Instaurare | Spring 2011

The Christendom College Quarterly Magazine

Spring 2011

Summer’s Coming!

Inside this issue...

Cardinal Arinze to Teach Class this Summer - pg 5

Summer Conference to Focus on Bioethics - pg 7

Breathing Catholic at March for Life - pg 8

Lady Crusaders Record Historic Year - pg 14

From the President Dies Domini: Christendom College and the Importance of Sunday One of the things I believe is a strong obligation for me as president is to keep us all focused on our common mission.

This past August, I reflected with you on part of that mission which focused on the education of the whole person for a life spent in the pursuit of truth and wisdom. This semester, I would like to reflect upon the last part of that mission statement, which reads: “The particular mission of Christendom College, both at the undergraduate and graduate levels, is ‘to restore all things in Christ’ by forming men and women to contribute to the Christian renovation of the temporal order. This mission gives Christendom College its name.” You know that our college motto, which is traced back originally to St. Paul, was also the motto of Pope St. Pius X. In a conversation that the Holy Pontiff had with a group of cardinals, he asked, “What is the thing we most need today to save society?” One cardinal said, build Catholic schools! No, responded the Pontiff. Build more churches, suggested another. Once again, shaking his head, he said no. A third said, speed up the recruiting of priests. “No no,” replied St. Pius X. “The most necessary thing of all at this time is for every parish to possess a group of laymen who will be at the same time virtuous, enlightened, resolute, and truly apostolic.”

Another great pontiff of this 20th century was Pope Pius XI. In his encyclical, Quas Primas, in which he established our patronal feast of Christ the King, he, too, addressed the laity. After speaking of Christ’s kingship, he wrote, “The faithful, moreover, by meditating upon these truths, will gain much strength and courage, enabling them to form their lives after the true Christian ideal. If to Christ our Lord is given all power in heaven and on earth; if all men, purchased by his precious blood, are by a new right subjected to his dominion; if this power embraces all men, it must be clear that not one of our faculties is exempt from his empire. He must reign in our minds…. He must reign in our wills…. He must reign in our hearts…. He must reign in our bodies and in our members, which should serve as instruments for the interior sanctification of our souls….” (Pius XI, Quas Primas, 33) Let us also recall the words of Pope John Paul the Great: “We are called to the high standard of ordinary Christian living.” To assist in this effort, I would like to share some reflections with you about the Mass, particularly Sunday Mass. I believe that sometimes we forget that we are engaged in a great war, and that to be a Christian is to be a soldier. As Christians, we are engaged in spiritual combat. We are members of the Church Militant, fighting against the world, the flesh, and the devil. Right now, we are engaged in a war for the soul and the destiny of our country, culture, and our very civilization, and every one of us here at Christendom College has a role to play. No one should be sitting on the sidelines.

As Catholic Christians, developing a deeper appreciation of the Lord’s Day is important for all of us. John Paul II’s apostolic letter, Dies Domini, played an important part in awakening my understanding of

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Timothy T. O’Donnell, STD, KGCHS

the imortance of Sunday. In his letter, the late Holy Father spoke of the importance of Sunday and of keeping the Lord’s Day as vital and central to the vita Christiana. This is an essential part in the cultural war in which we are engaged, especially here at Christendom College, where we seek to restore all things in Christ.

The Pope taught that Sunday takes us to “the core of the Christian mystery.” It points to “the fulcrum of history,” which is Jesus Christ.

As St. Jerome stated, “Sunday is the day of the resurrection. It is the day of Christians. It is our day!” The Pope wrote that Christians in the new millennium must “rediscover this with new intensity.” The key problem is that the custom of “the weekend” has begun to dominate our culture. Now, the notion of the weekend is not all bad. The pontiff writes, “Unfortunately, when Sunday loses its fundamental meaning and becomes merely part of a ‘weekend’, it can happen that people stay locked within a horizon so limited that they can no longer see ‘the heavens’. Hence, though ready to celebrate, they are really incapable of doing so.”

He goes on to call it, “an indispensable day” and continues, “It is clear then why, even in our own difficult times, the identity of this day must be protected and above all must be lived in all its depth.”

This is to be done as a proclamation and testimony to our society and our culture. Both Pope John Paul and Pope Benedict have recalled the martyrs of Abtina, in proconsular Africa, now modern-day Tunisia. John Paul used the example of these martyrs as evidence of the world’s hostility to the keeping of Sunday, but we must remember this type of persecution is not just in the past. The world may forget, but let us not forget what recently transpired in Baghdad, where 58 Catholics were gunned down during Mass on November 1, 2010.

I share this with you so that all of us can draw strength and think together how in our families, our home, and in our community here, we can reclaim this day, not forget the witness of these martyrs, and give this day back to Him. Pope John Paul ends his apostolic letter asking us “to ensure that the value of this sacred day is understood and lived ever more deeply. This will bear rich fruit in Christian communities, and will not fail to have a positive influence on civil society as a whole.” This is why I believe this to be an important part of our mission in witnessing to society. How many times have we had visitors come for Sunday Mass who leave in tears, so profoundly moved by the beauty, reverence, and the solemnity of the sacred liturgy?

On this one day, His day, let us all continue to come together and form one body to offer praise and thanksgiving in a more solemn way.

The soon-to-be beatified John Paul reminds us, “Do not be afraid to give your time to Christ! Yes, let us open our time to Christ, that He may cast light upon it and give it direction. He is the One who knows the secret of time and the secret of eternity, and He gives us ‘his day’ as an ever new gift of His love.” As the window in our chapel beckons, Sunday is the gift of His love, it is the gift of His Heart, and He asks us to give our hearts in return.

President O’Donnell delivered this address to the Christendom College community at the beginning of the Spring semester.

Cover Story

College Announces Record Number of Summer Programs on Campus this Year

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Christendom’s Front Royal campus will be very busy during the summer of 2011. The College has plans to hold four one-week “Experience Christendom” Summer Programs, one one-week Latin Immersion Program,

be a life-changing experience, as it has been in the past for so many former participants.

Each summer, Christendom welcomes many students to campus who, at first, are a little unsure of what to expect from a summer program that is advertised as a type of “Catholic immersion program.” Some students are afraid that there will be a bunch of “religious fanatics” on campus and others think that the place will be full of nerds. Some think that it will be just like going to school in the summer while others believe that it will be “mind-crushingly boring.”

High school students from around the country will take part in a But, according to Admissions variety of summer programs on Christendom’s campus.

Director Tom McFadden, “all one six-week Graduate School Summer Pro- of the students have an amazing time.” gram, two two-week Vita Consecrata Institute Programs, and one one-day Summer “At the end of each session, I ask the students Institute Conference on Catholic bioethics. to fill out a survey, and about 90% of the parAs an added feature, Francis Cardinal Arinze ticipants rate the program 5 out of 5, while will be teaching a course for the Graduate the other 10% give it a 4 out of 5 grade,” says School and taking part in the Catholic bio- McFadden. “All of the participants agreed ethics conference. that the program was better than they expected it to be, and quite a few say it was the The four one-week “Experience Christen- best week of their lives.” dom” Summer Programs will be held for rising high school seniors from June 11-18, In the morning, participants take classes June 19-26, July 2-9, and July 10-17. Each of taught by Christendom faculty members, these four sessions costs $500 and is sure to and then attend Mass. After lunch, they have the opportunity to take a Scripture study class taught by College President Dr. Timothy O’Donnell.

