‘Twas the Night Before Christmas: Santa and the Poetry of Desire

This Sunday, December 22, Br. Joachim Kenney, O.P., will present the final talk in the student brothers’ Advent lecture series, entitled “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas: Santa and the Poetry of Desire.” We all know the famous poem about visions of sugarplums, prancing reindeer, and the kindly, plump old elf who munches on cookies and leaves presents in his wake. But what does “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” have to say about what we desire, and how we look for that desire to be fulfilled? Br. Joachim will explore these questions in the light of the Incarnation and the closing themes of Advent. Br. Joachim’s talk is the final installment in the “Symbols of the Season” series of Advent lectures from the student brothers. In Washington, D.C., the talk is on Sunday night at 7:30 P.M. at the Dominican House of Studies, 487 Michigan Ave NE. In Charlottesville, the talk is on Sunday morning at 10:30 A.M. at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish, 401 Alderman Rd. Fliers with complete listings of the talk titles in the series can be found here for Washington, and here for Charlottesville. Previous installments in the series are also available in audio form: Br. Raymund Snyder, O.P.’s talk on “Season’s Greetings: Unpacking the Liturgy of Festive Cliché” here, and Br. Gregory Pine, O.P.’s talk on “The Xmas Soundtrack: Rudolph, Frosty, and Man’s Search for Meaning” here.