On Monday 22nd and Tuesday 23rd May the Institute of St John presents *Tragedy, Purification and Wonder*: The Art of Seeking the Divine, in Aristotle’s Poetics with Br John-Mary-Jesus Ashfield CSJ We will meet at the Carmelite Church, Kensington Church Street at 7pm for 7:30pm Suggested donation £10 (£5 unwaged) Light supper and drinks provided…
The Riddle of the Book of JobBr Philip-Thomas Edwards Monday 24th and Tuesday 25th April at the Carmelite Church (41 Kensington Church St, London W8 4BB) From 7 – 9pm (talks from 7:30pm) The Book of Job is strange. Its basic message is to teach that human suffering cannot be simplistically interpreted as a punishment…
A new term at the Institute of St John is beginning soon. If you are new to the ISJ and would like to learn more about us we are holding a lunch to explain what we do at the home of Claire Bruce, 13 Upper Phillimore Gardens, London, W8 7HF on 21st September. Please email…
With the new academic year we are looking forward to getting back to meeting in person for the ISJ. We will however continue to make the classes available over the internet (although via YouTube streaming rather than zoom) so as to provide a “hybrid” format, on the St Antony’s parish YouTube channel: youtube.com/c/stantonysfguk . Those following online will be able to…
Autumn term 1: September 15, 22, 29 – Introduction to Immanuel Kant (fr. Rajiv)October 6 – Who was Paul of Tarsus? (fr. John Jesus)October 13,20 – session TBA (fr. Benedict) Autumn term 2: November 3 – Epistle to Diognetus : the Church in a hostile environment (fr Marie Bruno)November 10 – The Conversation of Saint Paul (fr. John Jesus) November 17, 24 – Session TBA (fr. Justin)December 1 – St…
Final Questions Click on the image to the right to go to our podcast or listen from this page by clicking the arrow below
Further on the Concupiscible and Irascible Passions Click on the image to the right to go to our podcast or listen from this page by clicking the arrow below
The Distinction between the Concupiscible and the Irascible Passions. A look at the contributions of Rene Descartes and Conrad Baars Click on the image to the right to go to our podcast or listen from this page by clicking the arrow below
Further Questions Click on the image to the right to go to our podcast or listen from this page by clicking the arrow below
A deeper look at a contemplative and theoretical philosophy in relation to the passions Click on the image to the right to go to our podcast or listen from this page by clicking the arrow below
The question of virtue in relation to the passions. The responsibility of ordering passion within friendships. Click on the image to the right to go to our podcast or listen from this page by clicking the arrow below
What light can science shed on the reality of man moved by his passions? Click on the image to the right to go to our podcast or listen from this page by clicking the arrow below
Fr Thomas answers questions from his class. Click on the image to the right to go to our podcast or listen from this page by clicking the arrow below
The distinction between emotions/feelings and passions. Click on the image to the right to go to our podcast or listen from this page by clicking the arrow below
The characteristic of a living being is that it moves itself. What is the link between a living being’s (sensitive) affectivity and its movement? Click on the image to the right to go to our podcast or listen from this page by clicking the arrow below
The passions play an important part in the search for truth about man as a living being. We all have experience of ‘being moved’ – that is, being passionate – but what actually are these movements called ‘passions’? Click on the image to the right to go to our podcast or listen from this page…
We can confirm that the Sapiens Program will run at St Mary Moorfields, 4-5 Eldon Street, London, EC2M 7LS on Thursday evenings at 7pm from 17th January to 14th February 2019. All are welcome. For further details please see the relevant page on this website.