In the afternoon, the students have some down time where they play some sports, go on a hike to Skyline Drive, or go off a rope swing into the glorious Shenandoah River. And in the evenings, students take part in Summer program participants often take advantage of the College’s a variety of entertaining activiproximate location to the Shenandoah River. ties, such as a swing dance, an

Irish barn dance at the President’s home, a home-cooked steak dinner by the Admissions Director, a talent show, and other fun events. All in all, it often ends up being one of the best weeks of the particiants’ lives.

“People are constantly surprised that a oneweek program can change their lives,” says McFadden, “but it really can – just ask any of this past summer’s participants!”

“Before coming to Christendom I heard the interviews online and my mom told me how tons of kids said their lives were changed by the program and it was the best experience of their lives,” says high school junior Micah Davis from San Antonio, TX. “I thought that these kids were crazy and just needed

A very close friend to the College, Francis Cardinal Arinze will teach at the Graduate School and take part in the Summer Institute. to get some actual friends. After about the second day at camp, I realized I was just like every other kid who came to the camp. I met friends and after only a few days it seemed I had known them my whole life. My week at Christendom was the best week of my life and I most definitely want to spend my college education at Christendom breathing in a Catholic atmosphere.”

Many of the participants are given financial

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aid to attend the program, made available through the donations of a number of Christendom’s loyal benefactors. Anyone interested in financially supporting these programs may contact the Admissions Office.

This year’s Latin Immersion Program is being totally re-vamped from past years and will be structured similar to the “Experience Christendom” Summer Programs. Students will spend close to three hours a day immersed in speaking Latin as a living language. The afternoons and evenings will be filled with recreational and social activities to give participants a feel for what life would be like at Christendom College. The one-week program will be held July 17-24 and will cost $895.

“The ability to come together with a bunch of Latin speakers in one place is something you don’t expect to find in 21st century America,” comments a past Latin program participant from California. “It was an experience that not only improved our Latin, but also built new relationships, strengthened our faith, and increased our knowledge.”

Students are taught by today’s leaders in Latin immersion: Christendom College Classics Professor Dr. Mark Clark; Latin Immersion Instructor for 15 years from Sweden Jim Dobreff; and Dr. David Morgan of Furman University, whose Morgan Lexicon is well known to all those wishing to achieve fluency in Latin.

Christendom’s Graduate School’s six-week summer session begins June 20 and ends with graduation on July 30, and the Vita Consecrata Institute (VCI) will be held in two sessions: June 27 - July 8 and July 11- July 22.

His Eminence Francis Cardinal Arinze will be a guest lecturer for one of the courses. [See article on page 5 for more information.]

Christendom’s ever-popular, one-day Summer Institute will be held on Saturday, July 9, and will focus on the topic of bioethics. Francis Cardinal Arinze, Bishop Robert Morlino, Dr. Janet Smith, Dr. Marilyn Coors, Dr. John Bruchalski, and Fr. Tad Pacholczyk will join Christendom College President Dr. Timothy O’Donnell as he emcees the event. Topics to be covered include contraception, end-of-life decisions, cloning, embryonic stem cell research, and the anthropological foundations for Catholic bioethics. [See article on page 7 for more information.]

More information on all of these exciting programs may be found at christendom.edu.

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World-Renowned Thomist Talks on Aquinas

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Renowned Dominican priest and Thomistic philosopher, Reverend Lawrence Dewan, OP, delivered a lecture entitled, Being a Disciple of St. Thomas Aquinas in the Pursuit of Wisdom, as the keynote speaker at Christendom College’s annual St. Thomas Aquinas Lecture on January 28.

“We humans will find ultimate satisfaction—happiness—only through intellectual appreciation of reality—knowing ‘what it’s all about,’” Fr. Dewan told students and faculty. “Do we see ourselves as engaged in ‘the pursuit of wisdom?’”

Dominican priest, author, and philosopher Reverend Lawrence Dewan, OP, was the keynote speaker at the annual St. Thomas Fr. Dewan explained that in “the Aquinas Lecture on January 28. pursuit of wisdom” one should be an apprentice to a particular philosopher. “I ish Philosopher Moses Mamaonidies are am an apprentice of St. Thomas Aquinas,” he in accord with Thomas on the difficulty of metaphysical knowledge or the philosophical said. knowledge that attains to some truths about A member of the Pontifical Academy of St. God. Thomas Aquinas, Rome, Fr. Dewan studied philosophy at the University of Toronto, as “It is the knowledge that is most difficult for well as the University of Paris. He has taught the human being. It is ‘divine’ knowledge, at the University of Ottawa, Saint Mary’s because God alone can have it, says Aristotle, University, the University of Toronto, Uni- or God above all others,” he said. versité Laval of Québec, and the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. Fr. Dewan explained that Thomas speaks of He is author of three books: Form and Being: a spontaneous, natural reasoning to the exStudies in Thomistic Metaphysics, St. Thomas istence of God, something that any human and Form as Something Divine in Things, and being can be expected to have concluded, but Wisdom, Law, and Virtue: Essays in Thomistic Thomas finds that the reasoning alone is not enough.

Ethics.

In his lecture, Fr. Dewan noted that while St. Thomas wrote extensively on metaphysical topics and the great truths that one can come to through reason, one should never diminish the importance of faith.

“In our rather secularist culture, our rationalist culture, we are likely to see our faith as bearing solely upon those things that transcend reason, and see the very existence of God as readily available to what we might call ‘our natural selves,’” he said. “Thomas explicitly speaks of the need to believe by supernatural faith the truth that God exists—this is the case until one truly understands the power of the philosophical demonstration.”

Fr. Dewan said that Aristotle and the Jew-

“This sort of knowledge of a God [is] too easily confused or overturned. Even as to God’s very existence—besides the many odd conceptions of God’s nature that often appear at this level of human awareness,” he said.

“What the faith provides is the certainty of the existence and of the goodness of God.” A reception was held following the talk where students and faculty enjoyed discussing the topic further with Fr. Dewan.

Throughout the year, Christendom College hosts many notable speakers, providing its students with exposure to some of the great Catholic thinkers of today. This lecture can be downloaded at Christendom on iTunes U, christendom.edu/itunesu.

Cardinal Arinze to Teach at Graduate School Summer Program

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Francis Cardinal Arinze, Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, will be coteaching a course entitled “Liturgy and the Consecrated Life” this summer at Christendom. The course is part of the Vita Consecrata Institute (VCI) and the Christendom Graduate School Summer Program. Cardinal Arinze will be delivering lectures on Monday and Tuesday, July 11 and 12, and then regular VCI professor, Father Norbert Wood, OPraem, will continue the rest of the course.

“We are especially thrilled that the Cardinal will be staying on campus, eating with the graduate students and faculty, and taking part in the discussions and community life of the graduate school,” said Dr. Kristin Burns, Dean of the Graduate School.

Cardinal Arinze is no stranger to Christendom.

He has been to campus numerous times, and he even considers himself an alumnus of Christendom due to having received an Honorary Doctorate from Christendom in 2004.

The Christendom Graduate School Summer Program is a 6-week residential semester held every summer at Christendom’s Front Royal campus. Students who live outside the northern Virginia area come for four consecutive summers to earn a master’s degree in theological studies. Usually about thirty students, both religious and lay, live on campus and take courses full-time, in addition to several dozen commuters and part-time students. This summer most students will take “God the Father” and “Philosophy of God and Man,” and either “Apologetics,” “Church History,” or “Theological Anthropology,” depending on their concentration. Elective courses shall include “Theology of the Body” and “Culture of the Renaissance.” The Program runs from June 20 – July 30.

