A Brief History of Opera’s Great Villains
A Brief History of Opera’s Great Villains
Instructor: Charles Powell
Tuesdays, April 30 – May 14
12:00 – 1:15 PM
First Floor Conference Room
Fee $30.00
Instructor: Charles Powell
Tuesdays, April 30 – May 14
12:00 – 1:15 PM
First Floor Conference Room
Fee $30.00
Catholicism 101—Summer Session: The Gospel of St. Mark
Catholicism 101 is an adult faith formation series Intended for anyone interested in learning more about the Catholic faith.
Instructor: Mr. Joseph Nuzzi, Pastoral Associate, Church of St. Francis of Assisi
Schedule:
Wednesdays, July 10 – August 14, 2024
12:30 – 1:30 PM in the Clare Room or
6:30 – 7:30 PM in the Clare Room and on Zoom
In this 6-week course, we will be studying in depth the Gospel of Mark.
Themes we will study will include:
This course is offered for both new students as well as people already accustomed to studying the bible. Inquirers and neophytes from the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults are encouraged to attend. It will also be an excellent course for catechists, lectors, deacons and priests who want a refresher course as we journey through Cycle B this year, and anyone interested in learning more about the Christian faith.
Please register below. Scholarships are available for anyone with economic hardship. To inquire please email: jnuzzi@stfrancisnyc.org
Fee: This Adult Education Summer course is offered free of charge.
A free will offering is requested. (Normal course fee is approx. $10 per week of the class, or $60)
Catherine of Siena Part 2: The Bridge and Beyond
This course continues with the saint’s most famous work, The Dialogue, which was written as a conversation between her and God the Father. It will emphasize the Steps, and the Bridge, particularly her Christology, as a spiritual guide to union with all 3 members of the most Holy Trinity. In addition, we will consider the Eucharist and the Church, time permitting, along with linking them to other themes in her writings. Finally, we will also connect all these to our current lives.
Instructor: Mary J. Gennuso, Ph.D.
Saturday, March 16
9:00 AM – 12:00 pm
ZOOM Only (this is a change from what was originally posted.)
Fee: $30.00
The Irish Way: Understanding Irish Music through Persecution and Famine
Ireland has a rich musical history, especially in the Mediæval period, and today it provides for multiple and varied expressions of religious and secular music. Christianity developed rather differently in Ireland from that of the mainland continent, and its music and rituals were imbued with the earlier Celtic culture to form a uniquely Irish spirituality. Oliver Cromwell’s persecution of the Catholic Church crushed a flourishing musical and religious life, and led to an underground movement, stripping away nearly all cultural identity. A century and a half later, the Great Famine in the mid-nineteenth century lead to mass migrations, with much of it to the United States and New York, specifically.
Instructor: William Mulligan, M.Mus.
Wednesdays, February 28 – March 27, 2024
7:00 PM – 8:00 PM; Zoom Meeting
In-person on March 27 (in Clare Room)
Fee: $50.00
Soul-Searching: Three Novels by Francois Mauriac
The Catholic novelist Francois Mauriac was awarded the 1952 Nobel Prize in Literature “for the deep spiritual insight and the artistic intensity with which he has in his novels penetrated the drama of human life.”
Our reading will begin the first of Mauriac’s novels to gain critical attention, A Kiss of the Leper which focuses on a young man’s struggle with his physical appearance. The Desert of Love explores the psychological and social consequences of sexual desire when a father and his son are attracted to a woman of a lower social class. We will conclude with The Knot of Vipers, a family’s story told through the protagonist’s journal.
Instructor: Sr. Fran McManus, R.S.M., M.A.
Thursdays ,Feb. 29th-April 18th No class March 28th
12:30-1:30 PM
on ZOOM
Fee $60.00
The Poetry of Alicia Ostriker: Observations and Engagements
The first two sections of Ostriker’s Waiting for the Light invite us to reconsider familiar New York City encounters with vendors and cardplayers, taxi drivers, immigrants and tourists and to note human energy and the energy of changing seasons. The last two sections of the book include poems of witness which consider America and the world.
Our course text, Waiting for the Light, was winner of the 2017 National Jewish Book Award.
A teacher, scholar and critic, Ostriker has published seventeen volumes of poetry as well as books on women’s writing, American poetry and the Bible
From 6 to 7:30PM we will discuss Ostriker’s poems; from 7:30 to 8 students will have the option of writing poems in response to a prompt based on the style or content of the poems discussed in class.
Instructor: Sr. Fran McManus, R.S.M., M.A.
Mondays, February 26th-April 15th, no class April 1
6:00-8:00 PM
on ZOOM
Fee $60.00
Catholicism 101: Christianity in the 2nd & 3rd Centuries
Between the writing of the books of the New Testament and the establishment of the Church in the fourth and fifth centuries as the official religion of the Roman Empire, the Church grew and developed in the tumultuous second and third centuries. This 8-week course will be an introduction to this crucial period in the emergence of Christianity as a major world religion. Using primary sources from the period we will investigate the emergence of church structures and leadership, the relationship between Christianity and Judaism, the relationship between Christianity and the pagan Roman world, the liturgical life of the Church and the emergence of a Canon of Christian scriptures.
A custom course booklet will provided containing our texts
Instructor: Joseph Nuzzi, M.A.
Wednesdays, February 21 – April 17 (No class March 27)
12:30 – 2:00 PM, Clare Room
6:30 PM – 8:00 PM Clare Room and on ZOOM
Fee: $80
Great Choral Music in a Century of Strife
Through recordings we will listen to some of the notable choral music which the 20th century produced amidst the turmoil of war and persecution.
Composers will include: Elgar, Vaughan-Williams, Britten, Rachmaninov, Durufle, Bernstein and others.
Instructor: Charles Powell
Tuesdays, February 20 – March 26
12:00 – 1:15 PM
Second Floor Conference Room
Fee $60.00
The Spiritual Genius of Henri Nouwen
Henri Nouwen was one of the most profound spiritual writers of the twentieth century. He was someone who was constantly searching. Ultimately he found God in the struggle of life that made him a person of deep compassion.
This course will look at some of his most important writings including his most famous work, The Return of the Prodigal Son.
Instructor: Fr. Anthony Ciorra, Ph.D.
Tuesdays, February 20 – March 19 (no class March 12)
12:30-2:00 PM
Francis Room
Fee $60.00
Reading the New Testament Letter of James
The Letter of James is one of the lesser-read writings in the New Testament. In form, it presents itself as a letter; in content, it seems to be a homily. Somewhat surprisingly, although James appears to be familiar with some of Jesus’ sayings, he seldom speaks of Jesus explicitly. James rather instructs his readers through texts taken from the Old Testament prophets and wisdom literature, and this aspect of his letter is a valuable guide for us as we continue to read the scriptures and ponder what it means for us to be disciples of Jesus.
During these four sessions, we will read the Letter of James and discuss its view of Christian life and discipleship. We will also take a look at how some later Christians have reflected on this letter.
Instructor: Mr. Paul Sansone, M.A.
Tuesdays, February 20 – March 12
12:00 -1:00 PM
on ZOOM
fee: $40.00