most recently he has published The Legacy of John Paul II (Continuum) and Catholicism: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press).

 

OPTIONAL COURSES
(Participants attend one Series A Course and one Series B Course)

 

SERIES A COURSES
(Monday – Friday, 10 a.m. – 11.15 a.m.)

 

A1 An Image of Belief: Michelangelo's ceiling in the Sistine Chapel:
Gero McLoughlin, SJ

 

From 1508 to 1512, Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling, producing one of the world's greatest frescoes - and something more. This course will look at the theological meaning of the fresco and relate it to the religious atmosphere on the eve of the Reformation, as well as explore Michelangelo's concern with the interplay of the religious crisis and artistic change, his personal religious beliefs and his relationship with reform-minded circles in early 16th century Italy. The course will open with an explanation of the commission, the composition of the fresco and the manner of its execution. There will be extensive use of
visual presentations.

Gero McLoughlin SJ has worked for more than 15 years in Jesuit spirituality centres and has devoted the last 12 years to developing and running training courses in Ignatian spirituality in the west of Scotland, Edinburgh, Perth and Aberdeen. He is also the Jesuit Province Promoter of Ignatian spirituality, assisting people working outside institutional settings to develop their work in spirituality.

 

A2 Priests to Serve our God:
Michael Regan

 

In the year of the priest as called by Pope Benedict XVI, the course will examine the nature of baptismal priesthood and ordained priesthood, the way in which these two interrelate within the life of the Christian community, with particular attention paid to the prayers of baptismal initiation and the prayers of priestly ordination.

 

Michael Regan is a priest of the Archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh. He is currently the Administrator of St Mary's Cathedral and Dean of the St Giles (City of Edinburgh) Deanery. He studied liturgy at the Institut Catholique in Paris and taught for a number of years in Scotus College, the national Seminary for Scotland.

 

A3 St Paul’s Epistle to the Philippians:
Robert Murray SJ

 

In this letter Paul is writing to a community he has founded and loves about how they should relate to each other as fellow-members in Christ. It contains some of Paul’s most wonderful teachings. The core of the letter presents Christ’s self-humiliation, descent, passion and resurrection as the pattern of Paul’s own history, leaving status in Judaism to follow Christ in poverty and to rise to life in confident hope of resurrection. Please bring either the Revised Standard Version or the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible.

 

Robert Murray is a research fellow at Heythrop College and is the author of Symbols of Church and Kingdom, The Cosmic Covenant, and the commentary on Philippians in The Oxford Bible Commentary.

 

SERIES B COURSES
(Monday – Friday, 11.45 a.m. – 1 p.m.)

 

B1 Conversion:
Peter Gallagher SJ

 

Discipleship has involved a change-of-heart and reformation of life for many (perhaps all) disciples at least since Saint Paul. This course will examine the concept of conversion and, in particular, its relation to truth. In what sense is conversion a movement towards the truth? The themes developed will be illustrated by examples drawn from the reports of conversion left to us by such figures as Augustine, Ignatius Loyola, Pascal and Edith Stein.

Peter Gallagher is Head of Philosophy at Heythrop College, University of
London.

 

B2 Understanding the Parables of the Gospel:
James Crampsey SJ

 

In the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, a major part of Jesus’ message is given in the form of stories or parables. We also find parables in the non-canonical Gospel of Thomas. Sometimes, the meaning of the parables seems very obvious, but sometimes it is difficult to know exactly what they are trying to say, and how they relate to Jesus’ proclamation of the Kingdom and the evangelists’ proclamation of Jesus. The course will look at the parables and see what meaning they had in their original contexts and what meaning they have for us today.

James Crampsey SJ is a New Testament scholar, former Jesuit Provincial
and the Parish Priest of Sacred Heart, Lauriston.

 

B3 The Tasks of Life:
John McDade SJ

 

This course will look at the writings of some 20th Century Jewish philosophers
which have a bearing on our common human and religious obligations. The focus will be on how Jewish religious and ethical thinkers contribute to our understanding of human life, the limits of what we might know and how in this tradition God relates to the task of human flourishing. Attention will focus principally on Emmanuel Levinas and others who cast light on the central issues he addresses.

John McDade SJ is Principal of Heythrop College, University of London and is President of the Catholic Theological Association of Great Britain.

 

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Course fee
The fee for the complete five-day course is £95. Cheques should be made payable to “Edinburgh Living Theology”.

Please send completed forms to:
Judith Crimmins
Executive Officer and PA to the Principal
Heythrop College
Kensington Square
London W8 5HQ

Tel: 0207 795 4207
E-mail: j.crimmins@heythrop.ac.uk

Ten bursaries are available for students and young adults (under 25), reducing the cost to £25. There are also some concessionary reductions available for persons on low incomes.

 

The Conference Location
Edinburgh Living Theology is being held again this year in co-operation with the Religious Sisters of Mercy in their Edinburgh Mercy Centre, St Catharine’s Convent, 4 Lauriston Gardens, which is devoted to the Homeless Project and other characteristic works of mercy organised by the Sisters.

 

Travel
The convent is within a short taxi ride from Waverley and Haymarket railway stations, and fifteen minutes walk from Haymarket. Bus routes 23, 27, 28, 37 and 45 from The Mound at Prince’s Street pass the Convent along Lauriston Place opposite the new Novotel.
Car parking is difficult in Edinburgh and wardens are notoriously vigilant.
There is a public car park nearby, with a day charge in the region of £8.

 

Accommodation
The programme is designed to be non-residential. However, some rooms with full board are available in St Catharine’s Convent, and a few selfcatering single, double and treble rooms are available in McAuley House, in the Convent grounds. Early application is advisable to Sister Aelred RSM, St Catharine’s Convent, 4 Lauriston Gardens, Edinburgh EH3 9HH (tel 0131 229 2659). Car park space is available, only for residents, by previous arrangement.

En suite bed and breakfast accommodation is now available about twelve minutes walk away at the archdiocesan Gillis Centre, 100 Strathearn Road, Edinburgh EH9 1BB, by contacting the Manager, Mrs Anthea Donaghue (tel 0131 623 8933). Two new hotels, Novotel (tel 0131 656 3500) and a more budget-style Premier Lodge (tel 0870 990 6610), have recently opened in Lauriston Place, facing the convent.

Further information on local accommodation is obtainable from Edinburgh Tourist Information Centre, 3 Princes St, Edinburgh EH2. Tel 0990 992244.

Further information about Edinburgh Living Theology is obtainable from

 

Judith Crimmins
Executive Officer and PA to the Principal
Heythrop College
Kensington Square
London W8 5HQ

Tel: 0207 795 4207
E-mail: j.crimmins@heythrop.ac.uk

 

Click here for printable booklet and application form