Sermons & Talks are now on Audio, links below

My entire audio list (sermons, talks, lectures) is at:

Spotify here 

Apple Podcast here

Anchor here (now called Spotify for Podcasters)

A complete playlist of my talks is on Spotify here

Some selected playlists of my talks:

Opus Dei Formation Talks for seminarians are here

Spirituality talk series for West Moors parish is here 

Talks by Fr Dylan James (a complete playlist) are here 

Evangelisation talk series to West Moors parish is here  

Moral Theology talk series to Shaftesbury parish is here

Retreat talks for Kenwrick T1-T2 seminarians, January 2022, are here

 

Seminary Lectures are here: 

Moral Theology seminary lectures here UTHE105; and the text of these lectures is here

Sexual Morality seminary lectures here CL701; and the text of these lectures is here

Moral Theology lectures for Ordinariate clergy formation are here

 

 

New Beda Professor & Formator: Fr Dylan James

This September I'll be starting as a professor and formator at the Pontifical Beda College in Rome, one of the seminaries run by the English & Welsh bishops.  I've spent the past 6 years in seminary formation in the USA, at the Pontifical Josephinum College -I've loved my time there but it'll be good to return to serving the British mission.

I'll continue to teach moral theology, though as the only moral theologian at the Beda my range of courses will need to be a little broader than it has been: I'll also be teaching moral philosophy.  Previously, I spent 14 years teaching fundamental moral theology at Wonersh Seminary; the past 6 years I've also been teaching sexual morality and bioethics, and some introductory courses.

In terms of formation, I'll be seeking to help the new Beda Rector, Canon Marcus Holden, expand the type of formation being offered.  When he was appointed, he toured some American seminaries, researched what seemed to be best practice, and wants to introduce what he has referred to as the American 'accompaniment' model.  This is something I am passionately committed to, have been doing at the Josephinum, and am excited to help deepen it at the Beda.  It will involve helping the seminarians by giving them formation talks, meeting them one-on-one to help apply formation in a personalized form through individual annual formation plans, and generally 'accompanying' them by seeking to imbed myself amidst their daily living.  As Pope Francis famously put it, the shepherd must be among the sheep and 'smell of the sheep'; as Pope John Paul the II lived it with young couples and families, the priest must spend time with the people he serves and forms.

The Beda will take me to slightly new territory in that it caters for older seminarians (age 30 and older).  The Beda was set up after Cardinal Newman converted and he and his fellow-converts highlighted the need for a formation-track geared to older men. St Paul is another point of reference, as the Beda Rector pointed out when I visited over Christmas. Whereas the young St John might be an example of a disciple who gave his youth to the Lord and followed Him from his early days, St Paul is an example of someone who received his call later in life. Both St Paul and St John made crucial contributions to the early Church and we need a way of forming someone like St Paul, who comes to priestly formation later in life. The Beda College is across the road from St Paul’s Outside the Walls. 

Pope Leo XIII gave the name Bede to the college (he also declared St Bede a doctor of the Church). 

You can read about what I've done earlier in my priesthood here in a post from 6 years ago when I was appointed to the Josephinum. 

CL702 Bioethics

This page refers to the Bioethics course taught by Fr Dylan James at the Josephinum Seminary in Columbus, Ohio. 

The texts of the 2022-23 lectures is available at a Googledrive folder here.

There is no audio available for this course.

 

UTHE105 Life in Christ: The Catechism and Moral Theology

This course is an introduction to Moral Theology, 

teaching in parallel with the third part of the Catechism.

This course is taught by Fr Dylan James at the Josephinum Seminary in Columbus, Ohio.

Audio of lectures available on a Spotify playlist here

Word documents of each lecture are available in a Googledrive folder here

Aug 24th

1)    Introduction: What is Moral Theology?  What is the Catechism? What’s in this course?

