---

January 28, 2018-Beholding the Mystery:  Getting the Most out of Mass We have all experienced the yawns, the rolling of eyes, and the whining of souls when it comes to Holy Mass…and that is often just from the adults. Mark Hart will offer timely insights into the problem and propose some practical solutions to help make the Mass come to life in our lives. We will listen to a recorded talk from the National Catholic Bible conference featuring Mark Hart. Mark Hart serves as Executive Vice President for Life Teen International. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame and a twenty-year veteran of youth ministry, Mark Hart is one of the most sought-after speakers serving in the Catholic Church, today.

February 4, 2018-Listening for Religion in Central Ohio What does religion in Ohio sound like? In this talk, Professor Weiner will introduce the American Religious Sounds Project, an ongoing research initiative to document and interpret the diversity of American religious life by attending to its varied sonic cultures. Professor Weiner will invite input and feedback from the audience and will also provide information about how interested community members might get involved. Isaac Weiner is associate professor of religious studies in the department of comparative studies at Ohio State University. He is the author of Religion Out Loud: Religious Sound, Public Space, and American Pluralism (NYU 2014) and, with Amy DeRogatis of Michigan State University, co-directs the American Religious Sounds Project.

February 11, 2018- Suffering and Selfless Love in East Asian Christianity The ideas that existence is fundamentally marked by suffering and that one person might choose, out of love, to suffer the pain of all other beings are central to both East Asian Buddhist philosophy and East Asian shamanic ritual practice. Christian theologians in Korea and Japan have taken up these ideas in innovative ways, as they work to make Christianity speak to their own cultural contexts. Focusing particularly on East Asian interpretations of the figure of Christ as suffering servant, this presentation explores some of the ways that Korean and Japanese theologians have reinterpreted traditional notions of suffering and compassion in relation to sin and grace.   Melissa Anne-Marie Curley is an assistant professor in the department of Comparative Studies at Ohio State University. Her work focuses on Buddhism, particularly Pure Land Buddhism, in relation to modern understandings of the self. Her book on modernist reinterpretations of images of utopia and exile,  Pure Land, Real World: Modern Buddhism, Japanese Leftists, and the Utopian Imagination, is forthcoming from the Institute of Buddhist Studies at the Graduate Theological Union and University of Hawai`i Press. 

February 18, 2018-In the Wake of Iconoclasm: Justifying the Use of Images in Christian worship will consider the impact of the Reformation on religious images and their use. After briefly discussing the evolution of Christian imagery in the West, the talk will concentrate on how the Catholic Church addressed the Reformers’ objection to and destruction of images. Particular consideration will be given to the new pictorial strategies that were devised to increase the effectiveness of communication and to engage the beholder in various spiritual experiences. Barbara Haeger, Associate Professor Art History at the Ohio State University, is particularly interested in the role of art as an instrument of power and persuasion and as a vehicle for fostering religious beliefs, identities, and devotions.

February 25 and March 4, 2018-Job Wasn’t Really Patient In two sessions, we will explore why Job was upset with God. We will meet his "friends". (With friends like this, you don't need enemies.) We will meet an interesting satan. (Yes, that's  satan with a small "s"). And we will appreciate what is considered the literary masterpiece of the whole Bible.  Angela Burge is an annual presenter for our Adult Education on Sundays at St. Christopher’s.  She has a Masters in scripture studies from the Pontifical College Josephinum, and is a long time Bible study leader for our parish and others.
 
Note different time:
 
March 11, 2018 4:00 PM session this week- Why the Cross: Why did Christ Suffer and Die It never seems fair when someone has to suffer for what others have done wrong. Innocent people become injured or die because of drunk drivers, terrorist bombers, or angry mobs. Innocent children die as the result of war, poverty, abuse, or neglect.  Those who suffer because of the sins of others do not usually choose their fate, but Jesus did. He did not want to face pain and agony, but He chose obedience to His Father over His own desires. Jesus knew that the only way for humankind to be saved was for Him to give His life for them.  Fr. Boniface Endorf OP is a Dominican Friar and an associate pastor at St. Patrick’s parish in Columbus. His background is in law, philosophy, and the theology of the Church Fathers and St. Thomas Aquinas.

March 18, 2018 4:00 PM session this week-St. Patrick, The Light in the Darkness Learn about the life and times of this amazing saint, who preached the Gospel to the people who had enslaved him as a boy, and his continuing relevance for the mission of the Church today.  Fr. Stephen Dominic Hayes, OP is an itinerant preacher assigned to Saint Patrick Priory, Columbus Ohio. A native of Boston, Massachusetts he was born in 1953 has seven brothers and sisters and rejoices in his Irish heritage. He holds an A.B. in Biology from Saint Anselm College, Manchester, New Hampshire, a J.D. from Boston University School of Law, and an S.T.B. from the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception (the Dominican House of Studies) in Washington, DC.

March 25, 2018-Ancient Jewish Mysticism In the first centuries of the Christian Era, while ancient Judaism was reaching its classical form, small groups of Jewish mystics told stories of Rabbis who pursued spectacular visions of the heavens and the divine throne, encountered fearsome angelic beings, and used magical techniques to increase their powers of memory and wisdom.  In this lecture we will explore these mysterious ancient texts and consider how they fit into the diverse religious landscape of late antiquity.  Michael D. Swartz is Professor of Hebrew and Religious Studies at the Ohio State University and specializes in the cultural history of Judaism in late antiquity, rabbinic studies, early Jewish mysticism and magic, and ritual studies.

April 1 and 8, 2018-We are on a two week break celebrating Easter!

April 15, 2018 Change in program!! Join us as we enjoy a National Catholic Bible Conference talk from Ascension Press.  The 53 minute audio file features Thomas Smith speaking on the Mass as a Model of Prayer.  
The Sacred Liturgy is the highest form of prayer for the Christian. Discover how specific parts of the Mass powerfully teach our families the essential patterns, themes, and forms of fruitful and mature individual prayer.
April 22, 2018- Earth-A Contemplative Journey Looking at our planet Earth, we will take time to cherish the beauty and wonder of our home through pictures, quotes, and reflection. Marguerite Chandler, OP is a Dominican Sister of Peace who currently works at Shepherd’s Corner Ecology Center, in Blacklick, Ohio.  

April 29, 2018-We are pleased to welcome Deacon Tom Rowlands as our speaker.  He will speak on The Vocational Call in the Laity details to follow in the bulletin.