S T . B E R N A R D ' S M A G A Z I N E S E P T 2 0 2 2 V O L 6 4 N O 1 SOURCE & SUMMIT PRIORITY OF THE EUCHARIST IN EVANGELIZATION HEARTS, UPWARD! LIFTING UP EVERY MOMENT AS A EUCHARISTIC OFFERING THE EUCHARIST & REDEMPTION SEEING, BELIEVING, EATING
Inside This Issue 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 14 15 16 17 18 Letter from the President Overview of the 2021 2022 Year Faculty and Staff Highlights Letter from the Chair of the Board The Priority of the Eucharist in Evangelization In the Eucharist Our Redemption Is Accomplished Your Generosity Remembered Commencement 2022 Free Audit Initiative New Bioethics Graduate Certificate Initiative The Classroom as a Miniature Image of the Church Hearts, Upward! Lifting up Every Moment as a Eucharistic Offering www.stbernards.edu 120 French Road Rochester, NY 14618 (585) 271 3657 40 North Main Ave Albany, NY 12203 (518) 453 6760 Stephen Loughlin, Ph.D. | President Matthew Kuhner, Ph D | Vice President & Academic Dean Bernadette Bobrowski | Director of Marketing & Communications, Editor Mary Colleen Drain | Admissions & Marketing Associate, Contributing Editor Matthew Brown | Director of Admissions & Student Services Daniel Drain, Ph D (Cand ) | Coordinator of Academic Operations Katharina Nieves | Registrar & Coordinator of Academic Planning Kelly Brunacini | Executive Assistant to the President Thomas Kubus | Finance & Human Resources Manager Marco Stango, Ph D | Manager of Albany Campus Shannon Toot | Bookkeeper & Financial Aid Coordinator Administration and Staff: St. Bernard's Magazine is a publication of St. Bernard's School of Theology and MinistryFollow us! @StBernardsSTM Front cover artwork: woodwork from the original St Bernard's Seminary depicting vines, branches, and grapes. It now resides on each side of the apse in St. Bernard's Chapel, inviting all to reflect upon Jesus' Eucharistic imagery in John 15.
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI reminds us that, “what we have is given to us only so that we might serve each other thereby.” The next page recounting the activities of the past year is but a partial testimony of our service to you and the Church made possible through God’s gifts and your prayerful and financial support. There is so much to share, some of which you will find in the pages that follow particularly as we focus on Eucharistic themes, drawing from our current moment of Eucharistic Revival in the Church
My team and I are acutely aware of the responsibilities that come with shepherding St Bernard’s School of Theology and Ministry With each advancement made in the life of our School, it becomes increasingly obvious to us that the whole of our community stands in loving support of all we do. In this awareness and in thanksgiving, we strive all the more to realize the status that both you and God have granted to us, namely, as faithful and prudent stewards of your gifts.
Sincerely, Stephen J. Loughlin, Ph.D. President
We are grateful for the opportunity to excel in the investment and management of these gifts so that we, in faithful, prudent, and loving service, might be judged good servants and perhaps enjoy the greatest of gifts, namely, the divine things and ultimately union with God Himself.
LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
3
Such things are never to be taken for granted, as is ever the case with all gifts that we receive from each other in this life In this posture and the gratitude that it generates, we sow the seeds from which community arises, allowing us the opportunity in communion with others to practice and hopefully realize the justice and love that mark the Catholic life This assuredly is a part of what makes life worth living We thank you for this most rare of gifts and hope that you will ever take part in both this work and the joy that flows from it.
A substantial increase from last year’s number of auditors from all over the world taking advantage of our summer courses over 350 people!