We have just published the subjects for our classes for 2018-2019 as follows. Classes take place on TUESDAYS: TERM 1: 6 November to 11 December 2018 10am – 12 noon: Spirit of the Carmel: prayer life in the Carmelite spirituality 12.45 – 2.45pm: Anglo Saxon Christian Art: exhibition at the British Library (Introduction-Nov 20, Exhibition visit-Nov…
Some brothers of the Community of St John will be leading a retreat in the Sahara Desert in February next year, in south Morocco. For more information please Click here To register or if you have questions please email Lynne on elizabethhunterjohnston@gmail.com
Please note that this course will be delayed until January 2019. We apologise for any inconvenience. More information will be posted on this website as soon as we have it. Any queries should be addressed to Br Michael Paul on brmichaelpaul@gmail.com
We can now publish our term dates for the 2018-19 academic year. Classes will be held on Tuesdays from 10am – 12 noon, and from 12.45pm to 2.45pm. The subjects of the classes will follow shortly. Term 1: Nov 6, 13, 20, 27, Dec 4, 11 Term 2: Jan 8, 15, 22, 29, Feb 5,…
Why is my life stuck? What’s missing? How can I grow as a person and flourish? PHILOSOPHY CAN HELP! Answering practical, down to earth questions with insight from the greatest thinkers of the Western Tradition, the Sapiens Program is an initiative of the Brothers of St John to help all search for wisdom and live more fully…
We are pleased to announce that the first edition of the Sapiens Program will take place in St Mary Moorfields Parish in Central London on Thursday evenings in November/December 2018. The dates: November 8th, 15th, 22nd, 29th and December 6th. The first session will be a taster, after which all those who wish to…
Theological Perspective 3 The Christian is called to adore God in an enlightened way. Jesus said “God is spirit and those that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). The use of the imperative ‘must’ indicates our obligation to discover more about what Adoration is and how best to fulfil…
Theological Perspective 2 “I was standing on the seashore, then I saw a beast emerge from the sea….. I saw one of its heads appeared to have a fatal wound but it had healed and after that the whole world had marvelled and followed the beast… then I saw a second beast emerging from the…
Theological Perspective 1 “Then in my vision I saw a door open in heaven…..and I saw a throne standing in heaven and the One who was sitting on the throne…. Round the throne were 24 elders sitting … and in the centre… were four animals with many eyes…. And day and night they never stopped…
Biblical Perspective 7 Continuing on from the previous talk, Fr Thomas gives four possible interpretations of what it means to worship ‘in spirit and in truth’. Click on the arrow below to listen on your computer or go to the image to subscribe to the podcast
Biblical Perspective 6 “Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when true worshippers will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know, we worship what we do know; …. But the hour will come … when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in…
Biblical Perspective 5 “Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law but to complete it.” Matthew 5: 17-18. What does Jesus mean by this? Fr Thomas looks closely at the vocabulary used for Adoration in the Gospels and the number of times the words denoting it occur and in which passages. The…
Biblical Perspective 4 “Thus says Israel’s king and his redeemer, the Lord Sabaoth: I am the First and I am the Last: there is no other God besides me.” Isaiah 44: 6 In the book of Wisdom the idolatry of the pagans is described as foolishness: “Yes, naturally stupid are those who are unaware of…
Biblical Perspective 3 “Go down now, because your people whom you brought out of Egypt have apostasised. They have been quick to leave the way I marked out for them; they have made for themselves a calf of molten gold and have worshipped it….” Exodus 32: 7-8. In many ways the history of Israel and…
Biblical Perspective 2 “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt. You shall have no other Gods except me. You shall not make yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything in heaven or on earth beneath or in the waters under the earth; you shall not…
Biblical Perspective 1 Adoration in the Old Testament is very concrete and is signified by a gesture, that of prostration or ‘bowing low’. This can be an act of honour to another person or as an act of adoration of God himself. Progressively it is revealed that Adoration is to be reserved to God alone…
Philosophical Perspective 3 The existence of God is not evident in natural philosophy even if religious practice is evident in all times and all cultures. What is called ‘natural theology’ is the search for God or gods outside the light of revelation. Natural Adoration is the natural love of a creature for its Creator, analogous…
Philosophical Perspective 2. The existence of God is not evident in natural philosophy even if religious practice is evident in all times and all cultures. What is called ‘natural theology’ is the search for God or gods outside the light of revelation. Natural Adoration is the natural love of a creature for its Creator, analogous…
Philosophical Perspective 1 Does philosophy have anything to say about Adoration? What is my human experience of Adoration? Searching the truth with regard to the existence of God is of fundamental importance to us as human beings but we have to admit that the human experience of God is very limited, it is not at…
