Didaskō Adult Faith Formation
On behalf of the Parish Renewal Team, the University of Notre Dame Australia presents a series of short courses. From the comfort of your own home, or gathered in-person with a parish group, join us online to learn more about Jesus and His Church; to study; to discuss; and to ask questions. We are bringing the university lecturers to you!
Mode of delivery: online via Zoom. The courses are designed for participants to actively engage in the classes, with the opportunity to ask questions and participate in discussions. The sessions will NOT be recorded. Registered participants will be provided with the Zoom link via email prior to the commencement of the course.
Dates and times: Short courses will take place between October 2023 and May 2024, each consisting of three evening sessions within a month, from 7:30pm – 8:45pm.
Cost per short course:
$35 for an individual (+ booking fees)
$100 for a Parish Group, in-person gathering (+ booking fees)
Register Online
There are two types of registration available:
Individuals
Ideal for individuals who would like to participate in the short courses from the comfort of your own home.
Parish Groups
Ideal for parish groups, or other small groups, who would like to meet in-person to share the learning experience with others.
Participants meet in-person in a parish hall, meeting room, parishioner home, or other suitable venue. Gather prior to the class for a cup of tea and a chat.
Remain for a brief time after the class to discuss highlights and what was learnt.
Time: 7:00pm – 9:00pm
Materials required: meeting space, projector, laptop, sound, internet connection, refreshments.
Course Selection
There are five short courses in the series, of which you may register for any or all. We highly recommend that you commence with Goodness, Beauty, Truth: An Introduction to Themes and Thinkers in Philosophy as philosophy is a great preparation for studying theology of any kind.
Presented by Dr Catherine Wesselinoff
Dates: Thursdays 5, 12 and 19 October 2023
Time: 7:30pm – 8:45pm
Mode: Online via Zoom
Cost: $35 per person (+ booking fees),
$100 for Parish Groups (+ booking fees)
Description: This course serves as an introduction to central issues in philosophy. The course covers three philosophical subdisciplines: ethics, aesthetics and epistemology. It opens with ethics and discusses general questions about values, goodness and responsibility. The middle session is on aesthetics and considers the nature of beauty and whether beauty is objective or subjective. The final part of the course is on epistemology and is concerned with the question “What is truth?” and the nature of justified belief.
The Presenter: Dr Catherine Wesselinoff is a lecturer at the University of Notre Dame, Australia, where she teaches courses in the history of philosophy, political philosophy, ethics, and aesthetics. She completed her PhD at the University of Sydney in 2022, her Masters from the University of Oxford in 2012, and her undergraduate studies at the Australian National University in 2009.
Presented by Dr Peter Holmes
Dates: Thursdays 2, 9 and 16 November 2023
Time: 7:30pm – 8:45pm
Mode: Online via Zoom
Cost: $35 per person (+ booking fees),
$100 for Parish Groups (+ booking fees)
Description: Pope Benedict wrote “Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person” (Deus Caritas Est, 1). To have a relationship with Our Lord, Catholics speak and listen to Him daily in reading and praying the Scriptures. This is why Pope Francis urges Christians to open the Scriptures every day, “for we urgently need to grow in our knowledge and love of the Scriptures and of the risen Lord, who continues to speak his word” (Aperuit Illus, 8). This series will give some background and practical tips on how to hear God’s voice in Scripture, and to be led by Scripture to prayer, opening daily communication, and deepening our personal relationship with our loving God.
The Presenter: Peter Holmes is married with eight children. Raised an Evangelical, Peter was trained and served as a Lutheran Minister before working in counselling, consulting and teaching roles within the Catholic Archdioceses of Melbourne and Sydney. He spent 6 years as the Manager of Studies for Catholic Adult Education Sydney. Since 2007, Peter has lectured in Scripture, Marriage and Sexuality, Theology, and biblical languages (Hebrew and Greek). Peter’s research interests include the relationship between the Old and New Testaments, the relationship between faith and reason and the theology of masculinity.
Presented by Chris Wolter
Dates: Mondays 4, 11 and 18 March 2024
Time: 7:30pm – 8:45pm
Description: This course introduces theological thinking in a way that is inclusive of wonder. St Augustine spoke of God as “the Beauty”, ever ancient, ever new. In so doing, he was not merely being poetic, but explaining how God is the desire of every heart, not merely beautiful, but beauty itself, closer to us—and all things—than we are to ourselves; yet totally other, mysterious, and outside of human reckoning. That does not mean we cannot say anything about God. That is what this course does, introduces one to language and ideas of “God-talk”. Drawing on thinkers like Ratzinger/Benedict XVI and St John Paul II, as well St Augustine and St Thomas Aquinas, the thought-provoking three-part program will make God-ology enjoyable and accessible.
The Presenter: Chris initially studied philosophy and theology with the Dominican Friars, and has been teaching theology at the University of Notre Dame Australia for 13 years. He also has a degree in Fine Art and is interested in art history, painting, and liturgical arts.
Presented by Br Benjamin Johnson OFMCap
Dates: Mondays 15, 22 and 29 April 2024
Time: 7:30pm – 8:45pm
Mode: Online via Zoom
Cost: $35 per person (+ booking fees),
$100 for Parish Groups (+ booking fees)
Description: St Bonaventure of Bagnoregio presents a Christocentric vision in The Threefold Way of the transformation of the soul. Here, we perceive that the moulding of the person on earth prepares the person for the fulness of their heavenly reality. These talks will explore Christ’s role as the principle of our purgation, illumination and perfection respectively. In this threefold way, the person becomes a greater likeness of Christ through their capacity to know, love and act.
The Presenter: Friar Benjamin Johnson is a Capuchin Franciscan of the Province of Australia. In 2022 he completed his doctorate at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome on the relationship between the Sacraments of the Eucharist and Marriage in the thought of Saint Bonaventure of Bagnoregio. His research interests include the relationship between Franciscan theology and Christian experience, and scholastic sacramental theology. Br Ben lectures in sacramental theology at the University of Notre Dame, Australia.
Presented by Christian Stephens
Dates: Thursdays 9, 16 and 23 May 2024
Time: 7:30pm – 8:45pm
Mode: Online via Zoom
Cost: $35 per person (+ booking fees),
$100 for Parish Groups (+ booking fees)
Description: A young man once asked Jesus, “What good must I do to have eternal life?” In reflecting on this line, St John Paul II said that this “is an essential and unavoidable question” that each person wonders about, and that we cannot help but sense “there is a connection between moral good and the fulfilment of [our] destiny… For the young man, the question is not so much about rules to be followed, but about the full meaning of life.” In this three-part series, we will explore the rich foundations of Catholic moral theology, taking St John Paul II as our guide.
The Presenter: Christian Stephens has Masters degrees in both philosophy and theology. He is currently doing doctoral studies on St Thomas Aquinas’ understanding of idolatry and its contemporary significance. In addition to giving talks on a wide range of topics, he has taught courses in Foundations of Wisdom, Christian Spirituality, Moral Theology, and Fundamental Theology.