Poverty: What did Jesus preach?
Boston College Associate Professor of Theology Rev. Kenneth Himes, O.F.M., will present “Poverty: What did Jesus Preach? What does the Church Teach?” on Sept. 23 at 5:30 p.m. in Gasson Hall, room 100. His lecture will explore how compassion for the poor reflects an acceptance of our own humanity and that of others, and is ultimately a key element of the journey to know Christ. Fr. Himes is a Franciscan priest and guest editor of the fall 2014 issues of C21 Resources, which is devoted to the issue of poverty. Fr. Himes is also author of Christianity and the Political Order: Conflict, Cooptation, and Cooperation and Responses to 101 Questions on Catholic Social Teaching, among other titles. Sponsors: The Church in the 21st Century Center, the School of Theology and Ministry, and the Theology Department.
Where’s Lincoln’s GOP?
In her newest book, To Make Men Free: A History of the Republican Party (Basic Books, 2014), Boston College historian Heather Cox Richardson traces the paradoxical evolution of the Republican Party—founded to give the poor equal opportunity, but too often aligned with the country’s elites. Richardson shows that with each passing decade, the schism within the Republican Party has grown wider, pulling the GOP ever further from its founding principles. Kirkus Reviews calls To Make Men Free, “a hard-hitting study that will surely resonate with ongoing attempts to regenerate the GOP.” Richardson recently published an op-ed on the topic in the New York Times.
Endangered species
BC alumna Yang Huang’s novel Living Treasures (Harvard Square Editions, 2014) is set in China, Huang’s native country. Huang tells the story of Gu Bao, a law student who befriends a panda and a woman hiding from China’s one-child policy enforcers. According to Midwest Book Review, Living Treasures is “nothing short of spectacular; especially for readers who want a story steeped in Chinese culture, tradition, and politics but cemented by a powerful young woman who emerges as a savior to others.”
Constitution Day lecture
John Fabian Witt, whose award-winning book Lincoln’s Code: The Laws of War in American History was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, will present “Two Humanitarianisms” in honor of Constitution Day on Sept. 17 at 3:30 p.m. at the Boston College Law School. Witt is the Allen H. Duffy Class of 1960 Professor of Law at Yale Law School. His other notable books are Patriots and Cosmopolitans: Hidden Histories of American Law and The Accidental Republic: Crippled Workingmen, Destitute Widows, and the Remaking of American Law. In 2010 he was awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship. Sponsors: The Clough Center for the Study of Constitutional Democracy and the BC Legal History Roundtable.
“Hello”
After two years in East Africa, Boston College graduate student Michael Rossmann, SJ, found himself back in the US and realized in a big city he can “pass thousands of people without anyone saying a single word to me. It might feel more comfortable not to be interrupted, but it’s not exactly comforting when people do not acknowledge my existence.” He writes about why spontaneous, short encounters with strangers are important in an essay for America magazine.
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Eggers to address Class of 2018
Acclaimed author Dave Eggers will address the Class of 2018 at the annual First Year Academic Convocation on Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. in Conte Forum. Each member of the freshman class was given a copy of Eggers’ best-selling novel, The Circle, to read in advance of his address. A fast-moving, cautionary tale about the influence of today’s high-tech organizations, The Circle offers an examination of a society where technology trumps the human experience and transparency masks the lives it was intended to reveal. A writer, editor, publisher and social entrepreneur, Eggers has been recognized for his distinctive literary voice, and for giving voice to a broad range of people around the world who might not otherwise be able to tell their stories. Eggers’ memoir A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, about helping to raise his younger brother after their parents’ deaths, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. His novel A Hologram for the King was a finalist for the National Book Award. He is co-founder of 826 Valencia, a tutoring center focused on writing and education that now operates in eight cities across the United States. More from the Boston College Chronicle.
Happiness 101
Adam M. Green, a Boston College alumnus and theology teacher at Walsh Jesuit High School in Ohio, writes in America magazine about how Saint Thomas Aquinas is his guide to teaching his students about real happiness. “I explain how many common conceptions of happiness may ‘make us happy,’ in the sense of pleasing us, but that happiness is about something much deeper, less dependent, more lasting–and rooted in God.”
Faith formation
School of Theology and Ministry Associate Professor Jane E. Regan has written an essential guide for anyone in the ministry of adult faith formation. In Forming a Community of Faith: A Guide to Success in Adult Faith Formation Today (Twenty-Third Publications, 2014), Regan explores what important church documents say about evangelization and catechesis, and how they play a crucial role in thriving adult faith communities. Then she offers practical ways parishes of all sizes and personalities can help people become true disciples. Regan, a nationally noted educator and researcher, directs the continuing education program at BC’s School of Theology and Ministry. Her other titles include Toward an Adult Church: A Vision of Faith Formation and Gathering Together: First Celebrations of Reconciliation and Eucharist.
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Tagged Catholic, faith, School of Theology and Ministry
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