Norcia Summer Theology Program: Syllabus & Last Call for Applications

The 2017 Norcia Summer Theology Program of the Albertus Magnus Center for Scholastic Studies, "Divine Power in a Hidden Way," will be starting up in a month's time: July 2-14.

We still have room for last-minute applications, so if you've been tottering on the edge about coming, now's the time to make the final decision. A full description of the program and practical details may be found at the above link.

We now have the syllabus for the seminars and would like to share the topics with NLM readers. Each seminar will be based on a reading from St. Thomas Aquinas's Commentary on the Sentences IV.

1. Monday, July 3: Introduction to program, author, book, and themes
2. Monday, July 3: Definition of sacrament; whether sacraments were necessary after the fall; whether sacraments consist of words and things
3. Tuesday, July 4: Whether sacraments of the New Law are a cause of grace; whether sacraments of the Old Law confer grace
4. Tuesday, July 4: Whether sacraments are remedies for evils; why there are seven; how these ought to be ordered; why the sacraments were instituted at a certain time 
5. Wednesday, July 5: Definition of baptism; the formula of baptism; why water must be used
6. Wednesday, July 5: The sacramental character; the effects of baptism; the three kinds of baptism
7. Thursday, July 6: The Eucharist as a sacrament; its unity, names, figures, and institution
8. Thursday, July 6: The words of consecration of the host and the chalice
9. Friday, July 7: Understanding the Mass: St. Thomas’s commentary on the Roman rite
10. Friday, July 7: The reception of the Eucharist
11. Monday, July 10: The Real Presence
12. Monday, July 10: Transubstantiation
13. Tuesday, July 11: The matter of the Eucharist
14. Tuesday, July 11: The effects of the Eucharist, and how frequently it is to be received
15. Wednesday, July 12: The minister of the Eucharist

As one who has worked closely on these texts, I can assure you that they make for incredibly interesting and enlightening reading.

During the program, there will also be formal lectures by

• Fr. Martin Bernhard, OSB
• Fr. Thomas Crean, OP
• Gregory DiPippo
• Fr. Cassian Folsom, OSB
• Dr. Peter Kwasniewski
• Fr. Benedict Nivakoff, OSB, Prior
• Christopher Owens

The monks of Norcia look forward to welcoming all participants in the Summer Theology Program, especially as they open their new chapel to the public (which will be inaugurated this Pentecost Sunday). The best part of the program, in my opinion, is studying the rich readings of Aquinas in the context of attending the daily usus antiquior Masses and the chanted Divine Office. It is the sort of combination that ought to be the norm in Catholic life but is so rarely met with.