Christian, academic community: freed of most daily responsibilities and work, they can concentrate on their studies, pursuing their interests, sharing ideas, praying, and playing together.”

course on “Spirituality of the Consecrated Life,” taught by Thomist scholar and VCI regular Father Brian Mullady, OP, Father Anzelm Szuromi, OPraem, a renowned canonist and theologian who is the President of the Institute of Canon Law at the Pázmány Péter Catholic University in Budapest, will teach

The Vita Consecrata Institute is a fourweek summer program of theological studies and spiritual renewal for religious, priests, seminarians, and other consecrated persons.

It takes place during the Graduate School Summer program and is co-sponsored by the Institute on Religious Life. Students may attend both or either of the two-week sessions, and they may either take the courses for credit towards an MA degree, or Francis Cardinal Arinze with Board members Gene Zurlo and Donna audit the courses for per- Bethell at a recent event on campus. Cardinal Arinze considers himself to be an alumnus since he received an Honorary Doctorate in 2004. sonal enrichment. Some religious orders send their members to the “The Consecrated Life in the Code of Canon VCI for ongoing formation, as a preparation Law.” Christendom President Dr. Timothy for final vows, or for a period of intellectual O’Donnell will co-teach “Theology of the and spiritual refreshment. Christendom of- Sacred Heart and Consecrated Life” with Fr. fers an MA concentration in the Theology of James Kubicki, SJ, the Director of the Aposthe Consecrated Life, so participants who at- tleship of Prayer. tend the VCI for four summers may earn this specialized degree, perhaps in preparation for The Christendom Graduate Summer Program taking on leadership or formation roles in and the VCI are more than just classes, howtheir own religious communities. ever. Daily Mass, the Divine Office, an evening holy hour with Adoration, and frequent “We love having the religious on campus Confession all contribute to an experience that during the summers,” said Burns. “Their joy- is spiritually renewing while also academically ful presence contributes so much to the at- edifying. There are also multiple opportunimosphere of the summer program.” ties for recreation, from day pilgrimages and special lectures to canoeing and kayaking on Besides the course on liturgy that Cardinal the Shenandoah River. For more information Arinze is co-teaching with Father Norbert, about the Summer Program or the VCI, visit this summer’s VCI program also includes a www.christendom.edu/grad/resid.shtml.

The Summer Program students vary greatly in their ages and backgrounds, but they become fast friends and love their summers together. Many of them claim that this is the best part of their year, and that all the rest of the year they look forward to coming back each summer.

“They compare it to summer camp for grown-ups, only better!” said Burns. “It’s actually a perfect example of a truly leisurely,

The Vita Consecrata Institute (VCI) Group from the Summer of 2010.

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Alumnus Appointed CEO of Catholic Charities in Colorado Springs

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Christendom College Alumnus Mark Rohlena has been appointed the new President and CEO of Catholic Charities of Colorado Springs. He began this new leadership role on February 1, 2011.

“We are thrilled to have someone of this caliber, background, and proven passion for the missions of Catholic Charities, and we are looking forward to working with him. Catholic Charities is in a good place and Mark will help bring it to the next level,” says Betsy Sobral, Board Chair of Catholic Charities of Colorado Springs.

Rohlena, a member of Christendom’s class of 2000, has been serving as the Senior Ethics & Conflicts Attorney for Holland & Hart in Denver, the largest law firm in the Rocky Mountain region. A graduate of the Ave Maria School of Law, he is a member of the

Colorado Bar Association, the Denver Bar Association, and Colorado Bar Association Ethics Committee as well as board member of the National Lawyers Association and the St. Thomas More Society of Colorado.

increased. My understanding of the bigger picture deepened, and the need to continually prioritize and order things in my life developed. I left Christendom with a rich and abiding sense of moral and ethical issues.”

While at Christendom, Rohlena double-majored in History and Political Science/Economics. Rohlena describes the education he received at Christendom as “remarkable.”

Rohlena says that he is thankful for the skills he gained at Christendom and sees his Alma Mater as an essential first step to the success he has found as a lawyer and, now, as CEO of Catholic Charities.

“Christendom helps sharpen analytical skills, while immersing you in an amazing Catholic environment unlike that at most other schools in the country,” he says. “The goal of Christendom’s curriculum is the development of the entire person. My reasoning skills were honed. My ability to problemsolve and sift through dense material to get that important information had greatly

Thomas S. Vander Woude Memorial Golf Tournament Join Christendom College’s Friends, Faculty, Staff, and Alumni as they take part in the 2nd Annual Golf Tournament to benefit the Thomas S. Vander Woude Memorial Scholar-Athlete Scholarship Fund.

Save the Date: October 7, 2011 Blue Ridge Shadows Golf Club, Front Royal, Virginia “#4 Best Courses You Can Play” - 2010 Golfweek Magazine • Directly funds scholarships to assist student-athlete leaders in attending Christendom College • East vs West Alumni Challenge • Contests and Prizes • Buffet luncheon and Awards Ceremony • Kickoff Homecoming Weekend (October 7-9)

• For more information or to register, please go to www.christendom.edu/golftournament 6

Prior to his appointment as CEO, Rohlena volunteered with Catholic Charities in Denver for several years, staffing a monthly legal aid program and assisting with periodic material needs drives.

“I am truly humbled by this incredible opportunity to serve those most in need in our community. I have felt a strong call to participate in this vital work over the last several years, and my family and I are excited about beginning this new chapter in our lives,” he says.

Please Take the Survey!

As part of Christendom College’s strategic planning process, the College has developed a number of crucial strategic vision statements to help improve its offerings and services.

One of the strategic vision statements is that the College will offer its students a wide variety of diverse activities and opportunities to ensure their understanding of today’s society and thereby become effective lay apostles.

The ad hoc committee responsible for achieving this goal, the “Engaging the Culture” Committee, is studying how well Christendom does in achieving this goal. Made up of college faculty, administration, and staff, the committee is looking at non-academic aspects of college life, seeking ways in which the students’ experience can be improved so that they are socially better prepared for evangelization.

A major part of this study is a survey which all students, alumni, parents, supporters, and friends of the College are encouraged to take.

All Instaurare readers are welcome to take this survey on this important matter. Please go to surveymonkey.com/s/ChristendomCulture and take the survey. It only takes a few minutes, and it will help Christendom College better fulfill its mission.

College’s Annual Summer Institute to Focus on Catholic Bioethics

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Christendom will host a one-day conference on Catholic Bioethics on Saturday, July 9, 2011, on its Front Royal, VA, campus. With College President Timothy O’Donnell as emcee, the conference will feature world-renowned theologians Francis Cardinal Arinze, Dr. Janet Smith, Dr. Marilyn Coors, Fr. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, and Bishop Robert Morlino, with Dr. John Bruchalski hosting a Q&A session at the end.

Francis Cardinal Arinze is Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation of Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. He has served on the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and Committee of the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000. He is a long time defender of the family and outspoken opponent of contraception, abortion, and euthanasia, as well as a frequent guest on Christendom’s campus.

He will speak on “Who is Man? The anthropological foundation for Catholic Bioethics,” and be the main celebrant and homilist at the mid-day Mass.

