Instaurare THE CHR IS TEND O M C O LL EG E MAG AZINE
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Pro-Life Nation Alumni Fight to Give a Voice to the Voiceless
DEVOTIONS TO S A I N TS I N S P I RE CH A PE L W I ND OW S | C H R I S T T H E K I N G CHA PE L UPDAT E OVER 20 Y EAR S OF T H E B E S T W E EK E V E R | W H I T TAK E R C H A M B E R S A N D WA R R E N C A R ROLL
THE FINAL STEEL BEAM
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VOLUME 28 | NUMBER 1 | SPRING 2020 Published three times yearly by the Christendom College Marketing Office. Executive Editor: Tom McFadden Managing Editor & Design/Layout: Niall O’Donnell Assistant Editor: Zachary Smith Design Assistant: Johanna Burke Photos: Johanna Burke, Niall O’Donnell, Bridget Bennett, Maureen Hebert, Christiana Fedoryka, Bryan Zhu Contributors: Johanna Burke, Zachary Smith, Tom McFadden, Niall O’Donnell, Danielle Dusseault Christendom College 134 Christendom Drive, Front Royal, VA 22630 540.636.2900 | www.christendom.edu Copyright © 2020. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is hereby granted, provided the following credit line is used: “Reprinted by permission from Instaurare, the official magazine of Christendom College (christendom.edu).” SUBSCRIPTION FREE UPON REQUEST.
Instaurare magazine (pronounced “in-sta-rar-ay”) receives its name from the Latin in the college’s motto, “Instaurare Omnia in Christo” or “To Restore All Things in Christ.”
Christendom College does not discriminate against any applicant or student on the basis of sex, race, color, age, national origin, religion, disability, genetic information, marital status, pregnancy, or veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable law.
CHRISTENDOM COLLEGE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
ADVISORS TO THE BOARD
Mr. Guy Amisano Sr. Mr. Martin R. Boles Mr. Robert Crnkovich (Treasurer) Mr. Gene D’Agostino (Vice Chairman) Mr. Timothy Halisky ’01 Mr. Julian Heron Mrs. Karla Hester ’99 Mr. Richard Hough Dr. Timothy T. O’Donnell (ex officio) Mr. Stephen O’Keefe ’93 (Chairman) Mr. Gary Schuberg Mr. Mark Swartzberg Mrs. Michele Velasco ’90 Mr. Thomas C. West Jr. Ms. Luanne D. Zurlo (Secretary)
Mrs. Donna Bethell Mrs. Mary Ellen Bork Mrs. Bernadette Casey-Smith Mr. John Cecconi Mr. John De Matteo Dr. Robert P. George Mr. Daniel Gorman Mrs. Joan Janaro Mr. John McNeice Mr. Joseph Melancon Rev. Robert Morey Mr. Robert Mylod The Honorable James Nicholson Mrs. Mary Beth Riordan Rev. George W. Rutler Mr. Mark Ryland The Honorable Rick Santorum Rev. William Saunders Mr. Robert Scrivener ’81 Mr. Owen Smith Mr. George Weigel Mr. Thomas Young Mr. Eugene Zurlo
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was laid for the chapel’s 114-foottall main tower—marking another step closer to its completion. During the “topping out” ceremony, Hoar Construction placed a fir tree on the beam—a construction tradition dating back 1,000 years. Read more on page 3.
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Inside This Issue 18
Pro-Life Nation From working for nationally-known organizations to serving women at local pregnancy centers, Christendom alumni are fighting to give a voice to the voiceless.
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The Best Week Ever Experience Christendom Summer Program inspires students and donors for over 20 years.
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Small Graces Can Lead to Abundant Blessings Whittaker Chambers, Warren Carroll, and the impact of a soul that cooperates with grace.
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From the President
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Christ the King Chapel Update
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Benefactors’ Devotion to Sts. Monica and Augustine
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News in Brief
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Alumni Family’s Impact on Society and the Church
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In the Classroom: Ethics and Imagination
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Photo Album
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Classmates: Alumni News
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Omnia in Christo: Benefiting Society Here and Abroad
ON THE COVER: Pictured on the right, Lauren Merz ’10 at the March for Life with President and Founder of Live Action Lila Rose (center) and Joanna Hyatt, director of strategic partnerships at Live Action (left).
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FROM THE DESK OF PRESIDENT DR. TIMOTHY O’DONNELL
Rejoicing Amid Hardship There can be no doubt that we are living in times of great confusion. The recently canonized John Henry Cardinal Newman wrote to a Mrs. Markell back in 1887:
“...we must remember that there is always a red flickering candle which is beckoning us to visit and spend time with the Best Friend we will ever have .”
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“My apprehensions are not new, but above 50 years standing. I have all that time thought that a time of widespread infidelity was coming and through all these years the waters have, in fact, been rising as a deluge. I look for the time after my life when only the tops of the mountains will be seen like islands in a waste of waters. I speak principally of the Protestant world but great actions and successes must be achieved by the Catholic leaders. Great wisdom as well as courage must be given them from on high, if Holy Church is to be kept safe from this awful calamity, and though any trial which came upon her would be but temporary, it may be fierce in the extreme while it lasts.” As we look about us we see the dissent from Catholic teaching not only in many German bishops, but also surveys that reveal that large numbers of Catholics no longer believe in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Pew Research Center shows us that three quarters of Catholics believe there is nothing wrong with cohabitation before marriage. The list could go on and on. We must remember though that the world was also very dark when Christ was born and yet when the angels appeared to the shepherds they told them to rejoice and spoke and sang of “tidings of great joy.” Ever since our Christendom fall pilgrimage In The Footsteps of St. Paul, I have been reading and
reflecting on the life of this great apostle—St. Paul, who was beaten, scourged, and stoned so many times. On one occasion, after Paul had been laboring at Lystra, enemies from Antioch and Iconium stirred up a hostile crowd, which savagely stoned Paul, dragged him out of the city, and threw him in a ditch, leaving him for dead. Who would believe that he would rise from that experience and write inspired letters, which have thundered down the ages to still inspire men and women all over our world? Who would believe that after that experience, he could write the following: “But what of it? Provided only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is being proclaimed! In this I rejoice, yes and I shall rejoice…But even if I am made the libation for the sacrifice of your faith, I joy and rejoice with you and in the same way do you also joy and rejoice with me.” (Phil 1:18 and 2:18) This great apostle’s heart can’t be restrained! Despite the hardship, he cries: “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice.” (Phil 4:4) There is great work to be done here at Christendom College and in our troubled yet beautiful world. Together, we will seek to restore all things in Christ. We can make it happen. We can make a difference. When the load seems more than we can bear or we feel discouraged, we must remember that there is always a red, flickering candle that is beckoning us to visit and spend time with the best friend we will ever have. Let us listen to Him, for He loves us so much. Praise be Jesus Christ!
As Instaurare was going to press, the college was actively responding to the COVID-19 virus. Read a statement and watch a video message from Dr. O’Donnell at christendom.edu/virus.
Christ the King Chapel U
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C h r i st t h e Ki ng C ha pel
The first clerestory window for the new Christ the King Chapel was completed in February. Beyer Studio set up the stunning St. John Bosco window in a lightbox display in Regina Coeli Hall for the community and visitors to enjoy.
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TOPPING OUT CELEBRATION At the conclusion of the 11:30 a.m. Mass
Before the steel beam was raised, members of the community were invited to sign their names on it—putting their stamp on the chapel forever. From signatures to thank-you notes, the beam was covered before it was raised, with the names still visible from the road.
in Christendom’s current Christ the King Chapel on January 31, the community processed across campus for a special occasion: the “topping out” of the new Christ the King Chapel, currently under construction. While the crowd looked on, the final steel beam was laid for the chapel’s 114-foot-tall main tower—marking another step closer to its completion. “Christ the King Chapel is an outward manifestation of our commitment to Christ, and we are so grateful to Hoar Construction for their magnificent work,” said college president Dr. Timothy O’Donnell. “We could not be more excited as a college and a community. I want to thank our generous benefactors for making this project possible, which will serve as an inspiration for students, faculty, staff, and visitors for years to come.” The Gothic-inspired chapel will feature over 100 stainedglass windows and a seating capacity of more than 850, providing much-needed space for Christendom’s growing student body and the local community. In addition, the chapel will feature a new custom organ with 2,500 pipes built by Kegg Pipe Organ Builders. The chapel will also have solid mahogany and red oak doors with leveled lead-pane glass and two 35-foot premanufactured bell towers.
