Hey Western Washington!

Hey Western Washington! April 13, 2009

It is with pleasure that we invite you to the first of our two spring lectures, next Thursday, April 16, at 7:30 pm

in our usual venue in Otto Miller Hall at Seattle Pacific University. Otto Miller Hall is located near the corner of

Nickerson and Third Avenue West, directly across Third Avenue from the Royal Brougham Pavilion. Please see the “Events” calendar at www.seattlechesterton.org for links to a campus map and driving directions to the campus.
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Thursday, April 16, 2009, at 7:30 PM in Conference room 109, Otto Miller Hall

Dante and Benedict XVI on Love in the Modern World

Rev. Stephen Rowan
Department of English, University of Portland

Recognizing that the word “love” has been “tarnished, spoiled, and abused” in our time, and yet that the human heart needs love to live, Benedict XVI has presented a fresh vision of love to the world in his letter God is Love. The pope draws implicitly on the vision of the poet Dante. As an exile from his city of Florence in the 14th century, Dante found in the love of God radical solace for his alienation and the answer to his quest for justice and peace. This talk will review Benedict XVI’s vision, especially concerning love as both erotic (ascending) and oblative (descending) and show how Dante’s Divine Comedy informs that vision. True Chestertonians will be gratified to see how wisely the medieval poet, translated by a 21st century pope, comments on the nature of love and the need for it in contemporary life.

We should note that April 16 also happens to be the birthday of Pope Benedict – ad multos annos!

Please join us for a reflective evening!

Yours faithfully,

The Seattle G. K. Chesterton Society

Be there or be square!


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