NSTAURARE
The Christendom College Update Instaurare (vt. to restore, strengthen, renew)
December 2005 Volume XIII, Number IV
INSIDE THIS ISSUE . . . Reflections on 2005 – page 2
Oktoberfest & Medieval Fest page 5
Helping with Katrina page 6
Fall Sports Roundup page 8
Shivanandan Explains Theology of the Body – page 4 Warren Carroll’s Revolution Against Christendom – page 5 College Bids Farewell to Barone & Lundberg – page 7 Christendom: Top American Values College – page 7
Christendom Presents Spiritual Bouquet to Pope
Pope Benedict: “Thank you for all that you are doing. Please continue to pray for me.”
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College President Dr. Timothy O’Donnell, his wife Cathy, and College Chaplain Fr. John Heisler led a group of 35 Christendom faculty and friends to Rome during the College’s Fall Break October 14-23, 2005. During the pilgrimage, the group had the opportunity to present to the Holy
Father a spiritual bouquet from Christendom College students, faculty, staff, and benefactors. Upon receiving the gift, Pope Benedict smiled and said to President O’Donnell (regarding Christendom College), “Thank you for all that you are doing! Please continue to pray for me.” The Spiritual Bouquet consisted of 1237 Masses, 350 Eucharistic Holy Hours, 1444 Rosaries, 620 Visits to the Blessed Sacrament, 533 Chaplets of Divine Mercy, and 5626 other prayers and devotions. His Holiness, while Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, served as the Chairman of the Honorary see POPE page 6
Spiritual bouquet presented to the Pope.
The O’Donnells and College Chaplain Fr. John Heisler present a Spiritual Bouquet to His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI while on pilgrimage in Rome.
Vita Consecrata Institute to Join Christendom’s Grad School Summer Program
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Beginning this summer, the Institute on Religious Life’s “Vita Consecrata Institute” will be held in conjunction with the NDGS Summer program on the College’s Front Royal campus. The addition of this program will bring many more religious, priests, and seminarians to campus and will increase the summer faculty and course offerings.
Fr. Thomas Dubay, SM, will be teaching at Christendom during the 2006 NDGS summer program.
Religious Life have had some connections before this. College President Dr. Timothy O’Donnell sits on the Board of Advisors of the IRL, and he and Fr. Nelson are friends from their graduate school days in Rome.
“Christendom is honored to have been chosen by the Institute on Religious Life,” said Dean of Christendom’s Notre Dame Graduate School Dr. Kristin Burns, “and we are thrilled at the prospect of having so many priests and religious on campus.”
a summer program of spiritual renewal and theological study focused on the consecrated life. The IRL has been holding the program at various retreat houses since 2001. Professors such as Fr. Thomas Dubay, SM, Msgr. James Turro, Fr. Aidan Nichols, OP, and VCI Director Fr. Thomas Nelson, OPraem, have gathered every summer with several dozen religious men and women for four weeks of prayer and study. Several of the institute’s students have desired to work towards a master’s degree, and the IRL’s search for a graduate school whose mission was compatible with its own led to Christendom.
The Vita Consecrata Institute (VCI) is
Christendom and the Institute on
see IRL page 4
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“This is a very exciting venture for us,” said President O’Donnell. “We anticipate that both Christendom College and the Institute on Religious Life will benefit from this merger. I believe that everyone, but especially all of the religious, will find the peaceful and beautiful setting of our campus to be ‘almost Heaven.’”
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INSTAURARE, December 2005
Reflections on Anno Domini 2005
With the end of the year fast approaching, I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you for all of the prayers and support that you have offered during this past year for the vital apostolic work of Christendom College. The year 2005 certainly was a year of transition. It witnessed the final close of the Year of the Eucharist, the last gift of Pope John Paul II to the Church, as well as a historic change in the Apostolic See in Rome. As we look back on this year, who will ever be able to forTimothy T. O’Donnell, STD, KGCHS get the life-giving suffering of John Paul in his final agony? People from all over the world, especially the young, gathered in Saint Peter’s Square while countless others watched on television as one of the great lights of the 20th century, who courageously led us into the new millennium, finally returned to the House of the Father. Who will ever be able to forget his final words to those gathered in Saint Peter’s Square? “I have searched for you and now you have come to me.” Love is a great mystery and so is life within the Church. People all over the world observed the power, the simplicity and the beauty of the Pope’s funeral. I remember even encountering a non-Catholic in a grocery store who recognized me and with sadness in his voice said, “I am sorry about your Pope.” As a young theology student in Rome, I was present that evening of October 16, 1978 when Cardinal Wojtyla was introduced to the world as Pope John Paul II. After his election, we celebrated this historic event by dining alfresco at a typical Roman trattoria. During that meal, my wife Cathy, myself and a dear friend, Olga Orellana (now McAdam) made a promise that no matter where we were or what we were doing, we would return for his funeral. With heavy hearts, we kept that promise. Thanks to the graciousness of Cardinal Pell, Cathy and I were able to pray an entire rosary at the side of the mortal remains of John Paul II. The night before the funeral was spent “camping out” with our Rome students on Via Conciliazione. Although it seems quite romantic, it was actually quite purgatorial as the evening was very cold and damp. The rising of the sun and the joyful cry of the birds ushered in the new day as Cathy and I, along with hundreds of thousands of pilgrims, including many