Hoar Construction hung a star over the site during the Advent and Christmas season.
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CT A construction team assembles a bell tower on the new Christ the King Chapel.
Before the steel beam was raise members of the community we invited to sign their names on it— putting their stamp on the chap forever. From signatures to than you notes, the beam was covere before it was raised, with the nam still visible from the road.
The new Christ the King Chapel: March 13, 2020.
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With the topping out complete, Hoar Construction is now focused on assembling the chapel’s remaining steel skeleton and walls. Later, a stonework-style exterior will be built onto these walls. The exterior of the chapel is tentatively slated to be completed in March 2021, with anticipated final completion in December of that same year. Already, even with months of construction still ahead, the new chapel stands as the highest point on campus. Looking at it raises one’s eyes skyward and ultimately toward Heaven— pointing the way toward the ultimate goal of Christendom’s mission, all thanks to the generosity, passion, and sacrifice of the college’s generous benefactors.
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Devotion to Sts. Monica and Augustine “Worked Miracles” in Benefactors’ Family According to Christendom Benefactor Nancy Kennedy,
she and St. Monica share much in common. “I have an ‘Augustine’ or two in my own family,” says Nancy. “As a mother, it’s heartbreaking to see your own turn away from the Faith.” Nancy and her husband, David, both grew up Catholic and raised their five children in the Faith. The adolescent years proved difficult, however, as their children began to follow different paths, some leading away from the Church.
2019 Lady Crusader Volleyball “St. Augustine with His Mother St. Monica” by Ary Scheffer, 1855
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David and Nancy Kennedy
Above: The sketches for the windows that will be created by Beyer Studio in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Throughout these troubled times, Nancy clung to St. Monica, constantly praying for peace, for healing, and for their family’s return to the Faith. “As Catholics, we know that we’ll only get all of the answers in the next life,” shares Nancy. “With our children, we just kept waiting and saying, ‘Jesus, we trust in You.’” It was several years before anything changed. Nancy and David continued growing their devotion to Sts. Monica and Augustine and, after several years, gradually began to see changes in their children’s hearts. The Kennedys began experiencing extraordinary miracles of healing in their family, including returns to the Faith, grandchildren being immersed in the sacraments, and extended family members’ conversions to Catholicism. “Monica and Augustine have worked miracles in our lives and those of our children,” share David and Nancy. “Our devotion to them has only continued to grow, and we want to share the grace of this devotion with others.” Through their involvement with Christendom College, David and Nancy learned of the new Christ the King Chapel project. Excited by the stained-glass window dedication opportunities, they chose to dedicate two twin windows in the upper clerestory of the chapel to Sts. Monica and Augustine. Through their choice of saints and dedication inscription, future generations will remember in prayer the intentions of the Kennedy family and their loved ones. “We want these windows to help children who are lost and wandering like St. Augustine was,” Nancy says. “It is our prayer that these symbols will give mothers the strength and faith to know that there is hope for their children, just like the hope St. Monica gave us.”
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NEWS
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FAITH & REASON LECTURE Biologist Dr. Dan Toma delivered a lecture to the Christendom community on February 7 titled “The Deification of Matter: The Material Universe as a Liturgical Structure.” Toma examined how it is not facts of science that cause people to take a materialistic view of life, but philosophical errors. The talk was the first Faith & Reason lecture of 2020.
ENTIRE STUDENT BODY AT MARCH FOR LIFE With classes not scheduled for the day, Christendom College’s student body, faculty, and staff marched with thousands to prayerfully protest abortion at the 47th March for Life on January 24. Providing a voice for the voiceless around the country, the Christendom community rallied together around this crucial cause, making a bold statement for life as a result.
ALUMNA NAMED FIRST FEMALE DEAN OF THEOLOGY AT THE ANGELICUM Sr. Catherine Joseph Droste O.P. ’87 was named the first female Dean of Theology at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, also known as the Angelicum, in Rome. Sr. Catherine will use her extensive educational background to help grow and enhance the theology program at the Angelicum.
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CRAFT A VIBRANT LIFE Christendom philosophy professor Dr. John Cuddeback unveiled a new version of his popular website, Bacon from Acorns, this spring, with the new name of LifeCraft. Aimed at helping people craft a good human life, LifeCraft will continue Cuddeback’s popular blog while also offering online webinar courses and more. The expansion of Dr. Cuddeback’s website was made possible in part by a generous grant from the Bradshaw-Knight Foundation. Visit life-craft.org.
ANNUAL ST. THOMAS AQUINAS LECTURE Author and theologian Dr. Daria Spezzano presented Christendom College’s annual St. Thomas Aquinas Lecture on January 27. Titled “The Burning Coal: Aquinas on the Eucharist, Eros, and Deification,” the lecture examined the saint’s intimate devotion to Christ present in the Eucharist.
CHRISTENDOM ATHLETES NAMED USCAA ALL-AMERICANS Christendom student-athletes earned top honors from the USCAA for their competitive play this past fall, with 16 being recognized as USCAA Academic All-Americans and seven as USCAA All-Americans. Varsity sports are demanding, but Christendom students consistently display excellence both on the field and in the classroom, thanks to the organization and leadership skills they learn on campus.
LIGHT A CANDLE AND IT LASTS FOR A DAY. MAKE A DEDICATION AND IT LASTS FOR GENERATIONS. Honor your loved ones or enshrine your prayer intentions with a dedication in the new Christ the King Chapel. Through the Sacred Art Project, we invite you to join us in glorifying the kingship of Christ by adorning His dwelling place with sacred art that reflects His majesty. The Project enables you to bring new artwork and rescued traditional art to a chapel that will reflect the timeless traditions of the Catholic Faith. Your dedication will raise the hearts and minds of our academic community to Heaven for countless years to come.
MAKE A DEDICATION TODAY g i vi ng. c hr i s te ndom.e du
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L-R: Soccer players Pablo Boada, Brian Hicks, Mark LaRochelle, and James Foeckler, along with volleyball players Avery Thomas, Maria Cook and Claire Guernsey.
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Skyline Drive hike during the first summer program.
The first 38 participants in the summer of 1999.
The Best Week Ever Inspires Students and Donors for Over 20 Years “The Best Week Ever” Is a Bold Statement. When one hears it, the first thought might
be of a lavish family vacation—not a college’s summer program. And yet, these are the key words participants of the Experience Christendom Summer Program use time and again when describing the transformative time they spent in Virginia for one week—a week that provided them with the faith-filled educational experience they needed during such a formative time in their lives.
L-R: 2005 program counselors, Sam Phillips ’08, Zac Inman ’08, Matt Anderson ’09.
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Dr. Patrick Keats † taught ECSP classes for 20 years.
Founded in the summer of 1999 by alumna Karla Kuykendall Hester ’99, the program has undergone many changes over the years—beginning with its name. Originally called the Christendom College High School Summer College, the program was later retitled the Experience Christendom Summer Program (ECSP). Nowadays, while ECSP is still officially its name, the participants typically refer to it as “The Best Week Ever” when talking about it with friends and family. Close to 3,000 students have attended the program over its 21-year history. Both the benefactors who have helped make the program affordable and the high school-aged students who attend discover a community that truly seeks to learn, live, and love the Catholic faith. When the program first started, it was simply two sessions of a two-week program for up to 40 students. In the 21 years since, it has evolved into five one-week sessions over the summer, with 280 students attending each year—thus making an even bigger impact on today’s college-bound youth. These extraordinary numbers raise the question: Why do students keep coming, often in such high numbers that waiting lists are formed? What makes the program so inspiring for everyone involved, year after year?
