SMCE4011 F25 Befriending your Death with Henri Nouwen and the Rise of the Cancer Diary

• Delivery: In-person
• Duration: 4 weeks
• Days: Tuesdays
• Dates: October 7th to 28th, 2025
• Time: 7:00-9:00 pm
• Location:  TBD (In-person on campus at the University of St. Michael’s College in the University of Toronto)
• Cost: $225 (includes HST)

Course Overview

The well-known pastoral psychologist-priest, Henri Nouwen, wrote several books on dying and death. These spiritual books have been of immense importance for those dying, those accompanying the dying, and those immediately affected by the dying.

Nouwen’s approach is not sentimental; it is not clinical; it is deeply human and spiritual. We will also examine his influence on four cancer diarists.

This course will examine the 4 key books he wrote articulating a meaningful are moriendi  or art of dying. They are arranged chronologically and will be taught in sequence:

In Memoriam (1980)

A Letter of Consolation (1982)

Beyond the Mirror (1990)

Our Greatest Gift: A Meditation on Dying and Caring (1994)

Method of Teaching

This course will rely on both lecture and seminar mode of instruction, with a strong emphasis on discussion, probing questions, and the sharing of personal experience in light of the subject matter.  Students are encouraged to keep a short diary of the course, if so inclined.  The texts used are the primary source.

Learning Outcomes

Students will:
• Be introduced to the thinking of Henri Nouwen
• Explore the multi-dimensional aspects of dying and death
• Integrate their personal experience with the subject matter
• Examine the complexities and nuances of human reactions to the ultimate moment

About the Instructor

Dr. Michael W. Higgins is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Catholic Thought, Sacred Heart University (CT), President and Vice-Chancellor Emeritus of St. Jerome’s University in the University of Waterloo (ON), and in the inaugural Basilian Distinguished Fellow of Contemporary Catholic Thought, University of St. Michael’s College.

He is the author and co-author of numerous books, including Genius Born of Anguish: The Life and Legacy of Henri Nouwen (2012), and Impressively Free: Henri Nouwen as a Model of a Reformed Priesthood (2019).  Other books include the award-winning Heretic Blood : the Spiritual Geography of Thomas Merton (1998), the national bestseller Power and Peril: the Catholic Church at the Crossroads, and the recent and very popular The Jesuit Disruptor: a Personal Portrait of Pope Francis (2024).

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