The University of Dallas released two seasons of a video series titled "The Quest" designed to encourage a courageous life. The series features approximately 25-minute videos where professors connect faith, history, literature, and saints to the viewer's current life. The goal of "The Quest" is to explore the Christian life as a narrative of joyful courage amidst darkness. The first season is titled "The Quest" and the second is "The Way of Beauty," with each season containing five episodes. The content reflects central themes taught in the University of Dallas's "Core" curriculum, which focuses on the Western Tradition.
about 15 hours ago
The University of Dallas has released two seasons of the video series The Quest, designed to inspire viewers to live courageously through faith, literature, and history.1
Each episode lasts about 25 minutes and encourages reflection on personal identity, purpose, and God-given impact.1
Dr. Shannon Valenzuela, an affiliate assistant professor, wrote, directed, and narrated the series.1
University of Dallas professors draw from Scripture, saints like St. Therese, historical figures such as Etty Hillesum, and Western Tradition texts.1
President Dr. Jonathan Sanford notes it reflects the university's Core curriculum on Western civilization.1
Season 1, The Quest, includes "The Voice of God Within" on freedom requiring love and conscience, and "The Appointed Task" on vocation and loving without calculation.1
Other topics cover "Witness," "The Dark Night of the Soul," "Incarnation," "Pilgrimage," and "Sanctuary."1
Season 2, The Way of Beauty, continues exploring joyful courage amid worldly darkness.1
Available on Relevant Radio+, EWTN, and quest.udallas.edu with bonus interviews.1
Suitable for middle schoolers through adults, ideal for individual viewing, faith groups, or religious education.1
Explore Catholic narratives of courage amid modern darkness
Catholic tradition draws deeply from Scripture to illustrate courage as steadfast fidelity to God's law amid existential threats. In 2 Maccabees 7, a mother and her seven sons face torture under King Antiochus for refusing to eat pork, defying idolatry. The eldest brother declares, "We are ready to die rather than transgress the laws of our ancestors," while the mother urges, "Therefore the Creator of the world... will in his mercy give life and breath back to you again, since you now forget yourselves for the sake of his laws." This narrative exemplifies fortitudo—the cardinal virtue of courage—sustaining believers through physical torment, rooted in hope of resurrection.
Similarly, Judith 7 depicts the siege of Bethulia, where desperation leads citizens to demand surrender as water fails and children faint from thirst. Leader Uzziah responds, "Courage, my brothers and sisters! Let us hold out for five days more; by that time the Lord our God will turn his mercy to us again." Here, communal courage counters despair, trusting divine intervention over immediate relief. 2 Maccabees 15 portrays Judas Maccabeus rallying troops with a vision of priests Onias and Jeremiah granting a divine sword, prioritizing the sanctuary's defense over personal safety: "Their greatest and first fear was for the consecrated sanctuary."
Eleazar's martyrdom in 2 Maccabees 6 further highlights principled resolve. Forced to eat swine's flesh, the elderly scribe refuses compromise, declaring, "Such pretense is not worthy of our time of life... Even if for the present I would avoid the punishment of mortals, yet whether I live or die I will not escape the hands of the Almighty." He dies leaving "a memorial of courage" for the young. These Old Testament stories prefigure Christian martyrdom, portraying "darkness" as imperial oppression and idolatry, met with unyielding faith.
Courage, per St. Thomas Aquinas, is the mean between cowardice and recklessness, always tied to moral good rather than expediency. The Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life notes its presence in sports' defeats: "To keep going when the odds are stacked against you... these occasions can all offer convincing evidence that sport is replete with moments of great courage." St. Augustine distinguishes true courage from vice-masquerading-hardihood, as in Catiline's endurance, which lacked prudence, temperance, and justice. Authentic fortitude integrates with other virtues, enabling endurance for eternal goods amid trials.
Popes frame modern "darkness"—social evils, secularism, moral decay—as calls for renewed fortitude. Pope Francis, in his Easter Vigil homily, echoes Jesus' Gospel imperative: "Courage!" as a gift rolling away the heart's stone, conquering fear since "with you the cross leads to the resurrection." He urges, "Each day, ask God for the gift of courage... Jesus conquered fear for us." In Evangelii Gaudium, Francis rejects pessimism: "The evils of our world... must not be excuses for diminishing our commitment... Let us look upon them as challenges which can help us to grow." Early Christians and saints model unflagging zeal despite empires hostile to the Gospel. Spirit-filled evangelizers proclaim with parrhesía (boldness), transfigured by God's presence.
Pope John Paul II addresses Malawi's "collective and social evils which call for courage and unending efforts," praising Irish martyrs like Margaret Ball for "personal courage" amid betrayal. Benedict XVI invokes Mary: "Have the courage to dare with God!... Commit yourselves to God, then you will see that... your life will become broad and light." Earlier pontiffs warn of "perils everywhere": Pope Leo XIII decries "wicked societies" and urges associations to foster zeal, while Pius XII notes heroism amid "growing want and restrictions," with faithful holding fast despite impeded pastors. These form a narrative continuum: ancient persecutions mirror today's ideological assaults, demanding active witness.
St. John Henry Newman recounts heroic acts piercing "dark skies": St. Benedict rolling in thorns against temptation; St. Thomas Aquinas brandishing fire against Satan; a youth biting off his tongue to resist seduction. Such "opening of the heavens" inspire amid modern doubts, echoing Maccabean resolve.
Catholic narratives of courage—from Maccabean martyrs to papal exhortations—reveal fortitude as virtuous endurance for divine law amid darkness, whether ancient sieges or contemporary moral shadows. Biblical fidelity, theological balance, and saintly daring converge in magisterial calls to bold hope, transforming trials into resurrection paths. These stories summon believers to emulate, receiving courage as gift for evangelization today.