Here is the Holy Week schedule at St. Albert's:
Thurs., Fri., Sat. Tenebrae-7:30 AM
Holy Thursday Mass-7:30 PM
Good Friday Services- 7:30 PM
Holy Saturday: Vespers-5:30 PM; Mass--9:00 PM (Reception following in refectory)
Easter Sunday--Lauds-8:45 AM; Mass-9:30 AM; Vespers-5:00 PM; Compline-9:00 PM.
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Aristotle's Legacy:Three Perspectives
The Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology is honored to announce three lectures to be held in the context of its search for a professor of philosophy with expertise in the history, reception, and current reflection upon ancient Greek philosophy.
Tuesday, 5 February 2008, 7:30 P.M.
THIS LECTURE HAS BEEN POSTPOSED - DATE TO BE DETERMINED Kevin Timpe An Aristotelian Account of Events and Their Individuation
One aspect of the metaphysics of events is ontological reflection on events to include accounts of their individuation and identity. There are two dominant families of views regarding the identity and individuation of events: property-exemplification accounts and causal history accounts. My concern in the present paper is solely with the first of these families. I begin by raising a number of problems faced by extant property-exemplification accounts of events and their individuation. Then, building upon an Aristotelian ontology, I develop a property-exemplification theory of events and their individuation that avoids the problems facing its rival accounts.
Wednesday, 6 February 2008, 10:30 A.M. Joseph Magee Aristotle and Contemporary Theories of Mind
In recent years, some scholars have sought to portray Aristotle’s doctrine of soul, sense and mind, as an ancient version of contemporary theories in the philosophy of mind. Specifically, some have argued that in the De Anima he espouses a sort of functionalism about the physical realization of mental states and capacities, or the supervenience of mental states on physical processes. A more accurate understanding of his philosophy, however, reveals that his insights into what is distinctive about cognition as an activity are not easy to correlate with contemporary presuppositions about mental states or physical processes."
Friday, 8 February 2008, 7:30 P.M. Margarita Vega Metaphor in the Light of On Interpretation, 16a 3-8
The theory and use of metaphora by Aristotle is a problem that scholars have addressed without a satisfactory answer. Instead of simply tracing the varied uses of metaphora in the various treatises, I propose that the semantics of metaphora needs to be explained. Aristotle’s views about the relation between language, thought and reality as depicted in On Interpretation 16a 3-8 in conjunction with the references to metaphora throughout the Corpus provide a framework to understand metaphora as a complex phenomenon of epiphora, metapherein and metaphorikon einai. Aristotle’s theory of metaphora helps us to understand the relationship between language and thought in Aristotle’s philosophy.
All lectures will be held at the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology,
2301 Vine Street (at Arch and Vine), Berkeley, CA 94708
The lectures are free and open to the public.
June 7 , 2007
Eleanor Westbrooke and Scott Connolly Receive the Alemany Award for Christian Service
Certificate of Theological Studies Anne Collins, F.M.A., Tse Kam Fong Cecilia, F.M.A., John Steven Giuntoli, John Moore O’Brien, S.D.B., Shane Reade, S.D.B., Marcel Tigga, S.D.B.
Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy Héctor O. Cortes, Lorna Tumali Mendoza, V.D.M.F. Master of Divinity Thomas R. Booth, Jerome Cudden, O.P., Michael J. Hurley, O.P., Vincent M. Kelber, O.P., John Thomas Mellein, O.P., Diana Sotelo Woodward, Paul Martin Woodward
Master of Arts (Philosophy) Sharon Ann MarieTyree “The Optional Ideal: A Defense of Stephen R. L. Clark’s Interpretation of Aristotelian Happiness”
Master of Arts (Theology)
Integral Emphasis
Katherine Mary Cox, Marianne Farina, C.S.C., (Comprehensive Examination Coordinator), Christopher Renz, O.P. ,
Jerome Cudden, O.P., Michael J. Hurley, O. P. , Vincent M. Kelber, O.P., John Thomas Mellein, O.P.
Research Emphasis
Colleen Nichole Power (With Honors) “An Icon of Personhood: How Marian Icons in the Eastern Tradition Reveal Humankind is Created in the Image and Likeness of God”
David Keong Seid, O.P. “The Missionary Vocation of the Church and the Challenge of Religious Pluralism”
Project Emphasis
Thinh Duc Nguyen, S.D.B. “Young Vietnamese-Americans and Their Images of God”
Sr. Armanda Maria Garçês dos Santos, F.S.P. “Facing the Apostolic Paul: An Iconographic Portrait”
Degree Conferred by the Graduate Theological Union
in cooperation with the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology
GTU Master of Arts
Eric Gerlach “‘With Him, True Philosophy First Begins’: Hegel's Praise of Eriugena and the Dialectical Rise of theHuman Mind”
May 7, 2007
Micahel Morris, OP, Placed on Judah Magnus Museum Board
The Judah Magnes Museum has placed Michael Morris, O.P., on its Board of Advisors. The Magnes Museum, located in the historic Burke Mansion in the Claremont district of Berkeley, is the third largest Jewish museum in the country following those found in New York and Los Angeles. The Magnes is seeking greater ties with the GTU and in this effort Professor Morris of the Dominican School and Carin Jacobs of the Magnes Museum are constructing a course on "museum literacy" which will enable those students with an interest in religion and the arts to gain museum experience and thereby increase their marketability upon graduation. The course will also enable the student to gain a better understanding of Judaism by working with the artifacts of its material culture.
