Austria Summer Experience

Taught by psychologist Matthew Breuninger and philosopher Brandon Dahm

• The virtue tradition says that growing in virtue is like learning a skill. In this class, we learn a skill together: how to make a good loaf of sourdough bread. We mix, shape, and bake many loaves as we practice the art of breadmaking. As we bake, the professors teach and lead discussions on the philosophy, psychology, and theology of virtue formation. The class also visits a local bakery one morning and helps make pizza from their dough for all of the students one evening.
• Read more about the bread class in this article from Franciscan Magazine.

Taught by English professor Ben Reinhard, author of The High Hallow: Tolkien’s Liturgical Imagination

• This course will explore the work and artistry of one of the twentieth century’s greatest authors, J. R. R. Tolkien. Course content will draw heavily on The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, as well as Tolkien’s essays, poems, letters, and paintings. Participants in the course will not merely learn about Tolkien—they will also endeavor to learn like Tolkien. From our location in the Austrian Alps, we will learn to see the world as Tolkien saw it through liturgical prayer, immersion in nature, and common life.

Taught by Shane Owens, author of Return to the Heart: The Biblical Spirituality of St. Augustine’s Confessions

• The Catholic tradition presents the encounter with Jesus not only as a matter of salvation but also as a narrative of deepening self-knowledge and self-love. To know ourselves, we must cultivate a habit of recollection by which we recall the story of God’s graces and mercies and our cooperation (or lack thereof). Spiritual masters such as St. Augustine, St. Thérèse, and Thomas Merton not only exhibit their own impressive self-knowledge but also teach us to cultivate skills in authoring our spiritual autobiography—rarely for publication, but for the sake of wholeness and peace. In this class, students study these masters as they practice restoring their own history in light of God’s work in their lives.
• You can watch more about Dr. Shane Owens’ wisdom on St. Augustine’s Confessions in this episode of Franciscan University Presents.  

Taught by Emily Stimpson Chapman, author of The Catholic Table: Finding Joy Where Food and Faith Meet

When God made the world, He made food. He made food to nourish us, strengthen us, heal us, comfort us, delight us, and draw us together in friendship. God also made food as an ordinary symbol of an extraordinary reality, with every natural truth about food helping us to grasp more fully the supernatural truth about the Eucharist. This understanding of food—as gift and sacrament—was once a cornerstone of Catholic culture in both the East and the West. It forged friendships, built communities, and shaped countless generations’ experience of the Faith. Today, however, this understanding has largely been lost. Food and the body are too often worshipped as idols or feared as problems, while the stable friendships and communities that food once helped build are quickly disappearing.

How, as Catholics, can we stop this? How can we recover a sacramental understanding of food and harness its ability to forge lasting bonds of friendship and community?

In Around the Catholic Table: A Theology of Food, Friendship, and Hospitality, students will explore the meaning of food in the sacramental worldview, unpacking what tradition and Scripture tell us about our daily bread. We will also examine what it means to eat eucharistically, why hospitality is an essential Christian act, and how we can use food and hospitality to rebuild Christian community. Throughout the course, students will have the chance to practice some of the essential habits of hospitality, including planning and cooking a simple dinner.

Course Objectives
After taking this course, students will:

• Understand food as gift
• Recognize the essential relationship between food and the Eucharist
• Grasp the power of food to forge bonds of friendship and build community
• Apprehend the necessity of hospitality to the Christian life
• Gain greater confidence in opening their homes to others for a shared meal

Taught by sacred artist Amber Knorr and Father Gregory Plow, TOR

• Explore sacred art in practice and through studying the masters. During this three-week journey, you will learn how to “write” (paint) the universally recognized icon of the San Damiano Crucifix, through which Christ spoke to St. Francis of Assisi. All materials will be provided. Professor Knorr will teach the prayerful method of icon writing and how to dispose yourself to hearing God’s voice through that process. At the same time, Father Gregory—a Franciscan friar-priest with formal studies in art history—will explain the spirituality of sacred art and interpret the works of Cimabue and Giotto, the 13th- and 14th-century artists who recorded many scenes of St. Francis’s life.The course concludes with an optional weekend trip to Assisi. There, you may have your hand-painted San Damiano Crucifix icon blessed in front of the original (in the Basilica of Santa Chiara) and view the frescoes of the Franciscan masters in the Basilica of San Francesco. (Note: the trip has limited space and spots are not guaranteed.)

Taught by Bob Olsen

• A challenging and exciting opportunity lies ahead of us. We are in an apostolic age that calls for more authentic and dynamic leadership. Are you ready for the challenge?Christian affiliation and Catholic participation in the US have significantly declined since the early 2000s, especially among younger adults. In response, this unique class offers an immersive experience applying marketing principles and psychology of influence to evangelism, including breakthrough strategies, effective and practical tactics and a transformative evangelistic trip in Austria, aimed at developing authentic leadership for the apostolic age.This modern, immersive marketing class prioritizes hands-on experience and current, real-world frameworks used by the most influential companies today, rather than traditional textbook learning or academic-only instruction. The course is designed to push us out of our comfort zone with activities and adversity that create lifelong relationships and memories. This course will be taught by leaders who have demonstrated how to be builders in this world. The only books we will be reading are the same books today’s CEOs are reading to stay ahead. No outdated theory—students learn what is working now in the marketplace, gaining practical skills from proven frameworks and up-to-date best business practices to bring the gospel to many, one life at a time.