For participant Kevin O’Connor, his eyes opened for the first time to the beauty and joy of the Catholic faith during the program—all within a community of peers and professors striving for the same ultimate goal. “It was the first time I was taught by Catholic professors, and it challenged me to think in a way I never had before,” says O’Connor. “I also developed genuine friendships with other young Catholics from across the country, giving me a strong foundation to move on to college and the working world while maintaining a strong Catholic identity.” O’Connor’s experience is one that has been shared by many over the years, including all of his siblings—each of whom has attended this program. In a culture where Christ is often stripped out of education and social opportunities for young people, the high school summer program strives to give the opposite experience. The parents of participants are amazed at the changes they see in their children after spending just one week on the college’s campus. “I cannot thank you enough for the outstanding experience that my son was so fortunate to have at your ‘best week ever,’” says a mother of an attendee. “I can tell you that I have not
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observed him to be so happy, free, and at peace...since toddlerhood! Everything from the fantastic counselors, like-minded and very bright peers rooted in their faith, discussions over the greats and their great books, the swing dance, and the kayaking... left a much-needed, indelible mark on my son. Thank you for your representation of what college should be, how faith can be alive in our teens during this difficult age, and how happy and freeing it feels for these teens to live out their interests while embracing their faith.” The plan of life that the program introduces to students has had a transformative effect—one that is inspiring to the students, their parents, and to donors as well. Advertised as the most-popular, well-attended, and highly ranked pre-college summer program of its kind, the ECSP would not be able to offer the financial deals and discounts that it does without its family of committed donors—especially Jack and Leslie Murphy. Close to 10 years ago, the Murphys read a story in the Instaurare asking for donations to the program in order
“It was the first time I was taught by Catholic professors and it challenged me to think in a way I never had before.”
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to allow the admissions office to offer discounts to interested students with financial difficulties. They were moved to make a donation that year, and every subsequent year since. No student has ever been turned down from the program due to an inability to pay the $500 program fee—all thanks to the Murphys and other faithful donors. “We feel privileged to be able to contribute to Christendom College’s ECSP, which allows high school students to experience what it would be like to attend a truly Catholic college,” says the Leslie Murphy. “We are concerned that so many young people seem to leave the church in their college years because of the decidedly liberal and anti-Christian stance being taken by secular education. We also realize that not every Catholic college or university is truly keeping the faith.” Students—who come to the campus either reluctantly or The fiinrst 38one participants in th excited—are astounded by what they experience just week. According to the current program director, admissions director Sam Phillips, “students are taken on an emotional, intellectual,
“We feel privileged to be able to contribute to Christendom College’s ECSP, which allows high school students to experience what it would be like to attend a truly Catholic college.” L-R: Program benefactors Jack and Leslie Murphy, Fr. Mathew Rensch ’11 and Fr. Nicholas Blank ’13.
spiritual, and all-encompassing Catholic roller coaster ride where at the end, they just can’t wait to come back for more.” Indeed, over 70% of Christendom’s current freshmen class are alumni of the summer program, and when asked who or what had the most influence on their decision to attend Chrishe summer of 1999 tendom, the ECSP was the #1 choice. The summer program counselors—both past and present—also feel an acute sense of gratitude for the opportunities that they have had to serve these young people in their search for the best college for them. “It has definitely made me realize the impact that one Catholic can have on another if they see you really trying to strive for holiness,” says Brian Hicks ’22, a current counselor for the program. “As a counselor, you are with the high school students all day, outside their classes, so they really see you as what Christendom has to show in their students. It’s made me realize that I don’t want to just look the part, but I want to truly embody what they are seeing. And in striving for that, it’s helped me realize that I’m not always going to reach that holiness I want, but if I keep God close and I am open to His grace, I’ll keep progressing to what He wants me to be.” The transforming impact of the program is not just restricted to the students—these counselors have seen their lives change in extraordinary ways as well. A number of them have even gone on to become priests, including Frs. Matthew Rensch ’11 and Nicholas Blank ’13. According to Fr. Blank, when he came to the summer program, he had an interest in becoming a priest. After his weeklong experience under the guidance of then-counselor Matthew Rensch, Blank knew that he wanted to be around Christendom and the men who attend the college, for he saw in them true goodness, integrity, strength of character, and virtue. Fr. Rensch went on to become the head counselor for the summer program, serve as the head resident assistant, play varsity basketball, be awarded the college’s student achievement award,
and, following gradation, enter the seminary and be ordained a priest for the Diocese of Vermont. Fr. Blank followed in his footsteps by becoming the head summer program counselor, playing varsity basketball, also being awarded the college’s student achievement award, and then being ordained as a priest—Christendom’s 91st alumnus priest—for the Diocese of Arlington in 2019. Fr. Blank found his vocation, just like Fr. Rensch, and it all started during one week in the Shenandoah. Through the program, students, parents, donors, and counselors encounter a remarkable transformation, and not one that Hester could have anticipated when she founded the program over 20 years ago. “Looking back, I never would have imagined that this type of program would have lasted this long. Although it has developed and changed over the years and has truly become the best showcase of the Christendom experience, I didn’t think it would make it past the first summer,” says Hester. “God’s plan is always so amazing to look back at, especially in light of the many years of success, the many students brought to Christendom, the many counselors that felt personally fulfilled, and I think we can honestly say, the many souls saved. God has blessed so many through this program.” The Murphys agree: “Christendom College’s summer program has been successful in bringing students to Christendom, a fine institution of higher education that we believe is keeping the Catholic faith in a way that is attractive to our youth.” Year after year, student after student, the Experience Christendom Summer Program continues to enlighten the minds, strengthen the wills, and encourage the hearts of the participants, giving them the knowledge and courage to promote the truth, goodness, and beauty of the Catholic faith, as they remember fondly the summer they experienced The Best Week Ever.
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After defeating Duke University 46-7, and Washington and Lee 30-29, the Christendom rugby team reigned supreme at the Cardinal Conference Tournament for the third year in a row, earning themselves a spot in the NSCRO National playoffs.