A YEAR IN REVIEW
Dr. Josephine Lombardi, Associate Professor of Pastoral and Systematic Theology and Director of Lay Formation at St Augustine’s Seminary in Canada, present on “In Persona Mariae: Women as Marian Successors in Ministry and Beyond” during the 47th Annual Otto Shults Lecture
25 people graduate, including our first from the Graduate Certificate in Catechetical Leadership program! We were blessed to have The Most Reverend Salvatore R Matano, 9th Bishop of Rochester, as our commencement speaker
Renewal of the Russell Library, with plans for it to become a theological lending library within the Rochester community by spring 2023
The co sponsorship of an archeological dig in Jordan this summer with the Balu’a Regional Archeological Project (operating out of La Sierra University in California), with Dr. Charles Hughes Huff participating in a leadership role
4
Active preparation for the re accreditation of St Bernard’s in spring 2023
The launch of our Graduate Certificate in Catholic Bioethics in partnership with the National Catholic Bioethics Center, as well as the hiring of Dr. Jean Baric Parker as the Certificate’s Program Director Collaboration with the Aquinas Institute in offering a Great Books Graduate Certificate in Theology, as well as a Liberal Arts Undergraduate Core starting this fall
God’s blessings continued to fall upon our community this year! We witnessed:
The promotion of Mrs Bernadette Bobrowski to Director of Marketing and Communications; the addition of Student Services to Mr. Matt Brown’s responsibilities as Director of Admissions; and the addition of Coordinator of Financial Aid to Ms. Shannon Toot’s responsibilities as Bookkeeper
A book symposium featuring Dr. Michael Waldstein and his recently released work, Glory of the Logos in the Flesh: St. John Paul’s Theology of the Body
Join with us in giving thanks to God for all that He has entrusted to us. May we be found worthy stewards both now and at the end of our days!
The careful preparation for our annual academic conference in late September on “Catholicity as Gift and Task: The 50th Anniversary of Communio,” which will feature international scholars including Jean Duchesne, Jean Luc Marion, Tracey Rowland, David L Schindler, and Rev Jacques Servais, S J
An agreement with the Diocese of Allentown, PA, to educate their diaconate candidates beginning in the Fall of 2021 This added 34 students to our community
that St. Bernard’s welcomes Mr. Daniel Drain, Ph.D. (Cand.), of Academic Operations and Lecturer in Pastoral Theology Mr Philosophy and Theology at DeSales University prior to earning Theological Studies from the Pontifical John Pauli II Institute for riage and Family in Washington, D C He is currently writing his d, "Saving Finite Freedom: On the Meaning of Freedom in Hans r ’ s Theology of Redemption" under the direction of Dr. Nicholas s fall, titled "Vatican II as a Pastoral Council: The Memory That
St Bernard's also welcomes Ms. Katharina Nieves as Registrar and Coordinato of Academic Planning. Ms. Nieves completed her undergraduate studies in May 2022 at SUNY Geneseo, where she received a degree in Communication. Prior to St Bernard's, Ms Nieves worked at Students for Life of America, where she continues to serve in a part time capacity as their Rochester Community Organizer. Ms. Nieves has been a great blessing to our student body particularly as she assists with their progress in our academic programs and serv as a constant and kind avenue of communication and accompaniment
St. Bernard’s has also added several important part time staff members to our team. Mary Colleen Drain joins the community as Admissions and Marketing Associate, providing dynamic support to the Offices of Admissions and Marketing and Communications Jean Baric Parker, D.BE., joins us as the Program Director of the Graduate Certificate in Catholic Bioethics, overseeing the curriculum and maintaining collaborative relationships with the National Catholic Bioethics Center and other experts in Catholic healthcare. Mary Keniry, MA, JD, LMSW, joins the community as an Academic Writing Consultant, offering writing and research support to our students through tutorial and consultancy services and assisting with writing skills, grammar, citation, and other strategies so that our students can continuously improve their craft throughout the course of their studies at St. Bernard’s.
Finally, it is a great joy to welcome several world class scholars to our faculty by way of our collaborative programming We are honored to welcome Peter J. Colosi, Ph.D., Susan Waldstein, S.T.D., Vincent P. DeMeo, Ph.D., and John Mortensen, Ph.D.; they bring an incredible depth and breadth of insight and experience to our faculty and so deeply enrich the experience of studying at St. Bernard’s.
Generates the Future "
FACULTY & STAFF HIGHLIGHTS
5
This past year has been filled with exciting new additions to the St. Bernard’s team!