Bishop Robert Morlino is the Bishop of Madison, WI. He holds a BA in Philosophy from Fordham University, an MA in Philosophy from the University of Notre Dame, an MDiv Degree from the Weston School of Theology in Cambridge, MA, and an STD in Moral Theology from the Gregorian University in Rome, with specialization in fundamental moral theology and bioethics. Bishop Morlino has served as chairman of two committees within the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) – the Bishops’ Committee on the Diaconate, and the Ad Hoc Committee on Health Care Issues and the Church. Since 2005, Bishop Morlino has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of The National Catholic Bioethics Center

(NCBC) which conducts research, consultation, publishing and education to promote human dignity in health care and the life sciences. He will speak on natural law and its role in end-of-life decisions.

Dr. Marilyn Coors is an Associate Professor of Bioethics and Genetics at the University of Colorado’s Center for Bioethics and Humanities. She holds an MA in Religion and Ethics and a PhD in Ethics from the University of Denver. She is a member of the National Catholic Bioethics Center Board of Trustees and is a member of the National Advisory Council for the Human Genome Research Institute.

Her focus of research is on the ethical implications of genetic research and genetic medicine. Dr. Coors will speak on the moral and ethical implications of human cloning.

Dr. Janet Smith holds the Father Michael J. McGivney Chair of Life Ethics at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit. She is the author of Humanae Vitae: A Generation Later, and editor of Why Humanae Vitae Was Right: A Reader. She is a Consultor to the Pontifical Council on the Family and has appeared on the Geraldo show, Fox Morning News, CNN, and EWTN. Her talk will focus on contraception.

Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk is a priest of the diocese of Fall River, MA. He is Director of Education for The National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia and directs the Center’s National Catholic Certification Program in Health Care Ethics. As an undergraduate, he earned degrees in philosophy, biochemistry, molecular cell biology, and chemistry.

He later earned a PhD in Neuroscience from Yale University, where he focused on cloning genes for neurotransmitter transporters which are expressed in the brain. He worked for several years as a molecular biologist at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School. Fr. Pacholczyk studied for 5 years in Rome where he did advanced work in dogmatic theology and in bioethics, examining the question of delayed ensoulment of the human embryo. He has testified before members of the Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Virginia, and North Carolina State Legislatures during deliberations over stem cell research and cloning. He has given presentations and participated in round tables on contemporary bioethics throughout the US, Canada, and in Europe. He has done numerous media commentaries, including appearances on CNN International, ABC World News Tonight, and National Public Radio.

He will give a presentation on embryonic stem cell research.

Those interested in taking advantage of “earlybird” discounted rates and saving $15 per person may register online prior to June 1. Also, students, Christendom alumni, DREs, priests, and religious will receive special discounts. An informational brochure, complete with a registration form, can be found in the center of this Instaurare magazine or one may register online at christendom.edu/news/summerinst.shtml.

INSTAURARE

Volume XIX, Number I - Spring 2011 Published quarterly by the Christendom College Admissions & Marketing Office.

Executive Editor: Tom McFadden Contributing Editor: Niall O’Donnell Copy Editor: Torey Cervantes Christendom College 134 Christendom Drive, Front Royal, VA 22630 800.877.5456 ~ www.christendom.edu Copyright © 2011. 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 magazine of Christendom College (www.christendom.edu).” SUBSCRIPTION FREE UPON REQUEST.

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Entire Student Body Protests Abortion at Annual March for Life in DC

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It’s not every college in America that cancels classes for the annual March for Life in DC. In fact, Christendom is one of only a handful to do so each year, and this year was no different.

The College cancelled classes and provided transportation for its entire student body to attend the 38th Annual March for Life, held

Students began the day with Mass and prayed the four different mysteries of the rosary en route to and during the March—making the event a time for both political and spiritual action.

“Bringing the culture of life back to our society is part of the College’s mission and what we are all trying to do in restoring all things in Christ.”

“One thing that struck me was the difference between the pro-abortion protesters chanting ‘keep abortion legal’ in front of the Supreme Court and the pro-lifers praying the rosary across the street—you could really feel the power of prayer battling against the devil,” Junior Andie Smith said.

Nussio was impressed by the number of prolifers who attended.

The College’s Student Activities Council charted eight buses to bring over 400 people to the March this year. In 1984, 1998, and Former US Senator, and possible 2012 Presidential candidate Rick Santorum with 2009, the Cola contingent of Christendom’s student body at the March for Life. lege was given on January 24 in Washington, DC. Since its the honor of leading the March for Life carfounding in 1977, Christendom College’s rying the lead banner and flags. administration has encouraged its students, faculty, and staff to attend the annual pro-life “I love the fact that all of Christendom goes event in the Nation’s Capital. to the March,” Junior Christine Nussio said.

“I am blown away by the numbers—and some of them come from very far away to spend one day showing the nation where they stand on issues of life,” she said.

The numbers also amazed Sophomore Jacinta Ferri. “It seemed like a larger crowd than last year—it was really exciting,” she said.

A native of Canada, Ferri said that before coming to Christendom, she attended the March for Life in Ottawa where the crowd is not as large. “Being in the larger crowd gets you more pumped-up for the cause,” she said.

“It’s really reassuring to see so many people.”

Christendom College students are active in pro-life efforts throughout the year as well, most notably each Saturday morning when many of them travel to Washington, DC, to protest outside a Planned Parenthood clinic.

Other students take part in pro-life activism through the Students for Life group, while others help out with the College’s outreach program and work with the local crisis pregnancy center.

Modern Science and Philosophy of St. Thomas Meet at Christendom

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During the spring semester, the department of Mathematics and Natural Science is offering an elective on the “Philosophical Issues of Modern Science.” The course is designed to introduce the students to issues relat-

ing to the nature of reality and of man that have arisen out of the modern Theories of Relativity, Cosmology, Mathematics, and Quantum Mechanics. An emphasis is made on showing how the discoveries of Modern Physics and Mathematics are more compatible with the philosophy of St. Thomas and the teachings of the Judeo-Christian religion about the nature of man and the universe than with an atheistic world view.

“It is important for our students to see the timelessness of the questions addressed by Aristotle and St. Thomas and how they are couched in the language of modern science” said Dr. Greg Townsend, Professor of Mathematics and Natural Science.

“Such modern ideas as the Big Bang gives Dr. Greg Townsend is the Chairman of Christendom’s rise to the perennial question of whether the Universe had a beginning; the AnMath and Science Department.

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thropic Principle gives a modern veneer to the argument from design; Godel’s Theorems in Mathematics lead to a new perspective in considering the nature of the human mind; and finally the Theory of Quantum Mechanics raises familiar questions about the nature of reality and of the human mind.”

This is the third time this course has been offered, and the enrollment has steadily increased each time. “It is a wonderful opportunity for our Juniors and Seniors to be exposed to the ideas that are commonly found in our culture and see that they relate to the material they study here at Christendom College. Most of the material can be introduced with little mathematical overhead and the popular works of many of the originators of the ideas, such as Einstein and Heisenbeg, can be easily read by the nonspecialist,” said Townsend.

Alumni Help Create “Little Christendoms” Through Teaching

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Christendom offers 6 undergraduate degrees, none of which is a degree in education. Yet, over the past 34 years, a multitude of graduates have entered the field of education – at the primary, secondary, and college levels, teaching everything from religious education to history, math and science to physical education, philosophy to catechetics, and everything in between.

it as a vocation. Because a liberal arts education is an education for life, it keeps me from seeing my job as only a job—it truly is a calling,” she says.