from the beloved nation of Poland, filled the Square to bid one final good-bye to this great man. For over twenty-six years, he had sat on the Throne of Saint Peter and given himself in loving service to the human family. Who can forget the poignant moment when the pallbearers turned one last time and raised the coffin for a final affectionate farewell? Within an hour after the funeral, Rome was pelted with rain. I remember crossing the Ponte Sant’Angelo with a sense that even the angels in heaven were weeping the passing of this great man. I recall overhearing a Polish dockworker from Gdansk who was interviewed by a man from the press as to why he had come all the way to Rome for the funeral. With tears in his eyes, he responded, “I would have crawled on my knees! This man gave us our freedom; he gave us back our dignity!” When recently in Rome, I spoke with a dear friend, Sean Lovett, who recalled the fact that L’Osservatore Romano had been astounded at how many people – over 26,000 – had passed by the coffin of Paul VI back in 1978. Who could have been prepared for the millions who passed by the coffin of John Paul II? That does not, of course, even include all those who followed the events on television. Our Faith tells us that Christ is always with His Church. After this period of mourning came “the dawn” with the election of Pope Benedict XVI. The news filled the entire Catholic world with joy. Here at Christendom our bells rang out for hours as the entire community gathered together for a joyful Eucharistic procession. Among the many great blessings that have come to Christendom College as a result of the Year of the Eucharist, the greatest has been an extension of our Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament to seven days a week. Thanks to the this initiative by our Chaplain, Father John Heisler, I trust that this will be a lasting fruit of this year of grace. What a joy it is to know that Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament will receive this special honor and tribute on our campus each day of the week. It was also a great joy to have taken a group of thirty-five Christendom friends and supporters on a pilgrimage to Rome to celebrate the Year of the Eucharist. One of the most beautiful moments of that pilgrimage took place when Father Heisler celebrated the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in the Catacomb of Saint Callixtus. It was in this location that one of the most vicious persecutions of the Church began in the middle of the third century. In the very spot at which we held Mass, Pope Sixtus II and four of his deacons were savagely dragged from the catacombs and beheaded for their profession of the Christian faith. A horrified deacon, the future Saint Lawrence, cried out, “Father, where are you going without your son?” To which Pope Sixtus II responded, “Thou shall follow me three days hence, my son.” Thus Lawrence, who witnessed firsthand
the ferocity of the Roman persecution, had three days to prepare for his martyrdom by courageously bringing before the city prefect the treasure of the Church – the poor, the sick, the blind and the lame. This audacious action incurred the wrath of the prefect, who promised him a more painful death and fulfilled this promise by roasting him alive. While we were down in the catacombs, surrounded by so many signs of the Christian belief in the sacredness of the human body and its future resurrection, we sang Faith of Our Fathers and chanted the different parts of the Mass in Latin and in Greek. It was deeply moving to reflect that the same language and prayers that had been ringing out centuries ago were now once again resounding in this sacred spot. Christ present on the altar reminded us all that this is what it means to have the eternal dwell in time. For here were a group of Catholics gathering together around the memories of their beloved dead, professing the same faith, the same hope and seeking to live the same divine life of charity. Without a doubt, one of the highlights of the pilgrimage was the Wednesday Papal Audience, at which Christendom College students, faculty, friends and pilgrims were introduced to Pope Benedict XVI. He clearly acknowledged and recognized our presence at the audience. At the conclusion of the audience, Cathy, Father Heisler and I were able to present a Spiritual Bouquet to the Holy Father on behalf of the Christendom family. This Spiritual Bouquet contained over one thousand Masses, Chaplets of Divine Mercy, Rosaries and other prayers. The Pope was visibly moved and thanked me for “all that you are doing” here at the College. He also earnestly beseeched us to “Please, please remember me in your prayers!” I assured him that we would do so every day. Thanks to you, the great tradition of Catholic higher education is being handed on through Christendom College’s vital educational apostolate. As we begin to move into yet another year, let us recall the words of our late great Holy Father in his final encyclical on the Eucharist: “The Eucharist has been given to us so that our life, like that of Mary, may become a complete Magnificat… Let us take our place, dear brothers and sisters, at the school of the saints, who are the great interpreters of true Eucharistic piety. In them, the theology of the Eucharist takes on all the splendor of a lived reality; it becomes contagious and, in a manner of speaking, it warms our hearts. Above all, let us listen to Mary Most Holy, in whom the mystery of the Eucharist appears, more than in anyone else, as a mystery of light. Gazing upon Mary, we come to know the transforming power present in the Eucharist. In her, we see the world renewed in love. Contemplating her, assumed body and soul into heaven, we see opening up before us those ‘new heavens’ and that ‘new earth’ which will appear at the second coming of Christ. Here below, the Eucharist represents their pledge and in a certain way, their anticipation: ‘Veni, Domini Iesu! Come Lord Jesus!’ What more need I say? Let us all, as we prepare to move into a new year, resolve that as a fruit of the Year of the Eucharist – the final legacy of Pope John Paul the Great – we will resolve to walk with Mary and unite our faith with hers as together with her, we receive our Eucharistic Lord and Savior. Let us, together with Mary, contemplate the face of Christ Jesus. Thank you again for all your support and may Our Lord and His Blessed Mother continue to watch over you now and always. Praised be Jesus Christ, now and forever!
Dr. O’Donnell led a pilgrimage to Rome over the College’s Fall Break.
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INSTAURARE, December 2005
McGraw Named New Alumni Affairs and Career Development Director
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Christendom College is pleased to announce that Mr. Thomas V. McGraw is now the full-time Alumni Affairs and Career Development Director. McGraw’s will indeed be a familiar name to many. He has worked at Christendom for the past eight years, first as Publications Officer and later as Development Officer. He has also served as the Student Activities Council moderator recently. McGraw’s parents helped found Christendom College back in 1977. His mother, Onalee McGraw, was the College’s first Chairman of the Board of Directors. Additionally, his sister Laura ‘87 and brother Steve ‘88 are both graduates of Christendom.
