A thought-provoking series for people seeking a learning community dedicated to exploring life's meaning and purpose. The series engages the religious, sociopolitical, and scientific issues of our time to identify the best of human values and stimulate thoughtful, creative responses for the enrichment of all peoples and stewardship of our earth.
Check back soon for 2026/27 events!
"Give us the courage to seek paths of dialogue, to respond to conflict with gestures of fraternity, to open our hearts to others without fear of differences. Make us builders of bridges, able to overcome borders and ideologies, able to see others through the eyes of the heart, recognizing in every person an inviolable dignity."
— Pope Leo XIV "August Prayer Intention: Mutual Coexistence" July 2025
Pope Leo XIV begins his papacy with a clarion call: God's desire for humanity and all of creation is a future of peace and of respect for the dignity of all. He declares that God's desire will find its fulfillment in partnership with every people and culture without exception. This partnership asks something both simple and profound: to nurture a desire for this future in our hearts, with intention and trust.
Leo XIV's vision is timely and transformative. It summons us to cultivate the habits of a courageous heart so that we might respond to both the pain and the beauty of our interconnected world. Pope Francis offered three words - see-judge-act - to guide our process. Together, they are a "review of life," enabling us to recognize, understand, and respond to the realities of our world, always with a deep concern for the most vulnerable among us. Leo XIV presses forward, calling for dialogues that consciously share a view of the world in which justice, mercy, and integrity are honored and that courageously choose actions consistent with our human dignity.
We are grateful to Fr. Thomas Florek, S.J. for sharing what migrant farm and factory workers are teaching him about our theme. There will be opportunities for continued dialogue throughout the semester.