The After Dinner Scholar

Magi, Baptism, and Marriage: Celebrating Epiphany with Fr. James Schumacher

“What are you doing, O Magi?” asked St. Bernard of Clairvaux, “Do you adore a little Babe, in a wretched hovel, wrapped in miserable rags? Can this Child be truly God? … Are you become foolish, O Wise Men … Yes, these Wise Men have become fools that they may be wise!”

With the presents snug in their new homes, the wrapping paper recycled, the New Year’s Eve noisemakers silent, the so-called “holiday season” spent, we can breath a sigh of relief and look forward to celebrating Epiphany.

Epiphany, a solemnity, means “showing” and the Church draws our attention to the Three Magi, to John the Baptist, to Jesus’ first miracle turning water into wine. “Can this Child be truly God?” Epiphany a firm and reliable, “Yes!”

Wyoming Catholic College faculty, staff, and in-town alumni attend Holy Rosary parish here in Lander. This week, our pastor, Fr. James Schumacher gives us some insights on the celebration of Epiphany.

New Year Reflections on Wyoming Catholic College with Mr. Joseph Susanka

St. John Henry Newman wrote regarding a liberal education, “If then a practical end must be assigned to a University course, I say it is that of training good members of society... It is the education which gives a man a clear, conscious view of their own opinions and judgements, a truth in developing them, an eloquence in expressing them, and a force in urging them. It teaches him to see things as they are, to go right to the point, to disentangle a skein of thought to detect what is sophistical and to discard what is irrelevant.”

Joseph Susanka arrived at Wyoming Catholic College just before our very first freshman class in 2007. Since then he has had numerous jobs at the college culminating in his two current positions. He is both the college’s Vice President for Advancement and freshman dad.

”Cur Deus Verba”: Reflections on the Incarnation with Dr. Jeremy Holmes

The third century theologian Origen wrote concerning God becoming man, “The human understanding with its narrow limits is baffled, and struck with amazement at so mighty a wonder knows not which way to turn, what to hold to, or whither to betake itself… To utter these things in human ears and to explain them by words far exceeds the powers we possess either in our moral worth or in mind and speech.”

Wyoming Catholic College theologian and Bible scholar, Dr. Jeremy Holmes quotes Origen in his book Cur Deus Verba: Why the Word became Words. On the one hand, what can we say as we contemplate the mystery of God, the Creator of all things, as a swaddled new-born lying in a bed of straw?

On the other hand, while words are not fully sufficient, if we are to obey the commandment to love God with our minds, we can surely—we must surely—say something.

”What is the World For” a Lecture by Dr. Scott Olsson

Twentieth century existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre commented, “Every existing thing is born without reason, prolongs itself out of weakness and dies by chance.” And it’s not too surprising how many of our contemporaries would agree.

Last spring semester, Dr. Scott Olsson, Associate Professor of Mathematics and the Natural Sciences, enjoyed a sabbatical and, as is the rule for professors on sabbaticals at Wyoming Catholic College, he was asked to deliver a lecture presenting his sabbatical research and ruminations to the entire school.

Thus in November, our monthly All-School Lecture featured Dr. Olsson speaking on “What is the World For?” It’s our pleasure to share with you his thought-provoking tonic for our troubled era.

Lament, the Wheel of Fortune, and ”The Consolation of Philosophy” with Dr. Jason Baxter

Verses I made once glowing with content;

Tearful, alas, sad songs must I begin.

See how the Muses grieftorn bid me write,

And with unfeigned tears these elegies drench my face.

Anicius Manlius Severinus Boëthius who wrote those words had good reason to be grieftorn and to drench his face with unfeigned tears. A successful politician, he was accused of treason in AD 523 and executed a year later. The verses were written while he was in prison awaiting what he knew would be a painful, horrid death. It is the beginning of his most famous work The Consolation of Philosophy.

As Boethius laments, Lady Philosophy appears to him. She casts out the lamenting muses and begins what she refers to as Boethius’ “cure.”

Dr. Jason Baxter has been teaching The Consolation of Philosophy for some time now and is our guest this week on The After-Dinner Scholar.

The Nature of Poetry: Socrates‘ Dialogue with Ion with Dr. Pavlos Papadopoulos

Each semester here at Wyoming Catholic College, we hold an “All-School Seminar.” All students, faculty, and any interested staff read the same work and meet in groups led by our seniors to discuss what they’ve read. This fall’s All-School Seminar was Plato’s dialogue between Socrates and Ion.

In the dialogue, Socrates greets Ion, a rhapsode, that is, a reciter of poetry. Ion specializes in the work of the epic poet Homer—The Iliad and The Odyssey. When Socrates meets him, he is returning from a religious festival where in competition with other rhapsodes, he took first prize for his recitation.

This week, Dr. Pavlos Papadopoulos, shares with us about Socrates’ and Ion’s conversation.

Thanksgiving and ”Dappled Things” with Dr. Glenn Arbery

It’s Thanksgiving week and most of us will gather this Thursday to count our blessings and offer thanks to God "from Whom all blessings flow.”

In giving thanks, it’s easy to remember the extraordinary things in life—promotions, luxuries, home, family, and friends. But there’s much to be said about the extraordinarily ordinary things of life.

Gerard Manley Hopkins gives us an example of praise for the ordinary. And this week Wyoming Catholic College president, Dr. Glenn Arbery discusses Hopkin’s poem, “Pied Beauty.”

Music, Mathematics, and Morality in Boethius with Prof. Christopher Hodkinson

“For no path,” wrote Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius, “is more open to the soul for the formation thereof than through the ears. Therefore when rhymes and modes have penetrated even to the soul through these organs, it cannot be doubted that they affect the soul with their own character and conform it to themselves.”

Boethius lived from about AD 470 to 524 and is known primarily as a Roman scholar, a Christian philosopher, and a statesman. And it’s because he was a scholar, philosopher, and statesman that he became interested in music.

Prof. Christopher Hodkinson assigned Boethius’ “Fundamentals of Music” to Wyoming Catholic College juniors in the course Music in the Western tradition.

”From Thy Bounty” with Miss Marietta Mortensen

In early October, Dr. Jason Baxter told us about teaching writing to our freshmen. A friend who teaches at another college heard about that and commented, “Good luck with that!” Dr. Baxter had more than good luck, he had great success.

In addition to getting the freshmen to write and rewrite and rewrite and rewrite, he taught them one method of refinement after another. Dr. Baxter also promised an essay competition as part of this freshman Trivium course. That competition happened a couple of weeks ago and Dr. Baxter reported a great deal of raucous cheering and applause. The students are genuinely excited about writing.

The first-place winner—by student and faculty acclaim—was Marietta Mortensen. Marietta hails from right here in Lander, Wyoming, is the eldest of nine, and is often cantor at mid-day Mass in the college chapel. She's our guest on this episode of The After-Dinner Scholar.

Machiavelli on the Stage and in the Classroom with Dr. Tiffany Schubert

Because life is brief
and many are the pains
which, living and struggling, everyone sustains
let us follow our desires,
passing and consuming the years
because whoever deprives himself of pleasure,
to live with anguish and with worries
doesn’t know the tricks
of the world or by what ills
and by what strange happenings
all mortals are almost overwhelmed.

“Because life is brief…let us follow our desires” has a contemporary ring to it. Yet those words were penned in 1512 by the playwright and philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli in his play La Mandragola, The Mandrake.

This semester, Dr. Tiffany Schubert is teaching Machiavelli’s play to Wyoming Catholic College juniors and it has led to amazing classroom conversations. Why would that be?