Dates and subjects for our Tuesday morning classes in the Spring Term of 2018 have been decided and we can give you details below. Newcomers are welcome. If you are interested in registering please email: brphilipthomas@stjean.com 9 January 2018 – 20 March 2018 Tuesdays 10am-12pm (Alternating weeks): St Thomas Aquinas on God (De Deo Uno, questions 21 to…
The body is first in the order of conditioning – our work, personality, nature, community, moral life, imagination are all aspects of our body’s conditioning. In addition, we are the products of atavism, the inherited characteristics from our parents. However, the body is completely relative to the spiritual soul which finalises us and brings true…
The Sapiens Program is a new formation opportunity offered by the Brothers of Saint John that aims to lead people into a personal search for wisdom. A major element at the heart of our charism as a Community is the conversion of the intellligence: the discovery of oneself, others, and the world through realist philosophy…
Pere Marie-Dominique Philippe described the body as ‘The substantial conditioning of the human person’. We have no experience outside of our bodies, so in one sense we only exist – we are only able to say ‘I am’ – in union with our bodies. But if we ask the question: ‘What is the purpose of…
Beginning with the judgement of existence ‘this is’, and discovering the reality of existence outside ourselves, enables us to affirm the metaphysical, objective, reality of ‘I am’. ‘I am’ becomes therefore more than I am conscious of myself being, and leads onward to the discovery of my radical autonomy. More than this, I discover I…
Beyond all determinations, which describe our form, there is a more profound level of being which is described by ‘act’. As human beings we have the capacity to choose, and this implies a capacity to choose an ‘end’, in other words to choose our ‘finality’. To what principles or persons is our life ordered? Our…
What is ‘that-which-is in so far as it is’? This question is concerned with the judgement of existence. It leads further to such questions as: Can the matter which exists be described solely by its form? Or solely by its actions? Or both? Or is there something more ultimate than both these? Aristotle used the…
‘First Philosophy’ was the term used by Aristotle to embrace the study or search for what is absolutely first, or ultimate. In more recent centuries the term ‘Metaphysics’ has tended to replace the term ‘First Philosophy’, but it is concerned with the same aim – to go beyond the characteristics of man to the question…
Aristotle’s contribution to our notion of the human person was and still is, fundamental. He considered the relationship between nature and the person, and concluded that the person is not simply a natural being, similar to plants and animals, due to his ability to choose. In contrast to the natural world, human beings have the…
“Psychology is generally understood as one of the most important forces in contemporary society, as such it is useful to trace its modern history in order to truly grasp modern psychology’s current directions. During the first half of the 20th century, American psychology was dominated by two schools of thought, behaviourism and psycho-analysis. While both…
Fr Marie-Dominique Philippe, the founder of the Community of St John, wrote the following lines in the first chapter of his book entitled ‘Retracing Reality’: “The search for wisdom has become particularly difficult in our time. The cultural milieu in which contemporary man lives does not favour it. The search for such wisdom is considered…
This autumn term 2017, we will spend our Tuesday morning sessions (10am-12noon) looking at the development of Hellenistic thought after Aristotle: Epicurus, the Stoics, Plotinus – who influences are still felt in the ethical patterns of thought of our modern era. In the afternoons (from 12.45-1.45pm) Br Micheal Paul will give a theological commentary on…
We are pleased to be able to publish this series of talks given by Fr Thomas Dunton of the Community of St John to novices of the Community based at their priory in Princeville, Ohio, USA, on the subject of the Human Person. In this first talk entitled ‘An Introduction to a Philosophical Gaze on…
Br Michael Paul CSJ will be giving an introduction to the First Letter of St John in Bath on Friday 14 October 2016, entitled ‘God is Light, God is Love’. We will give more information – time and venue – when we have it.
The new term dates have been scheduled as follows. Included in the studies will be the De Deo Uno of St Thomas Aquinas beginning from question 5, during which we will be looking at the divine attributes of the First Being. There will also be classes on the Gospel of St John, looking at the Passion, Death…
Fr John Jesus, parish priest of our London Priory will be leading a Summer Bible Study retreat at Aylesford on the Book of Revelation from Monday 22nd – Friday 26th August 2016. This is a fantastic opportunity to enter deeply into this complex book of Scripture, one many find difficult, led by a brother of St John, rooted in…
Over 1000 brothers, sisters, oblates and friends of the Community of St John spent a blessed week on pilgrimage in Rome from 26-30 October 2015, to give thanks to God for the untold graces he has showered upon us in the 40 years since our foundation. The group from London numbered 23 brothers, oblates and…
The brothers of St John will be beginning a new series of classes in Bath shortly. These are not Institute of St John classes as such, but a preparation for them, should those attending wish to extend their studies in the future. The classes will be as follows: October 15th – Introduction to the Philosophy…
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