Christendom College
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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.
The college celebrated its 45th anniversary with fireworks following an academic convocation on September 17.
Mr. Guy Amisano Sr.
Mr. Gregory Bodoh ’94
Mr. Martin R. Boles
Mr. Timothy Halisky ’01
Mr. Julian Heron
Mrs. Karla Hester ’99 (Treasurer)
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 (Vice Chairman)
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. Gene D’Agostino
Mr. John De Matteo
Dr. Robert P. George Mr. Daniel Gorman 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
The 45th anniversary emblem celebrates the new chapel and the Kingship of Christ: Christus vincit, Christus regnat, Christus Imperat. Christ conquers, Christ reigns, Christ commands.
Published three times yearly by the Christendom College Marketing Office. Editor & Design Director: Niall O’Donnell Assistant Editor: Zach Smith Design Assistant and Illustrator: Julie Wells Photos: Julie Wells, Niall O’Donnell, Elizabeth Ostrowski, Paul Aguilar, Hailey Sergent Contributors: Zach Smith, Julie Wells, Vince Criste, Isabella Reilly, Maria Bonvissuto, Mary Stanford, Mark Rohlena, Beatriz McNamaraCollege Executive Vice President Mark Rohlena reflects on the past 45 years of Christendom College.
Christendom music professor Sara Pecknold examines the beauty of the Catholic tradition of sacred music at Christmastime.
Theology professor Mary Stanford examines the roles spouses play in guiding their families.
Dr. Olivia Musilli ’17 is on a mission to bring her faith to her profession and bring patients closer to the Divine Physician Himself.
The importance of keeping the memory of the martyrs of the Spanish Civil War alive.
From the President
Chapel Update
News in Brief
In the Classroom
Legacy Challenge Honors Late Top Gun Pilot Husband Photo Album
McGuire and Echaniz Remembered Through Scholarships
Homecoming 2022
Classmates: Alumni News
Omnia in Christo: Master Stephen Langton
“As Catholic Christians, we are the bearers of the light of the Gospel and we can turn back the darkness if we cooperate with His grace.”
The leaves may have fallen and the days grown darker, but our gazes are fixed on our Christmas hope that never fades: Jesus Christ, the Light of the Nations.
On the first Christmas night, our Blessed Mother and St. Joseph knelt in adoration of the Creator of the universe, who humbled Himself and entered His creation through the noble institution of a family. It is through Him, the Christ Child born in the cave of Bethlehem, that you and every member of our Christendom College family continue to bring the light into our darkened world.
In this, Christendom College’s 45th anniversary year, I stand in awe of what you, our Christendom family, have accomplished during our four and a half decades. Our full and thriving student body continues to amaze me. I am also thankful in a special way for God’s grace and our benefactors who have made possible our new Christ the King Chapel, which will be dedicated in April 2023. Thanks to you and through God’s grace, Christendom College has become one of America’s most dynamic centers of Catholic thought, formation, and joyful devotion to Our Lord.
Like St. Columbanus and the Irish monks who built up Christendom in a period of pagan darkness in Europe, our college community doesn’t retreat from the world, but engages it head-on. Also consider St. Boniface, whose bold witness in cutting down a tree dedicated to a pagan god set off thousands of conversions to the Church. Following the bold example of the saints before us, Christendom College continues, through its Catholic liberal arts education, to be fertile ground for the next generation of Catholic leaders— leaders who will carry the torch of Western Christian civilization and share the light of Christ, restoring the Truth in a broken world.
This time of year provides the perfect setting to the great proclamation of the Prophet Isaiah, which rings in our ears at Mass: “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light” (Isaiah 9:2).
How timely are the words of the prophet today. Are not so many in our society walking in darkness? Our culture, many politicians, and especially our society’s schools and colleges have turned away from the light of Truth and toward false ideologies hostile to our Catholic Faith.
However, we need not despair. As Catholic Christians, we are the bearers of the light of the Gospel and we can turn back the darkness if we cooperate with His grace.
Thanks to you, our Christendom College family, Christ’s light shines brightly in the students we continue to educate here. Amidst the moral and intellectual chaos that young people face today, our faithful college community empowers Christendom students to learn the Truth and live it. I am so grateful for our faculty and staff, alumni, benefactors, and parents and other family who stand with our students as they pursue wisdom and an education in the Truth.
Through the Christmas mystery of the Birth of Christ, God has indeed given us hope amid the darkness. He has given us a hope that binds us together in a community of faith and joy that transcends any worldly power. He has given us a hope that the darkness will never prevail. In the “bleak mid-winter” of our secular culture, may the warmth of our Infant King’s embrace and grace reach more people as our Christendom family continues to stand together in love. I wish you a very Merry Christmas and a joyous New Year!
In the Heart of the Infant King,
The eagerly anticipated Chapel has undergone major changes since our Instaurare update in the summer, and the entire Christendom community awaits the dedication in April with excitement and gratitude.
The elaborate marble altar rail, originally located in St. Joseph’s in the Bronx, has been fully restored and refurbished, finding a lasting home in our beautiful new Chapel. Likewise, the ornate marble ambo from St. Mary’s Oratory in Rome, New York, was recently installed at the main sanctuary. The installation of marble side shrines of the Crucifixion and the Divine Mercy, repurposed from St. Peter’s in Hartford, Connecticut, was completed in September.
At the end of September, 12 pews from the current Chapel were removed for restoration and will be reinstalled in their new home in Our Lady’s Chapel, located behind the high altar. This chapel was designed to incorporate elements from the current Chapel, a place that holds many dear memories for current students and returning alumni alike. New pews, contributed by our generous donors, were installed in the nave and transepts shortly before Thanksgiving.
The hardwood flooring process began in early October, with the addition of walnut and white oak wood paneling installed
in the narthex shortly thereafter. Fabrication of custom marble floor medallions representing the five wounds of Christ will be installed as part of the beautiful wood floor.
The stained-glass windows originally housed in the current Chapel have undergone an elaborate restoration process through Beyer Studio in Philadelphia and have been re-installed in the new Christ the King Chapel. New stained-glass windows, including St. John Henry Newman, St. Thomas More, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Philomena, St. Josemaria Escriva, St. Brendan the Navigator, and others, are being installed.
Finally, the construction of the piazza, located in front of the new Chapel, is well underway, with an anticipated completion early in the new year. The new driveway and parking lot were paved in mid-October, and landscaping at the perimeter of the Chapel was begun this fall. The piazza has been designed with the intention of encouraging fellowship and providing a welcoming atmosphere where the Christendom community will gather after Mass each day as well as for various other functions throughout the year.
For more information on the building of the new Christ the King Chapel, please visit chapel.christendom.edu.
1. View of the new Chapel from the high altar, showing the progress on the hardwood flooring installation in the nave.
2. St. Padre Pio stained-glass window in the north transept.
3. The shrine to Our Lady of Fatima, with close-up detail of Our Lady’s face and crown. Dr. O’Donnell discovered the statue at a shop called Ghezzi while in Rome and brought it back to share with the Christendom community.
4. Preparation for the new piazza has begun.
5. Close-up image of St. Michael bronze statue. The sculptor has beautifully succeeded in depicting the Archangel’s determination in casting the devil into Hell.
6. Close-up image of the bronze statue of St. George slaying the dragon.
7. The new marble ambo installed in the sanctuary.
8. Close-up view of the hardwood flooring panels installed in the north and south transepts of the new Chapel.
9. Alumnus Thomas Hepler uses a laser tool to measure the wood floor paneling.
For more information on the progress of the new Chapel, please visit: chapel.christendom.edu
Over a thousand family and friends, along with alumni, faculty, and staff of Christendom College, gathered to attend the funeral of former College President Dr. Damian Fedoryka on August 3. Fedoryka, who served as Christendom’s second president from 1985 to 1992, passed away on July 26. During his seven years as president, Fedoryka achieved several great accomplishments, including retiring nearly $600,000 in debt, constructing two new residence halls, and publicizing the college in the highest circles in the Vatican through several trips to Rome and personal audiences with Pope Saint John Paul II. He also guided the college to full accreditation by SACS on December 10, 1987. May his soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
What can you do with a liberal arts degree? This question is asked often, with some putting down its value in today’s world. And yet, the critical thinking, oral and written communication skills provided by a liberal arts education are second to none in the workplace, making liberal arts graduates highly sought after by employers—including the United States Military. 2019 graduate David Snyder (left) is now the first alumnus in the United States Space Force, using his multiple degrees to secure a position as a Space Systems Operator.