“OUR CHRISTENDOM OUR CHRISTENDOM FAMILY IS AN EXTENSION OF OF OUR OUR OWN” OWN How an Alumni Family is Having a Growing How an Alumni Family Is Having a Growing Impact Impact on Society and the Church
on Society and the Church
As a young professional living in the As young professional living Briggs in the FrontaRoyal area, Christendom alumna Catherine (‘11)
Front Royal Christendom alumna ’11 has has had the area, unique opportunity to seeCatherine first-handBriggs the college’s had the over unique to see firsthand the college’s growth growth theopportunity years. Consequently, she’s seen the increasingly over the years. Consequently, she’s seen the increasingly stark stark contrast between the culture on Christendom’s campus contrast betweenofthe onday. Christendom’s campus and the and the culture ourculture modern culture of“Young our modern peopleday. today are facing so many incredible “Young people today are facing so many challenges,” shares Catherine. “I look aroundincredible when I’mchalon lenges,” shares Catherine. “I look around when I’m on campus campus and see these young men and women as my future coand see these young and women mywell-formed future co-workers, workers, doctors, andmen lawyers. And we as need leaders doctors, and lawyers. And we need well-formed leaders now now more than ever.” more than Asever.” alumni representative for her 2011 graduating class As alumni her 2011Catherine graduating and an involved representative member of the for community, seesclass her and an involved member of the community, Catherine sees connection with the college since graduation as her “little way” her connection with since graduation as her “little of helping society andthe thecollege Catholic Faith. way” of helping society and the Catholic “I want to make a difference inFaith. the lives of future “I want to make a difference in the lives of future students,” students,” says Catherine. “I have always felt the desire to help says Catherine. “I have always felt the desire to help younger
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younger generations through friendship and mentorship. I can generations friendship mentorship. I can now give now give in athrough more concrete wayand to the spiritual, emotional, and in a more concrete way to the spiritual, emotional, and academic academic formation of these young men and women.” formation of these young men and women.” Catherine views Christendom as integral to her own Catherine views Christendom as integral her own forformation. Growing up in Front Royal, with to alumni parents mation. Growing up in Front Royal, with alumni parents who who met at Christendom and siblings who attended the college met Christendom and in siblings the college beforeat her, Catherine feels many who ways attended that Christendom is before her, Catherine feels that Christendom is, in many ways, an extension of her own family. an herChristendom own family. family as a macrocosm of my extension “I seeofmy “I see family,” my Christendom family“Just as aas macrocosm of my immediate says Catherine. in my own family, immediate family,” says Catherine. “Just as in my own family, Christendom is united through the Eucharist as a communion Christendom is united through as a communion of persons. Christendom’s loyaltythe to Eucharist the Faith provides a strong of persons. Christendom’s loyalty to the Faith provides a strong bond among alumni, promising a home and family that traverse bond among alumni, promising a home and family that traverse time and distance.” time andCatherine’s distance.” parents, Doug and Nancy, feel similarly. Catherine’s Doug andclass, Nancy, Entering with theparents, 1983 graduating just feel two similarly. years afterEnthe tering with the 1983 graduating class, just two years after the college’s founding, the Briggses were some of the college’s first college’s founding, the Briggses were some of the college’s first
alumni. Over forty years later, they believe that the Christendom alumni. Overis 40 later, community likeyears family to they them.believe that the Christendom community is like to them. family grow so much over “We’ve seenfamily the Christendom “We’vealongside seen theour Christendom so so much over the years, own,” says family Nancy.grow “Being involved the years, alongside our own,” says Nancy. “Being so involved in the community, we see alumni all over the country in every in theand community, we see alumni all mission over the of country, in every place every career, living out the the college. It’s place and every career, living out the mission of the college. so encouraging to see the Christendom family growing and It’s so encouraging the Christendom family growing remarkable to witnesstothesee activity of the Holy Spirit in the world and remarkable to witness the activity of the Holy Spirit in the through this family.” world through this family.” Doug and Nancy have personally experienced the fruits Doug and Nancy have personally experienced thetheir fruits of of a Christendom formation in their own family. Of nine achildren, Christendom theirareown family.enrolled. Of theirTheir nine six are formation alumni andintwo currently children, six are alumni and two are currently enrolled. Their
family includes young professionals, two Christendom alumni family includes young professionals, twofamily Christendom alumni sons-in-law (with a third set to join the this May), nine sons-in-law (with a third set to join the family this May), nine grandchildren this April, and a son in the seminary. grandchildren as of this April, and songained in the atseminary. “The abundance of riches weahave Christendom “The abundance of riches we have gained at Christendom is something we want our children and grandchildren to also is something we want our children and grandchildren to also experience,” share Doug and Nancy. “We want our support of experience,” share Doug and Nancy. “We want our support of Christendom to impact the culture and further Dr. Carroll’s Christendom to impact thepeople cultureand andrestoring further Dr. mission of forming young the Carroll’s culture. mission of forming young people and restoring the culture. Having our children attend and seeing the kind of people Having our children and seeingwhat the kind of people Christendom producesattend have reinforced we saw in our Christendom produces have reinforced what we saw our own experience. Christendom truly has a life-changingineffect own experience. truly has anow.” life-changing effect on young people,Christendom and it’s still happening on young people, and it’s still happening now.”
GI V I NG DAY 2 0 2 0
Alumni, Show your your love love for for your your Christendom Christendom family family by by supporting supporting current current students students through through Alumni, Parents, parents, and and Family: family: Show the Carroll Carroll Fund Fund on on April April 21, 21, 2020. 2020. Make Make aa difference difference at at ChristendomGivingDay.com. ChristendomGivingDay.com. the
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Pictured on the right, Lauren Merz ’10 at the March for Life with President and Founder of Live Action Lila Rose (center) and Joanna Hyatt, director of strategic partnerships at Live Action (left).
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Pro-LifePro-life NationNation
Alumni Fight to Give a Voice to the Voiceless Alumni Fight to Give a Voice for the Voiceless The greatest attack on human life
in all of human history is abortion. With over 60,000,000 babies killed in the U.S. since the Roe v. Wade court decision, and billions more innocent children slaughtered worldwide, the widespread silence and complacency on this massacre is shocking and unacceptable. But Christendom alumni are not complacent. From working for nationally known organizations like Live Action to serving women at local pregnancy centers to influencing public opinion through journalism to leading prayer campaigns, Christendom graduates are pushing forward the pro-life cause.
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Lauren Merz is a prime example of a professional using her talents to further the pro-life movement in powerful ways. After graduating from Christendom in 2010, Merz moved to Washington, D.C., with plans of pursuing a career in the political realm. While living in D.C. and becoming tuned in to various policy debates on Capitol Hill, Merz began to see the centrality of the abortion issue. “I realized that if we can kill our own children in the womb, how will any of the other challenges we face be solved? How can we expect to … ensure a healthy political system to protect the common good when the very fundamental building block of the family is destroyed by abortion?” Merz recalled. With this realization, Merz felt called to commit her career to the pro-life movement.
Lauren Mertz ’10 speaks at National Pro-Life Summit 2020.
“The understanding of human dignity, morality, and the Church’s teachings I formed at Christendom are the roots of the pro-life work I do today.”
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After working as a development assistant for the Media Research Center, a conservative nonprofit, she decided to apply for a job at Live Action, the nation’s most well-known and influential pro-life organization. She was hired as Live Action’s development manager and has since risen through the ranks of the organization, recently being promoted to vice president for strategic partnerships, where she works alongside President Lila Rose and COO Josef Lip as part of the Executive Team. In this role, Merz manages the full fundraising team, and oversees the Media, Government Relations, Events, and Partnerships teams. With these responsibilities, she is greatly able to influence the direction of the organization’s marketing, messaging, and strategy, thereby optimizing the organization’s impact. In addition, she frequently travels for speaking engagements, sharing Live Action’s mission and work across the country. Ten years after graduating, Merz still credits her Christendom education with empowering her to do the incredible work she is now doing for the pro-life cause. It prepared her as a professional, teaching her to strategize, think critically, and communicate well, skills she capitalizes on daily. Moreover, she developed a reliance on prayer and a deep love for the sacraments while at Christendom, which she continually draws upon while working to fight such a horrific evil. She also found the worldview and intellectual foundation to explain, defend, and articulate pro-life arguments in a way that is both compassionate and convincing. “The essentials we learned about human nature and ethics have been fundamental to me as I help form Live Action’s messaging and strategy with our team,” Merz explained. “The understanding of human dignity, morality, and the Church’s teachings I formed at Christendom are the roots of the pro-life work I do today.” Through the years, Merz has seen her work at Live Action save lives. In 2017, she helped to produce a video where a former abortionist explained the medical nature of an abortion procedure, revealing the brutality of abortion. This video has since become a popular and powerful resource for pro-lifers. Merz recently heard from a young woman who found herself in an unexpected pregnancy and was strongly considering abortion until watching that video. Now this young woman is the proud mother of a beautiful son and a vocal member of the pro-life movement herself. According to Merz, Live Action regularly gets feedback like this, especially from young people, who’s hearts and minds have been changed about abortion.
“There I was, standing in the capital of the free world outside a building where our most vulnerable citizens were being killed.”