“It’s an exciting job,” says McGraw of his newly created position. “I’m taking over Alumni Affairs from Tom McFadden, who is now Director of Admissions, and Career Development from Tom VanderWoude, who is now focusing solely on the Athletics program. Although it may be confusing at first because of the fact that we are all named ‘Tom,’ I think in the long run it will help me out!” Since August 1, McGraw has been working tirelessly to inform alumni about campus news and events, and maintain the ever-growing alumni email group, now with over 450 members. Additionally, he manages the alumni database and organizes a number of popular alumni events, including Homecoming.
McGraw’s work in Career Development focuses on assisting students as they prepare for their careers, primarily through helping students write resumes, search and apply for jobs, and identify and apply to graduate schools. “Each year we send out between 75-90 graduates who are well-educated and have the ability not only to read and write well, but to think critically and to adapt to any situation with little effort. If anyone has any leads on jobs or careers that might suit Christendom alumni, I would love to hear from them,” said McGraw. Tom McGraw can be contacted by calling 800.877.5456 or by emailing tmcgraw@christendom.edu. Any alumni interested in joining the alumni email group or reading the monthly alumni e-newsletter, The Grapevine Online, can log on to www.christendom.edu/alumni. Employers or alumni may also go to the Career Development site at www.christendom.edu/career to post or view jobs.
Christendom History Professors Receive Accolades for their Scholarly Works Even as Dr. Carroll puts the finishing touches on his History of Christendom series–with the fifth volume ready to appear any day now–the three young scholars of Christendom’s History Department are carrying forward the torch of Catholic history into new fields. Dr. Adam Schwartz, now in his sixth year at the College, recently published The Third Spring (Catholic University Press, 2005), a study of the lives and works of G.K. Chesterton, Graham Greene, Christopher Dawson, and David Jones. Endorsed as “meticulously researched” and “exhaustive in its scholarship” by established leaders in the field of English Catholic studies, Schwartz’s book has recently received highly favorable reviews in the Catholic press. The National Catholic Register and First Things have both warmly greeted the volume. The St. Austin Review (July/August 2005) featured a review by Dale Ahlquist, dean of North American Chesterton scholars, who testified to the “pleasure of the book” and commended its ability to “deepen and propel our own understanding of the faith.” Most notable is the long and thoughtful essay in the September 2005 issue of Crisis magazine by Gerald Russello, a noted scholar of Christopher Dawson and the editor of the University Bookman. He praises the book for “skillfully weaving biography with literary criticism” and lauds Schwartz’s presentation of the converts of the “Third Spring” who “kept the Faith” amidst the onset of the culture of death. Schwartz is now at work on a companion volume that will address the social thought of these important twentieth century converts.
of 2004 having already published two books. His first book, Conspicuous Criticism: Tradition, the Individual and Culture in Modern American Social Thought (Johns Hopkins, 1996), is soon to be reissued by the University of Scranton Press with a new introduction by Wilfred McClay. Professor McClay, an award-winning intellectual historian, has described the book as “explosive” and “extraordinary” for its incisive critique of liberal individualism. Shannon’s work has also been the subject of a highly favorable assessment in the pages of First Things in February 2004 in an essay by Eric Miller entitled, “Alone in the Academy.” Shannon is currently writing a book on Irish-American films from the 1930s as revealing Irish Catholic ghettos as survivals of old world Catholic communities within the context of the modern industrial city. He will be presenting his findings at a conference in Dublin this January in
an address entitled “Community and Identity in IrishAmerican Popular Culture.” Critics of the Enlightenment, the recent book of translations published by Christendom’s History Department Chairman Dr. Christopher Blum, was featured in the American Spectator in October 2005. Professor Virgil Nemoianu of Catholic University commended the “young scholar from Christendom College” as a “serious student” of the “French opposition” to the legacy of the Enlightenment and French Revolution. “Reality seems, after reading this book,” he concluded, “more solid, more abundant, and more complex.” Blum has recently completed a second volume of translations which will appear next year with Ave Maria University’s Sapientia Press, and he is at work presently in the vineyard of medieval Catholic art.
2006 Summer Programs at Christendom College High School Summer Program June 18- 30 (Session I) & July 9- 21 (Session II) For Rising High School Juniors and Seniors Here’s an opportunity to experience the life of a Christendom student. Take classes in Philosophy, Theology, History, and Literature, and enjoy many cultural and recreational activities. From classroom discussions to canoe trips and touring Washington, DC, we guarantee a rewarding and fun summer experience.
Graduate School Summer Session
The newest member of the History Department, Dr. Christopher Shannon, came to the College in the fall
June 19 - July 29 Spend six weeks in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, immersing yourself in the richness of the Catholic tradition and deepening your knowledge and love for the Faith while working toward your Master of Arts in Theological Studies.
Published quarterly by the Christendom College Admissions & Marketing Office. Managing Editor, Layout, Design: Tom McFadden Copy Editor: Kathleen Blum Christendom College 134 Christendom Drive, Front Royal, VA 22630 800.877.5456 ~ www.christendom.edu Copyright © 2005. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is hereby granted, provided the following credit line is used: “Reprinted by permission from INSTAURARE, the quarterly newsletter of Christendom College (www.christendom.edu).” SUBSCRIPTION FREE UPON REQUEST.
17th Annual Summer Institute July 29 Join Francis Cardinal Arinze, Fr. Benedict Groeschel, Helen Hull Hitchcock, Dr. Timothy O’Donnell, and others for a one-day conference discussing “Pope Benedict XVI and the Spirit of the Liturgy.” For more information on any or all of these Summer Programs, please contact the College at 800.877.5456 or visit www.christendom.edu.