Christendom College began its forty-fifth anniversary year by welcoming a record-setting student body to campus over the weekend of August 19-21. There are a total of 544 students enrolled this fall, with 388 returning students and 156 new students. Of the 156 new students, 143 are first-time freshmen, 7 are transfer students, and 6 are former students who chose to re-enroll at the college. This year’s freshman class was one of the most competitive in the college’s history, with an average SAT score of 1270 and an average CLT score of 89. Hailing from 32 U.S. States and the United Kingdom, the class includes multiple high school valedictorians, a Cardinal Newman Society Essay Contest winner, five National Merit Scholarship winners, and 80% of the class is on academic scholarships.
Defending National Champions
Christendom College celebrated its 45th anniversary with an academic convocation on September 17, where it honored Dr. Marianne Mount of Catholic Distance University, Leonardo Defilippis of Saint Luke Productions, and Dr. John Bruchalski of Tepeyac OB/GYN. Mount received the college’s St. Catherine of Siena Award for Distinguished Service to the Church and Catholic Higher Education, while Defilippis was awarded the college’s first Fra Angelico Award for Excellence in Fine Arts in Service to the Beauty of the Catholic Faith. To conclude the Convocation, Bruchalski received the college’s Pro Deo et Patria Award for Service to God and Country.
This fall, Christendom College juniors arrived in Rome to begin their semester abroad—an incredible opportunity for them to grow and learn in the Heart of the Church. For Christendom, their arrival in Rome was also an important milestone for the college, with this semester marking the 20th anniversary of one of the most popular aspects of the Christendom College experience. First begun in 2002 by College President Dr. Timothy O’Donnell, the Junior Semester in Rome has given hundreds of students the opportunity to live, study, and grow in holiness within the Eternal City. They have witnessed enormous moments in the history of the Catholic Church, including the elections of two popes and the canonizations of many saints. All these experiences have changed their lives for the better, giving them a richer outlook on the Universal Church and the world at large.
Christendom College began their fall 15s season with the #1 ranking from National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) for the second straight season. Ranked above New Mexico Tech, College of the Holy Cross, and the Catholic University of America in their division, Christendom will look to repeat their immense success from last year as they pursue another National Championship title. Christendom’s second-straight #1 ranking is no small feat, with the team placing first out of 230 clubs representing 26 conferences in the Small College division, which has expanded after last season. Subscribe to our weekly email
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With the construction of the college’s new Christ the King Chapel nearing completion, Christendom is already looking ahead toward the future of the college’s Front Royal, Virginia, campus. Plans are now being made for further enhancements, including a new men’s residence hall, which will provide the men on campus with even more space to live, study, and grow together as students.
In addition, plans are also being drawn up for an expansion to the existing Madonna Hall faculty offices, giving the college’s faculty needed space while also providing students with more places to receive personalized, individual attention from their professors. See pictures above. The first phase of converting the existing Christ the King Chapel into a Cultural Center will begin shortly after the new Chapel is dedicated.
Ever since the Catholic Faith was brought to the shores of North America from Europe, Catholic writers in the New World have faced both distinctive challenges and unique opportunities for exploring human experience through imaginative literature. While the 20th-century Catholic Literary Revival in Britain and France marked a return by Catholic authors to an engagement with the rich Catholic patrimony bound up in their own national cultures, in the United States there was no such deep-seated cultural patrimony to revive. American Catholic writers have, in a sense, a taproot in the Old Faith that helped define the Old World, but they are also animated by the pioneering spirit that has come to define the New World.
As the colonies became the states, American Catholics faced constant political bias animated by Protestant distrust of Catholic loyalties, as well as artistic prejudices based on the assumption that Catholic writers, due to their
faith, did not have the “freedom” necessary for artistic expression. Nevertheless, American Catholic writers have never stopped being American, and the resourcefulness and invention that characterize Americans helped American Catholic writers make opportunity out of adversity, resulting in a wealth of poems, novels, and short stories that speak not only to Catholics but to all Americans, and to all of humanity.
With an emphasis on twentieth-century and contemporary American Catholic novelists, short story writers, and poets, the American Catholic Literature course examines religious ideas and cultural tensions present in a broad selection of works from writers such as Katherine Anne Porter, Joyce Kilmer, Caroline Gordon, Paul Horgan, J. F. Powers, Flannery O’Connor, Walker Percy, John Hassler, Tobias Wolff, Brian Doyle, Joshua Hren, James Matthew Wilson, Tim Gautreaux, and Dana Gioia.
LITERATURE Flannery O’Connor.
In July 1967, American Catholic university representatives, religious order leaders, and one bishop gathered in Land O’ Lakes, Wisconsin, for a second meeting to consider the nature and future of Catholic university education. The group finished its work by issuing a statement that would serve as a sort of “declaration of independence” for Catholic higher education in the United States. The language in the document—strongly in tune with the spirit of the times—has not aged particularly well.
The movement for which the Land O’ Lakes statement provided cover unleashed a great transformation in colleges and universities throughout the country. It pushed hard against the hierarchy of the Church and its potential influence on university life, while seeking a place for Catholic higher education among the “respectable” classes. The document helped to achieve the latter aim, but at an incredible cost. Current defenders have since moderated their views on the statement and its aftermath. They condemn the “narrow views” of the statement’s critics, but now speak of “limitations” inherent in the document as well as the need, perhaps, to revisit it. They lament institutional decline
and loss of Catholic identity, but feel they can still get this right with just a few careful tweaks to the approach.
The Land O’ Lakes document is flawed in its understanding of the proper relationship of the Catholic college and university with the Church and her teachings, no doubt. St. John Paul II would articulate the more balanced vision for Catholic colleges and universities in 1990 with the Apostolic Constitution, Ex Corde Ecclesiae. And while the defenders of Land O’ Lakes still miss the mark on the Church’s relationship with the university, a major problem in the document rests on a fundamental misapprehension of human nature. Sadly, this problem is still not well understood by many Land O’ Lakes’ adherents. Even if it were, over 50 years of campus life built on these flaws have created an enormous task for those who might want to reverse the trend.
Many ideas outlined in those five fateful pages seem to rest on a lofty premise that a student has all he needs just to be on the same campus with people of faith and the trappings of religious practice. The statement appears to hope for a spontaneous deepening of faith and growing understanding of fundamental truths by osmosis and happenstance communing. Somehow,
the powerful influence of faith and the faithful would persist even while license is given to push this beating heart of the institution from the center of campus life into the periphery. Not surprisingly, this hope has been dashed by the reality that has since unfolded.
In his Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle wrote, “Virtue, then, being of two kinds, intellectual and moral, intellectual virtue in the main owes both its birth and its growth to teaching (for which reason it requires experience and time), while moral virtue comes about as a result of habit.”
St. John Henry Newman extended Aristotle’s thought to higher education over 2,000 years later. Though Newman felt that the subjects within a liberal arts education are worthy of study for their own sake, he writes: “[T]he College is for the formation of character, intellectual and moral, for the cultivation of the mind, for the improvement of the individual, for the study of literature, for the classics, and those rudimental sciences which strengthen and sharpen the intellect” (Rise and Progress of Universities).
What was well understood by these men should be clear to most people if they would just reflect for a moment. Human flourishing is the result of coming to understand who we were created to be and following the corresponding path which is written into our very being. The human person best becomes ready to see the most important truths—and live by them as he ought—in environments where the mind can be well-cultivated to recognize them. Education must form the intellect to find and recognize truth, and educators must take seriously this task.
But the human person is also heavily influenced in his understanding of and adherence to these truths by the company he keeps. In short, moral formation and a community centered on virtue must accompany intellectual growth if a student is to be formed as a whole person. As St. John Henry Newman preached: “I wish the intellect to range with the utmost freedom, and religion to enjoy an equal freedom; but what I am stipulating for is, that they should be found in one and the same place, and exemplified in the same persons.”
Educational communities that understand this link are keenly aware that they must continually rededicate themselves to cultivating virtue in both the classroom and broader campus
life. For fallen human beings, true excellence can only be the fruit of intentional, continual, and painstaking work.
In 1973, Dr. Warren H. Carroll began contributing to Triumph magazine and took the reins of the Christian Commonwealth Institute, an educational program held at San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain. While established places for higher learning in the United States hoped for a growth in “experimental” Catholic life (as Land O’ Lakes described it), the Christian Commonwealth Institute provided a truly transformative experience built on bedrock things. In a breathtaking setting, students were guided through disciplines like philosophy and theology, among other subjects, by teachers with both a deep love of a liberal arts education and love of the faith.
But alongside the rich educational content, the Institute’s organizers understood the fundamental truth that Aristotle and St. John Henry Newman made so apparent: Moral formation and immersion must come alongside classroom education if a person is to be permanently changed by what he learns. And so, the sacraments, spiritual direction, exploration of the lived and historical Catholic vibrancy which surrounded them, were all integral to the program.