FERVENT PASSION Recent graduate Bridget Handy ’17 is also working for Live Action and serves as the government relations liaison. In this position, she represents Live Action on Capitol Hill by attending coalition gatherings, briefings, hearings, and meetings with staff and members of Congress. Handy also conducts policy research and writing for Live Action. This job was a great fit for Handy after she had gained experience in legislative government, first by working as a staff and press assistant for a republican congressman, and then working as a speechwriter and communications assistant for a house committee member. Like Merz, working in D.C. increased Handy’s sense of urgency regarding the pro-life cause, so deciding to devote herself full-time to the movement was a natural fit. “Live Action exposes the violence of this evil like no other organization, so when an opening that fit my experience and interests came up, I jumped on it,” Handy shared. Handy’s pro-life activism took root while she was a student at Christendom. A regular participant in Christendom’s prolife club, Shield of Roses, she frequently travelled with fellow students to pray for mothers and their babies outside local abortion clinics. She became a leader for Shield, serving as a
As a student, Bridget Handy ’17 served as vice president of Christendom’s pro-life student club Shield of Roses, which prayerfully protests abortion clinics every Saturday morning.
vice president her sophomore through senior year. Handy also took her activism a step further, receiving training to become a sidewalk counselor, attempting to intervene and provide alternative resources to women who were entering the clinics. All those early Saturday mornings of prayer and intervention contributed to Handy’s fervent passion for the pro-life cause. “I remember distinctly a moment one Saturday when I was standing outside the D.C. Planned Parenthood we prayed and counseled at. I looked down the street and just stared at the Washington Monument several blocks away. There was this very real pause where it dawned on me how surreal the whole moment and movement were. There I was, standing in the capital of the free world outside a building where our most vulnerable citizens were being killed,” Handy recalled. “Sometimes, I think about that moment and how it’s come full circle in my profession and life. God knew then what all of those Saturdays with my classmates were helping prepare me to do.” As taxing as it can be to devote one’s career to fighting an evil that is so dark and horrific, Handy feels strengthened by the faith formation she received at Christendom. “The Truth of the Catholic Faith and the reality that justice will be served by an omnipotent God is the sweet relief in the spiritual warfare we face daily fighting the evil of abortion,”
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Handy shared. “I owe a lot of the confidence I have in these truths to my education at Christendom.” Merz and Handy are doing heroic work to change minds and save lives through Live Action’s marketing and digital engagement, consistently engaging Gen Zers and millennials and helping them to take an honest look at the abortion issue. They are on the front lines along with those working in crisis pregnancy centers.
MEETING THE NEEDS OF WOMEN IN NEED Alumnae Felicity Fedoryka ’17 and Olivia (née Cerroni) McDonough ’18 work to promote the pro-life cause by directly meeting the needs of women in need at a crisis pregnancy center. These two graduates work together at the Christendom alumni-founded Front Royal Pregnancy Center (FRPC) in Front Royal, Virginia, where they provide medical and physical resources to women on a daily basis.
Olivia McDonough ’18, the events and program manager for the Front Royal Pregnancy Center, addresses the crowd at the annual Walk for Life.
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Fedoryka serves as the donor relations and office manager organizing initiatives to increase donor engagement, managing FRPC’s social media, and much more. She is thankful for the opportunity to work for the pro-life movement on a local and interpersonal level, where she is able to concretely enable women to choose life. “I am blessed to be working in a role where I can see the life-changing results of my work on an almost daily basis,” Fedoryka said. “Possibly my favorite part of my job is when a woman who did change her mind comes back months later to show off her newborn, and you can see the love and pride in her eyes as she looks at her baby.” Fedoryka is thankful for the professional preparation she received at Christendom. “Credibility, transparency, and honesty are essential when trying to change hearts and minds, especially when the other side is so willing to adjust the facts or ignore research,” she said. Fedoryka believes her Christendom education has helped her to be able to argue and present facts in a clear, digestible, and compassionate manner, which is extremely important in her line of work. McDonough serves the pregnancy center as the events and program manager filling a variety of roles, including planning fundraisers, designing literature, assisting with marketing, speaking at churches, and interacting with the women who come to the center. McDonough had been interested in working for the prolife movement for a long time, and before landing a full-time position at FRPC, she volunteered her time at another pregnancy center. Devoting her career to the pro-life movement was an easy decision for McDonough, especially since, she says, Christendom “prepared my heart, soul, and mind for this work.” Much like Fedoryka, McDonough loves getting to work for the pro-life cause at a “boots on the ground” level. To be able to meet the immediate needs of women, and help them to choose life, is unspeakably rewarding. “There are so many instances of women and girls coming in, dead set on abortion. By the time they leave, some are laughing, smiling, and excited for the day their babies are born,” McDonough shared. Without a doubt, Fedoryka and McDonough are doing great work by encouraging women to choose life and by providing the resources they need to become mothers. While this aspect of the movement is extremely important, in order for the pro-life cause to be completely successful,
the hearts and minds of the public must be changed as well. Alumnus John Jalsevac is influencing the culture by working for pro-life news source LifeSiteNews.com, which reaches 40 million readers per year.
ENGAGING HIGHLY COMPLEX AND CULTURAL PROBLEMS Starting as a journalist at LifeSiteNews upon graduating from Christendom in 2008, Jalsevac rose through the ranks of the organization, becoming an editor, managing editor, and finally managing director and VP of digital marketing. In this administrative role, Jalsevac developed high-level strategy to optimize LifeSite’s outreach and shaped the organization’s digital marketing, making LifeSiteNews a leader in the pro-life movement. Currently, Jalsevac is working as a management and technology consultant for LifeSiteNews as he pursues a PhD in philosophy. Jalsevac credits the formation he received at Christendom with preparing him for his successful career with LifeSiteNews. “The classroom experience and liberal arts curriculum provided me with the critical thinking skills and philosophical foundation to engage intelligently with the highly complex ethical and cultural problems involved in the pro-life and pro-family issues,” Jalsevac said. Christendom gave him the intellectual tools to make convincing pro-life arguments in the countless journalistic pieces he has written throughout the years. He also believes that the other leadership opportunities he had on campus, from helping to establish the Chester Belloc Debate Society to being an editor of the student publication The Rambler to being assistant director of several plays under the guidance of the late Dr. Patrick Keats, gave him the skills to organize projects and lead others in an effective way. Jalsevac also believes that Christendom was a great place to grow in his commitment to the pro-life cause. When he was a student, he travelled to Florida along with other Christendom students to prayerfully protest outside Terri Schiavo’s hospice in her final days while she was dying by court-ordered starvation and dehydration. “The effort to rent a bus and send dozens of students to Florida to be present was a student-led initiative,” Jalsevac recalled. “It was deeply moving to experience the commitment of my fellow students, and their willingness to put boots on the ground in service of the weak and vulnerable.”
“My favorite part of my job is when a woman who did change her mind comes back months later to show off her newborn, and you can see the love and pride in her eyes as she looks at her baby.”
Top: Felicity Fedoryka ’17 with her sister at local Walk for Life. Bottom: Journalist and digital marketing expert John Jalsevac ’08.
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Left-Right: Chloe Hermann ’18 with her local community in Connecticut; Herrmann with her brother, Jared ’23, at a Students for Life event.
At the time this was occurring, Jalsevac was writing articles for LifeSiteNews about his experience, and he interviewed Terri’s brother, Bobby Schindler. Jalsevac already had an interest in journalism, and this experience affirmed his decision to devote his gift for writing to the pro-life cause. Without a doubt, Jalsevac’s work at LifeSiteNews has made an impact, changing minds and saving lives in the process. According to Jalsevac, LifeSiteNews continually receives messages and emails from readers describing how their minds have been changed about abortion. There is no doubt that Jalsevac’s work has impacted the culture for the better.
PRAYER, FASTING, AND COMMUNITY OUTREACH While using media to change minds and hearts is remarkably important, prayer is still the most powerful and essential aspect of the pro-life movement. Alumna Chloe Herrmann ’18 is contributing to the pro-life movement through volunteering her time to 40 Days for Life, an organization that aims to end abortion locally through prayer and fasting, community outreach, and all-day vigils in front of abortion businesses. While Herrmann keeps busy working full-time as a project manager for Enable Web Design, she still finds time to be highly involved in the pro-life cause. Since graduating in 2018, Herrmann has been involved with organizing and leading prayer rallies and vigils, and managing marketing efforts for different 40 Days for Life chapters. Recently, Herrmann has taken on the role of leader and vigil coordinator for the 40 Days for Life chapter in Danbury, Connecticut.
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For anyone who knew Herrmann while she was a student, it is no surprise that she is still a prayer warrior for the pro-life cause. Throughout all four years of her time at Christendom, Herrmann served as a sidewalk counselor and prayed outside abortion clinics for Shield of Roses almost every Saturday. She went on to serve as president of the club her junior and senior years. In addition, she hosted sidewalk counselor training sessions, brought National Pro-Life T-Shirt Day to campus, and volunteered as an active member of Students for Life of America. Her senior year, Herrmann travelled with Christendom on a mission trip to Ireland to participate in the Save the 8th campaign. Herrmann is a great example of someone who is making an impact in the pro-life cause through volunteering. While not everyone is able to formally work in the pro-life cause, Herrmann believes that each and every Catholic has a place in this movement. “Nothing is impossible with God. Together, our sacrifices can help save lives and bring an end to abortion. All we need to do is pray,” Herrmann stated. The work and stories of these alumni inspire a renewed resolve for the pro-life cause. They, along with many Christendom graduates throughout the country, are standing up for life in powerful ways. Christendom is one of the most pro-life colleges in the nation, and its alumni are the proof. From fighting for the rights of the unborn on Capitol Hill to simply bearing witness to the beauty of life by raising children of their own, Christendom alumni are standing up for the dignity of life, changing minds, and saving lives.
