"Without any understanding of man's deep-seated urge to self-transcend, of his very reluctance to take the hard, ascending way, and his search for some bogus liberation either below or to one side of his personality, we cannot hope to make sense of our own particular period of history or indeed of history in general, of life as it was lived in the past and as it is lived today. For this reason I propose to discuss some of the more common Grace-substitutes, into which and by means of which men and women have tried to escape from the tormenting consciousness of being merely themselves. .... human beings have felt the radical inadequacy of their personal existence, the misery of being their insulated selves and not something else, something wider, something in Wordsworthian phrase, 'far more deeply interfused'." (Aldous
Huxley, "Appendix" from The Devils of Loudun, Penguin Books, 1971, 313f.)

You are here: Home Courses Course: "Take off your Shoes" - The Sanctuary of Conscience

Course: "Take off your Shoes" - The Sanctuary of Conscience

JThomas Ryan SM PhD
  Starts Tuesday 2 March
We often hear the phrase ‘follow your conscience’. But what exactly does the word ‘conscience’ mean? How does ‘follow your conscience’ differ from ‘anything goes?’ How important is the role of ‘conscience’ - in the eyes of the Church and, more importantly, in the eyes of God? How can we understand the ‘primacy of conscience’ and the way it relates to the ‘primacy of truth’?

This four-week seminar is guided by the above questions. The overall approach taken is summed up in the phrase ‘lessons of encouragement’.

This method draws on

a) the Scriptures (people and parables);
b) Church teaching and documents; and
c) stories of conscience at work in the human story that illustrate conscience as a light to the world (and, at times, in the darkness). 

Presenter: Thomas Ryan SM PhD
Where: Aquinas Academy, Level 5, 141 Harrington St, Sydney
When: Four Tuesday mornings, 10am-12noon, 2, 9, 16 & 23 March 2021
Cost: $150 per person (including notes)

See bottom of this page for Booking information.

Nobody will be turned away simply because they cannot afford to pay. Offer a donation if you cannot pay the full registration fee.

For further information please telephone 02 9247 4651 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Please register before the course starts so that notes will be available.

Booking Form

Booking Form
Your Name (*)
Please let us know your name.
Your Email (*)
Please let us know your email address.
Phone (*)
Invalid Input
Choose Course or Event
Invalid Input
Course or Event
Please write a subject for your message.		 Enter details if not listed above
Notes
Please let us know your message.
Enter this number (*) Enter this number   Refresh
Invalid Input