The Lumen Christi Institute

Mythopoetics and Faerie Stories: Theory and Practice of Mythmaking

Dr. Martin Shaw on February 4, 2026 at the Lumen Christi Institute. In his newly published _Liturgies of the Wild_, acclaimed mythographer and storyteller Martin Shaw argues that we live in a myth-impoverished age and that such poverty has left us vulnerable to stories that may not wish us well. Drawing on the “ancient technologies” of myths and initiatory rites, Shaw provides a road to wholeness, maturity and connection. In this event for UChicago students, Dr. Shaw explores both the theory and practice of mythmaking. In the first section Shaw guides us through myth’s relationship to initiation rites and oral storytelling, explaining these “ancient technologies.” In the second we tilt directly into the telling of an Irish fairy tale, The Birth of Ossian. Drawing on his experience as a professor and widely respected storyteller, Shaw locates us in the deeper dimensions of how a modern person approaches an ancient story.

Mythmaking and the True Myth - A Conversation with Martin Shaw

Dr. Martin Shaw on February 5, 2026 at the Graduate by Hilton Evanston Hotel. There’s an old Irish belief that if you aren’t wrapped in a cloak of story you will be unprepared for what the world will hurl at you. You remain adolescent at just the moment a culture worth its salt requires you to become a real, grown, human being. Myths from antiquity are vivid in describing the conditions of life. Christianity goes a step further in providing the most extraordinary example of how to live that life. Working out of examples from Arthurian and fairy tale motifs, acclaimed mythographer Martin Shaw shows how, if ‘all true is God’s truth’, profound Christian resonances can be found in many mythic traditions. How do stories assist us in the making of a real human being? In troubled times how could we forge a deeper life? In this event, we welcome Dr. Martin Shaw to celebrate the release of his new book _Liturgies of the Wild_.

Augustine the Teacher

Dr. Erika Kidd on November 12, 2025 at Ruth Lake Country Club. Doctor of the Church, Saint Augustine of Hippo, has a lot to say about teaching. He writes memorably about the way his early teachers failed him, teaching him to love praise and worldly success. He writes too about the vocation of the teacher, a vocation he lived in many different ways as rhetorician, father, priest, and bishop. In his early work “On the Teacher” he insists teaching is not a matter of passing along information. Instead, he writes, true teaching is an invitation to attend to the voice of Christ. Join Dr. Erika Kidd to learn more about Augustine’s timeless teaching wisdom and its continued relevance today.

Season Finale - Special Episode

Season Finale - Special Episode by The Lumen Christi Institute

Why Do We Need Saints and Miracles?

Dr. Carlos Eire on October 30, 2025 at Saint Ignatius College Prep. Two of the most significant features of Catholic Christianity are its focus on holy men and women and the miracles ascribed to them. What is it that makes saints and miracles so significant? What difference does this characteristic of Catholicism make, not just for its history, but for us, here and now? Asking such questions is absolutely necessary for Catholics, and in this talk we explore why this is so. --- This project was made possible through the support of In Lumine Tuo: Expanding and Sustaining the Catholic Intellectual Tradition Nationwide (grant #63614) from the John Templeton Foundation and the generous support of the Bollandist Society and St. Ignatius College Preparatory School. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the John Templeton Foundation.