In the Classroom HIGHLIGHTING A COURSE FROM OUR RICH CURRICULUM P H I LO S O P H Y 4 95: E T HICS AND IM AGINATION | EXPER IENC IN G “POETIC KNOWLED G E” BY DANIEL MCINERNY, PhD
When we enjoy a novel, a movie, or a play,
we often fall into thinking that this enjoyment is “mere” entertainment, a diversion from our workday lives, perhaps even an indulgence. We do not realize that engagement with stories can involve a form of knowledge, indeed, of truth. In the fall of 2019, my first semester at Christendom, I introduced a philosophy elective called Ethics & Imagination. In this course, we explore how works of art, and principally works of imaginative literature, serve as forms of real ethical knowledge. We do not turn to these literary works simply to give us examples of ethical truths. Rather, we turn to these works as embodiments of ethical truth that cannot be gained elsewhere—even from the works of the greatest philosophers. In Charles Dickens’ novel Hard Times, a harsh schoolmaster, Mr. Gradgrind, demands that a poor girl in his classroom, Sissy Jupe, give him the definition of a horse. Sissy, though she has grown up around horses in the circus, has no idea what the formal definition of a horse is. So another student, a boy named Bitzer, is called upon. He rattles off the definition of a horse: “Quadruped. Graminivorous. Forty teeth, namely twenty-four grinders, four eye-teeth, and twelve incisive. Sheds coat in the spring in marshy countries, sheds hoofs, too. Hoofs hard, but requiring to be shod with iron. Age known by marks in mouth.” Which one really knows what a horse is—Sissy Jupe or Bitzer? Sissy Jupe does not have Bitzer’s conceptual understanding of what a horse is, but she has knowledge of horses Bitzer does not have, what can be called “poetic knowledge,” knowledge based upon lived experience of horses. In Ethics & Imagination, it is this kind of knowledge about the human quest for happiness that we look for in the experience of great literature. And in so doing, we partly attain one of the chief aims of a Christendom education: an interdisciplinary, unified vision of truth.
Top: Illustration by Harry French from Hard Times Below: Freshman Theresa Greiner in the classroom.
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P H OTO A L BU M
{c hristendom.edu/pictures} 1. Students rally for life at the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C. 2. Seniors Anthony Storey and Annie Sullivan compete together in the Swing & Waltz Competition.
3. A faculty panel answers students’ questions during the spring Quodlibet (an open forum for academic questions).
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4. Senior James Foeckler carries the torch for the Dorm Wars Opening Ceremonies. 5. During the A Cappella Competition, this team performs a rendition of the song “Cheerleader.” 6. Sophomore Owen Kennedy dunks during a home game against Appalachian Bible College. 7. Sophomore Annie McGraw charges down the court in a game against Washington Adventist. 8. Crusader fans cheer on the men’s basketball team. 9. 2019-20 Crusader Basketball Team. 10. 2019-20 Lady Crusader Basketball Team.
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11. Dr. Stanford leads freshmen in a discussion of Virgil’s Aeneid. 12. Students enjoy the annual Sadie Hawkins Dance, which was pirate-themed. 13. College Chaplain Fr. Marcus Pollard teaches students how to make German doughnuts in preparation for Shrove Tuesday. 14. Students pack the chapel for Stations of the Cross.
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15. Junior Cecilia Garvey and sophomore Bernadette Smith perform a duet at the annual open mic night, Cup O’ Coeli.
PHOTOS UPDATED WEEKLY ON FLICKR
christendom.edu/pictures FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM
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Illustration by Vince Duhig ’21
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Christendom College Founder Dr. Warren Carroll
small graces can lead to abundant blessings Whittaker Chambers, Warren Carroll, and a Hero’s Story BY EL IZ A BETH A NDER S O N ’ 0 9
“In the end, the only memorable
stories, like the only memorable experiences, are religious and moral. They give men the heart to suffer the ordeal of a life that perpetually rends them between its beauty and its terror.” - Whittaker Chambers, Witness Evil loves the spotlight. It is exceedingly easy to perceive the chain reaction started with evil: abuse perpetuating abuse, bitterness to bitterness, death to death. For this reason, it is easier to count those killed by Nazis or Communists than to count those encouraged to holiness by Maximilian Kolbe. Likewise, it seems that only when a marriage falls apart do we see how many are touched by that marriage, rather than recognizing all along how many benefit from a strong and holy marriage. Every once in a while, though, we can catch a glimpse of the thread stronger than death, linking us together, revealing the debt of gratitude to those who began our battles for us and opened channels of graces to share with us. For though evil may be more visible, the power of the Good God is far mightier. Grace, while it may be refused, never dies, but lives on, given by God to those who will cooperate, and ultimately brings about the unfathomable glory of God. Therefore, we may find that we are, in fact, in the same story of grace and the ultimate battle between good and evil as past heroes.
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LAURA S. GOSSIN
One Man Perched On A Rock a biography of dr. warren h. carroll
Written by alumna Laura (Smith) Gossin ’87, Carroll’s biography examines the historian’s life, which was one of deep commitment to Catholic education. Available at christendompress.com.
CHRISTENDOM PRESS
J.R.R. Tolkien reminds us in The Lord of the Rings that we have a place in this ongoing story. During a particularly desperate time on the journey to destroy the ring, Sam Gamgee wonders aloud to his dearest friend, Frodo: “I wonder what sort of a tale we’ve fallen into? … Beren now, he never thought he was going to get that Silmaril from the Iron Crown in Thangorodrim, and yet he did, and that was a worse place and a blacker danger than ours. But that’s a long tale, of course, and goes on past the happiness and into grief and beyond it—and the Silmaril went on and came to Eärendil. And why, sir, I never thought of that before! We’ve got—you’ve got some of the light of it in that star-glass that the Lady gave you! Why, to think of it, we’re in the same tale still! It’s going on. Don’t the great tales never end?” “No, they never end as tales,” said Frodo. “But the people in them come, and go when their part’s ended. Our part will end later—or sooner.” We are all part of a hero’s story. This became clear to me upon reading two books. The first book was One Man Perched on a Rock, A Biography of Dr. Warren Carroll. The second was Witness, by Whittaker Chambers. Whittaker Chambers had an incredible impact upon the nation, upon politics, upon several well-known individuals—William F. Buckley among
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Whittaker Chambers
others—and upon the subject of the first book, Warren Carroll. Whittaker Chambers sacrificed his reputation, his privacy, and his livelihood—knowing that everything and everyone he loved would face danger—to do what was right. His actions, good, courageous, and magnanimous, are among the great actions of the twentieth century. Yet he did not see the fruit of his labors, save in minute glimpses, moments of grace, and the tiniest encouragements to persevere. Mostly, he saw the suffering. Just before his public witness against Communism began, he told his editor and friend that: [A]ny act a man performs, even the simplest and best, may set up reverberations of evil whose consequences it is beyond our power to trace; that my action might cause great suffering. But one man must always be willing to take upon himself the onus of evil that other men may be spared greater evil. For the sake of his children and my own, that all children might be spared the evil of Communism, I was going to testify. He almost gave up; he almost committed suicide. Had he done so, who knows what greater evils would have rippled out? Because Whittaker Chambers gave his great witness before a committee, and his greater witness as a soul turning away from the world to seek God, innumerable souls have been given grace to live their own witness.
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His actions, good, courageous, and magnanimous, are among the great actions of the twentieth century. Yet he did not see the fruit of his labors, save in minute glimpses, moments of grace, and the tiniest encouragements to persevere.