Inspired by the professors that she had at Christendom, Boyle attributes to them her ability to interact well with her students and colleagues.

education daily, not only in what he teaches, but how he handles any challenges that he may face. “The philosophy classes [at Christendom] helped me to think through any problem from start to finish—an invaluable resource when trying to help young minds grasp a new concept.”

He believes his Christendom education gave him an advantage in his teaching career. “A specialized degree in teaching would focus mainly on the ‘methods’ of teaching, rather than on the subject matter itself,” he says.

“The liberal arts degree not only imparts the academic knowledge, but also the ability to think and to see a thing as a whole rather than as fraction of itself.”

“The model of professionThe ability to be a good alism, piety, and wisdom teacher and to effectively that Christendom profeshold an audience is oftensors set for their students times something that is inhas proved invaluable to herited and based on one’s me,” she says. “Also, the personality and character. spirit and enthusiasm with Alumnus Frank Nicely could not agree But good teachers can Emma Boyle teaches high school history. which the Faith is lived on more. “An experienced mind—with all the also become better teachers through a well- campus has definitely stayed with me—you intellectual disciplines in a liberal arts prorounded education in the liberal arts, par- cannot spend four years in that environment gram—is essential for academic leadership, ticularly, through a Christendom liberal arts and not come away without lofty ambitions which requires seeing everything at once,” degree where an emphasis is not simply on to evangelize.” he says. Nicely graduated the training of the mind, but the forming of in 1986 with a BA in Thethe whole person.

Alumnus Victor Alcanology and is currently the tara was also inspired to principal of St. William of For those students who are interested in the evangelize. A native of York Catholic School in field of education, Christendom offers a Hollywood, CA, AlcanStafford, VA. Teacher Formation Program, through which tara graduated with a BA students are given real-life classroom experi- in Theology in 2005, and Nicely says that his Chrisence, as well as the opportunity to shadow then earned his MA in tendom education defines veteran teachers at the high school and el- Theological Studies from his standards for student ementary levels. This opportunity often aids Christendom’s Graduate academic and spiritual Christendom graduates in their pursuit of School in 2010. He is curformation, as well as his employment upon graduation. rently a teacher and the covision of Catholic culture. ordinator for religious eduHe seeks to give students “Teaching is a natural fit for a Christendom cation at St. Louis Catholic a Catholic perspective of grad,” Emma Boyle says. “As students, we School in Alexandria, VA. Vic Alcantara is a Catholic school teacher. history, a solid foundation were constantly impressed with the responin Church doctrine, and a vision of the lisibility to share what we have been blessed to While in college, Alcantara took some time turgical calendar as the backbone of Catholic receive.” off and spent time with a culture and festivity. religious community, the A 2009 graduate, Boyle Oblate Apostles of the Two “Simplifying things for kids shouldn’t is a history teacher at Hearts, whose focus was mean watering down our rich heritage,” Pope John Paul the Great the Catholic education of he says.

Catholic High School in families. There, he was inDumfries, VA, a Nashville spired to pass his learning Boyle is doing the same thing at John Paul Dominican school. Origion to others. He says that the Great. “I strive to bring the Christocennally from Gibsonia, PA, this desire to educate was tric view of history to each class,” she says, Boyle majored in History “reinforced by the doc- “and this is absolutely thanks to the profesand minored in English trinal and moral learning sors and classes at Christendom.” while at Christendom. imparted at Christendom, where Christ was not only “I sometimes think all of us Christendom “My liberal arts degree has taught, but lived.” alumni are called to set up a ‘little Christenshaped the way I view my dom’ wherever God plants us,” Nicely concareer,” Boyle says. “I view Frank Nicely is a school principal.

He uses his Christendom cludes.

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Where in the World is Tim Flagg? “Hello Pittsburgh!”

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Major Gift Officer Tim Flagg’s cross-country journey to meet with Christendom College’s most generous donors most recently continued in Pennsylvania, Florida, and Maryland.

“Every visit continues to amaze me with the generosity of Christendom’s donors and their commitment to the College’s mission,” says Flagg.

For example, on a recent visit to the Pittsburgh area, Flagg met with donors Ron and Barbara Kimmich.

“I was astounded to learn that Ron and Barbara have been devoted supporters of Christendom College for 28 years!” says Flagg. “Ron and Barbara were first attracted to Christendom when they saw so many other Catholic colleges and universities discarding their Catholic heritage. They believed Christendom to be a college

that had its priorities straight.”

After 28 years, that enthusiasm has not waned. The Kimmiches, who have 6 children and 26 grandchildren, see their financial support to Christendom as an investment in students who are serving as essential and well-equipped defenders of the Catholic faith.

“It’s imperative that today’s students learn how to present the Truth to the world and be Major Gift Officer Tim Flagg (l) with loyal benefactors Barbara and able to defend it in whatever Ron Kimmich in Pittsburgh. career they find themselves.” to join them. Flagg’s travels in the next few Christendom gives thanks for Ron and Bar- months will take him to New York and Kenbara Kimmich’s support of the College’s mis- tucky. Please contact him at 540-874-4960 sion and encourages all Instaurare readers if you would like to meet with him.

At Rome Campus, Weigel Discusses Achievements of Pope John Paul II

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Acclaimed author and speaker, George Weigel, delivered a lecture to students and faculty at Christendom’s Rome campus on March 7.

The lecture, entitled “The Achievements of Blessed John Paul II,” was held in the Rome campus’ academic center, Istituto Maria Santissima Bambina, located directly next to the Vatican.

Weigel discussed the Pope’s constant battle with communism, beginning in his homeland of Poland with his ordination to the priesthood, and continuing throughout his entire life.

Weigel also detailed the tumultuous last years of John Paul’s life. He spoke about the fact that the Holy Father “We are delighted to have had George was living with Parkinson’s disease, Weigel with us in Rome,” College Presi- while at the same time, having to govdent Dr. Timothy O’Donnell said. “Along ern and lead the Church in the events with the rest of the world, we look for- following the September 11 terrorward to the beatification of Pope John ist attacks in the US, and revelations Students participating in Christendom’s Rome program go to Paul II. This talk definitely helped our about corruption within the Church classes in a building with a balcony overlooking St. Peter’s. students enter into this great moment in herself. Weigel concluded with a Beginning. He is a frequent guest on teleprobing and comprehensive assessment of a vision and radio and is the Vatican analyst the Church.” man who lived his life as a witness for NBC News. His weekly column, “The to hope in service to the ideals he Catholic Difference,” is syndicated to sixty embraced. newspapers around the United States. His scholarly work and his journalism are reguGeorge Weigel, a Distinguished larly translated into the major European Senior Fellow of the Ethics and languages. Weigel is a long time friend of Public Policy Center, is a Catholic Christendom College and a member of its theologian and one of America’s Advisory Board. leading public intellectuals. Weigel is the author of over twenty “Christendom College is one of the best books, including Letters to a Young liberal arts colleges in America,” Weigel reCatholic, The Cube and the Cathe- cently wrote. “Its commitment to providdral: Europe, America, and Politics ing its students with an integrated, rigorous Without God, Witness to Hope: core curriculum, combined with a vibrant The Biography of Pope John Paul Catholic atmosphere that permeates every Good friend of the College, George Weigel, gave a talk on Pope II, and his most recent work on aspect of the college experience, marks it as John Paul II at Christendom’s Rome campus on March 7.

