Drinking with Dominicans is back for the fourth year in a row! Join us this summer for another insightful four-week speaker series. This year's theme is The Good News: Made. Broken. Saved. Sent.
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Schedule
July 11, 2024 | 7-8:30 p.m. Made for More: Why Are We Here? Father John Paul Walker, O.P. Throughout history, countless philosophers have asked the questions, “Why is there something rather than nothing? Why does the world exist? Why are we here?” Wrapped up in the answers to those broad, philosophical questions is another question that each one of us eventually asks: “Why am I here?” This talk will explore the beauty and mystery of creation as a way of helping each of us answer that most important and most personal of questions. July 18, 2024 | 7-8:30 p.m. Broken By Sin: Why Evil? Mr. Lawain McNeil, O.P. Why does evil exist in the world? Many explanations often fall short of addressing the deep pain we carry in our hearts when bad things happen. Through the theological insights of St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, the philosophers Jacques and Raisa Maritain, and personal experience, this talk aims to provide a deeper understanding of how, even in the presence of evil, God's goodness can prevail, offering hope and redemption. July 25, 2024 | 7-8:30 p.m. Saved By Jesus: Why Did God Die? Father Cyril Stola, O.P. Jesus’s death on the cross opened up the doors to heaven for us. But did it have to happen this way? Couldn’t God have accomplished it differently? Was God punishing Jesus on the cross? Using St. Thomas Aquinas as a guide, this talk will help you more fully understand what happened on the cross. August 1, 2024 | 7-8:30 p.m. Sent for Others: How Do I Share the Gospel? Brother Gregory Santy, O.P. Sharing the faith can seem complicated and daunting, but it's actually pretty simple (although not always easy!). The priority is on following Christ; all the Apostles were first disciples. Just as there are different ways of following Christ, so, too, there are different ways of sharing the faith that correspond to these. This talk will help you share the faith with confidence when the opportunity arises. |
All talks are free and will be at Oakley Kitchen 3715 Madison Road Cincinnati, OH 45209 Doors open at 6 p.m. Please Note: There is limited parking at Oakley Kitchen, however, additional parking is available a short walk up the street at 3799 Madison Road. We are very grateful to Oakley Kitchen for graciously allowing us to host Drinking with Dominicans at their venue. We encourage you to show your appreciation by purchasing something to drink or eat during the event. |
Meet Our Speakers
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Father John Paul Walker, O.P., was raised in the suburbs of Chicago and is the pastor at St. Gertrude Church. He has a B.S. in chemistry from the University of Illinois and an M.S. in chemistry and environmental engineering from Johns Hopkins University. Immediately after his graduate studies, Father John Paul entered the Dominican order and was ordained a priest in 2002. During his 20 years of priesthood, Father John Paul has worked in college campus ministry, taught theology at Providence College, served as the director of Pastoral Formation at the Dominican House of Studies, served as pastor of St. Mary in New Haven, CT, worked with the pro-life movement, had experience in Catholic young adult (20s–30s) ministry, and more.
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Mr. Lawain McNeil, O.P., is a lay (third order) Dominican, the founder of a prayer apostolate called The Call to Holiness, and a parishioner at St. Gertrude Church. He is also the co-creator and co-founder of The Surrender Initiative. You can learn more about these apostolates at thecalltoholiness.com.
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Father Cyril Stola, O.P., grew up in rural Huntington Mills, Pennsylvania, where he attended Saint Martha’s Church with his family. He studied economics at New York University, where he met the Dominican Friars through the campus chaplaincy. “The preaching of the Dominicans at NYU introduced me to the riches of the Catholic intellectual tradition and brought me to a much deeper love of God. Through life in the Order, I hope to imitate those friars in bringing others to that same love.” Father Cyril was just ordered this past May and is helping out at St. Gertrude Church this summer.
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Brother Gregory Santy, O.P., grew up the older of two children in Syracuse, New York, and attended St. Daniel Parish with his family. After studying physics for two years at LeMoyne College, he entered seminary formation for the Diocese of Syracuse and was sent to study philosophy at the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, where he earned a licentiate in philosophy in 2017. He first met the Order of Preachers at the Dominican House of Studies during his time as a seminarian living at Theological College and, long story short, entered the novitiate here at St. Gertrude in 2018 after finishing studies at CUA. He made solemn profession this past January and was just ordained a deacon in March. Brother Gregory is helping out at St. Gertrude Church this summer.
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Why Drinking with Dominicans?
In a May 2021 letter, Pope Francis praised St. Dominic de Guzman (d. August 6, 1221) for answering an urgent need to preach and live as a witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ in his time. The pope spoke of the charism (spiritual gift) entrusted to St. Dominic, the Church’s “preacher of grace,” which has been refracted through eight centuries in an array of saintly friars, nuns and sisters, and lay men and women called to influence the Church and the world.
The pope then said: “In our own age, characterized by epochal changes and new challenges to the Church's evangelizing mission, St. Dominic can thus serve as an inspiration to all the baptized, who are called, as missionary disciples, to reach every ‘periphery’ of our world with the light of the Gospel and the merciful love of Christ.”
In July 2021, in anticipation of St. Dominic’s feast day on August 8, we launched Drinking with Dominicans. The goal was to provide you with an opportunity to learn about some key Dominican saints and the grace God offers through the Dominican order while enjoying time with friends and sipping on brews. Building upon the success of that first year, we have continued to offer a speaker series every July. New theme, new content, new presenters—same great Dominicans.
The pope then said: “In our own age, characterized by epochal changes and new challenges to the Church's evangelizing mission, St. Dominic can thus serve as an inspiration to all the baptized, who are called, as missionary disciples, to reach every ‘periphery’ of our world with the light of the Gospel and the merciful love of Christ.”
In July 2021, in anticipation of St. Dominic’s feast day on August 8, we launched Drinking with Dominicans. The goal was to provide you with an opportunity to learn about some key Dominican saints and the grace God offers through the Dominican order while enjoying time with friends and sipping on brews. Building upon the success of that first year, we have continued to offer a speaker series every July. New theme, new content, new presenters—same great Dominicans.
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