David W. Fagerberg, Ph.D., professor and author, will deliver the University of Dallas School of Ministry’s 17th annual Landregan Lecture on "A Daughter of Asceticism: Liturgical Glorification of God." The event, which will be held Saturday, Feb. 20, at 7:30 p.m. in the Church of the Incarnation, is free and open to the public.
“The School of Ministry is very excited to welcome Dr. Fagerberg, who is a national expert in liturgical theology,” said School of Ministry Dean Theodore Whapham. “His address this year will focus on connecting Christian spirituality with the Mass and living out our faith.”
Fagerberg will discuss how liturgy has many benefits but only two purposes: to glorify God and sanctify human beings. The lecture will seek to understand how everything within the liturgy, even the sanctification of man, is oriented toward the glorification of God.
David W. Fagerberg is a professor in the University of Notre Dame’s Department of Theology. His work has explored how the church’s lex credendi (law of belief) is founded upon the church’s lex orandi (law of prayer). He has integrated into this the Eastern Orthodox understanding of asceticism by considering its role in preparing the liturgical person. A few of his works include “Theologia Prima” (Hillenbrand Books, 2003) and “On Liturgical Asceticism” (Catholic University Press, 2013).
Fagerberg has an avocation in G. K. Chesterton, having published “Chesterton is Everywhere” (Emmaus Press, 2013) and “The Size of Chesterton’s Catholicism” (University of Notre Dame, 1998). Appearing this spring from Angelico Press will be a book on consecrating our daily life in the world titled “Mundane Liturgical Theology.”
His two children are grown, and he counts it a Chestertonian accomplishment to have been married 43 years to his wife, Elizabeth, without any diminishment in the “thrill of domesticity.”
The Landregan Lecture brings to the University of Dallas campus nationally prominent figures, whose area of expertise reflects the many interests that have animated University of Dallas alumnus Steven T. Landregan throughout his distinguished, and continuing, career of service to the Catholic Church in North Texas. Previous speakers of the Landregan Lecture have included Rev. John W. O’Malley S.J., Rev. James Martin S.J., Br. Guy Consolmagno S.J., Miguel Diaz Ph.D., John Allen, Rev. Joseph A. Fitzmyer S.J., Archbishop Michael Sheehan and Rev. Robert Barron.
At the beginning of the lecture, the University of Dallas School of Ministry will announce and honor its 2016 Distinguished Alumni Award winners for their exemplary service to the local church in general, the work of faith formation in particular and the larger community, especially the poor and needy.
For more information on the lecture, visit udallas.edu/landregan.