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INSTAURARE, December 2005
Mary Shivanandan Explains Theology of the Body
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Dr. Mary Shivanandan spoke to the Christendom College community on “Theology of the Body” on November 14 as part of the College’s Major Speakers Program. Shivanandan is a professor of theology at the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family in Washington, DC, where she has taught since 1989. Her area of expertise is theological anthropology with an emphasis on the theology of the body.
are at the center of the struggle for the dignity of the human person. The Church is generally portrayed as the enemy of progress, the enemy of women, and a killjoy for its insistence on the sacredness of the human body and sexuality. But this is actually nothing new. Many of the major heresies in the history of the Church have concerned some form of denial of the body and sexuality, she said.
“The truth, of course, is the opposite,” Shivanandan said. “Christianity is unique in that it gives full value to the body and sexuality. She graduated from Cambridge After all, the body is central to University in England with a key doctrines of our faith. In the degree in Classics and received Incarnation, the second person of her licentiate and doctorate in the Trinity took on human flesh sacred theology from the John in the womb of Mary. Through Paul II Institute for Studies on the Eucharist, Jesus gives us his Marriage and Family in 1991 own Body and Blood for food. and 1995 respectively. She is At the resurrection, we shall be the author of numerous articles raised from the dead to live forever both academic and general, has Dr. Mary Shivanandan spoke to Christendom reunited with our glorified bodies. contributed chapters to several College about Theology of the Body. After all, our bodies, according to books and is the author notably of two on marriage St. Paul, are temples of the Holy Spirit.” and family: Natural Sex, (Rawson Wade, 1979) for a general audience, reprinted in part as Challenge to Love She continued by explaining that Christian marriage is (KM Associates 1984) and Crossing the Threshold of Love: an image of the union of Christ, the bridegroom, with A New Vision of Marriage in the Light of John Paul II’s the Church, his bride. By its nature, marriage reveals Anthropology (The Catholic University of America Press, the total self-giving love of Christ on the cross. And the 1999), the fruit of her doctoral work. one-flesh union is the sign of that total self-giving love which gives rise to new life. She began her lecture by explaining why she believes that the teachings of our late Holy Father Pope John Paul “As Christians we must reclaim the language on love II on the theology of the body are attractive to many and sexuality. Our late Holy Father made this one of people, especially the young. She said that the key lies the priorities of his pontificate. Not only did he reclaim in the universal call to holiness which, since Pope Pius the language, but he coined a whole new language from XI, has been linked to marriage and the problem of his reflections on Scripture. He calls his reflections a responsible parenthood. theology of the body because in some way the body itself reveals God, and the one-flesh union of man and “It seems to me that precisely because John Paul II is woman images divine Trinitarian communion,” she reinforcing the universal call to holiness of Lumen Genconcluded. tium and showing how it can be lived in the sexual life of the lay Christian, that he is laying the groundwork for a transformation in Christian life,” she said. According to Shivanandan, the body and sexuality
IRL... The two institutions have many supporters in common. When Dr. Burns attended the IRL Board meeting in September to give a presentation about Christendom, she found that board members already knew all about the College and had many friends among the faculty, administration, and students. Furthermore, the Notre Dame Institute, precursor of NDGS, cooperated with the IRL and its various summer programs during the nineties. The IRL Board of Directors unanimously approved the merger of the two programs at its September meeting. The agreement has Christendom’s Graduate School adding another concentration (the Theology of the Consecrated Life) to its course of studies for the students of the VCI. These students will take the same core requirements for the MA as other NDGS
Continued from Front Page students, and the additional consecrated life classes of the Vita Consecrata Institute. The presence of the VCI on campus will greatly enrich the spiritual life at NDGS: additional Masses, the Liturgy of the Hours, and nightly holy hours will be available to the whole Christendom community. Professors coming to Christendom this summer for the VCI include Fr. Benedict Groeschel, CFR, Fr. Thomas Dubay, SM, and Fr. Brian Mullady, OP. By co-sponsoring the VCI, NDGS is returning to its own roots. The Notre Dame Institute was founded as a graduate school for religious, and even after it expanded to include lay people, religious made up a significant part of the student body. “We still have a few every summer, but not the large numbers we have had in the past,” said Burns. “It will be great to have a large religious presence on campus again.” For more information on the 2006 NDGS summer program or on the Graduate School in general, please call 800.877.5456 or log on to www.christendom.edu.
Religious who attended the Vita Consecrata Institute in 2005.
NDGS Professors Present Papers at Conference NDGS professors Fr. Paul deLadurantaye and Sr. M. Timothy Prokes, FSE, were invited to present papers at the 2005 Fellowship of Catholic Scholars Convention held in Charlotte, NC, from September 23-25. The theme of the conference was “Vatican II – Forty Years After.” Sr. Timothy’s paper discussed “The Christian Anthropology of Vatican II and Virtual Reality.” Response was given by Dr. Peter Casarella of the Catholic University of America. Her paper concerned five anthropological themes from Conciliar Constitutions in relation to five aspects of virtual reality that permeate our contemporary culture, now often termed trans-human or post-human. Fr. deLadurantaye presented a paper on the moral vision of Gaudium et Spes. Speaking in response to Professor Mark Latkovic, of Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, Fr. deLadurantaye’s paper, entitled “At the Service of the Human Person: The Moral Vision of Gaudium et Spes,” examined the way in which the Christocentric anthropology elaborated in the first part of the conciliar constitution was reflected in the specific areas of intersection between the Church and the modern world treated in the second part of the constitution. Sr. Timothy and Fr. deLadurantaye were not the only NDGS persons participating in the conference. Moral theology professor Dr. William E. May was program director for the conference. Dr. Joseph Atkinson, who taught a course at NDGS this past summer, responded to the talk on “Dei Verbum: Sacred Scripture since Vatican II.” Past NDGS student Dr. Thomas Farr, former Director of the Office of International Religious Freedom of the US Department of State, gave a talk entitled “Dignitatis Humanae: Religious Liberty and American Foreign Policy: A Practitioner’s Perspective.”