Letter from the Chair
Our faculty are intelligent, dedicated, and compassionate and aspire to serve the mission of St Bernard’s every day and in every way Led by Dr Loughlin and supported by a competent and dedicated staff, our faculty do their very best to serve that mission and to help develop and indeed inspire our students to be better in every way Every day
By Edward W. Kay, Jr., Chair, Board of Trustees
So, thank you to the entire St Bernard’s team for what they do to educate and inspire our students Thank you to our students who thirst for knowledge and the ability to lead better lives. And thank you to the broader St. Bernard’s community, including and especially its supporters and benefactors. We need all of you to help St. Bernard’s and its mission.
I believe St Bernard’s strives to do that every day Our School consistently strives to speak to our better angels, to help us understand how we as children of God should live our Catholic values, and to help us be the best versions of ourselves as we both live and spread our faith.
6
As the old saying goes, the more things change, the more they stay the same
And, as I have said in the past, here’s to better days ahead
What are our duties as a citizen, as a family member, as a child of God in these distressing times?
Some obvious things stand out For example, staying informed as a responsible citizen comes immediately to mind In addition, expending efforts to understand relevant issues, speaking out when necessary, and, importantly, making sure we exercise our right to vote in all elections Apathy does not serve a nation or its citizens very well.
That adage certainly seems to apply to current events As the very contentious election of 2020 and the very disruptive coronavirus pandemic recede in the rearview mirror (though, unfortunately, not completely), other events and issues take their place a destructive war in Ukraine, pitched national conversations over so many topics, gun violence continuing unabated, and an economy with so many mixed indicators
I would submit that the most important duty we have, however, is to be the best versions of ourselves. We cannot control how events and circumstances around us evolve, but we can control who we are as people We can control how we treat others, how we conduct ourselves in public and in private, and how we spread the faith by living our faith
7
confidence and has given the Certificate in Evangelization wings ever since.
He pulled back for a moment, as if hearing his words from an outsider’s perspective, perhaps fearing that the statement had come across as extreme to his new Oregon partners. Then he followed up quickly with: “Well, maybe ‘outrageous’ sounds like a strong word. You understand what I mean though.” We did understand his meaning, and we took no issue with his phrasing; in fact, the comment delighted us He was voicing our priority as well: the priority of the Eucharist. To our ears, this moment of disclosure reflected the union not just of outlook or sensibility, but moreover the foundational Catholic comm union in the Body of Christ that confirmed our
THEPRIORITYOFTHE EUCHARISTINEVANGELIZATION
Michael Ceragioli
THESOURCE&SUMMITOFSENDING:
When the Saint John Society first contacted St. Bernard’s to discuss the proposal to launch a certificate in evangelization, we had a sense concerning nearly every dimension of the program except how precisely the two parties would coalesce Now, there were strong indications of chemistry, beginning with our shared emphasis on the luminosity of the Gospel, our conviction that Christ is best communicated through personal holiness, our integrated vision of spirituality and theology, and above and beyond all “on paper” affinities a feeling of warmth and trust But nevertheless, as we held our introductory Zoom discussions from Portland, Oregon, and Rochester, New York, those of us in Portland were eager for an indication of a smooth course
Through our course teachings and our first cohort’s academic reflections, we have explored the significance of the Christian community united by the Eucharist the community standing as, in the words of Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, “the evangelizing subject” and the “principal coefficient in the propagation of Christianity” ("First Advent Sermon 2011: Go into all the World") In our three courses treating the theology of mission, theological anthropology, and Christology, we have found ourselves returning again to the experience of Christ’s Mystical Body as constituted through reception of His Real Body.