April 2, 2007
Discover Tenebrae this Holy Week!
by Boniface Willard, op (originally printed in the Arch & Vine)
Tenebrae will be celebrated at St. Albert’s Priory the mornings of the
Triduum at 7:00am. All are invited to join the Dominicans in this prayer.
From the Latin word for “darkness,” Tenebrae is the term given
to the liturgical office of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday as
it was observed prior to the 1955 reform of Holy Week by Pope Pius XII. Dominicans
have continued to pray Tenebrae each year as a particular tradition of our
Order.
Tenebrae has roots as early as the 7th century, when those celebrating the
Office would do so in almost complete darkness – the only light coming
from a large candelabra, called a hearse. While the number of candles on the
hearse has varied, today there are usually fifteen tapers.
Although there have been many changes, the contemporary Office of Tenebrae
retains many traces of the ancient rite. There is no introductory verse or
Invitatory, and the “Glory to…” after each psalm and canticle
is omitted. After each psalm or canticle, a set of candles is extinguished – symbolizing
the Apostles’ desertion in the Garden of Olives – until there is
only one left, the so-called Christ candle. During the singing of the Benedictus,
this candle is not extinguished but is carried out of the Church, symbolizing
Christ’s death and burial.
The psalms are punctuated by three lessons taken from the Book of Lamentations:
a collection of poems which grieve over the Babylonian destruction, in 587
BC, of the temple in Jerusalem and the ruin of the people of Israel. By describing
the horrible situation which they now endure, the poems exhort the Israelites
to mourn for having turned away from God to worship foreign, pagan gods. Each
stanza begins with a Hebrew letter. When the Hebrew alphabet is used this way,
it is able to express completeness or fullness; here, the complete and full
desolation of Israel. The great “Prayer of Jeremiah,” which ends
Tenebrae on Saturday, is a plea to God to relent in punishment and rescue the
people, despite what they have done.
One cannot take part in these prayers without being impressed by their simple
dignity and majesty. Today, we can make these psalms and lamentations our own.
As we pray them, we can seek pardon for our sins, as well as the sins of the
whole world. We can reflect on any of the ways in which we have turned away
from being “the image and likeness of God.
This past October I attended made a pilgrimage from Arltunga to Santa Teresa
in Central Australia. I made this pilgrimage with about 20 members of the Aboriginal
Commission of the Archdiocese of Melbourne. There was a social justice theme
to this pilgrimage. It began with a smoking service for us and we were blessed
and given permisson to visit Arltunga site, now abandoned. During WWII (when
the Northern Territory was under martial law) the aboriginal community of Alice
Springs was ejected, houses, chattels and all, and sent to this desert location
at a moments notice. (To be fair to the government this was instigated by the
threat of meningitis.) The aboriginal community was forced to live at Arltunga
for about 10 years under difficult desert conditions. The location was on an
abandoned gold mine and the ground water had become toxic. There were many
early deaths. Fortunately, the bishop was able to buy a place at Santa Teresa
outside Alice Springs, a good place, where the community now lives today. They
have wonderful aboriginal artists living there and it was a joy to be with
them at the end of the journey. There were welcoming ceremonies, a smoking
service with a spiritual advisor and visits to sacred places in the area.
At the end of the pilgrimage I attended the triennial meeting of Catholic Aboriginal
leaders from all over Australia -- about 600 people in all with about 8 bishops,
and with some whites as guests. I attended as a delegate from the state of
Victoria. The meeting was an excellent opportunity for me to meet long-term
aboriginal friends from the NT, especially from Wadeye, which I visit frequently.
The meeting at Alice Springs was to celebrate the 20`" anniversary of
Pope John Paul IIs visit there. He had made a powerful statement in 1996 in
favour of indigenous cultures, especially powerful in Australia. The aboriginal
community was saying, I suspect, that the Pope's message was being lost or
forgotten.
I returned to the United States from Australia in December to teach the History
of Medieval Thought and Culture once again, and a graduate course doing
a close reading in a key text of Thomas Aquinas, the Disputed Question, the De
Veritate. In March I read a paper at the annual Medieval Association of
the Pacific, which met this year at UCLA (my old Alma Mater). This is an academic
society of professors of medieval studies in universities and colleges on the
West Coast. My paper, Money in Transition, was about the development
of money in the 14` century and the work of Nicole Oresme.
I had to put on hold my plans to conduct a course on aboriginal land and religion
until I could find sufficient grant money to help my student defray costs for
a flight to Australia. This course was, and is, to be conducted in conjunction
with the Centre for Religion and Education at the GTU.
March 15, 2007
2007 Aquinas Lecture
This year's Aquinas Lecture was given on March 13 by Thomas S. Hibbs, Distinguished
Professor of Ethics & Culture and Dean of the Honors College at Baylor
University. His lecture, entitled "Everything that Rises Must
Converge: Aquinas's Theological Re-formation of the Cardinal Virtues," focused
on the theological reformation of these virtues, specifically looking at
the examples of courage and prudence, and the connection of the virtues with
the good life, as found in the incarnation and the example of Christ's sacrifice. Hibbs
spoke most during his lecture and was questioned most about the virtue of
courage and the changes in Aquinas's interpretation of this virtue from its
roots in ancient philosophy. Aquinas emphasizes courage as an endurance,
more than as an "attack," so the exemplar of courage is not the
warrior, but the martyr whose patient witness patterns the life of Christ
and gives witness to the highest truths about God and faith.
