Wager, Design & Order

After Thursday’s spectacular beach trip, students slept soundly and woke up refreshed for today’s classes and the upcoming weekend. Despite the busy schedule of the past few days, a large majority of students still gathered in Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel for the 7:15 a.m. Mass. After breakfast, it was time for the Friday morning class. Students spent an hour and a half grappling with Blaise Pascal’s famous “Wager,” which explores belief in God’s existence and happiness, both in this world and the next. 

“I was very impressed with the students, how they are able to articulate and then communicate so well,” remarked Hope Ascough (’22), a Summer Program prefect who briefly sat in on one of the class discussions. “Not only that, but some students were able to see the conversation, see where it was going, keep on track of the original question, and constantly redirect the conversation so as to be on track with the original question.”

Following class, Summer Program Chaplain Rev. Sebastian Walshe, O.Praem, (’94), offered the midday Mass, and then all enjoyed a delicious lunch of walnut shrimp and rice in St. Joseph’s Commons. Students then made their way to the afternoon’s class to discuss the writings of the 19th century biologist Jean-Henri Fabre as well as St. Thomas’ Fifth Way for proving the existence of God. The readings provoke a fascinating continuation of this morning’s discussion about the evidence of design in Creation — and therefore the need for a Divine Designer. 

Everyone is looking forward to a couple of short skits, directed by prefect Dan Selmeczy (’08), which attendees will perform later this evening. A sing-along and many other activities are also in the works, so be sure to visit the SummerBlog tomorrow morning for details!