Beginning next month, the Saint Marys Center for Spirituality (CFS) will bring three speakers to campus as part of the 2013 Spring Lecture Series, Mind, Body, Spirit: Connected.

CVS director Sr. Kathleen Dolphin, PBVM, Ph. D, said these lectures will illustrate the overall goal of the Center, reminding people how the body, mind and spirit of a person are connected and dependent on one another.

The mind and spirit are intimately connected and mutually enriching to each other in an academic setting, she said. Were in a unique position to engage the Saint Marys community in discussion of the critical issues related to spirituality that are facing students.

The lecture series, sponsored by the Colleges Annual Endowed Lecture Series Fund, kicks off March 5 when Margaret OBrien Steinfels will deliver a talk called Perspectives on the Catholic Intellectual Tradition. Steinfels is the former co-director of the Center for on Religion and Culture at Fordham University.

What we are trying to talk about in this first lecture is the Catholic intellectual tradition, which is very strong throughout history, Sr. Dolphin, PBVM, Ph. D said. Its an acknowledgement of the power of human intellect. Sr. Dolphin said the human mind is a crucial part of a developing spirituality.

Its an emphasis on the mind in that we must think about the issues of the world, and its concerns and the issues in the church, she said. We are constantly thinking about what role the church plays in these issues.

Sr. Dolphin said she admires Steinfels as both an author and a speaker. The two have a history together that came about long before their mutual interests in spirituality and the Catholic tradition.

I went to grade school with Margaret in Chicago, so Im very excited to hear see her speak and talk, she said. I highly respect her. However, Sr. Dolphin said she is also looking forward to the other two lectures in the series. The second speaker visiting campus is Suzette Bremault-Phillips, from the Department of Occupational Therapy at the University of Alberta in Canada.

Bremault-Phillips will speak March 26 in a talk called, Exploring the Body/Spirituality Interface. The talk, according to Sr. Dolphin will focus on the use of spiritual experiences in medicine.

She is exploring how the body and spirit get along with each other, Sr. Dolphin, PBVM, Ph. D said. She is studying the impact spirituality can have on someone who is ill. Shes done research on how people get better and recover if theyve had some sort of spiritual or religious experience.

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Center for Spirituality to hold lecture series