St Patrick’s Parish Covid-19 Safety plan covers Aquinas Academy. The Parish plan is registered with the State Government and may be viewed on the Parish web site.

A copy of this plan is also available here.

Specific procedures applying at Aquinas Academy are as follows: Chairs, table tops and other surfaces are disinfected prior to all classes; coffee and tea and biscuits are served rather than self-served.

Michael Whelan SM PhD, Director

Wednesday 16, 23, 30 Sept
We all live in an increasingly unreal world where matter has become immaterial and talk is of the post-human where humans, animals, and inorganic life are to be treated as one and the same. It is a world labelled ‘Surveillance Capitalism’ but it is more than this;

Rev Dr Andrew Murray sm

Starts Tuesday 6 October
In his treatment of the virtues in Summa Theologiae I-II qq. 55-67, Thomas divides them into the intellectual, moral and theological virtues. The theological virtues are faith, hope and charity (see 1 Corinthians 13:13). Although a less agreeable term in English, they are so named because their object is God (Theos), they are infused by God, and they are made known to us by Divine Revelation (q. 62, a. 1).

Dr Robert Andrews

Starts Wednesday 7 Oct

St John Henry Newman (1801-90) was a convert from Anglicanism, a religious controversialist, a scholar and a theologian. Not only one of the great Victorian intellectuals, his contributions to modern Catholic thought make him one of the most important Catholic thinkers of modern times. From positions such as Vicar of St Mary the Virgin, Oxford, to the leader of the Oxford Movement, and later a leading English Oratorian and cardinal,

Contemplative Poetic Traditions Inspired by Wales

Starts Wednesday 4 Nov

Michael Griffith was due to lead a pilgrimage to the UK in mid 2020 entitled 1000 Years of Poetry and the Contemplative Tradition in England. Due to Covid 19 this pilgrimage was cancelled indefinitely. One component of this pilgrimage was exploring the contemplative poetry associated with Wales. This included William Wordsworth, in particular his poem inspired by Tintern Abbey located in Monmouthshire, Wales on the banks of the River Wye.  The heart of this poem is Wordsworth’s vivid description of the contemplative state inspired by his location which he visited in 1798:

Denis Minns OP

Starts Thursday 5 November

This four part course titled The Divine and Divisive Christ examines the theological foundations of the bitter disputes about the humanity and divinity of Jesus that arose in the early Church and continue to divide Christian communities to the present day.

One of the very positive developments during the 20^th century was the re-discovery of the early literature of the Church. This gave birth to the movement that is known as Ressourcement. Ressourcement involves a fresh reading of the early Christian creeds and it gives us a richer appreciation of what is central to our faith.