Professor William Luckey Featured Columnist Dr. William R. Luckey, Professor of Political Science and Economics, is a twice-monthly columnist for the largest e-newsletter in Latin America, The Catholic News Service (CNA). The title of his column is “Economics 101 for Catholics.” One can subscribe to the newsletter by going to www.catholicnewsagency.com.
Dr. Flippen Participates in Academic Conferences Philosophy Professor Doug Flippen is on sabbatical this semester, spending time in South Bend, IN, with his daughter and son-in-law. He recently attended a conference on Catholic higher education held at The University of Notre Dame from September 29 to October 1. Entitled “Joy In the Truth: the Catholic University in the New Millennium,” the conference was sponsored by the Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture. Some of the more well-known speakers were: Ralph McInerny, Alasdair MacIntyre, and Msgr. Lorenzo Albacete. Additionally, he attended the 6th Annual Erasmus lectures on “religion and the rise of modern culture.” The main speaker was Professor Louis Dupre, Professor Emeritus from Yale University in the area of philosophy of religion. At the end of October he attended the annual conference of the American Catholic Philosophical Association. The theme this year was Social Justice: Theory and Practice.
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INSTAURARE, December 2005
Jewish Convert Roy Schoeman Tells His Conversion Story
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Jewish convert Roy Schoeman recounted his conversion story on September 19 as part of the College’s Major Speakers Program.
Jewish convert Roy Schoeman tells his conversion story.
Schoeman was born in a suburb of New York City of Conservative Jewish parents who had fled Nazi Ger-
many. He was educated and formed by some of the most prominent Rabbis in contemporary American Jewry. For much of his young adult life, Schoeman lived with tremendous inner tension. He had an almost constant yearning for transcendent meaning, but no knowledge of what that yearning was truly for, and hence no sense of direction. His life changed forever in 1987 while on vacation in Cape Cod. “As I was walking, lost in my thoughts, I found myself in the immediate presence of God,” he recalled. “It was as though I ‘fell into Heaven.’ Everything changed from one moment to the next, but in such a smooth and subtle way that I was not aware of any discontinuity. I felt myself in the immediate presence of God. I was aware of His infinite exaltedness, and of His infinite and personal love for me. I wanted to know His name, so that I could worship Him properly, so that I could
College Celebrates Oktoberfest and Medieval Fest Every Fall, the Christendom family celebrates two major festive events: Oktoberfest and Medieval Fest. This year, Oktoberfest was celebrated on October 1. Beginning with the blessing of the beer by Chaplain of German descent, Fr. John Heisler, Oktoberfest was full of fun and festivity, including barrel and stein races, German toasts and dancing the Laendler and various waltzs and polkas. The kitchen prepared a great banquet of sauerbraten, sauerkraut, and bratwurst.
The Medieval Fest, held on October 29, was preceded the night before by the Pig Roast. In addition to “burning the pigs at the stake” Christendom celebrates the history of the Middle Ages in several other activities. Parents and visitors witness Christendom’s zeal for Catholic culture in events such as morality plays, juggling, and a performance from Christendom’s madrigal choir. Booths that offered face-painting, flower-wreath making, cookie-decorating, and trivia also contributed to the Medieval flare.
Dr. Robert Rice and his fellow Germans lead the College community in festive songs.
Freshmen Frauleins Elizabeth Fraser, Hilary Schafer, Clare Bratt, and Madeline Podlinsek.
The Pig heretics - Madonna and Britney Spears - were burned at the stake for the Medieval Fest’s King’s Banquet.
Dr. Tony Andres (left) and Prof. Mike Brown argue The Disputed Question: Does a man who watches TV have a soul?
Medieval Fest 2005: Freshman Peter McGuire plays the pipes while Brendan Sheridan juggles with others from St. Gregory’s Academy; Director of Admissions Tom McFadden’s children dress up for the event; Dr. and Mrs. Rice enjoy watching The Disputed Question.
follow ‘His’ religion. I remember silently praying ‘Tell me your name. I don’t mind if You’re Apollo, and I have to become a Roman pagan. I don’t mind if You’re Krishna, and I have to become a Hindu. I don’t mind if You’re Buddha, and I have to become a Buddhist. As long as You’re not Christ, and I have to become a Christian!’” Schoeman would have to wait a while before getting his answer. Every night before going to sleep, he would say a short prayer to know the name of his Lord whom he had met in Cape Cod. A year to the day after the initial vision, he had another dream-like experience in which he saw the Blessed Virgin Mary and was able to ask her many questions. In another two years he found his way to the Catholic Church, propelled there by his love and reverence for the Blessed Mother. He was baptized and confirmed into the Catholic Church in 1992. After first discerning a vocation to the religious life, Schoeman realized that he had another vocation of service to follow to Christ. Since his conversion he has pursued theological studies at several seminaries, helped produce and host a Catholic Television talk show, and edited and written for several Catholic books and reviews.