Pope John Paul II, The End and the a distinctive and precious resource.”

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Donor Generosity Signals Annual Fund Turnaround

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Christendom College is on track to surpass its Annual Fund goal. As Instaurare went to press, current donations approached $1,600,000 or 80% of this year’s $2 million goal. The generosity of the College’s loyal and committed benefactors spells good news for another record class of freshmen as the Col-

Please make your gift today!

Your gifts to Christendom College change students’ lives. Especially in these challenging economic times, your gifts afford students the opportunity to receive one of the finest and most rigorous Catholic educations available anywhere. Whether your gift is large or small, it has an impact—at the College, in the Church and on our beloved nation—that far exceeds the actual dollar amount.

There is no better time than today to make your first gift to Christendom College.

lege works to provide the students with financial aid, teaching, and student culture.

The Annual Fund exists to fill the gap between tuition revenues and the real cost of operating Christendom College. Because Christendom remains one of only four accredited private Colleges nationwide which does not accept any federal funds, the College relies exclusively on the Cathy O’Donnell, VP for Advancement John Ciskanik, longtime generosity of friends and benefac- Annual Fund Donor Martin Smith, Maggie Ciskanik, and Dr. tors to fill the gap.

Timothy O’Donnell recently had dinner together in Florida.

“The Annual Fund is truly the lifeblood of Christendom College, supporting everything from financial aid to the preservation of this beautiful campus and its facilities,” says College President Dr. Timothy O’Donnell. “It supports the entire experience at the College.”

During the down economy over the last two years, the College continued stringent financial controls. Yet, despite continued generosity, the higher Annual Fund goals required to meet the needs of the growing student body were not met. The progress towards this fiscal year’s goal

represents a strong rebound and will allow the College to replenish its “rainy day” funds.

Donor support through the remainder of the fiscal year is critical to continue the momentum of this year’s Annual Fund drive.

“The Fund’s success so far is a remarkable opportunity for the College to move forward and meet the needs of another anticipated record year,” says Vice President of Advancement John Ciskanik. “All gifts, big or small, can have a dramatic impact today.”

Admissions Office Reports Record Amount of Interest in College

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The College’s Admissions Office is staying very busy this semester. Each spring semester is a time of great anticipation for Admissions Office personnel as they receive applications, host visits, accept students, and, ultimately, receive deposits from students who are eager to join the incoming freshman class.

This year’s recruiting efforts seem to be paying great dividends. As of mid-March, Admissions Director Tom McFadden reports that his office has received more than double the number of inquiries it received last year at this time; double the number of high school juniors requesting information; and more applications and deposits than last year at this time.

“My office is doing a lot of the same things that we’ve always done in the past to help inform our constituents of what is happening on campus, but I think we are just doing it better and more efficiently this year,” reports McFadden. “All the members of my office pride themselves on their quick response rates, their commitment to customer service, and their

truthful and passionate explanation about all that we have to offer. We are definitely here to serve.”

One of the main methods by which the Admissions Office communicates the College’s message to the wider community is through The Chronicler. This weekly online update continues to be a source of valuable infor-

mation for parents, students, alumni, and prospective students and their families. A new issue is published on Christendom’s website every Thursday throughout the academic year and may be accessed and viewed by anyone.

Edited by Assistant Director of Public Relations Niall O’Donnell, with student writers and photographers contributing, The Chronicler is the most viewed page on the College’s

dynamic website.

The College’s news page is also very informative and well worth a visit.

“Our news page is continuously updated with exciting news and events,” says McFadden. “It’s really very hard not to know what’s going on at Christendom!”

The College’s Facebook page and YouTube site continue to help those interested to stay up-to-date on all the latest happenings at the College. In fact, many members of the incoming Class of 2015 have already been getting to know each other on their own “Class of 2015” Facebook group, enabling them to ask questions of the Admissions Office and to learn more about each other prior to arrival on August 19.

The YouTube site, ChristendomTube, has close to 100 videos on it, including different commercials, promotional videos, highlights from past graduations, student videos, and various other related items.

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Graduate School Gains Approval for Online MA Degree Program

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In December of 2010, Christendom’s Graduate School received approval from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to offer its Master of Arts in Theological Studies degree in an online format for distance students.

that practice all through the program,” said Graduate School Dean Dr. Kristin Burns.

Lastly, Christendom’s reputation for orthodoxy, and its emphasis on the theology of St. Thomas Aquinas, also sets it apart and attracts students.

Now, students who

find it impossible Taking an onto come to Virginline course at the ia can nonetheless Graduate School study at Christendoes not require dom and earn the advanced computmaster’s degree to er skills. Students further their acaneed a computer demic careers or to with good internet prepare for Catholic Professor Colette Lienhard was instrumental in helping ministry. Austra- develop the online MA degree. access, but everything else is prolian David Sainty, for example, an IT professional who convert- vided on Christendom’s virtual classroom site ed to Catholicism while studying for his BS in at http://my.classrunner.com/christendom, engineering, was “keen to pursue further theo- including a user training manual; instructionlogical study” after years of informal study and al videos on research, papers, and footnotes; apostolic activities. When he discovered that links to library and online learning resources Christendom’s program was available online, and to the online bookstore. Students email or telephone their professors with questions, and he applied and enrolled right away. they also have easy access to the Grad School Although students may earn their MAs ex- staff for advisement, library and research assisclusively through online courses, many of the online students still hope to take courses on campus at least for one semester or a sum- Chairman of the Board of Directors, Donna mer, to experience the fellowship with other Bethell, has always been interested in Cathostudents and professors that is such a defin- lic education. A native of Washington, DC, she says that she was very aware of the general ing characteristic of Christendom. collapse of Catholic higher education in the Christendom’s online MA program differs US. She discovered Christendom College in from those offered by most other Catholic the mid-1980’s when a friend colleges in several respects. While the online took her to a benefit dinner programs of many schools are in pastoral for the College. ministry, Christendom’s online curriculum stresses theology, especially systematic and “The then-president, Dr. moral theology, even for those students in- Damian Fedoryka, spoke terested in careers in catechetics and other about the College and I was ministries. Secondly, Christendom’s online impressed,” she says. “So I courses are the same courses, with the same started making contributions professors, as the classroom versions of the in the relatively small ways I courses. In fact, in most cases, the lectures are could manage among other video recorded during actual classes. Thirdly, worthy charities.” the small size of the graduate school enables even distance students to get personal atten- Bethell, who has been the Chairman of the Board since 2002, loves the tion from faculty and staff. fact that Christendom students receive the full “Students have mentioned that they chose Catholic tradition and that they are enabled to Christendom over other online MA programs establish a living culture by receiving “the subbecause of the responsiveness and attention stance of the Faith, the spiritual training needed they received from us when they were inquir- to make their religion the focus of their lives, ing and applying, and we strive to continue and a communitarian social experience.”

tance, registration, or account information.

Several persons have played key roles in the Graduate School’s ability to offer its program online, namely, Catechetics Professor Colette Lienhard, IT expert and Christendom alumnus Stephen Kunath, and Graduate School Registrar and Christendom alumna Heidi Kalian.

“Without the assistance of these three employees and friends of the College, we would still be talking about how nice it would be to have online courses, but wondering how to bring it about,” said Dean Burns.

At present, eleven courses have been made available online, and the remaining four courses for the MA (catechetics concentration) will be available online by Fall 2011 or Spring 2012.

