Litchfield Parks and Recreation's long tradition of creating ornaments using local subjects continues with this year's ornament honoring Wisdom House. The ornaments have been a Litchfield tradition for 20 years. They are struck at the world-famous foundry of Woodbury Pewter in Woodbury, Connecticut.
Litchfield High School senior, Melanie Torres submitted the winning drawing from all the other budding artists in Mrs. Barbara Salinger's art classes. Melanie enjoys drawing and photography and she hopes to study engineering and computer science in college.
Pictured here are Mrs. Barbara Salinger(l), Melanie Torres(center) and Sr. Rosemarie Greco, DW, Administrator of Wisdom House (r).
The ornaments are offered for sale at the Litchfield Town Hall, the Litchfield Historical Society, Litchfield Parks and Recreation, and at Wisdom House for $10 each.
The three video-segments above present the Rev. John R. Donahue, S.J., as he discusses "Vatican II: Achieving the Unexpected" to participants in "Exploring Catholic Culture: Interpreting Scripture" at Wisdom House on June 20 and 21, 2008.
Rev. Donahue discussed the intricate four-year process and the dispositions of the men whose work ultimately produced the document "The Word of God" (Dei Verbum, DV) in 1965. Under consideration over this time was the source of divine revelation. Was it Scripture? Tradition? Both? Both equally?
The Second Vatican Council determined that "the prime revelation is what God did in history in the Old Testament and the history of Jesus in the New Testament," Fr. Donahue said. The Scriptures are the earliest witness to that revelation.
"There is an upward scale as the Scriptures bring us to Christ and Christ brings us to God," he explained. "The texts are testimony that lead us to God."
Jesus, the Word made flesh, is the source of revelation, not Scripture or Tradition, Nevertheless, the two are closely connected because Scripture is handed down through Tradition. Reading from the DV, Rev. Donahue said Scripture and Tradition flow from the same divine wellspring and come together in a single current flowing toward the same end. Through Tradition we deepen our understanding of the meaning of Scripture in our time.
Over the weekend, Rev. Donahue discussed the impact of lay men and women on biblical studies, critical methods such as feminist criticism and liberation theology. He also led a close reading of the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32 and presented ways to nurture our own spiritual journeys through the Bible.
Rev. Donahue is a Scripture scholar and author as well as Research Professor in the Department of Theology at Loyola College of Maryland. He has published more than 100 scholarly articles and reviews and lectured widely at scripture workshops in the US, Canada, South Africa, and in Manila.
Most recently, he has contributed an introductory essay to Christ in the Gospels of the Liturgical Year, a commemorative edition of Fr. Raymond E. Brown's six-volume series on preaching the Scriptures. The publication marks the tenth anniversary of Brown's death. (The book will be available through Liturgical Press.)
"Exploring Catholic Culture" is a collaborative endeavor of the Center for Catholic Studies at Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut, and Wisdom House Retreat and Conference Center. Together, we are committed to handing on the faith in a manner that promotes the ideals of the Catholic tradition and encourages an integrated Catholic identity.
Wisdom House Retreat and Conference Center invites you to an experience of peace and tranquility.
This former center of spiritual development for the community of Catholic sisters, the Daughters of Wisdom, provides an environment conducive to reflection and creative expression.
Wisdom House, an interfaith center, welcomes women and men who value seeking and learning in a contemplative environment. The center is a ministry of the Daughters of Wisdom of the United States Province. As a country retreat and conference center, Wisdom House includes four acres with buildings and spans 66 acres of meadows, woods, and brooks. Indoor and outdoor sanctuary areas and labyrinth encourage meditation, prayer, and creative thinking.
Meeting rooms provide a variety of settings for study, writing, or challenging interaction.
Sun porches call guests to sit in silence before a New England sunrise.
The Marie Louise Trichet Art Gallery, located in the center, invites all who visit to experience the yearning of the human spirit through the art works on exhibit.