Warren Carroll Launches Revolution Against Christendom
Christendom College founder Dr. Warren Carroll’s long-awaited fifth volume of his History of Christendom series, The Revolution Against Christendom will appear in print this Winter. The book takes up the narrative where The Cleaving of Christendom left off: the gallant rally of the Church in the face of the Protestant upheaval. The book follows the fate of Christian civilization through the Wars in defense of the Catholic order in Europe; The Golden Age of Louis XIV; the Evangelization in the New World; the intellectual fanaticism of the Enlightenment; the suppression of the Jesuits; the adventures of Bonnie Prince Charlie as he attempted to restore legitimate rule in the British Isles; the terrors of the French Revolution; and the crisis that Napoleon triggered both in Europe and the Western Hemisphere. The book is marked by the classic Warren Carroll zeal for the Truth, his singular eye for the historical effects of the Incarnation, and a dramatic style of historical writing. The Revolution Against Christendom is available exclusively through Christendom Press’ distributor, the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. Interested readers should secure their copies soon. Revolution will make a great gift during the Christmas season and the New Year or a text for the classroom in the Spring. For this title and others contact Christendom Press at its Chicago distribution center: (800) 621-2736 or www. isibooks.org.
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INSTAURARE, December 2005
Looking Back on 2005 – Looking Forward to Christendom’s 30th Anniversary
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While I look forward each year to providing this informal year-end report on Christendom College’s financial health, a review of the College’s economic status absent past achievements and future hopes is about as fulfilling as balancing the family checkbook. So, to place my report in a more meaningful context, let me first fill in some of the landscape.
John F. Ciskanik
Calendar year 2005 activities and attractions at Christendom signal the College’s growth Christendom was promoted or listed in numerous college guides; our largest graduating class welcomed Commencement Speaker Senator Brownback; the incoming Class of 2009 is our largest ever; the College’s Rome Semester continues to prosper; the Notre Dame Graduate School looks forward to celebrating ten years of growth as Christendom’s own graduate school of theology; our 2005 Summer Institute attracted a capacity audience to hear Frs. Groeschel and Pacwa; and we have “broken ground” on the renovation of the former O’Reilly Memorial Library into the new Pope John Paul II Student Center.
These activities and attractions do not simply appear – they are the result of many years of dedicated work. So, as we look forward to celebrating Christendom’s thirtieth anniversary, we should look to our next strategic objective. Simply put, with the undergraduate campus “in place,” it is time to plan for its financial stability. Certainly, the most efficient and productive means of ensuring the survival and success of Christendom College is to foster and cultivate its endowment. Building the College’s endowment will ensure that our achievements will continue and multiply. Thanks to a remarkable fourth quarter, Christendom closed its fiscal year in May 2005 in the black. Expenditures ended at $7M while revenues topped that by a mere 2.8%. The difficult reality is that, when we woke up on Wednesday, June 1st, the first day of our new fiscal year, Christendom had to “return to Go!” with a brand new Operations fund raising target. The new fiscal year operations fund raising campaign got off to a great start due to the generosity of one man, Dr. Morton Willcutts, a graduate of the University of Notre Dame. His most generous gift of $350,000 was immediately put into service by permitting Christen-
Students Respond Generously to Katrina Victims Christendom’s students, faculty, and staff raised over $6,000 for victims of Hurricane Katrina. Sparked by Philosophy professor Ray O’Herron’s ardent plea to contribute financially to those in need, seniors Adam Marchand, Andy Day, John O’Herron, and John Archer made it their goal to collect donations.
raised went directly to these four families.
Raising the money was one thing, finding a beneficiary was another. Josh Zeringue, a freshman from Destrehan, LA, helped identify, through his father’s youth group KEPHA, four families that had suffered tremendous losses from Katrina. One home-schooling family lost the source of their livelihood as professional musicians, another family lost everything when 15 feet of water invaded their home, a third lost jobs, home and vehicles, and a fourth family of eight had to move into a trailer because the lower level of their home was flooded. Thanks to KEPHA, one hundred percent of the proceeds
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Dinner Committee for Christendom College’s 25th Anniversary Gala Dinner, held in September 2002. In a letter to Dr. O’Donnell, then-Cardinal Ratzinger wrote, “I am well aware of the distinguished record of Christendom College over these past twenty-five years, and of the outstanding contribution which it has made to Catholic life in the United States of America. For this reason, I am particularly honoured by your kind invitation and am happy to accept your invitation [to serve as Chairman of the Honorary Dinner Committee], and in so doing to associate myself with such a fine Catholic institution of higher learning....I offer my best wishes for a successful 25th Anniversary celebration and my prayers that Christendom College will enjoy many more years of service in the education and formation of young people.”
The second quarter of the year has seen donations dipping slightly. This, no doubt reflects the response to other pressing needs around the nation. In fact, without Dr. Willcutts sacrificial gift in the first quarter, the College’s operating fund raising campaign would be substantially behind target. Fortunately, we are about where we want to be. As we enter the Christmas season, I extend to you a Christmas greeting and do ask, first, that you keep Christendom College in your daily prayers and second, that you please consider helping us with a financial contribution at this time. In the meantime, I pray that Our Lord will continue to bless you and your loved ones. John F. Ciskanik is Vice-President for Development and Planning.
Admissions Office Predicts Another Record Year
Last year at this time, the College had received over 130 applications for the fall semester. At present, the College is on track to receive over 150 applications by the end of December. “Many high school seniors opted to apply prior to our Early Action Application deadline of December 1, and because of this, we have already notified them of our decision. But our regular application deadline is not until March 1, so anyone interested in applying should do so before then,” says Admissions Director Tom McFadden.