Listen to the audio (mp3) file by clicking on the play button below (49
min).
To download the file to your harddrive, right click here and choose Save
Target As (or Save Link As) from the context menu and
choose where you would like to save it.
The Aquinas Lecture is a yearly academic event in which the DSPT faculty
nominate a distinguished scholar to give a presentation applying the teaching
and methodology of Thomas Aquinas to issues of contemporary significance.
March 5 , 2007
The Dumb Ox: The Practice of Fasting
On March 6, 2007, the Dumb Ox series hosted a talk, entitled "The Practice
of Fasting: Can Catholicism Learn from Islam?" The speaker
was Elissa McCormack, a M.A. Theology student at DSPT, who spoke about the
practice of fasting both in Catholicism and Islam based on research that
she had done for Sr. Marianne Farina's "Understanding Islam" class.
Her thesis is that with the changes in the practices of fasting and abstinence
from meat that occurred after Vatican II, there also came a certain amount
of confusion over what the new teaching of the Church was. She pointed
out that the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops was calling the
faithful to continue to abstain from meat on all Fridays, but was
allowing Catholics to have the option to instead substitute acts of charity
or piety for this practice. The problem is that most Catholics understood
that the requirements for abstaining from meat and fasting were being taken
away, but they did not, and still do not today, understand that something
else was put into place. Additionally, everyday Catholics are not
being taught about the history of fasting in the Catholic Church, and its
important connection to the themes of penance, self-discipline, prayer, and
works of charity or almsgiving.
The practice of fasting during the month of Ramadan in Islam can be contrasted
with how fasting is practiced in the Catholic Church today. First,
the practice in Islam is much more rigorous: abstaining from eating, drinking,
smoking, sexual activity, and even sinful thoughts from dawn to sunset each
day. This can be contrasted with the Catholic instructions on fasting
which allow one large meal and two small meals during the day, which looks
to most people not like fasting, but breakfast, lunch, and dinner! Fasting
during Ramadan is also connected closely to taqwa, or God-consciousness,
and Ramadan is considered to be a time when closeness to God is most possible.
Elissa claimed that Catholics should look to the example of Islam both to
understand more about the connection between fasting and spiritual life and
to have an example of the possibility of practicing a more rigorous form
of fasting. The lively discussion following her talk began by questioning
what it is about Islam that makes this practice so much more understood by
the average Muslim compared to Catholicism. The issue that was finally
raised, however, is that of the role of teaching in the Catholic Church:
Who, ultimately, is responsible for instructing Catholics in their religion? Parents? Priests? Teachers? The
only thing that was lacking from the discussion was the presence of the Dominican
brothers so that we might have understood the role of teaching in the Church
from the perspective of those who will be taking a major role in it.
The Dumb Ox is an amateur theology forum sponsored by the students of DSPT. The
name is based on the description of St. Thomas Aquinas that is attributed
to St. Albert the Great. He said, "You call him a Dumb Ox. I
tell you that the Dumb Ox will bellow so loud that his bellowing will fill
the world." The next Dumb Ox event will be held on Tuesday,
March 20 at 7:30pm at DSPT.
February 7, 2007
PhD Admissions Panel Hosted by DSPT
On Tuesday, February 6, the newly-formed DSPT Academic Group hosted a GTU-wide
PhD Admissions Panel. The panel consisted of Joseph Duggan, Associate Dean
of the Graduate Division for Degrees, Admissions, and Appointments at UC-Berkeley,
Kathleen Kook, Assistant Dean for Admissions at the GTU, and John Campbell,
Professor of Philosophy at UC-Berkeley. The panel opened with an introduction
by Elissa McCormack, ASDSPT President, followed by short talks by each of the
panel participants and ending with time for questions.
All of the panel participants spoke about the general admissions process for
doctoral programs, emphasizing that students should take the time to really
consider if a PhD is what they want to do. Since PhD programs are, on average,
a seven-year commitment, students interested in doing a PhD should think long
and hard about whether or not this is really what they want to do. The panel
participants all also gave GTU students some great tips about how to best put
together their applications, like asking a professor in advance if they would
be able to write a good letter of recommendation for you, remembering to rewrite
your writing sample to incorporate the comments of your professor, and trying
not to worry about the aspects of your application that are not under your
control and focusing on the ones that are (like the personal statement and
writing sample). Another important suggestion, reiterated by all the participants,
was to ask professors about what programs would be best for your interests
and to not be afraid to contact the departments and the faculty at these schools
directly.
The DSPT Academic Group was formed in the fall of 2006 by a group of students
who are all interested in pursuing PhD work after finishing at DSPT. Although
the group is currently in a fluid form, the students who attended the PhD Admissions
Panel will all be asked about their preferences about how such a group could
best support them both during their M.A. and through the PhD application process.
The Academic Group hopes to become a permanent presence at the GTU, run by
students at DSPT since more of the lay DSPT students seem to be interested
in academics in comparison to the large percentages of ministry-focused students
at the other GTU schools.
