Genesis of the Week

This morning, many students got up early for Mass, then studied their propositions together in Gould Commons until breakfast. The meal was cheery as students and prefects mingled around the sunny room at different tables, laughing over memorable moments from last night’s epic Open Mic Night and looking forward to tomorrow’s dance with excitement.

Students soon hurried off to their second-to-last Euclid class, where they demonstrated their propositions and discussed the equality of vertical angles and construction of perpendicular lines. Even with one short week under their belts, the confidence with which many of these students approached these daunting demonstrations was impressive. 

After Euclid, some went down to St. Frassati Student Center to play pool and chat after class, while others headed back to the residential halls to finish up their readings for the afternoon classes or to enjoy a few quiet minutes before lunch. The campus settled into a peaceful rhythm as students prepared for the upcoming afternoon.

At noon, everyone reconvened in Gould Commons again for lunch, enjoying chicken sandwiches and curly fries over discussions of the afternoon’s reading — the book of Genesis — and a variety of other conversations. At one table, an assortment of faculty, prefects, and programmers reflected on the beauty of recognizing truths of the Catholic faith by reading the Holy Bible with no commentary or supplementary information. Here lies the key to the Great Books program, as it gives the students real experience of grappling directly with foundational texts and pursuing the truths they hold together.

Fed with chicken and conversation, the students gathered up their books and headed to St. Gianna Molla Hall for their class on Genesis, delving into its first 10 chapters, which cover Creation, the story of Cain and Abel, and the Flood. Discussions focused on the significance of the two accounts of Creation, with some even comparing the Biblical description to those given by the pre-Socratics. Sections also pondered the meaning of “goodness,” and many students grappled with the complex question of free will, contemplating how the choices made by Adam and Eve could coexist with God’s foreknowledge of the Fall.

Check in again with the Summer Blog tomorrow morning to read about the rest of the day — much is in store!

More photos from the High School Summer Program

Tap on the right center edge of the image to scroll through the album.