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One soul in particular who was deeply affected by Whitaker Chamber’s actions was Dr. Warren Carroll. Upon reading Witness, Carroll became totally anti-Communist and very active in the conservative politics of his day. According to Carroll’s biographer, Laura S. Gossin: Reading Chambers’s book at Columbia in the summer of 1955, Warren flatly states that it “changed my life… I consider Whittaker Chambers’s Witness to be the greatest book written in the twentieth century,” adding that it “has particular significance for me because it made me a firm anti-communist for life.” It also had an influence on Warren’s later conversion to Christianity, especially as it described Chambers’s own conversion experience, which enabled him to break with Communism. Eventually, following his employment with fellow Catholic conservatives at Triumph Magazine, Carroll, with the support of other friends of the magazine, founded Christendom College. Suddenly the realization came to me that we are in the same story as Whittaker Chambers and indebted to him personally for his part in the good fight. My husband and I both graduated from Christendom College and number among the 460 alumnus-to-alumna marriages, our four children among the thousands of children born to those marriages. There are
Carroll and his wife, Anne
also, according to Christendom College, 91 alumni priests, 55 religious sisters, seven brothers, six transitional deacons, one permanent deacon, and 25 men currently studying for the priesthood, as of May 2019. All these alumni from one college founded by a man who, along with his wife Anne, longed for children but had none of his own. And this is merely one thread of grace flowing from one man’s sacrifice. There are so many more, surely. Considering the number of children owing their lives, i.e., their entrance into the Faith, to Warren Carroll’s college, the streams of grace continue. When one soul cooperates with grace, a spring of grace erupts for others, and a channel is opened that will flow with grace as long as there are souls who respond.
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There are so many more ancestors in my story, in your story, and in the story of salvation history itself. Furthermore, as the story is still ongoing, you and I have a part to play, for a purpose, every bit as much as Whittaker Chambers did, or Warren Carroll. As St. John Henry Cardinal Newman eloquently expresses in his Meditations on Christian Doctrine: I am created to do something or to be something for which no one else is created; I have a place in God’s counsels, in God’s world, which no one else has; whether I be rich or poor, despised or esteemed by man, God knows me and calls me by my name. God has created me to do Him some definite service; He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission—I never may know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next…. I am a link in a chain, a bond of connexion between persons. He has not created me for naught. I shall do good, I shall do His work; I shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth in my own place, while not intending it, if I do but keep His commandments and serve Him in my calling. We each have a unique part to play in the ongoing story of grace. We are connected to others in a way that no one else 32
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is. Let us respond to grace now, wasting not a moment, so that we might get to heaven and help others along the way. We must get to heaven in order to meet our ultimate Beloved, but also, oh, to see the Final Judgment (CCC 1040) from the winning side! To see with perfect satisfaction and clarity the beginnings and branching out and culmination of grace at work so humbly in so many unknown souls. I cannot wait to see how God’s Divine Providence ultimately smashes all the devil’s proud plans, to see the bonds of grace connecting so many throughout history, right down to you and me—the eternal well springing from Christ on the Cross, through the Apostles and early saints, then on and on through Charlemagne, Pelayo, Catherine of Sienna, Joan of Arc, Thérèse of Lisieux, Karl of Austria, Sister Faustina, Maximilian Kolbe, Josephine Bakhita, Jose Luis Sanchez del Rio, Dr. Takashi Nagai, Mother Teresa, John Paul II, Mother Angelica, and countless heroes unknown to me—men, women, children, monks, and nuns—all united by grace in Christ Jesus, Lord of History. Elizabeth Anderson is a member of the class of 2009. Anderson is a stay at home mother and independent writer, and she also worked for several years at the Population Research Institute. She resides in Michigan with her husband, Matthew, and their four children. This article originally appeared in Crisis Magazine, crisismagazine.com.
Send your submissions to classmates@c hristendom.edu.
CLASSMATES YO U R PA P E R & I N K A L U M N I S O C I A L N E T WO R K
1990s Fr. Charlie Bak ’91 is currently teaching on-campus at Holy Apostles College and Seminary. His classes include Church History, Western Civilization I and II, and American History. He draws heavily upon the writings of Dr. Warren H. Carroll and Anne Carroll. Michael ’99 and Alyssa (née Gray) ’02 Hichborn celebrated the arrival of their seventh child, Gemma Anastasia, this past December. The name was chosen both for the saints behind the names, St. Gemma Galgani and St. Anastasia, virgin and 1
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martyr mentioned in the canon of the Mass, and for the literal meaning each name carries: Gemma means “Gemstone” and Anastasia means “Resurrection.” So, taken together, her name literally means “Gemstone of the Resurrection.” The family is all in love with their new addition. 1
He is certainly loved by all! 2 Seth Brotherton ’08 began working for CenturyLink in Ashburn, VA, as a software developer. He lives in Manassas with his wife, Nicole, and two boys, Edward (9) and Elias (6).
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2000s Elisabeth (née Boever) Gideon ’00 and husband, Joshua, are happy to announce the birth of Gerard Ado “Otto” on Dec. 14, 2019. He joins his siblings Ruth, John, Isabel, Stephen, George, Joshua, and Matthew. 3
Jeremiah and Katie (née Erwin) ’10 Ii welcomed their new baby girl, Rosemary, in February. 3 On February 1, several alumni witnessed the first vows of Sr. Maria Josepha of the Ascension of Jesus (Margaret Antunes ’11) in Minne5
apolis, MN. Among the alumni in attendance were her sisters Marie ’05 and Catherine ’12 Antunes, fellow classmates of 2011 Megan Rolla, Bernadette Horiuchi, Catherine Briggs, Elizabeth (née Walsh) Nygaard, and Janie (née Wells) Groetsch, along with Paul English ’08, Agnes King ’08, and Monica Clarke ’10. 4 Peter and Mary (née Harrington) ’11 Norris joyously welcomed their first child and daughter, Mairi Lucia Harrington Norris, on December 6, 2019. 5 After clerking for the Honorable Judge Nielsen in the 13th Judicial Circuit, Angela (née Swagler) Greenwalt ’12 accepted a position with the 12th Judicial Circuit’s State Attorney’s Office as a criminal prosecutor. Daniel and Morgan (née Robey) ’14 Evans welcomed baby no. 3 into the world on February 12, 2020: David Patrick Evans, weighing 9 lbs 4 oz. 6
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Br. John McFadden, OSB, ’13 was ordained a deacon at Clear Creek Abbey in OK on November 17 by Bishop David Konderla of the Diocese of Tulsa. Deacon Mc-
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Fadden is scheduled to be ordained a priest in fall 2021. 7 Theresa Francis ’14 got engaged to Scott Bosnyak from Chicago on Dec. 14, 2019, at Red Rocks Park in Colorado. They are looking to get married in September. Scott and Theresa first met in Denver during a volleyball league Theresa was running with her job, Catholic Sports, in May of 2018. The couple will be moving back to Virginia this summer. 8
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education and seminary formation required for priestly ordination. 9 Stephen Hyland ’15 and Julia Clark ’18 got engaged in January. They plan to get married this fall in Front Royal. Lindsay (née Trapp) and Brian Rankin ’15 welcomed the birth of their little girl, Kathryn, joining their family in July 2019. Their son, James, is happy to be a big brother! 10 Mark Turner ’15 and Catherine Schneider ’16 were married
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Marie Miller ’11 released her sophomore album “Little Dreams” on March 27. The album was featured at Bilboard.com. John Walsh ’18 just released his debut piano album, self-titled “Johnny Walsh,” featuring covers, a pop medley, and two originals. Both albums are available online on all of the major streaming services (YouTube, Spotify, Pandora, iTunes, etc.).
C H R I S T E N D O M
S AV E THE DAT E
Subdeacon Philip Gilbert ’15 has been living in Lviv, Ukraine, for the last year and a half, studying at Ukrainian Catholic University. On January 16, in the presence of his bishop, he successfully defended his master’s thesis on the “Role and Importance of the Orders of Candle-Bearer, Reader, Cantor, and Subdeacon in the Slavic-Byzantine Tradition,” and on February 1, he received his MA diploma in theology. With the reception of his master’s degree, he has completed the
C O L L E G E
O C T O B E R 2 - 4, Join us for our first 40th Anniversary Class Reunion, along with 30th, 20th, and 10th anniversary reunions!