Aug 26^th

2)    A History of Moral Theology

Aug 31^st

3)    The Sources of Moral Theology: Scripture, Tradition, Magisterium

Sept 2^nd  

4)    (a) What is Man?  The Image of God

(b)  Beatitude

Sept 7^th  

5)    (a) Freedom 

(b) Sin as a Perversion of the Quest for happiness 

Sept 9^th

6)    (a) The End doesn’t Justify the Means

(b)  Appendix: The Principle of Double Effect 

Sept 12^th  

7)    Conscience 

Sept 16^th   

8)    (a) The Passions

(b) Virtue 

Sept 21^st   

9)    Virtues & Vices: A look at some inter-relationships

Sept 23^rd  

10) Mortal and Venial Sin 

Sept 28^th

11) The Natural Moral Law 

Sept 30^th

12) The Natural Moral Law, continued

Oct 5^th

13) Quiz: See the list of 7 Catechism definitions to be memorized  

Oct 7^th

14) Review Class 

Oct 12^th

15) Law, Obligation, Epikeia, Probabilism

Oct 14^th

16) Midterm Exam 

Oct 26^th

17) Grace, Merit, and Justification 

Oct 28^th  

18) Society and The Common Good 

Nov 2^nd  

19) Civil Law, the Government, and the Common Good

Nov 4^th

20) The Ten Commandments: An Introduction & Summary; Dies Domini: The Lord’s Day

Nov 9^th   

21) Abortion, Euthanasia, Death Penalty 

Nov 11^th  

22) The Family and Marriage (Unity & Fertility)

Nov 16^th  

23) Divorce and Second Unions  

Nov 18^th

24) Self-Defence & Just War

 

Nov 30^th

25) Environmental Ethics

Dec 2^nd  

26) (a) Social Doctrine and Capitalism  

(b) Truth and Lying

Dec 7^th  

27) (a) Chasity: Integrating the Desires, not suppressing them

(b) The Battle for Purity

(c) Covetousness, Poverty and Purity of Desire

Dec 9^th

28) Review Class

 

CL701 Sexual Morality

This course is an introduction to Catholic Sexual Morality, as given by Fr Dylan James at the Josephinum Seminary in Columbus, Ohio.

Audio is available on Spotify here

Word documents of lectures are available at a Googledrive folder here

 

Aug 22^nd

1)      Introduction; Sex and the New Evangelisation

Aug 25^th

2)      Chastity and Society: A historical look at the Judeo-Christian approach

Aug 29^th

3)      The Bible and Sexuality: An Overview (part 1)

Sept 1^st

4)      The Bible and Sexuality: An Overview (part 2)

Sept 8^th

5)      ‘Gender Ideology’ (i): An introduction to the problem 

Sept 12^th

6)      Gender (ii): Seminar Discussion of Holloway, Augustine, and Edith Stein 

Sept 15^th  

7)      The Ends of Sex and Marriage: Procreation, Union, Remedy for Concupiscence

Sept 19^th

8)      Virtue and Sex: Chastity (i)

Sept 22^nd    

9)      Virtue and Sex: Chastity (ii)

Sept 26^th

10)   Virtue and Sex: Chastity (iii)

Sept 29^th  

11)   Theology of the Body (i)

Oct 3^rd

12)   Theology of the Body (ii)

Oct 6^th

13)   Review session

Oct 10^th

14)   Midterm exam 

Oct 13^th

15)   Marriage and Civil Law & Counterfeit ‘Marriages’

Oct 24^th

16)   Homosexuality (i)

Oct 27^th

17)   Homosexuality [ii] 

Oct 31^st

18)   Responsible Parenthood: NFP or Contraception?

Nov 3^rd  

19)   Contraception (i): Janet Smith’s ‘Naturalist’ Argument of Contraception 

Nov 7^th

20)   Contraception (ii): Janet Smith’s ‘Naturalist’ Argument of Contraception 

Nov 10^th

21)   Contraception: Germain Grisez’s ‘Anti-Life Choice’ Argument against Contraception 

Nov 14^th

22)   Divorce, Remarriage (and Holy Communion): The situation pre-Amoris Laetitia

Nov 17^th

23)   Divorce, Remarriage (and Holy Communion): Amoris Laetitia: Breaking Tradition, or, A Strategy to implement the Tradition? Malta vs Poland

Nov 21^st   

24)   Masturbation and Pornography

Nov 28^th

25)   Education in Chaste Love

Dec 1^st

26)   Some Specific Sexual Issues

Dec 5^th

27)   Review session