In 1977, when Dr. Carroll gathered together four other intrepid souls who had experienced and/or contributed directly to the Institute and related groups to form Christendom College—Dr. Kristin Burns (Popik), Mr. Raymund O’Herron, Dr. William Marshner, and Dr. Jeffrey Mirus—the power of the lessons from Spain were front and center. Forty-five years later, they still are.
At Christendom College, there is a deep recognition that robbing students of the cultivation of mind that aids them in coming to see who they are and what they are made for is a great tragedy. Dr. Carroll would often say that “Truth exists.” The College has embedded this reality into its DNA. Real freedom from oppression is found, not in license to put every novelty on equal footing with wisdom, but in the great moment when the universe begins to make sense to us because we are created to make sense of it. I note with some sadness that the word “truth” appears only once in Land O’ Lakes and in a section about social undertakings. Without a commitment to truth, the human soul is left to resort to animal instincts—survive, get ahead, get what is coming to
you, and then try to live forever.
With professors who know they can point students toward truth in theology, philosophy, history, English literature, political science, classics and early Christian studies, mathematics and the natural sciences, the world opens rather up than closes in on itself. The true, the good, and the beautiful are meant to captivate and shape us. Hope is restored because nothing appears so desperate as unbridled incoherence.
For 45 years, Christendom has been extremely blessed with professors who see the whole person and extend their care and mentorship outside the classroom. We have been given the gift of able administrators who strive to build conditions on campus where what is learned can be lived. Students are not interchangeable, faceless cogs in an indoctrination machine. They are, rather, human persons with inherent dignity, deserving of an education that aims at the deepening of their knowledge toward their present and future flourishing.
And Christendom has been given the great grace of wonderful leaders. Dr. Warren Carroll was able to cast a vision and draw brave souls into it. Dr. Damian Fedoryka brought stability, culture, and connection with the wider academic and ecclesial world to us. And Dr. Timothy O’Donnell has, for 30 years, ably shepherded Christendom’s growth in student population, campus footprint, cultural richness, relationship with Catholics all over the world, and understanding and adherence to the founding mission as it was entrusted to his care.
This commitment of the College to forming the whole person animates all we do—our small class size and capped enrollment, the background of and commitment to the Magisterium by our professors, the active campus life with the availability of the sacraments, love of festivity, and constant work to inculcate lives of virtue and communion. Though Land O’ Lakes explicitly sought to exclude small schools and the liberal arts from its message, even in a large university system a commitment to both intellectual and moral formation must have a central place. To do otherwise is to build on shifting sands and cede the very ground that so often has the greatest hold on a student’s attention. In Catholic higher education, we cannot leave such critical matters to chance.
Who among us, from young to old, does not enjoy donning our Christmas best to attend Mass on the great Solemnity of Our Lord’s Nativity? Who is not thrilled by the sight of bright red poinsettias and quieted by the heavy mystery hovering in the aroma of incense, inviting us to celebrate the coming of Our Savior? Who cannot be moved by the placing of the Divine Bambino in the manger of our parish’s Nativity? Who does not relish the singing, at last, of the final stanza of “O Come All Ye Faithful”: Yea, Lord, we greet thee… All of these signs snap our bodily senses to attention so that we may contemplate the truths clothed within the material enjoyments as we honor the God who took on the garment of the flesh, mysteriously uniting the Divine and Human natures.
The metaphor of clothing is particularly enlightening in regard to the special role of music in the celebration of Christmas. In his motu proprio on sacred music, Pope St. Pius X likens liturgical music to a garment: the “principal office [of sacred music] is to clothe with suitable melody the liturgical text proposed for the understanding of the faithful” (Tra le sollecitudini, I.1). The great chant scholar and former Christendom professor Fr. Robert Skeris has stated it this way: that the melodies, particularly those
of Gregorian chant, are the sonic vesture of the sacred text. Just as the priest dons his vestments to celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, so also the words of the liturgy should “wear” clothing that is most fitting, most holy, and most splendid. In light of this, let us investigate one particular text of the Christmas liturgy and the sonic garments it has worn throughout the centuries, Viderunt omnes, the Gradual for the Mass of Christmas Day:
Viderunt omnes fines terrae salutare Dei nostri. Jubilate Deo omnis terra: Notum fecit Dominus salutare suum: ante conspectum gentium revelavit justitiam suam, Alleluia.
Translation: All the ends of the world have seen the salvation of our God. Shew yourselves joyful unto the Lord, all ye lands: The Lord declared his salvation: his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen. Alleluia.
First, we can consider Viderunt omnes in its earliest musical version, as Gregorian chant. In the chant version, we see (and hear!) that this exuberant text has been generously and sumptuously clothed (visit https://youtu.be/EN73kO2_PZA or scan QR code below to listen). One of the fundamental questions to answer in regard to Gregorian chant is this: is the chant syllabic, neumatic, or melismatic? Syllabic chants feature about one note per syllable, neumatic chants two to three notes, and melismatic chants three or more notes. On Christmas Day, the Gradual chant is highly melismatic, omnes, terra, Dominus with extravagant melodic gestures. In fact, the first syllable of Dominus boasts 53 notes, which sparkle like gems in Our Lord’s Davidic crown. The chant is set in the fifth Church Mode, which
has a joyful, transcendent character. To be sure, the chant melody is both fitting and splendid.
This Gradual also comes into the spotlight at the turn of the 13th century. During this period, as the great Gothic cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris was under construction, a new way of notating music with precise rhythms and up to four voices was being developed by the Notre Dame composers Leoninus and Perotinus. The works of these composers are liturgical clausulae, choral “clauses,” which were inserted into the Mass and the Divine Office. Since the rest of the liturgy was chanted, these polyphonic, choral clausulae heightened the solemnity of particular liturgical moments. Such is the case with Perotinus’ setting of Viderunt omnes. Here, the composer has taken the original chant melody, stretching it out into extremely long notes and placing it in the lowest voice. Above this, he added three decorative, buoyant voices (visit https://youtu.be/3oaRM1uDsw8 or scan QR code below to listen). Like the chant melody, this organum quaduplum is in the fifth Church Mode, and it also features extremely long melismas; it takes the singers about a minute just to complete the first syllable, “Vi-”! In our day, most Catholics might not be prepared to sit through an entire liturgy celebrated with Notre Dame polyphony; the Gradual alone requires about 10 minutes in performance! However, the generosity of musical gesture, the sense of timelessness inscribed into the sounds, and the sheer length of these pieces speaks eloquently of the mysterious intersection of time and eternity in the Incarnation.
If we turn to the Renaissance, we find several exquisite settings of this text. The English composer and Catholic convert William Byrd (1543-1623) included it in his Gradualia, which contains choral works for most major Roman Catholic liturgical occasions. Converting and composing during an age of persecution, Byrd is a particularly inspiring figure. His setting of Viderunt omnes is jubilant in its bouncy rhythms and imitative musical lines. At the same time, it powerfully communicates the mystery of Christmas in its employment
As Our Lord humbled himself, taking on human flesh in the Incarnation, so Holy Mother Church invites us to clothe ourselves in goodly attire, and to vest the sacred words of the liturgy in holy and splendid garments, ever old and ever new.
of the first Church mode (actually transposed), which lends the work a minor sound. This overall “minor” character is transformed at the conclusion of the piece with a Picardy third, a common 16th-century device in which a piece in a minor-sounding mode resolves with a decisive, triumphant, major sonority.
In all of these cases, we can glimpse ways in which the great musical works of our Catholic tradition adhere to the principles so well-articulated by St. Pius X: that sacred music must be “true art,” characterized by sanctity, goodness of form, and universality. As Our Lord humbled himself, taking on human flesh in the Incarnation, so Holy Mother Church invites us to clothe ourselves in goodly attire, and to vest the sacred words of the liturgy in holy and splendid garments, ever old and ever new. The final verse of Adeste, fideles states it well:
We shall see the eternal splendour of the eternal Father Hidden under a veil of flesh, The infant God wrapped in swaddling clothes. O come, let us adore Him…
Thus may we strive to fulfill the “scope of the liturgy,” as St. Pius instructs us, to glorify God and to edify the faithful, rendering that which is justly due to Our Creator as He offers us the very sacrament of our salvation in His Son.
Sarah Pecknold is a professor of music at Christendom College. She earned her bachelor of arts in Music from Seattle Pacific University before obtaining her M.M. in Vocal Pedagogy and her Ph.D. (with Distinction) in Historical Musicology from the Catholic University of America.
Children rehearsing Christmas carols in the late 19th century, painting by Charles Bertrand d’Entraygues (1850-1929), France.
