Prior Peter Funk on October 4, 2023 at Ruth Lake Country Club. 

By integrating rigorous study and assiduous prayer within a life oriented towards the Truth, monasticism became a fertile ground for philosophical reflection, which starkly contrasts with modernity's tendency towards analysis and fragmentation. In this lecture, Prior Peter Funk, OSB explores the perennial contributions of monasticism to philosophy and shows how St. Benedict's "motto ora et labora" can aid our own philosophical reflections. 

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This event was cosponsored by the Portsmouth Institute for Faith and Culture.

The One Thing Necessary: Monasticism and Philosophy

Matthew (Episode 3/5)

Matthew (Episode 4/5)

Matthew (Episode 5/5)

Romans (Episode 1/3)

Romans (Episode 2/3)

Romans (Episode 3/3)

Prof. Scott Moringiello on October 15, 2025 at Ruth Lake Country Club.

The twentieth century philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein said that Augustine’s Confessions was possibly the most serious book ever written. There’s good reason to think he was right. In the book – equal parts memoir, prayer, philosophical treatise, and theological masterpiece – Augustine explores the nature of goodness, the puzzle of sin, and the necessity of friendship. He savors the love of God that is offered in Christ and his Church. He even realizes (as we all do eventually) that his mother was right all along. 

In this lecture, Prof. Moringiello introduces the Confessions, one of the greatest books in the Western canon, and one especially dear to Pope Leo’s heart. He talks about his experience teaching it to undergraduates at Villanova University and DePaul University. And he focuses on how one of the most famous lines in the book — “our hearts are restless until the find rest in You, Lord” (1.1.5) – speaks to his students and to all of us who live in a world dominated by restlessness and who continually search for the rest that God’s love provides.

Our Hearts Are Restless: Augustine’s Confessions and Modern Anxiety

Season Finale - Special Episode

Dr. Carlos Eire and Dr. Kirsten Macfarlane on October 29, 2025 at the University of Chicago's Swift Hall.

Levitation. Bilocation. Witchcraft. Demonic Possession. Europe in the early modern era was simultaneously the site of Kepler, Newton, Copernicus–and of eyewitness accounts of levitating saints and nocturnal witches’ sabbats. 

In his history of the impossible, award-winning historian Carlos Eire mines the firsthand accounts and archival evidence of the miraculous and demonic. How did an increasingly skeptical and scientific culture account for events deemed impossible by its leading intellectuals? What does this say about the supposed boundaries between the natural and supernatural that marked the transition to modernity?

In this lecture, Carlos Eire explores the major themes of "They Flew" and asks: what makes something impossible? And is there more to reality than meets the eye? University of Chicago Divinity School professor Kirsten Macfarlane offers a response and engages Eire in a conversation.

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This project was made possible through the support of In Lumine Tuo: Expanding and Sustaining the Catholic Intellectual Tradition Nationwide (grant #63614) from the John Templeton Foundation and the generous support of the University of Chicago Divinity School and the Workshop on the Early Modern World. The opinions expressed in this publication ​are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the John Templeton Foundation. 

A History of the Impossible: Carlos Eire on They Flew

Dr. Carlos Eire on October 30, 2025 at Saint Ignatius College Prep.

Two of the most significant features of Catholic Christianity are its focus on holy men and women and the miracles ascribed to them. What is it that makes saints and miracles so significant? What difference does this characteristic of Catholicism make, not just for its history, but for us, here and now? Asking such questions is absolutely necessary for Catholics, and in this talk we explore why this is so.

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This project was made possible through the support of In Lumine Tuo: Expanding and Sustaining the Catholic Intellectual Tradition Nationwide (grant #63614) from the John Templeton Foundation and the generous support of the Bollandist Society and St. Ignatius College Preparatory School. The opinions expressed in this publication ​are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the John Templeton Foundation.

Why Do We Need Saints and Miracles?

The Lumen Christi Institute for Catholic Thought was founded by Catholic scholars at the University of Chicago in 1997 to bring the light of Christ and the Catholic intellectual and spiritual tradition to the secular academy and the general public. On this station we make available our many lectures and programs, as well as interviews with visiting scholars.

To support our work, visit www.lumenchristi.org/donate

The One Thing Necessary: Monasticism and Philosophy

The Lumen Christi Institute

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