Sinning Their Way Toward God

 

 St. Michael Church, Wheaton, IL                           
 Adult Faith Formation Program

                                        

The Stories and Spiritual Writings of Flannery O’Connor   

     October 9th—November 27^th, 2012; Tuesday evenings, 7-9 PM in the Faith Center  

                                                        

(Advance registration requested: call or e-mail Matt Pozen, Director of Adult Faith Formation and RCIA, at 630-462-5045; or mpozen@stmichaelcommunity.org)

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Sinning Their Way To God: The Stories and Spiritual Writings of Flannery O’Connor is a descriptor for the intersection between literature and religion in the work of Flannery O’Connor, an acclaimed American Catholic author of the 20^th century.  Her reputation has grown in this century. She is held in high regard by readers of faith and secular commentators alike.

We will organize the course around a number of her arresting stories, and selected essays and letters that address the Catholic components of her vision.  By drawing on both the fiction and the spiritual writings we are more likely to encounter the demons of the soul and dilemmas of interpretation that make her body of work unique.

The arc of her short life was not only artistically productive but spiritually assertive.  O’Connor herself in one of her letters stated: "I write the way I do because (not though) I am a Catholic".  Our approach to the material will explore the ways in which O’Connor’s work is incarnational, compelling, and at times, disturbing.  Beyond her own work, O’Connor was connected to other Catholic writers who impacted their times.  We will use those affinities to deepen our understanding of the role of the Catholic imagination in energizing creativity.  Paul Elie’s book, The Life You Save May Be Your Own, An American Pilgrimage, in which he explores O’Connor and three other Catholic writers, will be a recommended but not required resource text. 

                              Examples of Some Texts to be Read and Discussed

                    Short Stories                                                 Novel                        

“A Good Man Is Hard To Find”                     “The Violent Bear It Away”

                    “A Temple of the Holy Ghost”                         Film

                    “Parker’s Back”                                               “Wise Blood”             

                    “Revelation”                                                    Non-Fiction

                    “The Life You Save May Be Your Own”         “Spiritual Writings”

          

FACILITATOR: Mike Casey has been an active parishioner at St. Michael Church for more than six years.   Mike has taught literature courses at the secondary, college and adult education levels for over 40 years. Last year he completed the three-year New Wine lay ministry program, and for a time now has facilitated Adult Faith Formation courses exploring spiritual themes in literary material.