Plans are underway to add three more courses, hopefully by Fall 2012, that would enable online students to earn the MA also with the systematic theology concentration.

For more information on Christendom’s online graduate theology program, please visit www. christendom.edu/grad, or call 703-658-4304.

Board Chairman Bethell Leads College Forward

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Bethell is president and CEO of Radiance Services Company. Between 1984 and 1990, Bethell held several US Department of Energy posts in the Reagan and George H.W. Bush Administrations, including Assistant Secretary for Conservation and Renewable Energy, Assistant Secretary for Management and Administration, and Under Secretary. Before her government service, she practiced law as an associate attorney at O’Connor & Hannan in Washington, DC. Bethell is also chairman of the board of Imago Dei, Inc. She has been on the Board of Directors of Christendom College since 1998.

Though she has traveled the country and the world, she has lived in Washington almost her entire life. “I like Washington best,” she says.

“It doesn’t have earthquakes or volcanoes, it has real seasons. I can easily get to the ocean and the mountains, and when Congress leaves in August, it literally clears the air.”

Alumni Leave Successful Careers to Join Dynamic Advancement Team

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Alumni Paul Jalsevac ’03 and Joshua Petersen ’01 have recently joined Christendom College’s Advancement Office team. Jalsevac is the new Director of Development Operations while Petersen is the Associate Philanthropy Officer.

After graduating in 2001 with a BA in Philosophy, Joshua Petersen embarked on a quest for his “mission field.” Like so many graduates, he embraced Christendom’s mission to “restore all things in Christ,” so he asked God to show him where to put that mission into practice.

year. After suffering serious internal injuries, doctors had given him little chance of survival. But, the College community rallied around him and started a prayer chain that swept across the country. Against all odds, Jalsevac survived and fought to return to the school he loved.

Six months after the accident, miraculously, Jalsevac returned to Christendom’s campus to resume studies, which earned him the nickname, “The Wonderboy.” Still in a wheelchair and unable to walk without assistance, the College again came to his His quest first led him aid to support and encourto the financial industry, Joshua Petersen is now the Associate age him. A few months Philanthropy Officer. where he spent three-andlater, to his doctors’ sura-half years as a consultant at Morgan Stanley prise, Jalsevac began walking on his own.

Smith Barney. Next, he moved to a missionbased money manager, Foxhall Capital Man- After that, he never looked back. Deteragement, which screened stocks according to mined to help the school he loved, he served Catholic moral teaching. as President of the Student Body as a Senior.

He also helped start a new endowment and Two-and-half years later, he felt God was call- raise funds for a new grand piano. ing him to play a more direct role in spreading the Catholic faith so he began a period of After graduating with a BA in Political Scidiscernment at St. John Vianney Seminary in ence, Jalsevac began his journey to a successDenver, Colorado. After ful legal career. In 2006, much prayer, Petersen felt he graduated Summa Cum strongly that God was leadLaude from the Ave Maria ing him into the field of School of Law where he education, and ultimately, served as the Managing to help Christendom in the Editor of the Ave Maria field of donor relations and Law Review.

He then philanthropy. spent two years assisting Judge Joseph F. Weis, “Attending Christendom was Jr, on the United States one of the greatest blessings Court of Appeals for the of my life,” says Petersen, Third Circuit. Finally, he “and I am truly thankful for spent two fast paced years everything I received here. as a litigation associate at I hope to succeed in my job Paul Jalsevac is the Director of Develop- the international law firm so that others may be able to ment Operations.

Jones Day. have the same type of experience as I had.”

But, ultimately, God had other plans. Just Paul Jalsevac took a different path to arrive when Jalsevac began to discern God’s plans for back at Christendom. his career, he heard that a position was open at Christendom. Despite his legal success, he As a student, Jalsevac gained some fame and felt compelled to return to Christendom. notoriety across the nation and around the world after his incredible recovery from a “I love this College deeply. I’ve experienced near-fatal car accident during his Sophomore firsthand the power and faith of this commu-

nity,” he says. “I credit the prayers and support of the College community for saving my life. I also believe in its mission deeply and have seen the College change the lives of so many.”

Jalsevac believes that his place is at the College because he believes that his legal career gave him the skills and experience that he can use well as an Advancement Officer.

“Christendom gave me the skills to achieve success in the legal world. Now I want to put that experience back to use to help the College,” he says.

Alumnus Publishes Graphic Comic Novel

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Ben Hatke has been working as an artist and illustrator since graduating from Christendom with his BA degree in History in 2000. He has illustrated books for authors such as Regina Doman (Angel in the Waters); done design work for businesses and organizations such as Christendom College and Seton Home Study; and is a contributor to Flight Comics. His most recent work is a full-length graphic novel, Zita the Spacegirl, published February 2 by First Second Books and Macmillan Press.

The book follows the story of a little girl, Zita, who happens upon a mysterious object that opens a portal to another world. The hard cover book, which is 191 pages in length and the first long-form effort by Hatke, is available at most major booksellers.

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Lady Crusaders Basketball Team Has Historic Winning Season

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Building on the success of the fall sports programs that saw the women finish at 6-6 in soccer and an impressive 11-6 record in volleyball, all of the Lady Crusaders teams finished the year with a .500 record or better for the first time in the College’s history.

“We were blessed to have a very talented group of athletes in this freshman class,” says Athletic Director Chris Vander Woude.

“Three of the starting five Lady Crusaders basketball players – Morgan Kavanagh, Bridget Vander Woude, and Mary Barbale – were freshmen, and each had already made an impact on Crusader athletics by their play in volleyball and soccer this past fall. Mary and Bridget were an important part of the Lady Crusader volleyball team that finished 11-6 while Morgan ended up being one of the leading scorers on the soccer team.”

Seniors Lauren Kavanagh, Mary Kate Vander Woude, Jane Snyder, Mary Hill, and Katie Cruser, as well as juniors Emily Baldwin and Katie Coyne, and underclassmen Annie Wilson and Jane McGuire, joined the three freshmen to make up the Lady Crusaders basketball team. Just a year ago the team had finished 2-11, but this year was different and it only took a couple of games for everyone to notice.

A triple-double is a basketball term for a feat

that is rarely achieved in the game of basketball and a quadruple-double is so rare that it has only happened 4 times in women’s NCAA history. Never in the history of Lady Crusader basketball had a player achieved the elusive triple-double let alone a quadruple-double.

Even double-doubles are hard to come by. Players are elevated to elite status if they even come close to averaging a doubledouble.

For the Lady Crusaders, both of those would be accomplished – by the same player – Freshman Mary Barbale, the first recipient of the Thomas S. Vander Woude Memorial Scholar-Athlete Scholarship Award.

“Mary transformed our team from being a good team to being a very good team at times, with her ability to rebound and pass the ball, not to mention her ability to score when the team needed it,” said Coach Mike Brown.

On the team’s second road trip of the year, they traveled to North Carolina and Tennessee to play Warren Wilson College and Johnson Bible College. The first night the team played Warren Wilson College and despite a valiant effort they lost by 2. However, Barbale

finished with 32 points, 11 rebounds, and 13 assists and recorded the first triple-double in Christendom women’s basketball history. But she didn’t stop there. The Lady Crusaders hosted Lord Fairfax Community College in November and defeated them 68-43. In the victory, Barbale posted an amazing quadruple-double with 20 points, 14 rebounds, 11 assists, and 14 steals. It is hard to put into words what a remarkable accomplishment this was. One can only look at the history books where only 4 women have completed a quadrupledouble in basketball history – well make that five now! She went on to average 21 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists, and 5 steals for the year, multiple times coming close to adding another triple-double to her short career.