BY ISABELLA REILLY
Thanks to the generosity of Mrs. Virginia (“Ginger”) Hitchings, Christendom College launched The Christendom Legacy Challenge, a new program designed to magnify the impact of estate gifts. How? For each new gift through a will or other estate plan that names Christendom as beneficiary, Ginger’s Legacy Challenge fund will match up to 10% of the value of your future gift with an immediate gift to Christendom student financial aid. In effect, The Christendom Legacy Challenge will enable even more students to experience the best of a faithfully Catholic higher education today while helping to underwrite Christendom’s unique commitment to remain free of federal funding in the future.
Ginger was nearly 70 years old when a dear friend first introduced her to Christendom through a campus event. Describing her discovery of an authentically Catholic college as “overwhelming,” she shared, “I have never seen such joy on a college campus before!”
Calling it “the best-kept secret in town,” Ginger recognized in “[Christendom’s] faithfulness to the Catholic Church, to Truth and to Catholic doctrine” an authentic response to our de-Christianized culture and a powerful ally in the current spiritual war.
Importantly, she recognized Christendom’s commitment to student services: “I am just so impressed at the guidance and mentoring Christendom offers to its students!”
After consideration, Ginger resolved to make a positive impact on faithfully Catholic education. In her own words, “the idea behind a legacy challenge is to motivate people…” Noting that Planned Parenthood raised substantial funds through a similar bequest challenge, she countered, “We can do better. The Lord is on our side!”
Given her experience that “Christendom is the most honest philanthropy,” Ginger spoke confidently of her Legacy Challenge as “an extremely important” initiative that enables her money to have the kind of impact on authentically Catholic higher education she seeks. She concluded quietly, “I want a legacy for Bill that will stay focused on the Lord.”
Ginger’s late husband, William Hitchings, passed away in 2021. Bill was both an excellent Navy pilot and an honest and astute businessman.
After graduating from Annapolis in 1970, Bill was selected for the highly respected Naval Air Systems Command. He later completed numerous programs, including the Navy Fighter Weapons School (TOPGUN). With the end of the Vietnam War and Bill’s wish to be closer to his beloved, Ginger, and their three daughters, he began a successful career in commercial roofing in Virginia Beach.
From providing flight instruction to former Vietnam POWs to mentoring and coaching youth sports teams, the hallmark of Bill’s life was mentorship and guidance of others, with a particular care for the young. Ginger recalls, “Bill loved kids … and gave [lots of time and effort] to his children and the children of the community.” In tribute to this selfless man, his funeral was packed with hundreds of people whom he mentored throughout his life.
With its commitment to the formation of the whole person and service to each student, Ginger sees Christendom as the perfect place to honor Bill’s legacy through the Legacy Challenge.
1. Your will or estate plan can build up faithfully Catholic higher education. Name Christendom as a beneficiary in a new will, trust, life-income plan (e.g., charitable gift annuity), life insurance policy, retirement plan, or other estate plan to strengthen the future of faithfully Catholic higher education.
2. Share the news. Simply communicating such a legacy gift to President Timothy O’Donnell triggers an immediate Legacy Challenge matching gift.
3. Enable a student to attend Christendom today. Once notified, the Legacy Challenge fund will immediately send a check of up to 10% of your legacy gift value—$25,000 maximum per gift—to provide student financial aid today.
Ginger’s initiative is already having an impact. When learning of the Legacy Challenge, Martin and Carol Smith of Florida were inspired to double the size of a new charitable gift annuity. Attending both a Catholic grade school and an all-boys high school run by priests helped Martin “realize the importance of the Catholic education offered at Christendom … [which he calls] ‘The Few, the Proud’ of Catholic colleges.”
Chris and Tish McMahon of Virginia included Christendom among their trust beneficiaries. Inspired by the college’s fidelity to the Magisterium, Chris explains, “Eight of our ten children have gone to Christendom and received a lot of financial aid...” He continued, “We saw each of our children who went to Christendom mature … spiritually and emotionally, and that is why we wanted to include Christendom in our trust.”
Learn more about The Christendom College Legacy Challenge by visiting giving.christendom.edu/legacy or by contacting John F. Ciskanik, Executive Director of Gift Planning, at ciskanik@christendom.edu or 434-907-3063.
1. Students and faculty from the St. Columcille Institute gather in front of O’Donnell Castle in Donegal Town.
2. The college bade farewell to Alisa Polk, John Englestad, and Pete Crisman, as the three retired early this fall. We are grateful for their many sacrifices for the community over these past decades.
3. Faculty make the Oath of Fidelity to the Magisterium at the annual Mass of the Holy Spirit with Bishop Burbidge of the Diocese of Arlington over Orientation Weekend.
4. Students embarked on an exhilarating canoe trip down the Shenandoah River in September.
5. Sophomore John Kennedy charges down the rugby field during a 96-0 victory over Old Dominion University.
6. Students shared a dance at the annual Italian Night, a celebration of Italian heritage and culture.
7. Sophomore and soccer team captain Michael Townsend drives the ball down the field in a game against Penn State Brandywine.
8. Sophomore Adrienne McShurley passes the ball in a game against Appalachian Bible College.
9. The Lady Crusader soccer team celebrated a winning season this year.
10. Dr. Daniel McInerny took a group of seniors into Washington, D.C., to see the National Gallery of Art in September.
11. To celebrate the founding of Christendom College, the college’s Chaplain, Fr. Marcus Pollard, led a special rosary procession across campus on September 14, Founders Day.
12. Juniors studying abroad this fall listened to a tour at the base of the Spanish Steps in Rome.
13. In honor of the 45th anniversary of Christendom College, students, faculty, staff, and esteemed guests watched a special fireworks show at the Academic Convocation, with a magical display illuminating the new Christ the King Chapel.
14. Alumni Jeff Sciscilo ’04 and Jennifer Hutchins ’04 spoke at a Life on Tap alumni networking event, sponsored by the college’s Career & Professional Development Office. The two graduates delivered insightful advice about getting their feet in the door of the financial world.
15. Three Vander Woude brothers and their nephew pose for a photo at the 13th annual Thomas S. Vander Woude Memorial Golf Tournament on October 10. The event, which honors their father, raised over $25k for the next generation of Christendom student-athletes.
What usually causes discomfort for modern couples when addressing the topic of husbandly authority is the area of decision-making. Does a husband’s headship extend to decision-making? Certainly, we cannot deny that each member of the family has a proper sphere of activity in which free decision-making is possible and necessary. How can anyone be prepared for a fully human life if his or her freedom has not been developed? A tyrannical husband and father reduces his wife and children to slaves who operate out of fear. In such cases, they are stunted in their spiritual development, which he has failed to promote.
Spouses, as a natural part of their vocation to love, should seek to communicate as openly as possible regarding decisions that affect their family’s future—and should seek consensus. Pius XI clearly pointed out that a wife’s call to submission in no way implies that our free decision-making ought to be curbed—as a child’s is curbed at times, due to ignorance or immaturity. In fact, a wise husband often heeds a wife’s advice and defers to her expertise in many matters—particularly those regarding our children, to whose needs, feelings, and moral development she is particularly sensitive.
But every family goes through times when the husband and wife cannot reach a consensus. How does a Catholic couple proceed? Pope Pius XI taught us that the “order of love” of the “domestic society … includes both the primacy of the husband with regard to the wife and children, the ready subjection of the wife and her willing obedience.” Understanding the family as a kind of natural order, the Church has identified a husband’s “primacy” and a wife’s “obedience” as essential principles of that order. Pius XI continued:
“This subjection of wife to husband in its degree and manner may vary according to the different conditions of persons, place and time. In fact, if the husband neglect his duty, it falls to the wife to take his place in directing the family. But the structure of the family and its fundamental law, established and confirmed by God, must always and everywhere be maintained intact.”
Pius XI understood that headship and submission will vary to a degree, as times and situations change. But he was firm in asserting that the structure of the family demands that such an “asymmetric” dynamic exists for the good of the whole. Put simply, it makes sense that someone in a family,
for practical purposes, should have a final say that allows the family to function when it cannot reach a consensus. Both Scripture and Church tradition place that responsibility on the husband.
But is it biologically true that a man is somehow more suited to such a role? Can the natural masculine gifts somehow prepare him to wield such a responsibility in way that is superior to how we might wield it as women? Psychologist Greg Bottaro noted that biology may offer support for such a position:
“There is less connectivity between the right and left hemispheres in the male brain. This allows for greater compartmentalization. At the same time, there is actually more connection between the front and back of each hemisphere in the male brain. These two realities contribute to the masculine genius. Men are better at spatial organization and abstract thinking, both of which utilize intra-hemispheric communication. These qualities dispose a man to make decisions and solve problems that are related to the external environment. Intra-hemispheric frontal-lobe modulation is more natural for men, which makes it easier to detach from the emotional considerations of a situation.”