-- Elissa McCormack
________________________
January 28, 2007
Thomas Aquinas, a Master of Dialogue Between Cultures
VATICAN CITY, JAN 28, 2007 (VIS) - Before praying the Angelus this morning,
Benedict XVI dedicated some remarks to the figure of St. Thomas Aquinas, whose
feast day falls today.
Addressing the thousands of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square, the Pope
recalled that the saint presents a "valid model for harmony between reason
and faith, dimensions of the human spirit that that are fully realized in the
meeting and dialogue between them."
On October 12th, Dominican School Professor Michael Morris, OP, delivered
the prestigious Dillenberger Lecture, sponsored by the GTU in association with
the Center for Art and Religion in Education. His topic, "Moving Pictures:
The Bible and Beyond" discussed the portrayal of Biblical or near-Biblical
events in cinema, and was presented in conjunction with an art
exhibit of the same title, and a "Sword
and Sandal" Film Festival. This year, the lecture was followed on
October 13th with a symposium which Fr. Michael led. Congratulations, Fr. Michael!
Congratulations to Pamela!
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September 21, 2006
United Nations International Day of Peace
September 21, 2006
Today united with brothers and sisters around the world, the Dominican School
of Philosophy and Theology re-dedicates itself to work for justice and peace.
Key to promoting a culture of peace is cooperation, collaboration and dialogue
among faith traditions.
Pope Benedict XVI calls us to this important mission stating that peace results
only from witnessing to and working in Truth:
[We] must realize that peace cannot be reduced to the simple absence of
armed conflict, but needs to be understood as ''the fruit of an order which
has been planted in human society by its divine Founder'', an order ''which
must be brought about by humanity in its thirst for ever more perfect justice''. As
the result of an order planned and willed by the love of God, peace has an
intrinsic and invincible truth of its own, and corresponds ''to an irrepressible
yearning and hope dwelling within us''. (2006 World Day of Peace http://www.vatican.va).
Pope Benedict urges scholars and pastors to engage in “frank
and sincere dialogue with great mutual respect” (Vatican News September
20, 2006).
The Muslim community responds favorably to the call for dialogue. It remains
committed to a renewed engagement that will help us heal a world torn apart
by hatred and violence.
We reject and decry all violence committed by Muslims against Christian
and Catholic individuals and institutions. Such violence is sinful and unlawful.
We urge Muslim authorities to increase their protection of Christians and
their houses of worship, and to prosecute anyone who commits such acts of
violence.
Muslim Americans welcome the gestures of friendship and understanding
that have been made by their Catholic friends and colleagues, and express
our sincere interest in continuing our dialogue with the Catholic Church
to build the bridges of understanding between us. (Islamic Society of North
America http://www.isna.net).
Though recent events have been a great test for our faith communities, Muslims
and Catholics in a spirit of solidarity will join together to keep the Ramadan
fast and pray for peace. (http://www.masnet.org).
The Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology offers information about interfaith
dialogue and related local events. Postings will appear on this website throughout
the coming weeks.
September 13, 2006
On
Wednesday, September 13, 2006 the new Dominican School of Philosophy & Theology
campus at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California was consecrated
by the Most Reverend Allen Vigneron, Bishop of Oakland. The icon of St. Albert
the Great was blessed by the bishop and in procession was moved to the new
campus where it was installed in the chapel. See a large
image of the icon
and a short video (scroll down) of
the procession on the DominICON web
site.
Many thanks to Fr. Brendan McAnerney, OP for his work and the donation of
the icon to the School.
July 5 , 2006
From the Spring 2006 GTU Currents Newsletter - Students Speak
Three students from the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology talk about their experience at the Graduate Theological Union.
CHRISTOPHER FADOK, O. P. The Graduate Theological Union's connection to UC Berkeley is huge.
I took a graduate-level class there on the nature of consciousness with world-renowned philosopher John Searle. One of my Dominican brothers and I were the only two enrolled from the GTU. I remember one Berkeley student asking us about St. Augustine and the nature of the soul, and how that would relate to issues in the philosophy of mind. It was an opportunity to make critical and creative dialogue happen, and participate in broader conversations about philosophical issues.
LAWRENCE KING
The most important thing is to not lose sight of the reason why you've come here. Most of us arrive with some specific goal, something important that's related to the outside world-to evangelize or to do social work or to reach out to people who aren't certain about their beliefs. In addition to questions of abstract theology, I try to remember the real people whose lives-physical and intellectual-are impacted by these teachings.
COLLEEN POWER Studying here has given me the tools to talk with others in an open and responsive way, particularly those outside of the GTU. People hear that you're studying theology and they want to talk about it. Perfect strangers, on an airplane or on the street, often engage me in in-depth conversations about theology and life in general. They ask amazing questions. These discussions bridge gaps between my own understanding and faith with other points of view, and they give us a chance to say to each other, "This is what I believe."
Congratulations to the new inductees into the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology College of Fellows!
Kevin Starr, Andre Delbecq, Barbara Elliot, and Gleaves Whitney.
Karl Lupe Gonzalez, O.P., Mark Francis Manzano, O.P., Tammylee Aw Ngo, O.F.M. Conv., James Phan, O.F.M. Conv., Maria Erica Robles, V.D.M.F., Douglas Speigel, O.F.M. Conv., and Lois Vander Wende-Williams
Master of Divinity
Bernhard Blankenhorn, O.P., Patrick L. Havel, Claire Thérèse Heyne, and Chinh D. Nguyen, S.D.B.
