Joseph Vukov and Michael Murphy on May 13, 2026 at Ruth Lake Country Club.

Pope Leo XIV has already spoken movingly about the isolation and stress, especially for the young, of modern life. In a different format from our normal West Suburban Catholic Culture Series lecture, philosophers Joe Vukov and Mike Murphy dialogue as they consider the prospects for the future as the Church confronts challenges such as social media, cyberreality and artificial intelligence.

Marc DeGirolami, Darrell Miller, Judge Martha Pacold, Richard W. Garnett, and Samuel Bray on April 23, 2026 at the University of Chicago Law School.

The American experiment depends on the people holding something in common. But what was once taken for granted is now up for debate, as all sorts of norms and established beliefs are under attack. Is this the result of an improper intrusion of politics and morality into the legal realm? Should the law aspire to be morally naked? Or does the law depend upon a particular set of moral and political virtues? What makes for a good constitutional judge? Are personal and professional virtues necessary to good judgment? Or do they inhibit it? Is thinking in these terms helpful to address alienation, lack of trust, and institutional collapse? Or does it distract from the real issue?

In this spirited conversation, law faculty from a number of philosophical positions come together to discuss the relationship between law, politics, tradition, and virtue.

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This project was made possible through the support of "In Lumine Tuo: Expanding and Sustaining the Catholic Intellectual Tradition Nationwide" (grant #63614) from the John Templeton Foundation and the generous support of our donors. The opinions expressed in this publication ​are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the John ​Templeton Foundation.

Marc DeGirolami, Richard W. Garnett, and Jennifer Newsome Martin on April 22, 2026 at Jenner & Block Law.

This American moment is one of alienation and dislocation. In personal relations, an “epidemic of loneliness” has emerged as in-person friendships dwindle. Politically and morally, what once seemed to be long-held convictions seem suddenly up for debate. Is there still a “We the People,” as the Constitution attests? Does anything still hold this people together?

It is at this moment that “tradition” has made a return. From the New York Times to the Supreme Court to the Hallmark Christmas movie, tradition is now being presented as a cure for what ails us. But what is tradition, and what can development in religious tradition tell us about development of legal tradition?

In this conversation among cutting edge legal and philosophical minds, Marc DeGirolami lays out some major themes of his new book "The Constitution of Practice: On Law and Tradition." Richard W. Garnett and Jennifer Newsome Martin join him in conversation on the nature of tradition, law, and religion.

David Cloutier on April 8, 2026 at Ruth Lake Country Club.

In this lecture, David Cloutier traces the development of Catholic social teaching (CST) from Rerum Novarum through Quadragesimo Anno to Centesimus Annus and beyond. Through many papacies and much change in the world, CST develops a unique and distinctive social vision that speaks to both the hopes and the perils of the contemporary world.

Scott Roniger on March 18, 2026 at Ruth Lake Country Club.

In this lecture, Prof. Scott Roniger outlines the historical context that instigated the development of modern Catholic social doctrine during the pontificate of Pope Leo XIII (1878-1903). He discusses some of Leo’s most important contributions to Magisterial teaching on social issues, contributions that illuminate perennial principles that transcend the circumstances prompting their articulation. He focuses on Leo’s presentation of the dignity of society in all its complementary forms – a social dignity based upon the truth of the human person, created in the image and likeness of God and redeemed by Jesus Christ. Finally, he briefly shows how these principles have already been put to good use in the nascent pontificate of Pope Leo XIV.

Martin Shaw on February 4, 2026 at the Lumen Christi Institute.

Drawing on his experience as a professor, mythographer, and widely respected storyteller, Martin Shaw locates us in the deeper dimensions of how a modern person approaches an ancient story through the telling of "The Birth of Ossian," an Irish fairy tale.

This story is the second part of Shaw's event titled "Mythopoetics and Faerie Stories: Theory and Practice of Mythmaking." To listen to the full event audio, click here: https://soundcloud.com/lumenchristi/mythopoetics-and-faerie-stories-theory-and-practice-of-mythmaking

Martin Shaw on February 4, 2026 at the Lumen Christi Institute.

In his newly published "Liturgies of the Wild," acclaimed mythographer and storyteller Martin Shaw argues that we live in a myth-impoverished age and that such poverty has left us vulnerable to stories that may not wish us well. Drawing on the “ancient technologies” of myths and initiatory rites, Shaw provides a road to wholeness, maturity and connection.

In this event for UChicago students, Dr. Shaw explores both the theory and practice of mythmaking. In the first section Shaw guides us through myth’s relationship to initiation rites and oral storytelling, explaining these “ancient technologies.”

In the second we tilt directly into the telling of an Irish fairy tale, The Birth of Ossian. Drawing on his experience as a professor and widely respected storyteller, Shaw locates us in the deeper dimensions of how a modern person approaches an ancient story.

Dr. Martin Shaw on February 5, 2026 at the Graduate by Hilton Evanston Hotel.

There’s an old Irish belief that if you aren’t wrapped in a cloak of story you will be unprepared for what the world will hurl at you. You remain adolescent at just the moment a culture worth its salt requires you to become a real, grown, human being.

Myths from antiquity are vivid in describing the conditions of life. Christianity goes a step further in providing the most extraordinary example of how to live that life. Working out of examples from Arthurian and fairy tale motifs, acclaimed mythographer Martin Shaw shows how, if ‘all true is God’s truth’, profound Christian resonances can be found in many mythic traditions.

How do stories assist us in the making of a real human being? In troubled times how could we forge a deeper life? In this event, we welcome Dr. Martin Shaw to celebrate the release of his new book "Liturgies of the Wild."

Erika Kidd on November 12, 2025 at Ruth Lake Country Club.

Doctor of the Church, Saint Augustine of Hippo, has a lot to say about teaching. He writes memorably about the way his early teachers failed him, teaching him to love praise and worldly success. He writes too about the vocation of the teacher, a vocation he lived in many different ways as rhetorician, father, priest, and bishop. In his early work “On the Teacher” he insists teaching is not a matter of passing along information. Instead, he writes, true teaching is an invitation to attend to the voice of Christ. Join Dr. Erika Kidd to learn more about Augustine’s timeless teaching wisdom and its continued relevance today.

Season Finale - Special Episode by The Lumen Christi Institute