What does this mean? It means that a husband’s ability to “zero in” and abstract from the pull of emotions can assist him in situations where clarity is blurred due to strong feelings surrounding an issue. Recall also that a man tends to be future-oriented; we women, because of our attention to persons, are at times so consumed with tending to them in the present moment that we can find it difficult to abstract from a situation in order to gain perspective. The capacity to abstract from the particulars of a situation in order to consider the concept of what is good for the family as a whole is a masculine gift that the husband is to place at the service of the family.
The above reasoning, however, may still seem somewhat shaky. What guarantee do we have that in a given situation the course of action we propose as a wife would be less wise than a husband’s? Happily, another reason supports a wife’s deferring to her husband when the couple has reached a stalemate. This reason has nothing to do with a man’s strengths and everything to do with a woman’s. Teresa Benedicta reminds us that our nature as women gives us a distinct advantage in accepting
difficult matters.
our husbands’ decisions in
Why is this so?
“The capacity to abstract from the particulars of a situation in order to consider the concept of what is good for the family as a whole is a masculine gift that the husband is to place at the service of the family. ”
The feminine ability to subordinate our own interests for the sake of a personal relationship enables us to get on board more easily with decisions which we may question. Teresa Benedicta noted women’s special ability for “empathetic interest” in areas “far from [our] own concern,” which assists us in making a personal connection to others. When my mother was dating my father, for example, she learned everything about cars to get closer to him. I learned about football so I could have an excuse to hang out with my future husband on Sunday afternoons. Another mother I know—having only male children—has become an expert on all things military in order to bond with her sons. Because we have such a deep-seated orientation toward persons and relationships, we tend to give those relationships top priority—even if that prioritizing means we stretch ourselves to appreciate things toward which we might not otherwise be inclined.
For this reason, I have come to appreciate the characterization of Elastigirl, the mother of Pixar’s Incredibles family. A wife and mother’s superpower does seem to be that of being stretched and pulled, expanded and expended, to meet the many needs of our loved ones. While this superpower does not imply that we find it easy to accept a spouse’s differing decision, it does suggest that we women have a certain power to subordinate our own preference to his decision for the sake of our spousal relationships.
How would a man do in this kind of subordinating role? Being object-oriented, a man tends to focus more exclusively on the problem and struggles more to accept a decision with which he does not agree. He tends to concentrate so wholly on the issue at hand that he is generally less capable of entertaining personal considerations. (Recall that a man tends to identify with his actions— including decisions—thus tying himself to them in a way distinct from what we do as women.) So, when I, as a wife, insist on my way, I take a very real risk. Should my
decision backfire, my husband may be less willing to take responsibility for its consequences.
He lives his headship most authentically, then, when he possesses a disposition of responsibility and accountability for his family’s flourishing. If the decision, however flawed, is his, he is more motivated to own it and to make it right when things go wrong, being bound to his actions in his distinctively masculine way. Furthermore, my ability to stand with him as a wife—because I can more clearly distinguish my love for him from my opinion of his decision—provides much-needed support in these situations. Together, the complementary gifts of husband and wife give couples the capacity to maintain family unity and weather the storms that never fail to accompany family life.
What is important to keep in mind here is that these types of final-say decisions should not be the norm in a healthy, sacramental marriage; they ought to be the exception. Those who argue against a husband’s authority often paint a picture of a dictatorial husband making final decisions on a daily basis while his passive, subservient wife keeps her opinions to herself. Such a couple is in need of an intervention! Healthy, honest communication is critical to keeping decision impasses at a minimum—and couples should never shy away from seeking counsel if they are struggling in this area. I often
advise my female students to think twice before marrying any young man who seems overly keen on asserting himself as head of the house. Such a position can be quite burdensome, because a husband must make decisions for the common good of the family—not to satisfy his own whims as titular household head.
I once spoke with a woman whose parents had recently weathered a significant storm. Her father had opted to accept an early retirement package, buy and build on a large property, and invest what remained in a new and promising business venture. His wife was opposed. She did not think he would be happy retiring so soon, and she was concerned about the investment risks. She was honest and vocal about her objections, but he was convinced his plan was for the best—after all, he wanted to please her and build her her dream house! She submitted, and they went through with the plan. Shortly after building the new house and a beautiful barn, his investment venture collapsed. He was forced to reenter the workforce and was unable to keep up with necessary maintenance on the new buildings for nearly a decade. What could have broken his spirit was only a glancing blow, however; his wife’s love and tenderness toward him under these disappointing circumstances were precisely what motivated him to keep going for so many more years, working hard (at the expense even of his health) to make it up to her. When their daughter told me this story, she described them as having an incredibly happy marriage. Her mom’s strength in allowing her dad that fateful “final say” decision was her expression of unity that ultimately motivated him to “keep on” giving until they reached a better place.
When pondering the burden of decision-making, I am reminded of a fictional marriage that falls under the category of a “cautionary tale”: the Bennets of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Mr. Bennet believes that it is imprudent to allow his flirtatious young daughter Lydia to go on a seaside holiday to Brighton, unsupervised by her family. But he refuses to insist that she remain at home, being instead worn down by Lydia’s—and more so, his wife’s—constant pleas that she be allowed to go on this trip. He gives in to the ladies’ desires, then, not out of a regard for what he thinks is best, but only to avoid unpleasantness. He admits that “we shall have no peace at Longbourn if Lydia does not go to Brighton.” Too weak to endure the disappointment and continued complaining of his wife and daughter, Mr. Bennet abdicates his role as head of the family. Unsurprisingly, when this choice that he did not make (but only failed to stop) backfires and Lydia elopes with an unsavory young man, Mr. Bennet still does not heartily step up to take responsibility. Instead, he is driven further away from his wife in the fallout, even as he is mortified by his own weakness in failing to stand up to her.
How many husbands and fathers today bypass headship because it can be such a headache? Too many men are willing to take the path of least resistance because they would rather not be the “bad guy,” particularly when it comes to saying no to their children’s wishes. When husbands “check out” in such a way, I cannot help but recall the desperate words of Elastigirl to her oblivious husband, Mr. Incredible, as their children’s fighting descends into chaos: “Bob, it’s time to engage!” Being willing to engage means being willing to lead, even at the risk of making a mistake. The universal truth revealed in the example from Pride and Prejudice is that avoiding the responsibility of headship means eclipsing the possibility of unity. The Bennets are driven further apart and experience only suffering in their marriage. The real-life couple who lost their retirement, however, was able to stay united and happy—even in spite of misfortune—because there was headship and submission, risk and receptivity, in their married life. It was painful but ultimately fruitful because only true unions can bear fruit, and only giving and receiving can create a union.
Headship, then, requires strength because it entails risk and responsibility, and these can be daunting. Those men seriously contemplating marriage who do not experience some trepidation at the prospect are simply not prepared for
headship. (Add the fact that Paul presents Jesus Christ, God Incarnate, as their model to follow in assuming such a role.) But lest a man despair of living up to the divine standard, another human inspiration for living authentic headship can be found in St. Joseph. Though traditional opinion holds that Joseph’s initial response to Mary’s pregnancy—that of resolving “to send her away quietly” (Mt 1:19)—was fueled by his belief that she had been unfaithful, another interpretation is particularly encouraging for husbands.
Aquinas described how some of the Church Fathers believed that Joseph’s decision was motivated by something altogether different:
But according to Jerome and Origen, he had no suspicion of adultery. For Joseph knew Mary’s chastity; he had read in the Scriptures that a virgin will conceive (Is 7:14), and there will come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower will rise up out of his root (Is 11:1); he also knew that Mary was descended from David. Hence, he more easily believed that this had been fulfilled in her than that she had fornicated. And therefore, considering himself unworthy to live with such great sanctity, he wished to hide her away, just as Peter said, “depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord” (Lk 5:8). Hence, he did not wish to hand her over, i.e., to take her to himself, and receive her in marriage, considering himself unworthy.
This line of reasoning suggests that Joseph attempted to exit the stage not because he considered Mary unworthy but because he considered himself unworthy to step into the holy drama that was unfolding. Being asked to enter a role for which he felt unprepared and undeserving: this sums up the fears of many husbands. Joseph did not think he was holy enough, perfect enough; yet to be Mary’s husband and foster-father of Jesus Christ was what God asked of him. Note that the angel tells Joseph in his dream, “Do not fear to take Mary as your wife” (Mt 1: 20). Fear is the response of the humble to the holy. Mary, too, experienced it at the Annunciation when she was invited to become the mother of God.
What underlies both accounts is that Mary’s receiving and Joseph’s self-offering are both expressions of obedience. For a man to embrace the role of head is an act of obedience to God. His wife is most certainly not the only one called to obey here. John Paul II told us that “Joseph obeyed the explicit command of the angel and took Mary into his home, while respecting the fact that she belonged exclusively to God.” Here we see that true headship is a service, one that demands more than what seems humanly possible. This truth is why we must reflect on Gabriel’s words reminding us that “with God, nothing will be impossible” (Lk 1:37). John Paul II summed up the essence of real authority when he wrote, “Through his complete self-sacrifice, Joseph expressed his generous love for the Mother of God, and gave her a husband’s ‘gift of self.’” What a model for all husbands!