Master of Arts (Philosophy)
Newell I. Cutter III Duke - “Nietzsche’s Moral Paradigms”
Christopher Paul Fadok, O.P. (With Honors) - “Looking Forward to the Past: A Plea for Thomistic Intervention in the Philosophy of Mind”
Master of Arts (Theology)
Research Emphasis
Patrick M. Finn - “Liberation from a Paradigm of Conditional Love in the Transformative Dark Night According to St. John of the Cross”
Charlotte Ann Greer, F.M.A. - “Mystical Life: The Heart of Feminine SalesianSpirituality as Experienced by Mother Rosetta Marchese, F.M.A.”
Project Emphasis
Carrie L. Skinner
Bonnie L. Soong - “Recovering Affability as a Contemporary Virtue”Integral Emphasis
Anthony Richard Garcias, O.P.
Master of Arts (Philosophy ) & Master of Arts (Theology) -Concurrent Degree
Zachary J. Foreman - “Confronting Terrorism Justly: A Retrieval of the Just War Tradition and an Application to International Terrorism”
Degrees Conferred by the Graduate Theological Union in cooperation with the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology
GTU Master of Arts
Bernhard Blankenhorn, O.P. (With Honors) - “The Sacraments as Instrumental Causes of Grace: Thomas Aquinas and the Post-Modern Theology of Louis-Marie Chauvet”
Christine Louise Gutleben - “Intentional Eucharistic Food Choices”
Phillip Jeffrey Guilbeau - “Our Lady the Fleming: Late Medieval Northern European Devotional Trends and IconographicalMotives in Sixteenth-Century New Spain”
________________________
April 26,2006
Dear DSPT community:
I wish to announce the death of Monsignor Bernard J. Moran in Oakland, April 21, 2006. Your prayers are requested for the repose of his soul and for the intentions of his family.
Monsignor Moran was not only a friend of the Dominicans during his long service in the Diocese of Oakland but, because of that great service to the church in Oakland, he was also honored by the Dominican School as an Alemany Award recipient for his many years of Catholic service.
Monsignor was a priest for 53 years having been ordained in San Francisco January 24, 1953. His assignments included: St. Anne Church in SF; St. Paschal Church and St. Isadore Church in Oakland; St. Joseph the Worker Church in Berkeley; St. Raymond in Dublin and St. Theresa in Oakland. Monsignor also served as director of Catholic Cemeteries for the Diocese of Oakland.
In addition to their request for prayers from the DSPT community, Monsignor's family invite you to visit at St. Theresa Church, 30 Mandalay Rd, Oakland on Wednesday (today) after 2:30 PM, where the Vigil Service will be at 7:00 PM (tonight). All are also invited to the concelebrated Funeral Mass on Thursday, April 27th, at 10:30AM (also at St. Theresa's), followed by a reception in the parish hall, and then committal in St. Mary's Cemetery.
Scott Connolly
Vice President of Administration and Student Services
________________________
April 11, 2006
An Assessment of the “Gospel of Judas”
by Fr. Gregory Tatum, OP
Assistant Professor of New Testament
The Press has raised a great hue and cry about the newly discovered “Gospel of Judas.” There is talk of the Church conspiring to hide the truth. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The Gospel of Judas was written by a tiny fringe group of Gnostics in the second century who rejected the God of Jews and Christians. Gnosticism was a religious movement that thrived in the second and third centuries. It set itself apart from the traditional religions of the Roman Empire as well as from Judaism and Christianity by proposing a secret knowledge (in Greek, gnosis,) which was available only to an elite few. They generally believed that the physical world and particularly the human body were evil, created by a rebellious minor aeon, or divine being. Seeing the popularity of Christianity, many Gnostics associated this evil creator with the God of Jews and Christians. Meanwhile, the Catholic Church taught that the physical world and the human body are good, because created by the good and only God, and that the human body is especially holy because God became a human being in Jesus Christ.
Irenaeus of Lyons (circa CE 180) mentions the “Gospel of Judas” when he finishes his tour of contemporary Gnosticism in his book Against Heresies. Irenaeus’ analysis of Gnosticism has been borne out by the truly significant discovery of the Nag Hammadi library. After surveying the larger groups of Gnostics, Irenaeus mentions a tiny fringe group who venerate Cain and other “bad guys” in the Jewish Scriptures because they would not worship what they considered to be the minor god who created the evil physical universe. Irenaeus writes:
Still others say that Cain came from the Absolute Sovereignty above, and Esau, Korah, and the men of Sodom, along with every person of this sort, have the same origin. They were hated by the Creator because though attacked they suffered no harm, for Sophia took to herself what was her own in them. The traitor Judas was the only one of the apostles who possessed this knowledge (cf. John 13:27). For this reason he brought about the mystery of the betrayal; through him all things on earth and in heaven were destroyed. They provide a work to this effect called the “Gospel of Judas.” (Against Heresies, 1.31.1)
The “Gospel of Judas” was thus written by a group of second century Gnostics who rejected the Creator God. This group attempted to co-opt Jesus away from the Catholic Church for Gnosticism. Jesus is portrayed teaching typically Gnostic doctrines, e.g. the imprisonment of the soul in the flesh, the multiplicity of divine aeons, the creation of the world as an act of rebellion by a lesser aeon (namely, the God of Jews and Christians). Judas is portrayed as the true Gnostic who liberates Jesus from his physical body and who is rejected by the Catholic Church, represented by the Twelve Apostles, who worship “their God,” the rebellious aeon who created the evil, physical cosmos. The anti-Christian character of the “Gospel of Judas” is further shown by its portrayal of Jesus as mocking the Eucharist and vilifying the Church’s ministry. What little Christian veneer the “Gospel of Judas” has is taken from the four canonical Gospels, albeit in garbled Gnostic form. Irenaeus of Lyons quite accurately describes the “Gospel of Judas.” It was neither secret nor hidden; it simply did not excite sufficient interest to be copied very often because it was written by a tiny fringe group.
