Theology On Tap Returns This Summer

What is Theology on Tap? Is it an awe-filled type of theology running from a special tap? Theology on Tap (TOT) supports and celebrates your spiritual growth as you explore how God is present in your life in several new and exhilarating ways. TOT focuses on learning, growing, and serving through your faith. TOT is about deepening your relationship with Jesus Christ. The hope is these events will help you to understand more about what it means to be a Catholic and how faith incorporates itself into everyone’s lives.

Theology on Tap, Sunday, May 7, after 5:15pm Mass (Past Event)

We are happy to announce our first speaker for this year, Fr. Tim Anastos, a young, dynamic Chicago priest who serves as associate chaplain at the St. John Paul II Newman Center at UIC. Fr. Tim grew up in Mundelein and graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in Linguistics. Originally, he wanted to be in the FBI, but the Lord had another plan for him. He studied at the North American College in Rome and served as a newly ordained priest at Mary Seat of Wisdom in Park Ridge. Some of Fr. Tim’s favorite things are John 13:1, St. Philomena, Deep-Fried Oreos (what? is it a real thing?), Fortnite & Warzone, cryptocurrency and traveling. Fr. Tim will kick off the Theology on Tap series with the topic: “Catholics and The Social Media Algorithm.”

What does it entail? Come and see! When? Sunday, May 7, at 6:15pm (after 5:15pm Mass), in the Cathedral Courtyard, or in the Club Room if it rains.

 Theology on Tap, Sunday, June 4 after 5:15pm Mass (Past Event)

Who is our second speaker for TOT this year? It is Dr. Linda Couri, M.S.W., L.C.S.W., D.MIN. Dr. Couri is Director of the Institute for Pastoral Leadership; Assistant Professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling. What else do we know about Dr. Couri?

B.A. (English Literature) Drake University, M.S.W. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, L.C.S.W., State of Illinois, D.Min. University of Saint Mary of the Lake. Former appointments included Director of Students, Institute for Lay Formation; Associate Director, Lay Ministry Formation Program; Youth Minister, Saint Philip the Apostle Parish, Northfield; Residence Life Director, The Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart, Lake Forest; Clinical Social Work Practice. As a licensed clinical social worker, additional studies in counseling at the Victor Frankl Institute for Logotherapy, and in theology at Loyola University Chicago and the Catholic Theological Union.  Appointed member of United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Sub-Committee on Ecclesial Ministry and Service.  Professional memberships include, the National Association of Graduate Schools in Ministry, and the National Association of Lay Ministry.

Topic for June 4: Re-Thinking Feminism: How Catholic Sensibilities Can Shape An Authentic Feminism.

What does it entail? Come and see! When? Sunday, June 4^th at 6:15pm (after 5:15pm Mass), in the Cathedral Courtyard, or in the Club Room if it rains.

Theology on Tap, Sunday, July 9 after 5:15pm Mass

We meet in the Cathedral Courtyard, or in the Club Room if it rains.

Speaker: Fr. Theodore Hadderty, OSB.

Topic: Church of Jesus Christ: Yesterday, Today & Forever

Who is Fr. Theodore? “My vocation story is fairly ordinary. I lived a comfortable suburban life in Buffalo, NY and lived to party. I still maintained a faint faith but realized, with the help of a non-religious friend, that my faith meant nothing unless I lived it. I made the decision to enter the Catholic Church. Being a member of the Church has engaged me in worthwhile risks. I dated, tried a new career, and finally realized that the religious life would fulfill me the most. I entered the novitiate of Marmion Abbey in July 2012 and took the name Theodore (the Studite) when I made temporary profession of vows in 2013. I have since made solemn (permanent) vows this past summer (2016). I have cast my lot with this house, these men, and trust that what the Gospels promise, the monastic experiment, can be accomplished. I am now in studies for priesthood. I am on the path for ordination in (Deo volente) 2020. [Editor’s note: God so willed. Fr. Theodore was ordained a priest on September 5, 2020.]  Monastic life, my friends and community have fostered a stronger interior drive in pursuit of God who continues to do the good work which he has begun in me. I wake up every day eager to live this life and develop the good zeal for the work we do.”

Theology on Tap, Sunday, August 6, after 5:15pm Mass

We meet in the Cathedral Courtyard, or in the Club Room if it rains.

Speaker: Bishop Jeff Grob

Topic: And Deliver US From Evil

Bishop Grob is an Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago. He was ordained priest on May 23, 1992. He hold a Licentiate in Sacred Theology from Mundelein, Doctorate in Philosophy from University of Ottawa in Ottawa, and Doctorate in Canon Law from St. Paul University in Ottawa. He has served at Faith, Hope and Charity Parish, as an assistant chancellor, a judge, a pastor at St. Celestine parish, a judicial vicar, and a chancellor. In September 11, 2020, he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago and Titular Bishop of Abora and ordained on November 13, 2020. There is an interesting article about Bishop Grob: from Wisconsin farm boy to auxiliary bishop. You can find here: https://www.chicagocatholic.com/chicagoland/-/article/2020/11/18/bishop-grob-from-wisconsin-farm-boy-to-auxiliary-bish-1

Theology on Tap, Sunday, September 3 after 5:15pm Mass

We meet in the Cathedral Courtyard, or in the Club Room if it rains.

Speaker: Dr. Melanie Barrett

Topic: Sex, Marriage, & Celibacy: Making Sense of Catholic Teaching After the Sexual Revolution.

Our speaker will be Dr. Melanie Barrett on Sex, Marriage, & Celibacy: Making Sense of Catholic Teaching After the Sexual Revolution.

Dr. Melanie Barrett, PH.D., STD – Chairperson and Professor in the Department of Moral Theology at Mundelein. BA (Political Science and International Studies), Northwestern University. MA (Divinity) and Ph.D. (Religious Ethics), University of Chicago Divinity School. STL (Dogmatic Theology), University of St. Mary of the Lake. STD (Moral Theology), University of Fribourg.

Recent publications include: “From New Age Syncretist to Catholic Moral Theologian” (2022), “David Novak and Jewish Natural Law: How a Theistic Believer Engages a Pluralistic and Secular Milieu” (2021), “Virtuous Obedience Amidst Competing Loyalties:  Navigating the Ecclesial Landscape” (2021), “Catholic Voting: How Ecclesial Authority, Moral Principles, and Prudential Judgment Intersect” (2020), “Restoring our Christ-Centered Vision: The Seminary as Contemporary Bethsaida” (2020), “Pilate’s Question in a Post-Truth Context” (2019), “Ethics and the Need for God” (2018), “Continuity, Pope Francis, and Amoris Laetitia” (2018), and “Doctrine and Praxis in Pope Francis’s Approach to Evangelization” (2018). Author of Love’s Beauty at the Heart of the Christian Moral Life:  The Ethics of Catholic Theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar. Currently completing a second book on suffering and the moral life in the work of Thomas Aquinas. Member of Chicago Studies editorial board. Member of the Society of Christian Ethics, the Academy of Catholic Theology, and the Catholic Theological Society of America.

Hope to see you and your friends at your last Summer 2023 Theology on Tap event!