One thing that stood out about this year’s team was the amount of fun they had together, especially during the games.

“Yes, it is much more fun when you are winning, but if you have five good players who are just good at basketball but don’t really enjoy playing with each other, it’s pointless.

However, that was not the case for us. The whole team worked hard and did what they were good at, and we enjoyed every minute of it,” stated senior Mary Kate Vander Woude shortly after the season ended, with a 7-6 winning record.

The team’s winning season capped an amazing year in sports for the women’s teams at Christendom. For the first time in College history, all the women’s teams had a record of .500 or better. With the basketball season finished, the Lady Crusaders definitely made their mark on campus. From packed home games to a renewed sense of pride on campus, the women’s soccer, volleyball, and basketball teams have started a wave of momentum and success which hopefully will continue for many years to come.

The Lady Crusaders: (back, l to r) Coach Mike Brown, Katie Coyne, Katie Cruser, Mary Kate Vander Woude, Jane McGuire, Jane Snyder; (front, l to r) Bridget Vander Woude, Mary Barbale, Morgan Kavanagh, and Lauren Kavanagh. Emily Baldwin, Annie Willson, and Mary Hill are not pictured.

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The teams would especially like to thank their coaches, Mr. Mike Brown and Mr. Matt Nelson as well as the Christendom Crazies for all their support throughout the past two seasons.

Omnia in Christo The Wisdom of the Ancients on Friendship Editor’s Note: The following is an excerpt from Dr. Cuddeback’s recently republished book, True Friendship: Where Virtue Becomes Happiness. It is available at www.focusonline.org.

As we read Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics in my Introduction to Philosophy course, my students always get a surprise as we approach the end of the ten chapters or “books.” Two whole books (Eight and Nine) are devoted to examining friendship. Aristotle devotes more space to friendship than to any topic other than virtue.

Knowing that he must give some explanation for spending so much time on friendship, Aristotle gets right to the heart of the matter as he opens Book Eight: “After what we have said, a discussion of friendship would naturally follow, since it is a virtue or implies virtue, and is besides most necessary with a view to living. For without friends no one would choose to live, though he had all other goods....” (Nicomachean Ethics, 1155a1-3) Even if you had all other goods, you would never choose to live without friends. Is Aristotle simply making the obvious point that friends are good and everyone wants them? Clearly, he is saying this; but there is more. By the end of Book Nine, Aristotle has made clear that living in true friendship is equivalent to human happiness. This bears repeating: To live in true friendship is to live the good life, to be happy. But did we not just say that to be virtuous is to be happy?

Yes. One of the main points of this book will be to understand how being virtuous and being a true friend are necessarily connected with each other. Indeed, they are practically the same thing.

Here someone might reasonably pose a big question. Even if this is what Aristotle thought, does he not, as a pagan, miss certain important truths held by Christianity? This is an important question because it points to something that we should note. Divine revelation does show us truths that substantially alter the pagan worldview. But here we must keep our heads, and not throw the baby out with the bath water. St. Thomas Aquinas, a thirteenth century Dominican priest generally considered to be one of the greatest of theologians, is convinced that much of what the philosopher Aristotle teaches is simply what human reason can see about reality without the aid of God’s special revelation in the Old and New Testaments. St. Thomas insists that what reason sees is never contradicted by divine revelation. God gave us reason and he intends that we use it to begin to understand ourselves and the world around us. What He reveals to us in the Old and New Testaments does not cast aside, but rather builds upon, what our reason can see on its own. This is why, in striving to understand and express complex theological issues, St. Thomas never hesitated to turn to the wisdom of the ancient philosophers.

Does divine revelation then fundamentally alter Aristotle’s understanding of virtue and friendship? We will have a more sufficient answer in the final chapter of this book. For now, we can give a preliminary answer.

Christians know that above the natural virtues of which Aristotle speaks there are supernatural virtues. They also know that the ultimate end or goal of the human person is to enjoy friendship with God in heaven.

According to St. Thomas, the virtue of charity, which is a supernatural virtue and the perfection of the spiritual life, is defined in terms of

John A. Cuddeback, Ph.D.

friendship with God. It seems then that far from giving us cause to reject it, divine revelation gives us new impetus to try to understand Aristotle’s notion of friendship.

Christians seem to have two extra motives for examining human friendship (beyond the importance it has in itself), so well understood

by Aristotle. First, an understanding of human friendship enhances our understanding of friendship with God. Indeed if we do not understand true human friendship, we will be hampered in understanding friendship with God. Second, and even more pressing, human friendship is the natural preparation for entering into friendship with God. Consider the following. In His last heart-to-heart talk with the Apostles, we find the Lord Jesus saying these words: This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.

[Jn. 15:12-15] Christ reveals that He, the Lord of all, intends friendship with His creatures. What a stunning revelation! But if we do not have some knowledge and experience of true friendship, what will this revelation mean to us? What does a call to friendship with Christ mean? It means something very specific and profound.

It helps to begin by trying to understand human friendship. It is clearly part of God’s providential plan that for the most part, humans will first discover and exercise friendship with other human persons. This means that what we know of human friendship, and more importantly how we live out human friendship, are a critical preparation for the most important “relationship” in our life: friendship with God. To gain insight into friendship, in this book we will turn to what wise and virtuous persons, particularly Aristotle and St. Thomas Aquinas, have discovered from their experience of human friendship.

Yet one might ask: “Is it really necessary to study the nature of friendship?

Friendship is so natural to human beings that we can count on it just happening through the normal course of events, without special effort.”

Here I answer with a firm denial. I grant that humans have a natural desire for friendship, as well as a natural “sense” of friendship. But true friendship does not simply happen. Ongoing, intentional effort is needed.

True friendship is an art, or a habit, which must be developed through practice. While the beginnings of it do sometimes just “happen,” or fall into place, true friendship is the result of intentional striving. Mozart had the beginnings of musical greatness by natural endowment and the surroundings of his upbringing. Yet his excellence in composition was the fruit of studied, persistent effort. Friendship, like great music, is a masterpiece; it happens because persons know what they want, and thus develop the skills—called virtues, necessary to achieve their great goal.

Dr. John A. Cuddeback is a Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Christendom College. He earned his BA from Christendom College and his PhD from the Catholic University of America. He has been teaching at Christendom since 1995.

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Don’t Let Income and Estate Taxes Destroy the Charitable Value of Your IRA Temporary Extension Allows Donors 70 ½ Years Or Older To Escape Income Taxes and Charitable Contribution Limits By Transferring IRA Assets Directly To Christendom In 2011 Donor Benefits From Temporary 2011 Provision • Direct distributions up to $100,000 per taxpayer are not included in gross income.

• Distributions do not count towards the overall charitable deduction limit.

• Mandatory IRA minimum distributions bypass income tax if directed to Christendom.

Take Advantage of This Limited-Time Offer Now! Contact John Ciskanik, VP for Advancement, at 1.800.877.5456 ext. 1250 for more information or contact your IRA administrator and request a direct distribution to Christendom College.

Requirements/Limits • Donor must be 70 ½ • Donation must be from Traditional or Roth IRA’s • Donation must be made directly from IRA to Christendom • Gift must be outright • Gifts do not qualify for charitable deductions