Mary Stanford is a speaker, teacher, and writer on Catholic marriage and family life. She is an adjunct professor at Christendom College and has a master’s degree in theological studies from the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family. She and her husband, Trey, have seven children.
The Bennet Family as depicted by artist Hugh Thomson in the 1894 edition of Pride and Prejudice
In these difficult economic times, affording a college education can be challenging for young people. Thankfully, Christendom alumni have generously stepped up to the plate to ensure that the next generation of college students can receive an excellent Catholic liberal arts education.
Christendom alumni recently created two scholarships honoring deceased members of the college community. Thanks to the generosity of these graduates, Christendom now offers the Michael Echaniz Debt Relief Scholarship for New Teachers and the Dr. Brendan J. McGuire Scholarship Endowment.
The Michael Echaniz Debt Relief Scholarship for New Teachers honors the memory of Christendom alumnus Michael Echaniz ’20, who died in March of 2022. Michael was a dear friend, son, brother, and uncle known for his passion for education and evangelization, as well as his love for his students. He taught at Great Hearts Forest Heights in San Antonio, Texas.
The scholarship provides financial assistance to Christendom students who intend to pursue a career in education. The scholarship was established through an outpouring of support from dozens of Christendom alumni as well as by Michael’s parents, John ’93 and Sharon (née Alessandro) Echaniz ’95.
BY MARIA BONVISSUTO Dr. Brendan McGuire and Michael Echaniz Michael Echaniz Dr. Brendan McGuireThe entire Christendom community rallied behind the Echaniz family with prayers, words of comfort, and support for the family.
Christendom graduate John Dean ’22 was the first recipient of this scholarship. Dean currently teaches humanities and debate at Chesterton Academy of St. Mary’s in Maryland.
“I hope to honor Michael through my work by spreading a love of the good, the true, and the beautiful [and] through providing my students with a quality Catholic education,” Dean says.
The Dr. Brendan J. McGuire Scholarship Endowment was established by Mr. and Mrs. James Erwin. Dr. Brendan J. McGuire ’03 was a beloved history professor at Christendom College who passed away in October of 2020 after a long battle with cancer. He had a deep and lasting impact on the lives of his students and colleagues at the college.
James ’05 and his wife created the scholarship endowment to provide financial assistance to Christendom history majors. The scholarship will be awarded beginning in the fall of 2023.
Dr. McGuire graduated as valedictorian of the Christendom Class of 2003 with a bachelor’s degree in history and classical studies. He went on to receive both his M.A. and Ph.D. in medieval history from St. Louis University and returned to teach at Christendom in 2007.
Known all over campus for his passionate love of history, sparkling sense of humor, and deep love for Christ, Dr. McGuire became a fixture of the Christendom faculty. In addition to regular classes, he also taught at Christendom’s St. Columcille Institute in Ireland and at The Best Week Ever Christendom College Summer Program.
“Brendan’s passion for education was evident to all who knew him,” says James. “He devoted so much energy to bringing the Christian worldview of history to life in his classroom and in everyday conversation. While there is no replacing Dr. McGuire, we are thrilled that this scholarship is established in his honor and that his legacy will carry on and continue to support educational opportunities for Christendom students.”
The Christendom College community is deeply grateful for the generosity of the alumni who made these two scholarships possible.
Those who wish to contribute to either scholarship may do so here:
Dr. Brendan J. McGuire Scholarship Endowment christendom.edu/gift/mcguire
Michael Echaniz Debt Relief Scholarship for New Teachers christendom.edu/gift/echaniz
You can impact the future of our faith and heritage through a gift to Christendom College in your will or trust. Benefactors who are interested in creating a scholarship endowment can contact John F. Ciskanik, Executive Director of Gift Planning, at 434-907-306 or ciskanik@christendom.edu.
For the secular world, suffering is an evil to be avoided at all costs. To many, being ill, being weak, or being helpless is not something that evokes compassion—it is an unnecessary burden that is best ignored or eliminated in order to keep life comfortable. This reality is perhaps most stark in the medical field, with the realities of abortion and euthanasia ever-present. What can one do in the face of such darkness and despair? How can one person make a difference?
Olivia Musilli ’17 entered the medical field after graduation with these same questions. In the five years since, she has come to a profound realization: that Catholic physicians have a unique perspective on suffering, not shared by any other background. This perspective provides not just a contrast but a solution to the problems in the medical field today, a solution that can change the medical field—and the world itself—for the better.
A native of New York, Musilli attended Christendom College from 2013 to 2017, earning her bachelor’s degree in English language and literature. At first glance, such a degree does not seem a likely indicator for success in the medical field. But for Musilli and other Christendom graduates before and since, her background in the liberal arts was integral during both her time in medical school and after.
Following a year spent completing a palliative care internship and studying for and taking the MCAT, Musilli began her studies at the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, taking classes in didactic learning for two years before completing various rotations in New York and Pennsylvania for the final two years of her studies. She graduated this past May, receiving her Doctorate of Osteopathy degree and, in the process, becoming one of Christendom’s first alumnae physicians.
best to treat patients of all ages and of all backgrounds as a physician.
Treating the sick and the injured is an enormous responsibility, one that requires a great deal of both knowledge and compassion. For Musilli, the weight of this responsibility—and, ultimately, why she wanted to join this field—became clear to her on the first day of medical school.
“On my first day of medical school, one of the professors told our class there are only two professions allowed to enter so intimately into a person’s life: clergy and physicians,” said Musilli. “Just as the seal of confession protects the sacred bond between sinner and confessor, legal and ethical protections protect the confidentiality between patient and physician. The reason I chose family medicine was because I have seen utter brokenness in the world, in families, and in patients’ personal lives. While this can be a depressing reality, I see my role as a physician as an opportunity to offer perhaps the only concrete relationship a patient will know in his lifetime. I hope my professional promise to my patients to stay with them through illness and health and to not abandon them in their lowest moments will plant a seed of desire to seek a more permanent relationship and healing from the Divine Physician Himself.”
Today, Musilli is in a family medicine residency program in Meadville, Pennsylvania, where she will spend the next three years completing rotations in every aspect of medicine, including hospitalist medicine, emergency medicine, surgery, ICU, OB/GYN, pediatrics, geriatrics, addiction/ behavioral health, psychiatry, cardiology, endocrinology, hematology/oncology, neurology, night float, dermatology, ophthalmology, hospice/palliative care, and electives. In short, Musilli is getting firsthand experience in every aspect of the medical field, giving her firsthand knowledge of how
In moments like these, the importance of the Catholic physician becomes ever clearer. Being present at one’s lowest moment is one thing, but being able to help them and offer hope is quite another entirely. Musilli is bearing witness to that in her daily work, especially after completing her first inpatient medicine rotation. Daily, she would prescribe and adjust medications, order labs and testing, initiate consults to various specialties, perform a number of procedures, speak with patients about treatment plans, and even pronounce deaths, from 7:00 in the morning to 7:00 at night, twelve days in a row.
I hope my professional promise to my patients to stay with them through illness and health and to not abandon them in their lowest moments will plant a seed of desire to seek a more permanent relationship and healing from the Divine Physician Himself.
As one might imagine, within this work, Musilli has encountered many moments of hope and inspiration but also challenges as well. In a secular society that views suffering as only burdensome, Musilli has met providers and patients who view the lives of the ill, weak, disabled, and unwanted as unnecessary, better ended now than to continue without “quality of life.” In these moments, Musilli realized the profound importance of the Catholic physician in the medical field.
“I have debated medical professionals on the ‘need’ for medical abortions and the use of aborted fetal cell lines in research and vaccines,” recounts Musilli. “Sometimes, I have become filled with doubts and question what I can do in the face of such darkness and despair. In those moments, I turn to St. Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 12, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ After spending some time to process these events, I have come to realize Catholic physicians have a unique perspective on suffering, not shared by any other background. Just as I learned in my Christendom theology classes that while suffering is not an end in itself, Christ’s Passion and Death has elevated suffering to possess a salvific quality. For the secular world, suffering is the worst evil to be avoided at all costs; but for the believer, suffering has value insofar as it can
transform us into the best version of ourselves if we allow it to do so.”
What Musilli has realized is the contrast and the solution to the problems in the medical field today: suffering is not something to simply be ignored or eliminated. Rather, it is something that can be salvific. It is something that can transform not only the person suffering but all around them into the best versions of themselves—a people united in Christ’s own suffering for the salvation of the world.