An English translation of this work is available in PDF format on the National Geographic website. The website also provides a history of the badly damaged third century manuscript that can be identified as a Coptic translation of the second century Greek “Gospel of Judas” mentioned by Irenaeus. The talk of the Church conspiring to hide the truth is nonsense. The Catholic Church has played no role at all in the entire affair. Indeed, the manuscript was lost and hidden and is so badly damaged because of the greediness of antiquity dealers. The Church has played no role other than to authenticate the document by the public description in Irenaeus’ work.
I invite anyone who is interested to read the document itself before reading the historically uninformed sensationalism of journalists. Then one can clearly see that the “Gospel of Judas” cannot stand up as a Gospel in comparison with any one of the canonical four. The “Gospel of Judas” was clearly derived from and written in relation to existing Christian traditions about Jesus; and the canonical Gospels’ portraits of Jesus simply could not have developed from the portrait of Jesus in the “Gospel of Judas.” The document illustrates second and third century Gnosticism, but it has nothing to do with the historical Jesus.
Fr. Gregory writes from the Ecole Biblique in Jerusalem, where he has spent the last semester doing research. He will teach the Johannine corpus and the Pauline corpus in the fall.
________________________
April 4 , 2006
Discover Tenebrae this Holy Week!
by Boniface Willard, op (originally printed in the Arch & Vine)
Tenebrae will be celebrated at St. Albert’s Priory the mornings of the Triduum at 7:00am. All are invited to join the Dominicans in this prayer.
From the Latin word for “darkness,” Tenebrae is the term given to the liturgical office of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday as it was observed prior to the 1955 reform of Holy Week by Pope Pius XII. Dominicans have continued to pray Tenebrae each year as a particular tradition of our Order.
Tenebrae has roots as early as the 7th century, when those celebrating the Office would do so in almost complete darkness – the only light coming from a large candelabra, called a hearse. While the number of candles on the hearse has varied, today there are usually fifteen tapers.
Although there have been many changes, the contemporary Office of Tenebrae retains many traces of the ancient rite. There is no introductory verse or Invitatory, and the “Glory to…” after each psalm and canticle is omitted. After each psalm or canticle, a set of candles is extinguished – symbolizing the Apostles’ desertion in the Garden of Olives – until there is only one left, the so-called Christ candle. During the singing of the Benedictus, this candle is not extinguished but is carried out of the Church, symbolizing Christ’s death and burial.
The psalms are punctuated by three lessons taken from the Book of Lamentations: a collection of poems which grieve over the Babylonian destruction, in 587 BC, of the temple in Jerusalem and the ruin of the people of Israel. By describing the horrible situation which they now endure, the poems exhort the Israelites to mourn for having turned away from God to worship foreign, pagan gods. Each stanza begins with a Hebrew letter. When the Hebrew alphabet is used this way, it is able to express completeness or fullness; here, the complete and full desolation of Israel. The great “Prayer of Jeremiah,” which ends Tenebrae on Saturday, is a plea to God to relent in punishment and rescue the people, despite what they have done.
One cannot take part in these prayers without being impressed by their simple dignity and majesty. Today, we can make these psalms and lamentations our own. As we pray them, we can seek pardon for our sins, as well as the sins of the whole world. We can reflect on any of the ways in which we have turned away from being “the image and likeness of God.”
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April 3 , 2006
Welcoming the Apostolic Visitation Team
by Christopher Renz, op (originally printed in the Arch & Vine)
Many of you are already aware that the Roman curia is conducting formal visitations this year of seminaries and houses of religious formation in the U.S. So, we thought a few particulars would be helpful to bring you up to date on what’s happening here at the DSPT.
The visitation is scheduled for April 23-28, 2006. Headed by Bishop Walter Edyvean, auxiliary bishop of Boston, each of six priests will conduct twenty-minute, one-on-one interviews with all regular faculty and clerical candidates.
In addition to visiting the DSPT, the team will also visit the FST, St. Albert Priory, Don Bosco Hall (and the Institute of Salesian Studies), the Dominican Missionaries for the Deaf (San Francisco), Holy Family Friary (Castro Valley), and St. Elizabeth Friary (Oakland).
The substance for the interview is taken from the published Instrumentum Laboris, a series of questions which focus on various aspects of priestly formation, but particularly on intellectual formation, especially in the field of moral theology. While no formal preparation for the interview is needed, interested folk may wish to review the Instrumentum (available online at the Vatican website).
Faculty and involved students will be asked to sign up for a meeting time, and will be given instructions about the meeting place. Those not directly involved in the interview process can participate through prayer, and the offer of welcome to the team members.
