Boston symposium to examine Christian liturgy and culture

Nov 7, 2011 / 18:10 pm

Ahead of revisions to the Catholic liturgy, the Thomas More College of Liberal Arts will host a Boston dinner and symposium where several leading Catholic thinkers will speak on the topic: “The Language of Liturgy: Does It Matter?”

“The symposium will be of interest to anyone eager to understand better the broad impact of liturgy on culture,” Thomas More College president William Fahey said. “The speakers will offer unique insights into the importance of linguistic precision in liturgical matters, the changes and developments of the new Missal, and the place of liturgy in evangelization.”

The symposium will take place ahead of the college’s President’s Council Dinner at the Harvard Club in Boston, Mass. The symposium begins at 1 p.m., followed by Mass at 4 p.m., a 5 p.m. reception, and a 6 p.m. dinner.

The dinner will feature Fr. Benedict Groeschel, a retreat master, author, psychologist and host of the Eternal Word Television Network program “Sunday Night Prime with Father Benedict Groeschel.” He serves as the director of the Archdiocese of New York’s Office for Spiritual Development and is one of the founders of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal.

The symposium will begin with a talk by New York priest Fr. George Rutler, who has published 16 books on theology, history, cultural issues and the lives of the saints.

Rusty Reno, editor of the journal “First Things,” will also speak at the symposium. Reno’s books include “Fighting the Noonday Devil,” “Genesis: Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible,” and “Sanctified Vision: An Introduction to Early Christian Interpretation of the Bible.”

Anthony Esolen, a professor at Providence College, will also give a talk. He serves as senior editor for “Touchstone: A Journal of Mere Christianity.” He has translated Dante’s “Divine Comedy” and he is the author of books including “Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child” and “The Politically Incorrect Guide to Western Civilization.”

Fahey said the dinner and the symposium are important annual events held to support the New Hampshire-based Thomas More College’s scholarship funds.

“It is through this dinner that we are able to raise the funds necessary to provide young people with both the philosophic habit of mind and the critical skills learned in the traditional liberal arts – an education that has formed generations of priests and nuns, and laymen who founded faithful families,” he said.

The liberal arts college is unique in the Boston area for being “ardently Catholic and academically rigorous,” Fahey continued.

“We are dedicated to offering the young people an education that is deeply rooted in the Catholic intellectual tradition and completely faithful to the teaching authority of the Roman Catholic Church.”

2011 is the third year that the college has hosted the event in Boston.

Fahey said the dinner was moved to the city in order to show the college’s commitment to the region and the college’s desire to “play our part in re-evangelizing New England.”