“I certainly didn’t think we would reach $6,000,” said Marchand. “ It was great to see the sacrificial spirit here. People saw the suffering of their fellow countrymen and responded generously.” When asked about the students’ reaction to the disaster Day responded that he thought that they were initially surprised at how bad the devastation was, but “because it hit home, they were more compelled to reach out. The generosity was out of this world.”
dom to move forward in the first phase of the new Pope John Paul II Student Center project. Thank you Dr. Willcutts!
An application can be downloaded from the College’s website (www.christendom.edu) or one can be submitted online. Letters of recommendation and all the necessary financial aid forms can also be found online. For more information, please contact the Admissions Office at 800.877.5456 or admissions@christendom.edu. John Archer, Andy Day, Mr. Ray O’Herron, John O’Herron, and Adam Marchand.
Christendom Choir Records New Christmas CD The Christendom College choir and Schola Gregoriana, under the direction of Choir Director Dr. Kurt Poterack, has recorded its second Christmas CD. Entitled, The First Noel: A Liturgical/Devotional Journey Through Christmastide, this recording picks up where the last CD left off. That one, For Unto Us a Child is Born, was a journey through Advent to Christmas Day; this one contains music for the entire Christmas season. It begins during the Octave of Christmas with the familiar carol The First Noel. After this, it proceeds to the January 1st Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. First there is a setting of the unfamiliar yet beautiful Marian poem by Dante, Maiden, Yet a Mother; then an arrangement of the Ave Maria; and finally the Kyrie, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei from Chant Mass IX. This Chant Mass is traditionally associated with the Blessed Virgin Mary. Punctuating this is the carol God Rest You Merry Gentlemen and the Gregorian hymn Jesu Dulcis Memoria, which is the Vesper hymn for the traditional Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus. The feast has been reinserted in the Roman Missal as an optional memo-
rial for January 3rd. What follows is music for the celebration of the Feast of the Epiphany, traditionally celebrated on January 6th. Besides the well-known We Three Kings are music for a Mass on this day and the Epiphany Vesper hymn Crudelis Herodes. Two other carols, Good Christian Men and What Child is This? follow, as well as the communion proper for the feast of The Baptism of the Lord, Omnes in Christo, which is celebrated the Sunday after the Epiphany. Although the official end of the Christmas season comes with Epiphany, traditionally it has been carried on through February 2nd, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. It is at the end of this liturgical day that the concluding Marian antiphon for Compline finally changes. The Alma Redemptoris Mater, which has been sung throughout Advent and Christmastide is replaced by Ave Regina Caelorum, which points to the approach of Lent, throughout which it will be sung.
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College Family Says Adios, Au Revoir, Arrivederci to Barone and Lundberg On October 26, the College bid farewell to two beloved longtime employees: Dr. Maria Barone and Miss Christina Lundberg. At an intimate dinner held at the historic Wayside Inn in Middleburg, VA, the faculty, Madame Barone retires after 24 years. staff, and some he alumni joined together to tell stories, reminisce, and express their fondness and affection for these two amazing women. A native of Italy and a graduate of Bocconi University in Milan, Dr. Maria Barone taught French and Span-
ish and served as Chairman of the Modern Language Department at the College for the past twenty-four years. Now she and her husband are moving to Florida to enjoy the more Mediterranean-like climate. During the dinner, Mrs. Mary Alice Rice, Adjunct professor of Modern Language, paid tribute to her longtime colleague with words of admiration and gratitude, as well as with some amusing stories. Madame Barone did yeoman’s service at the College, often teaching five or six classes per semester, and her culture, wit, and kindness inspired generations of students. Two alumnae also spoke. Joan Longua Philbin graduated in 1983 with a BA in French. To her knowledge, she was the first to major in French at Christendom. She attributed her continued interest in languages, particularly Russian, to Dr. Barone. Denise Belleville Woltering ‘94 double majored in French and History and was thankful to Dr. Barone for inspiring the women of Christendom to live richly and enjoy the good things found in the culture, particularly “good Italian food and wine.”
The College is also happy to welcome back three of its most recent grads to the Christendom family who are now members of the administrative staff. Lorraine Podlinsek ‘05 is the Assistant to the Executive Vice-President, Mark McShurley. Siobhan Christina Lundberg says farewell after 7 years. O’Connor ‘05 has taken Lundberg’s position as Assistant to the President. And Margaret Ginski ‘05 is the Visit Program Coordinator and Counselor in the Admissions Office.
Christina Lundberg has served as College President Timothy O’Donnell’s administrative assistant since 1998. She left the College on November 2 to be married to Michael Chapman on November 26.
Some alumnae who majored/minored in French celebrated Madame Barone’s retirement: Monica Murphy Curran ‘93, Barb Fogelberg Skane ‘87, Sue Belleville Kosten ‘89, Madame Maria Barone, Deirdre Brien Pennefather ‘93, and Denise Belleville Woltering ‘94.
“Christina was an amazing assistant,” said Dr. O’Donnell. “The College went through a number of difficult times since 1998 and Christina handled herself always with a sense of professionalism. I knew I could trust her with anything. I, as well as the entire College, will truly miss her, and we wish her and Michael all the best.” Margaret Ginski, Siobhan O’Connor, and Lorraine Podlinsek.
