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Love, Desire, and Reason: Medieval Women Mystics

  • Nova Forum for Catholic Thought 844 West 32nd Street Los Angeles, CA, 90007 United States (map)

The third and final session of Contemplating God: Thinking about Love. This series will be led by Nova Forum Senior Fellow and Executive Director, Professor David Albertson (University of Southern California).

In modern culture, falling in love is viewed as irrational, a private affair, even as sport or entertainment. But for ancient and medieval Christians, the mystery of human love, including physical desire, was a matter for profound contemplation. Love has its own rationality that points us toward the meaning of God and the purpose of life. We’ll study three episodes in Catholic meditation on love. What is desire, and is it rational? Why does love engage body and soul? What does physical desire have to do with loving God? Join us for three Thursday evenings in September in the CC Library for conversation and pizza!

Readings for this session will include selections from Poems and Letters by Hadewijch of Antwerp and can be found below

Hadewijch of Antwerp, Poems & Letters