The Season of Lent is upon us and brings with it many opportunities for prayer and reflection.
On March 1st we will celebrate Ash Wednesday with a Tri-school Mass at the PSR Chapel at 12:40pm.
Every Thursday of Lent come to FST for Tri-School Lenten Prayer Services at 5:15pm. These are evenings of solemn prayer, reflection, and music.
Friday afternoons during Lent, St. Albert’s Priory will have Stations of the Cross at 3:30 in the chapel.
On Friday evenings during Lent from 6:00-7:30pm, the Tri-School Prayer committee is hosting “A Lenten Journey into Meditation”, exploring Buddhist meditation techniques as a means to put Christian faith into practice.
On March 22, Fr. Michael Dodds will lead a Lenten Day of Reflection at St. Albert’s Priory. We will meet at the Priory at noon for mid-day prayer and rosary. Lunch will follow. Fr. Dodds will lead students in prayerful reflections. Confession and a small mass will conclude the day.
Finally, Sr. Marianne Farina and the Oakland Diocese will host a Compassionate Listening Training at the Badè from March 31-April 2.
More information on all these events is available at www.dspt.edu or by emailing asdspt@dspt.edu.
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January 30, 2006
Congratulations to Our New Deacons!
Over the Christmas Break four of our Dominican students were ordained to the diaconate. Rev. Br. Jerome Cudden op and Rev. Br. John Thomas Mellein op were ordained at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington DC by Bishop Martin Holley. Rev. Br. Michael Hurley op and Rev. Br. Vincent Mary Kelber op were ordained at Holy Rosary, the Dominican parish in Antioch, CA, by Bishop Allen Vigneron.
They join students who are already deacons including Rev. Br. Bernhard Blankenhorn op, who was ordained in Toulouse last spring, and Rev. Br. Chinh Nguyen sdb, who was ordained at St. Augustine’s Parish in Oakland this past fall.
Clerical Brothers are ordained deacons in their sixth year of studies at the DSPT. This follows their profession of solemn vows which normally happens in their fifth year of studies. These brothers now look forward to their priestly ordinations at the end of their seventh year of studies, having been awarded M.Div. degrees. Rev. Br. Bernhard will be ordained a priest this June. Rev. Brs. Jerome, John Thomas, Michael, and Vincent Mary expect to be ordained priests in the spring of 2007.
Talking about his experience serving at the altar as deacon, Rev. Br. Vincent Mary commented, “I felt right up there.”
The DSPT community offers congratulations and blessings to these brothers on their spiritual journey.
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January 30, 2006
Benedict XVI Writes His First Encyclical as Pope
The Pope’s long-awaited first encyclical, Deus Caritas Est or God Is Love, was released early January, 2006. The BBC News writes: “Papal proclamations are often taken as a sign of the possible direction of the Roman Catholic Church. Theologians are expected to scrutinise Pope Benedict’s first encyclical for any hints at how the former head of Catholic doctrine will lead his flock.” His encyclical is essentially on love – in particular, Christian love, and charity. It seems he will lead with, and in, love.
The first part of the encyclical deals with the distinction between Eros and Agape. We are to emulate the Divine love: “Fundamentally, ‘love’ is a single reality.” When the two are separated, love becomes a “caricature or … an impoverished form of love.” The greatest example of this love is Christ’s sacrifice. Receiving the Eucharist is “more than statically receiving the incarnate Logos,” but also a drawing into this love. Our response to that must be genuine and we must necessarily be ready to love our neighbor in imitation of His love.
The second part is on Caritas and the concrete acts of charity in the Church. This love of neighbor, discussed above, must be practiced by the Church community as a whole. The role of the Church is “to contribute to the purification of reason and to the reawakening of those moral forces without which just structures are neither established nor prove effective in the long run. The direct duty to work for a just ordering of society ... is proper to the lay faithful.” The charitable activity of the Church is an “opus proprium” and flows organically from within.
Pope Benedict XVI reminds us that charity should not be merely a means to spread the Good News. “Love is free.” Love should be the end of a charitable act and not used as a means.
For the encyclical see the vatican website.
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December 5, 2005
Owl of Minerva Sounds a Lively Note
Br. James Junipero Moore, op, challenged our notions of how music affects us in his presentation for the Owl of Minerva, titled “Music and Virtue Ethics: Living Authentically in Today’s Atomized World.” Over forty people attended the discussion last Wednesday the 30th, hosted in the classroom at the FST.
Br. James based his presentation on the research and arguments which he is developing for his MA thesis. He did not shy away from controversy, critiquing such popular musicians as 50 Cent and Brittney Spears, and he sparked a lively discussion on the role of music in developing virtue or vice. He claimed that music can be a great aid to developing a well-ordered soul, or can disrupt the order of one’s soul.
Responses ranged from tentative agreement to disputing his most fundamental premisses. This kind of discussion, of course, is exactly the goal of the Owl of Minerva.
The Owl is a student-led philosophy forum, open to the public, in which students present a brief philosophical argument, followed by questions and discussion. Following the example of Socrates, refreshments are provided before, during and after the discussion.
The Owl was founded by Sophia Leahy (’04), and has been run this semester by Newell Cutter III, who recently completed his own MA degree. Next semester, Br. Christopher Fadok, op, will take the reins and continue the tradition of engaging, spontaneous philosophy at the DSPT.