It is this perspective that elevates all of Musilli’s daily work and has helped her overcome the challenges and trials she has faced thus far. For her, completing medical school and becoming a physician is the most difficult thing she has ever done. She has encountered the human condition in all its forms, from unapologetic evil to supernatural virtue and everything in between. And yet, as a result of all of this, she has seen something beautiful: that being a good physician requires an extraordinary amount of virtue and that this calling is her particular path to sanctity.
“As a Christendom alumna, I have been called to help restore the medical field to Christ,” says Musilli. “In discovering how to accomplish this in a concrete way, I have learned the best thing I can offer my patients is my
humanity. The medical field can be a dehumanizing place. Patients are often questioned about particular details of their past medical history, completely exposed for examinations, and required to relive incredibly painful experiences. While I may not be able to cure the illness or fix the problem in that moment, I can offer a listening ear and a compassionate word.”
Once Musilli is finished with her three years of rotations, she will work in family medicine, seeing and treating all ages, including infants, children, pregnancy patients, and the elderly. An enormous responsibility, to be sure, but a position she is not only prepared for, but called to.
For the secular world, suffering is an evil to be avoided at all costs. In the face of this darkness, one person can still make a difference. Compassion, hope, love, and the Truth can be restored to the medical profession. Musilli, and other alumni, are the evidence of that.
“I have learned that no matter what vocation God is calling you to, do not be afraid,” concludes Musilli. “Do not be afraid to ask the hard questions. Do not be afraid to strive for excellence and defend your values. Do not be afraid to offer your humanity. He is with you always.”
“
”
Just as I learned in my Christendom theology classes that while suffering is not an end in itself, Christ’s Passion and Death has elevated suffering to possess a salvific quality.
The message of the Spanish martyrs of only 80 years ago is not a message of past history; it is a message of great relevance for today as it shows as the example and faithfulness of our older brothers and sisters in the faith, that, when surrounded with a culture that was turning more and more against their Christian values, they committed their lives to prayer and sacramental life. With the grace of God, they were able to do His will and stay faithful to the end, even to the shedding of their blood in martyrdom.
While reading Dr. Warren H. Carroll’s The Last Crusade, I was struck by the fact that I was born in 1958, only 20 years after this horrific Civil War. Remarkably, Spain had recovered from the tumult of the war in such a short time: it had a prosperous economy, and the citizens could publicly profess and practice their faith freely and openly without any fear of reprisal.
“It is time to retell their story, especially for our young people who have been denied heroism and crusade and may yet be called upon for martyrdom.”
–Dr. Warren H. Carroll
Christendom College Press launched a new website this fall. To shop all works by acclaimed historian Dr. Warren H. Carroll, (including new editions) as well as other titles by the college’s esteemed faculty, visit: press.christendom.edu
As I progressed in my reading, however, I was profoundly impacted. Was I the only one who was unaware of the fullness of the truth about the Spanish Civil War, herein contained and recounted in this book? Yes, of course I knew that the Spanish Civil War was a war of communism trying to take over our homeland and our traditional faith. But after finishing the book, I had to admit that at least 90% of what I discovered in its pages had escaped me while growing up in Spain. I was alarmed!
By the time I finished reading the book, I felt an obligation to pass on this history, first to my own children and then to all those Spaniards of my generation and younger. How many of them, like me, had parents and grandparents who wished to “forgive and forget”? Looking back now, I must admit that forgiving is a gift from God that we surely must practice, but forgetting is not good, since it only leads us to repeat the errors of the past.
The following is a letter I wrote to my children containing the message that I would like to pass on to all those who will read this book:
“I encourage you all to read this book, The Last Crusade. It will open your eyes and heart to a real understanding of Spain, its real history, and why it is important to understand our history so that we can defend who we are and not repeat the errors of the past.”
Top: Ruins of an old church destroyed during the Spanish Civil War in Saragossa, Spain. Bottom: The new edition of Carroll’s The Last Crusade
“ It will open your eyes and heart to a real understanding of Spain, its real history, and why it is important to understand our history so that we can defend who we are and not repeat the errors of the past.”
As I read this book, I learned a lot and cried a lot, but overall, it gave me real “joy and peace.” How is this possible, reading through accounts of thousands of priests, religious, bishops, and Catholic lay people who were cruelly tortured and shot, that we can find some kind of joy and peace? Well, as I was reading, I reflected on that same question, and I was able to find the answer.
All the martyrs from the Spanish Civil War died happily, unwilling to renounce their faith, forgiving their murderers, and singing praise hymns to God. They were all willingly doing “God’s will.”
At the end, this is real Christian joy and peace, not to do what pleases us according to this world’s standards, but to do God’s will, to pick up our crosses and follow Him faithfully.
Dr. Carroll researched this history at a time when a transformation in Spanish society was well underway, wherein the memory of its past was increasingly fading, even though the events of the Spanish Civil War were still so recent.
This collective amnesia has not been without purpose, and there are essentially two causes for it. First, it is due in part to intentional propaganda mounted by those who lost the war and who now wish to prosecute it anew through oral and written arguments falsifying its truths and outcome. This has largely been achieved through use of the media, in classrooms, and since 2007 passing laws that falsify history and penalize those who are willing to tell the truth. Second, the fading memory of the war is due in part to men and women who won the war and who, by Christian and simply human desire, wish to sow agreement through pardon and “forgetting” the war.
This accounts for their passing over in silence the great atrocities committed against the Catholic Church by the socialist, communist anarchistic regime in power in Spain during the 1930s. Most recently, there was little resistance to the exhumation—against his family’s will—of the body of General Francisco Franco Bahamonde from the “Valley of the Fallen”—a magnificent basilica and Catholic cemetery. It was Franco who led Spain to victory in the Civil War and oversaw the country’s reconstruction and modernization.
As Dr. Carroll noted in his introduction to the book, the Valley of the Fallen (el Valle de los Caídos) was built:
“In keeping with the unlimited love and devotion of the martyrs, even those who had fought against the Catholic cause in Spain in this dreadful civil war, whose families wished it, were buried in the Valley of the Fallen alongside those who died fighting for that cause, so that the enemies whom the Incarnate
God commanded us to love might benefit from the Masses in the crypt as well as from the prayers of the martyrs. There is no more Catholic place on earth than the Valley of the Fallen in the Guadarrama Mountains of Spain.”
As of this writing, however, both the Basilica, excavated 250 meters in the interior of the mountain and entrusted to the Benedictine monks by legal decree in 1957, and the magnificent 500 feet tall Cross in the Valley of the Fallen, which is featured on the cover of this book since the 1996 edition, are in great danger, as the so-called “Democratic Memory Law” (ley de Memoria Democrática) is in the last stages of being passed by the current socialist-communist coalition government of Spain. This law calls for the desacralization of the basilica and cemetery, the expulsion of the Benedictine monks, and the destruction of the Cross–the tallest cross in the world.
Finally, I would like to point out that everything that is contained in this book, including its title, The Last Crusade, has been ratified by the last three Popes. At this time, over 2,000 of those murdered during this time have been declared martyrs, including 11 canonizations, and there remain 2,000 more that are in the process of beatification.
For the Great Jubilee year in 2000, St. John Paul II requested that a Register of Martyrs of the 20th Century be compiled. Monsignor Vicente Carcél Ortí, a well-known Spanish historian, reported more than 10,000 Spaniards had died defending their faith in Jesus Christ during the period right before and during the Spanish Civil War. These are the sobering results: 13 bishops, 1 Apostolic Administrator, 7,000 priests and religious, and 3,000 lay Catholics, mainly members of the Catholic group “Catholic Action.”
Christian life repeats itself, and we should always be ready. If Jesus was persecuted, we also will be, but we should not forget where our real Home is, where we are coming from, and where we are going.
Blessed Spanish Martyrs, pray for us!
Beatriz S. McNamara was born in Madrid, Spain, in 1958. She earned her Law degree and master’s in European Community law from el Centro de Estudios Universitarios San Pablo in Madrid. She has lived in the United States since 1985, is married, and is the mother of six and grandmother of five. In April 2021, her Spanish translation of The Last Crusade was published in Spain, and this year, her new bilingual book El Camino: 12 Lessons for Our Spiritual Journey
Fireworks lit up the sky as alumni celebrated the college’s forty-fifth anniversary at Homecoming with a splendid dinner and dance. This year also marked the anniversary of four different graduating classes: 1982, 1992, 2002, and 2012.
Deacon Gerard Marie Anthony ’02 was the recipient of this year’s St. Pius X Award for Contribution to the Christian Renovation of the Temporal Order.
See more photos at christendom.edu/pictures.