Come join fellow alumni for food, drinks, and fun this summer at a city near you. Check tour website to see locations, dates and to register: christendomalumni.com/bbq
at St. Francis Xavier Cathedral in Alexandria, LA on January 4, 2020. Catherine just passed the NCLEX and is officially Catherine Turner, BSN, RN. 11
2016+ Catherine McFadden ’16 married Zachary Wendt on January 11, 2020. Witnessing their vows was Deacon John McFadden ’13. 12 Max and Sarah (née Padgett) Van Hecke ’17 welcomed their first (and second) children on February 10, 2020: twins Sebastian Blaise and Rose Kateri. 13 Evelynne Stewart ’17 filled her Mini Cooper with what she could and made the trek from VA to TX in the fall of 2018. In the spring of 2019, she was hired at Fidelity Investments, and now enjoys the full-time job of a stock trader. With a degree in theology, and a background in digital marketing and web design, she’s a classic example of a liberal arts education having a broad range of applications.
Bill and Katherine (née Williams) Wiegand ’18 were married on November 9, 2019. 14 Lisa Foos ’19 and Christian Ruf were married on December 30, 2019, at Our Lady of the Angels Catholic Church in Woodbridge, VA. Mark and Lisa (née Hill) ’13 Pertuso are excited to announce that their second child, Mary Thérèse, was born on January 28, 2020. Their first, Margaret Ann, is thrilled to have a little sister and new best friend! Mary was baptized on February 16 at Regina Caeli Parish (FSSP) in Houston, Texas, in the presence of her godparents, Emiko (Funai) Hill ’13 and Mark Hill (brother of Lisa). 15 Joshua Butek ’19 and Therese Rose ’21 were engaged on January 20, 2020.
CELEBRATE & RECONNECT WITH YOUR CHRISTENDOM FAMILY
APRIL 21, 2020
Mark your calendar.
14
Share your favorite story of a professor at christendomgivingday.com.
12
Make a monthly or one-time gift to the Carroll Fund to help unlock thousands in additional challenge funds!
13
15
SPRING 2020
35
Omnia in Christo
Taken from the college’s motto “Instaurare Omnia in Christo,” this section features an essay or excerpt from a recent paper or talk by one of Christendom’s distinguished faculty.
B ene fiting S o ci et y Here a n d Abro a d BY DR. CYNTHIA M. NOLAN
On July 18, 2017, China gave Recycling is expensive to process, and many notice to the World Trade Organization that it would no longer import foreign recyclable garbage. The ban went into effect at the end of 2017, and by 2019, many nations that depended on China to take away their recyclable trash hadn’t solved their garbage problems. The result is a stockpile of household plastic and paper recyclables. Many cities in America do not know what to do with their recyclable trash. China imported foreign garbage from 1992 to 2018 in order to extract the raw materials it needed for rapid industrial growth. In 2016, China recycled half of the world’s waste plastic, paper, and metals. Rather than purchase virgin copper or lumber pulp, or create its own plastic or glass, China imported used products via recyclable trash from places like the United States, Canada, Japan, France, England, or Germany, to name a few. The recycling process employed thousands of people and saved Chinese industry millions of dollars. It also solved a problem for foreign countries: what to do with recyclables. The arrangement benefited the states that did not have the capacity to recycle their own garbage and encouraged the creation of new cities in China devoted solely to recycling. These cities were hazardous to the health of the citizens due to poor air quality, poor working conditions, and a rise in certain diseases among the local population. It also meant that China did not take care of its own garbage. In the summer of 2017, they decided to put a stop to the imports. The official announcement was part of an anti-pollution campaign in China through the World Trade Organization by a specific waste import restriction on unusable material that contaminates recyclables. China will only accept recyclables like scrap metal, plastic, glass, cardboard, and paper with an impurity level of 0.5%. That level of purity is not common in the United States or elsewhere. 36
Instaurare
affected, and my quality of life is unaffected people do not know the rules, so the effort by pollution or disease. to clean plastic (for example) goes to waste Based on a rational cost-benefit analysis, if there is one or two bottles that aren’t as any introduction to macroeconomics will clean are thrown in too. So, where does our tell you, it is not rational to make a decision recycling go if China does not take it, and that costs more than the benefit it provides. should we just stop altogether? Thus an individual decision in Warren County According to Pope Francis in Laudato Si, seems far removed from Pope Francis’s call the solution has to come from human beings. to stewardship. Moreover, without a specific He argues that we are capable of it. An way to measure costs (which Pope Francis individual’s lifestyle can acknowledge that doesn’t give us), there is no incentive to reconsumerism has a moral in addition to an eco- cycle waste or save water or reuse resources nomic component. We need to leave behind beyond the generalized ones that he gives our self-destruction to achieve sustainability. to love our neighbor. We will have to overcome individualism to How do you solve a global problem at truly care about the society around us. a local level? Pope Francis points to our reWhy? Every man is created in God’s image sponsibility to our fellow man. His categories and likeness. Every person has an immense of problems and solutions are not actually dignity that the Creator deeply loves. Any act related to results, but to the effort itself. of cruelty is contrary to our dignity. The Pope There is no alternative to recycling even if it argues that we can’t love our God if we dis- doesn’t immediately solve a problem halfway regard any part of His creation by constantly around the world from my home. consuming and destroying his world and his These efforts “benefit society, often unpeople. Maximization of profits, consumer beknown to us, for they call forth a goodness culture, and disregard for the health of the which, albeit unseen, inevitably tends to environment do not create a better quality spread. Furthermore, such actions can restore of life or a respect for human dignity. our sense of self-esteem; they can enable Pope Francis emphasizes a global us to live more fully and to feel that life on problem with a wide variety of descrip- earth is worthwhile.” (Francis, Laudato Si, tions, consequences, and complications. The 2015, para. 212). overall term that he uses—environmental By taking an individual approach to solvdegradation—covers a significant number ing world problems, we have a global effect. of factors and increased lifestyle problems, including housing, access to water, air pollu- The above is an excerpt from paper presented at tion, disease, and landfills over capacity. In the Society of Catholic Social Scientists Conference, our immediate area, the problems that Pope Franciscan University, October 2019. Francis identifies seem remote. There may be no immediate effects to my lack of recycling. The local Dr. Cynthia M. Nolan is an adjunct professor landfill in Front Royal, VA, is of international relations in the Political Science department at Christendom College. well managed, with years of Her undergraduate and graduate degrees continued availability. The came from American University. She also cost to waste management teaches online at American Military in Warren County is negligiUniversity. Dr. Nolan lives in Middletown, VA with her husband and five children. ble. My drinking water is not
Czech Republic, Austria, & Germany
September 28 - October 7, 2020 Join Christendom College President Dr. Timothy O’Donnell and his wife, Cathy, as they lead a pilgrimage to the beautiful and holy sites of Prague, Austria, and Bavaria and witness the famous Oberammergau passion play—an opportunity that can only be experienced once every 10 years! Price: $4,480 | Space is limited. | CONTACT: Brenda.Seelbach@christendom.edu
T H I S SU M MER, ST UDY A B ROAD IN
IRELAND A Once-in-a-Lifetime Experience for College-Aged Students
Join us for three weeks in the northwest of Ireland and earn six
college credits as you train to be a leader in the New Evangelization through courses in literature, history, and theology.
CHRISTENDOM COLLEGE
CHRISTENDOM.EDU/IRELAND
NONPROFIT U.S. POSTAGE PAID Huntington, IN Permit # 832
134 Christendom Drive, Front Royal, VA 22630
$175,000 MATCHING GIFT CHALLENGE
S UPPOR T FAI T HF U L C AT H OL I C S T U D ENTS
Good news! The enrollment rate at Christendom is rising as more students than ever before seek an education rooted in truth, goodness, and beauty. Since Christendom boldly rejects federal funding, students rely on generous donors like you to meet the growing need for financial aid.
YOUR GIFT WILL BE MATCHED, DOLLAR FOR DOLLAR, BY DONORS UNTIL
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