Following a successful test of online Early Registration for Fall 2005, the Graduate Theological Union will initiate an institutional-wide online registration using Student WebAdvisor for Early Registration for Spring 2006. DSPT students should check their mailboxes for more information and instructions regarding this new web-based Early Registration.
Early Registration for Spring 2006 for all students (both B.A. Philosophy and all graduate students) will occur Monday, November 7 through Friday, November 11. Students and faculty advisors should plan to meet at that time to discuss their Spring schedules.
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October 13, 2005
Fr. Michael Sweeney, OP, President of Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology gave the keynote address to the Annual Meeting of the Lay Ecclesial Ministers of the Diocese of Oakland.
Fr. Michael Sweeney, OP, President of Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology will appear on the radio program "Your Call" (KALW -- 91.7 in the Bay Area) from 10 am to 11 am. The program will focus on the Apostolic Visitation of US Seminaries. Other guests include Amy Wellborn and representative of Dignity.
The DSPT is pleased to announce the hire of two new regular faculty members:
Marianne Farina, C.S.C. has been appointed to the position of assistant professor of philosophy and theology at the DSPT. A member of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Cross, Notre Dame, Indiana, Sr. Marianne received her doctorate in theological ethics from Boston College (2004). Her dissertation topic was "Moral Goodness and Friendship with God: The Moral Teachings of Thomas Aquinas and Hamid al-Ghazali." She is currently the director for research and scholarship at the Center for Women's InterCultural Leadership , as well as lecturer in ethics and justice (St. Mary's College, Notre Dame, IN). Sr. Marianne is not a newcomer to the GTU, having taught courses in Christian ethics, Islam, and comparative religion at both PSR and Starr King from 1998-2002. Her research interests include Catholic moral theology, philosophical ethics, Islamic ethics, and Christian and Islamic spirituality.
John Berkman, Ph.D. has been appointed to the position of associate professor of philosophy and theology at the DSPT. Dr. Berkman received his doctorate from Duke University (1994) and is currently associate professor and area director of Moral Theology/Ethics at The Catholic University of America (Washington, DC). He is co-editor of The Pinckaers Reader: Renewing Catholic Moral Theology (CUA Press, forthcoming) and The Hauerwas Reader (Duke University Press, 2001). His research interests include end-of-life issues, biomedical reproductive ethics, religious ethics, virtue and utilitarian ethics, and the history of Catholic moral theology. Dr. Berkman will teach full-time at the DSPT beginning in the Fall 2006.
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April 19, 2005
Habemus Papam! Pope Benedict XVI
April 19, 2005
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His Holiness John Paul II
May 18, 1920 - April 2, 2005
In his first Encyclical Letter to the Church, Redemptor Hominis, Pope John Paul II made clear his vision for the Church:
"The Church wishes to serve this single end: that each person may be able to find Christ, in order that Christ may walk with each person the path of life, with the power of the truth about man and the world that is contained in the mystery of the Incarnation and the Redemption and with the power of the love that is radiated by that truth"
(Redemptor Hominis, 13).
Quoting Lumen Gentium (the Dogmatic Constitution of the Church in the Modern World) from the Vatican Council II, John Paul insisted, therefore, that "man [and woman] is the road the Church must walk."
"Man and woman is the road the Church must walk"; just as Christ unites himself with each man and each woman, so the Church, the Body of Christ, must reach out to each man and each woman, every man and every woman, "without any exception whatever", he insisted. The Holy Father not only taught this, but in myriad ways he also lived this: by his travels, by his solidarity with the poor, the dispossessed, the young and the old, in his prayer and in what he exhorted and taught, Pope John Paul II walked with each of us, every one of us, without any exception whatever.
For this reason the world now seeks, for a moment, to walk with him -whether the millions of pilgrims who have traveled to Rome to celebrate his life, or whether the hundreds of millions who cannot be there, but accompany him in prayer. Let us now attend him by our prayers, but then let us be about the work of the Church, which he has so wonderfully illumined for us, so that, in very fact, "each man and woman may be able to find Christ."
Eleanor Westbrooke and Scott Connolly Receive the Alemany Award for Christian Service
Congratulations to:
On October 12th, Dominican School Professor Michael Morris, OP, delivered
the prestigious Dillenberger Lecture, sponsored by the GTU in association with
the Center for Art and Religion in Education. His topic, "Moving Pictures:
The Bible and Beyond" discussed the portrayal of Biblical or near-Biblical
events in cinema, and was presented in conjunction with an 
The Graduate Theological Union's connection to UC Berkeley is huge.
The most important thing is to not lose sight of the reason why you've come here. Most of us arrive with some specific goal, something important that's related to the outside world-to evangelize or to do social work or to reach out to people who aren't certain about their beliefs. In addition to questions of abstract theology, I try to remember the real people whose lives-physical and intellectual-are impacted by these teachings. 
Studying here has given me the tools to talk with others in an open and responsive way, particularly those outside of the GTU. People hear that you're studying theology and they want to talk about it. Perfect strangers, on an airplane or on the street, often engage me in in-depth conversations about theology and life in general. They ask amazing questions. These discussions bridge gaps between my own understanding and faith with other points of view, and they give us a chance to say to each other, "This is what I believe."