Classics Department Students Receive High Honors Newsmax.com Ranks Students of the Classical and Early Christian Studies work in Greek and Latin. Shortly after his arrival on Christendom as #3 College Department have recently received a variety of national the wind-swept shores of Nova Scotia, McSheffrey and international honors. was offered a position as a teaching assistant in Latin, for American Values as well. The Celtic musical heritage of Halifax is also
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Justin Stover ‘05 was awarded a full graduate fellowship at Harvard University to study for the PhD in Classical Languages with an emphasis on Medieval Latin. The Harvard faculty were impressed not only by Stover’s impeccable academic record, but by the nature and quality of Christendom’s Classics program, in which Stover had taken classes on the “Latin of the Benedictine Tradition,” “St. Robert Bellarmine’s Latin Political Writings,” and “Roman Agrarian Authors,” in addition to canonical authors such as Homer and Virgil. Further north, the Classics Department of Dalhousie University in Canada, which boasts a long tradition of excellence in Augustinian Studies, granted a full fellowship to Michael McSheffrey ‘05 for graduate
allowing McSheffrey to develop his other great talent: the performance of Irish and Scottish music.
Sergio Yona ‘06 was selected as a Western Civilization Honors Fellow at St. Edmund’s College, University of Cambridge, England. The Honors program is run each summer by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI). A small group of students was chosen this year from a highly competitive pool of American, Canadian, and European applicants. They studied the foundation of the western tradition with British and American faculty in the ancient university town. Based on his performance in England, ISI has also arranged for Yona to attend future conferences in California and Indiana. Finally, twelve students from Dr. William Fahey’s and Professor Edward Strickland’s Classical Greek courses won recognition in the National Greek Exam administered by the American Classical League. Among the recipients: Elizabeth Black, Christina Matatics, Eugene Portner, Dominic Severance, Michele Winslow, and Sergio Yona received Merit Awards; Arthur Dhanagom, Michael Fogarty, Emma Fritcher, Kathleen Gilbert, and Sylvia Smith were awarded High Honors; and Justin Stover won a Highest Honors award placing him amongst a handful of the best Greek students in the United States. With student excellence such as this, it is perhaps not surprising that Christendom’s Classical and Early Christian Studies department was ranked as one of the strongest at the College in the new guidebook Choosing the Right College: The Whole Truth About America’s Top Schools (www.isi.org/college_guide).
Justin Stover ‘05 received a full graduate fellowship at Harvard University to study for the PhD in Classical Languages.
Christendom College was recently ranked third in Newsmax.com’s “Top 10 Colleges for American Values” listing. Basing his report on the Intercollegiate Studies Institute’s college guide, Choosing the Right College: The Whole Truth about America’s Top Schools, Newsmax writer Peter M. Davidson reviewed the college guide to “find the best schools for conservatives campuses where a core curriculum requires a rigorous exposure to the great thinkers who have shaped our political, religious and cultural heritage, and where the atmosphere for learning is nurtured by genuine intellectual freedom, tolerance and tradition.” After placing The University of Chicago and Hillsdale College in the top two positions, Davidson then explains why he chose Christendom to be in the number three slot. Christendom is a “solidly Catholic, profoundly thoughtful liberal arts college,” he writes, and its “core curriculum goes beyond what many liberal arts colleges require, with six semesters of philosophy in order ‘to assist the student in using reason to understand the nature of reality and to illumine further the truth of revelation.’” He concludes: “Christendom College is highly recommended for students who are serious about their Catholic faith. Daily mass is an integral, but not mandatory, part of college life. Most faculty members and students would be considered conservative, but there is no lockstep conformity at Christendom. The college, however, does enforce a dress code.”
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College Students Enjoy the Sportin’ Life
The Freshman girls cheer for the Underclassman in the annual Upper/Under flag football game.
Freshman quarterbackTim Curran scrambles in the pocket trying to find an open receiver.
Freshman Josh Blonski rushes for a first down during the East/West Flag football game.
Upper quarterback Sean Kiely evades the sack.
With the help of Senior Andy Day, the Upperclassmen crushed the Underclassmen: 48-14
Freshman Andrew Briggs tackles Bobby Lancaster.
Rand Brown and Trevor Karas show their colors.
West wide receiver Marion Miner goes up for the grab to secure the West’s victory: 28-7
West quarterback Sean Kiely runs for paydirt.
The East Cheerleaders give it their all.
The Upperclassman girls not only led the crowd in cheers but also played a couple of downs.
Sophomore Noah Morey runs for the game’s first touchdown as Freshman Cyrus Artz goes for the flag.
Women’s Volleyball team: (l to r) Back row: Coach Angela Snyder, Elli Ampi, Clare Accettullo, Cara Whitaker, Katie Burr; Front row: Grace Pregent and Elizabeth McShurley. (Becca Harris missing)
Freshman Courtney Nelson helped the Lady Crusaders end their season with a 10-2 record.
Junior Denny Pregent goes up for the header in the Crusaders win over Patrick Henry College.
Freshman Hilary Schafer breezes past a defender to score the winning goal.
Women’sCrusaders:(ltor)Back:CoachMikeMiller, AnneKulick,CourtneyNelson,VeronicaMiller,Therese Oligny, Kak Freeman, Hilary Schafer, Ky Leopold, Kristin Elliot, Caitrie Santicola, Kaylie Miller;Front:Fr. James O’Kielty, Elizabeth Wright, Mairin Vieira, Emily Mersch, Traci Heuser, & Colleen Mead.
Freshman Jackson Kulick uses some fancy footwork to get by a defender.
Men’s Crusaders: (l to r) Back : Denny Pregent, Adam McSheffrey, Rob Mack, Ben Ferri, Mike Freeman, Peter Kromhout, John Archer, Mitch Benes, Michael Collins, Joe Hambleton, Thomas Francis, Trevor Karas, Matt Hadro, Tony Klosterman, Tyler McAtee, Coach Tom VanderWoude; Front: Fr. James O’Kielty, Jake Minick, KC Dufrain, Nick Oligny, Francis Feingold, John English, Noah Morey, Chris Pelczar, Peter McGuire, Jackson Kulick, & Francis O’Reilly.