Monastic Institute
The Monastic Institute's Benedictine Studies Program
Event Description
Each course will invite a variety of people—monastics, graduate students, laity—to engage in further conversations and education about monastic spirituality and life. The week will include many opportunities for prayer, socializing, and reflection, with the option of each participant receiving one credit in Monastics Studies and Spirituality at the School of Theology and Seminary.
Summer 2018
Passions and Prayer: Early Monastic Insights into Human Psychology and Spiritual Practices
Columba Stewart, OSB | MONS 468 / SPIR 468 | 1 credit
- Class meeting time 8:00-11:10 AM (T-W-TH-F)
- June 26-29, 2018
Modern Christians are astonished to find a wealth of psychological insight and spiritual wisdom in the writings of early Christian desert monks. This course will introduce their teaching on the eight “thoughts” that preoccupy us, a way of describing the passions that was later condensed into “Seven Deadly Sins.” The original system, diagnostic and non-judgmental,was a synthesis of ancient philosophy and the practical experience of those famous as “readers of hearts.” Their attention to the passions was designed to cultivate insight for sacred reading and freedom for prayer. We will follow the same trajectory, exploring the link between passions and prayer, and the way that monastic prayer has always grown from a close reading of Scripture.
Body, Being and Becoming: Explorations of the Body in The Rule of Benedict
Carmel Posa, SGS | MONS 468 / SPIR 468 | 1 credit
- Class meeting time 8:00-11:10 AM (M-T-TH-F)
- July 2-6, 2018
The Rule of Benedict accounts for multiple bodies, both communal and personal, in both its prescriptive and descriptive detail. This unit will focus attention on the theological significance of these bodies, particularly in relation to the centrality of Christ in the Benedictine life and the importance of its incarnational approach to the Christian endeavor.
Contact:
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 320-363-2896