gratitude

How can we carefully attend to the gifts of the world and our lives?

"You love me unspeakably much, as one gone mad...But who could reach your height to thank you for so immeasurable a gift?"

- St. Catherine of Siena, T.O.P., "The Dialogue" (1378)

readings

Hellen Keller, “Three Days to See” (1933)
Francis of Assisi, “The Canticle of Brother Sun” (1224)

refractor

Jennifer Newsome Martin is Associate Professor with joint appointments in the Program of Liberal Studies (Great Books) and the Department of Theology. She also serves as Director of the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture. Her academic research focuses on Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox systematic theology with specializations in theological aesthetics, religion and literature, ressourcement thought, and the nature of religious tradition. She is the mother of three children and enjoys gardening, sewing, and reading poetry and fiction.

co-curricular events

Attentiveness to Creation w/ Fr. Terry Ehrman, C.S.C.

Sept 14, 15, 21, 22, 28, 29

Campus abounds with beauty, but do we see it? Through a blend of silence, observation, sketching, and discussion, Fr. Terry Ehrman, C.S.C., a scientist and theologian, will guide you into a consideration of plant biology and a distinction between nature and creation. Learn more

Practicing Attention w/ the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art

Sept 16 - Nov 12 (varied)

The average museum visitor spends 15 to 30 seconds in front of a work of art. Defy that statistic. This is a guided experience in practicing contemplative attention to works of art in the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art and, perhaps, growing in awe, wonder, and gratitude. Learn more

All Creation Gives Praise w/ the Digital Visualization Theater

Sept 20, 23

Journey through the known universe. All Creation Gives Praise is a feature-length planetarium program, produced at the University of Notre Dame, that takes viewers on a journey through the observable Universe. As we go, scientific explanations of what we see are blended with theological reflections on the meaning of what we see. Learn more

beloved life life: writing a letter of gratitude

Due in class by session 5: dignity.

Life Labs are engaging, interpersonal activities related to course topics that you complete on your own. You and your classmates will complete these activities during the same time period, enabling a shared communal experience.

This Life Lab is an opportunity to recall that you are beloved. By writing a letter of gratitude, you may see your own worth reflected through the eyes of someone who has loved you.

beloved life life: writing a letter of gratitude

Additional Resources

Stream the biopic about the early life of Helen Keller called The Miracle Worker.

Watch at the library (or stream the trailer for) Brother Sun, Sister Moon, Franco Zeffirelli’s film about St. Francis.

Read Pope Francis’s encyclical about caring for our “common home.” (The title, Laudato Si’, comes from the opening lines of St. Francis’s canticle.)

Listen to an interview with Joe Becherer, director and curator of the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art, on the importance of the arts at a Catholic university.