Humility is what makes us unafraid, a presenter said on Wednesday evening.
“My fondness of Gaudium et Spes comes from the work I have done in the prisons I have worked in,” a speaker from Villanova University said to an audience of approximately fifteen people in the Grace Hall board room at the Lenten Lecture on Wednesday.
“Reading signs of the times is crucial for justice in any age.”
The first speaker in the series of five part Lenten lecture was Kathryn Getek Soltis. Soltis is the director for the center of peace and justice education and a professor of Christian ethics at Villanova University. She is also a graduate of Boston University with a doctorate in theological ethics
Gaudium et Spes was addressed to more than the Christian community. People of all other religions would be able to reach this document and study it.
The topic of the first presentation of the Lenten lecture was the relevance of Gaudium et Spes. The meaning of this topic simply means, joy and hope.
Soltis’ presentation started off with a preface of what Gaudium et Spes is. “The joy and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the men of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ,” Soltis said.
Kathryn Getek Soltis has also taught in prisons to help those who want to change their lives.
“I was more into ethical questions rather than theological questions. When I went to visit some schools, I sat in a theological class and I was so fascinated. I didn’t know what they meant but I was so interested,” Soltis said.
After her undergrad, she went to Boston College where she studied theological ethics and became more clear to what those classes she visited and became a part of that work.
“During my graduate theological studies, I studied this document and others and I went off from the information of that and then went along and researched more. I also asked my colleagues in the theological area. I made little notes and figured out how to weave that information in to the presentation,” Sotis said.
The presentation was broken down into a few sections for the audience to better understand Gaudium et Spes. Each member of the audience was given a handout of an outline of the presentation. This outline made it easy for anyone to understand the document.
Students came out to the lecture to learn more about the topic presented. Some classes offered going as an extra credit assignment, so that students can learn more during the lent season.
“It was a very in depth talk about the document of Gaudium et Spes. Learning about how Catholics can act upon it and use it upon ourselves during the lenten season was interesting. This also shined a light on how Cabrini, which focuses a lot on social justice, can benefit from this,” Brendan Logue, junior communication major, said.
The audience learned about the relevance of Gaudium et Spes during this presentation and after questions were asked by the audience to Soltis. The lenten lecture series has multiple speakers throughout the lent season. Students are able to learn about the Lent season and learn more about Gaudium Et Spes taught by speakers around the country.