Mary Beth (née McKernan) Thomas ’83 paid a visit during her recent move from Massachusetts to Texas. L-R: Doug Briggs ’83, Brenda (née Davis) O’Reilly ’82, Joan (née Longua) Philbin ’83, Mary Beth (née McKernan) Thomas ’83, Nancy (née Popik) Briggs ’82, and Frank O’Reilly ’83. 1
Michael and Reva (née Jacobs) Olszewski’s ’91 oldest son, Peyton, entered the Mount St. Mary’s Seminary. 2
Janet Purdy ’97 married Matthew Bradley on July 16, 2022, at St. James Catholic Church in Falls Church, VA, where she is in her 18th year teaching Spanish. Many alumni were present. 3
In August, Joyce and Andrew Bodoh ’07 welcomed a son, Philip Karol Bodoh, the first boy in their family of four. 4
Michael ’07 and Beth (née Fettes) Collins ’09 finally welcomed another girl to their crew of six. Mary “Molly” Kathleen is being loved on by all. 5
Kyle Greene ’08 married Paula Barry on August 20, 2022, at St. Joseph Church in Chisholm, MN. 6
Elizabeth June Inman, daughter of Zac ’08 and Sadie (née Bratt) Inman ’13, arrived June 4, 2022. She was in a hurry and came two weeks early, making her entrance before the midwife could get there, but Zac was an excellent substitute. She weighed in at 6 lb., 8 oz, and was 20 inches long. She joins Zoey, Jack, and Zeb in the Inman brood, tying things up 2-2. 7
Allison (Firehammer) Thron ’10 will be starting a new job as the Assistant Director of Development for the Diocese of Memphis, TN.
Zachary and Rebekah (née Skiba) Miller ’11 welcomed their fourth child, George Anthony, on September 3, 2022. 8
Dom and Katie (née McCoy) Gergen ’14 are pleased to announce that Perpetua Jean was born on May 3, 2022. Siblings Cyprian, Caeli, and Boniface are loving their new sister. 9
Rebecca Neltner ’15 is engaged to be married to Michael Momper. They are planning for a wedding next summer. 10
Leif Pilegaard ’15 proposed to Andrea McCully, whom he met through Christendom friends, Joey and Magdalena (née Cuddeback) Kuplack ’17. Leif and Andrea are to be married this December in Phoenix, AZ. 11
Kylie Feiring ’18 will be married to Thomas Olohan at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Front Royal, VA, on November 12, 2022. They plan to live in Manassas, VA. 12 Jane (née Adams) and Luke Maschue ’18 are delighted to announce the birth of their daughter Frances Aurelia Margaret Maschue. Frances has been joyfully welcomed by her excited siblings Jude (3) and Evangeline (1). Jane and Luke are both continuing Ph.D. studies at the Catholic University of America in medieval history and Greek & Latin, respectively. Luke was also recently hired as an adjunct instructor of classical languages at the Dominican House of Studies, and Jane is working as editorial assistant at Speculum: A Journal of Medieval Studies, the journal of the Medieval Academy of America. 13
Rebecca “Becky” Derks ’18 received the Dominican habit and the religious name Sr.
Maria Julia of the Eucharist on August 28, 2022, at the Dominican Monastery of Our Lady of the Rosary in Summit, NJ. 14
Tom and Jeana (née Morgan) Anderson ’19 were married on July 30, 2022, in Lancaster, PA. 15
Anthony and Bridget (née Schneider) Storey ’21 welcomed a new baby girl, Diana Joan Storey, in August 2022. 16
Jacob and Annabella (née Christensen) Altmanshofer ’21 welcomed Leo Xavier Altmanshofer, who was born on the morning of June 26, 2022. 17
Isabel Meteyer ’20 and Anthony Palumbo ’21 got engaged on August 14, 2022. 18
Caleb ’21 and Jillian (née Jenkins) Heffern ’18 welcomed their second son, James Ignatius Vernon Maria, on the Feast of Our Lady’s Assumption, August 15, 2022. James was baptized at the Priory of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary on August 19. The Heffern family recently relocated back to Virginia from Maryland to be closer to family. 19
Daniel and Rosa Weichert ’21 welcomed Charbel Nathaniel on August 27, 2022. The godparents are alumna Kipp ’04 and Mary Grace (née Fallon) Slocum ’05. 20
George ’22 and Jenna (née Williams) Schuberg ’21 were married on July 30, 2022. 21
Mike and Lucia (née Janaro) Rego ’22 were married on July 9, 2022. 22
John and Alinemary (née English) Dean ’22 were married on July 16, 2022. 23
Ian and Elisa (née Lonnecker) Simon ’22 were married on June 11, 2022, at Christ the King Chapel. They now reside in Woodbridge, VA. 24
Luke Borrajo ’22 and Erin Deighan ’23 were engaged on July 3, 2022. 25
Compiled by Vince Criste ’98 and Anna Williams ’24.
In the 1160s, Stephen Langton, a young Englishman, journeyed to Paris to study theology. It was the beginning of a brilliant career, which brought him to become first a professor of theology, then cardinal of St. Chrisogonus and counselor of Pope Innocent III, and finally archbishop of Canterbury in 1215.
Langton was not only a brilliant teacher and a reformer of the English church, but he was also a much-celebrated homilist. One of his most striking sermons is his principium, the homily he delivered to his colleagues and students on the day he became professor of theology.
As was customary, Langton begins his homily with a Biblical quotation, a combination of three passages from Exodus. He applies these verses to four issues of great importance to his audience, namely the necessity to know the world and its vices, the features of the Scriptures, the virtues that are required to be a good student, and finally, the qualities necessary for a good professor of theology.
The last two sections are, obviously, the most interesting for college students and professors alike. Students need purity of life, simplicity of heart, attentiveness of mind, humility, and mildness, while masters should possess knowledge, a righteous life, humility, and meekness. The virtues Langton considers indispensable for students overlap with those expected from masters, at least in name. However, Langton tailors the virtues to students and teachers respectively, underlining different aspects of the same virtue for different situations.
The knowledge of the Scriptures that a good teacher possesses (scientia) is the result of his simplicity of heart and his heart’s attention in reading the Scriptures. The validity of his knowledge is demonstrated in his righteous life. At the same time, scientia is also necessary to preach and teach the Sacred Scriptures.
Humility and meekness are essential both to learn and teach the Sacred Scriptures, but different aspects of these virtues are useful in different contexts. Those who seek to gain knowledge of the Scriptures must allow themselves to be taught and should avoid ornate speeches and quarrelsome disputes. For students of theology, this means that they should cease thinking that they already know everything and cease expressing their ideas in convoluted discourses for the sake of showing off. To express this concept, Langton uses the image of a riverbed that is the human heart, which is replenished not by wind or rain, namely by quarrels or ornate speeches, but only by the grace of God.
In the case of professors, Langton chooses the example of the prophet Jeremiah. The book of Jeremiah begins with a dramatic acknowledgment of the prophet’s incapacity: in response to the call from God, Jeremiah cries out for help. Langton emphasizes that a professor also should always remember that he has been invested in his office by God. That is why he should teach without trusting only in his eloquence and knowledge, but rather in God.
Finally, both students and masters should be meek: the former modest in receiving, the latter gentle in giving, and not proud of their intellectual or moral stature.
Through his principium, Langton does two things. First, he applies to professors of
theology the model of the good bishop, which had been presented by Pope St. Gregory the Great centuries before in his Pastoral Rule. Gregory insisted that bishops should instruct their people through “word and example”— they must both teach the Scriptures and live them. The fact that Langton uses this same model for professors of theology is significant. Langton’s sermon shows us that a professor of theology not only had to instruct his students. There is another crucial aspect to the masters’ duty—that of educating their students through their life and their words, just as Gregory had argued bishops should act.
Second, Langton presents the study of the Scriptures as a conversion that is both spiritual and intellectual. In this endeavor, students and masters are companions, and masters can be true models only if they accept such a conversion. Not without a gentle sense of humor, at the end of his principium, Langton declares his inadequacy to be a master because he does not possess excellence either in life or in scientia. For this reason, he finally entrusts his tongue and mind to the divine bounty rather than his own presumption, showing that he also needs to undergo a spiritual transformation: “What shall I say about [being a good theology professor], I, who possess eminence neither in life nor in knowledge? But by considering the inexhaustible mercy of the heavenly bounty rather than human presumption, I turn my tongue and my mind to the praise of my Redeemer, and I entrust myself and my resolution to His grace.”
There is no better way to start an academic year—and to start each day—than by making Langton’s final words our own.
Alessia Berardi is from Milan, Italy, and is a professor of history at Christendom College. She obtained her B.A. and M.A. in classics from the Milan State University, and she is currently finishing her Ph.D. in medieval studies at the University of Toronto. She researches the cathedral schools of the 12th century, and she teaches core and upper-level classes
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.
on the Middle Ages and the Ancient World.
Master Stephen Langton and the Inexhaustible Mercy of the Heavenly Bounty
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