CARDINAL NEWMAN LECTURE
The 41st Annual Cardinal Newman Lecture
Saturday, October 16, 2021, 10:00 AM
Daniel P. Horan, OFM
This year’s Newman Lecture will be presented via ZOOM. Registration is required to receive the link. Free of charge, but donations accepted.
Not Because of Sin: Rethinking the Reason God Became Human
This year’s Cardinal Newman Lecture invites us to reflect on the meaning of the Incarnation, of God’s choice not only to be “God For Us,” but also “God With Us” (Emmanuel) as the Word made flesh in Jesus Christ. This presentation takes the well-known Christmas slogan “remember the reason for the season” as its starting point and explores the question of why God became human in the first place. Fr. Daniel will then unpack the significance that the answer we give to this question has for our understanding of God, of ourselves, and of our world. There has long been a spiritual and theological tradition within Catholicism that prioritizes not sin, but God’s love as the primary motivation for the Incarnation. At a time when it can be difficult to see the light of Christ in our communities and world, a renewed understanding of why God became human can offer us spiritual inspiration and hope.
Daniel P. Horan, OFM, PhD is the Director of the Center for Spirituality and Professor of Philosophy, Religious Studies, and Theology at Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, IN. He previously held the Dun Scotus Chair of Spirituality at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. A columnist for the National Catholic Reporter, he is the author of thirteen books, including Catholicity and Emerging Personhood: A Contemporary Theological Anthropology, which received the 2020 First Place Award for Theology Book from the Association of Catholic Publishers, and his latest is titled A White Catholic’s Guide to Racism and Privilege.His next book, which is due out in Fall 2021, is The Way of the Franciscans: A Prayer Journey Through Lent. Fr. Daniel regularly lectures around the United States and abroad; serves on a number of university, academic, and publication editorial boards, including the St. Bonaventure University Board of Trustees and the Franciscan School of Theology Board of Regents. He is co-host of The Francis Effect Podcast.