While we talked over our intentions for a culminating theological symposium, gaining excitement as we floated themes and speakers, Dr. Matthew Kuhner shifted the momentum, remarking in a manner that might have been abrupt if not so congenial and enthusiastic: “And we will have to make sure to do one thing, right? No question about this: we will have to make the zenith of the symposium be the celebration of the Eucharist. We cannot have a day of theological talk without turning at last to adoration That would be outrageous ”
This encounter with Christ stands out as the vital kernel of the testimonies we share, the ultimate arrival of the spiritual Seeker for whom we pray, and the essential ‘coming’ that precedes our ‘going forth’ on mission. The bond has been exemplified and deepened in the formation of relationships, transcending the physical distance that separates, say, New York and Oregon. When we came together this past June for the symposium’s closing Mass in Portland, following a full day of inquiry into the role of beauty, truth, and goodness in the endeavor of evangelization, we found rest in the presence of Christ. At the end of our preparation, teaching, testimony, and dialogue, we were at peace rejoicing in the one thing necessary No theologian, however sanguine, would be in danger of using too strong a word here
Michael Ceragioli received his Master's degree in theology from Mt Angel Seminary in St Benedict, OR, and is now working towards a doctorate in Spirituality at the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, Texas Michael serves as Program Director for the Certificate in Evangelization offered collaboratively by the Saint John Society and St Bernard's.
o this in memory of Me.” So Christ says to His Apostles gathered around Him at the Last Supper, and so we hear at every celebration of the Eucharistic Liturgy But what is this? And what do we do?
IN THE EUCHARIST OUR REDEMPTION IS ACCOMPLISHED
Some of what the Church teaches regarding these questions can be answered by averring to the Second Vatican Council, particularly Sacrosanctum Concilium, its “Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy.” Within this magisterial document, we find affirmed the following central truth of our faith: in order to fulfill God’s universal salvific will (1 Tim. 2:4), and to culminate the prophetic missions within the Church (Heb 1:1), Jesus Christ is sent to us, and “His Humanity, united with the person of the Word, was the instrument of our salvation” (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 5). That same conciliar document makes quite clear that it is in the Eucharist that our redemption is accomplished. In the Eucharist, the “victory and triumph of His death are again made present” (SC, 6) BY DANIEL DRAIN
What the Second Vatican Council seems to be doing here is joining our concepts of redemption, Christ’s humanity, and the Eucharist. It is Christ’s humanity which is our salvation, and it is the Eucharist that makes Christ’s humanity present in our midst. Our redemption, purification, divinization, and participation in God’s own triune life is at least in some sense accessible and real in and as the Eucharist
8
That’s one answered question: we participate in Christ’s self offering of the Eucharist, and we do so in His memory This in itself is quite a beautiful reflection on the relationship between memory and presence: in remembering Christ’s life through the celebration of the Mass, that very same life is not nostalgically reflected upon, but made sacramentally present through Christ’s own ministerial priesthood in the confection of the sacrament
But there is yet a further question left unanswered: what is it that we do in the Eucharist, and what is it that we do in the Eucharistic celebration? Hans Urs von Balthasar, one of the most prominent theological voices before and after the Second Vatican Council, offers a rather pithy list of verbs that answers this question: we see, believe, and eat
SEEING AND BELIEVING
Christ on the Road to Emmaus, by Jan Wildens
One great obstacle to Eucharistic devotion is, I would argue, not so much a “bug,” to speak in the language of computer programming, but in fact a “feature.” That is, we don’t see Christ in the Eucharist, do we? Precisely what is sensible are
As Pope Francis recently wrote, “the salvific power of the sacrifice of Jesus, His every word, His every gesture, glance, and feeling reaches us through the celebration of the sacraments” (Desiderio Desideravi, 11).
"D
those accidents of bread and wine that remain, despite the transubstantiation that has miraculously occurred Christ's farewell discourse in John's Gospel is loaded with this language of seeing and believing The context, however, is typically a negative seeing: “Yet a little while and you will see Me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see Me again” (Jn. 16:16). Time and again, Christ indicates that His departure from the Apostles, from this life, and eventually from this world will be in service of an even more comprehensive presence: we will see Him again after the Resurrection But this post Resurrection vision of Christ is one in which sight and belief are and must be co incident The Apostles, Balthasar writes, “ see Him now, and will see Him later, because they bear in themselves Christ’s life and word, and this fulfilled seeing is not endangered by the abyss of nonseeing in the Passion” (“Seeing, Believing, Eating,” Explorations in Theology, vol. IV, 493). Something like this dynamic is illumined by what we pray regularly in the context of the Eucharistic liturgy When we proclaim the mysterium fidei, the mystery of faith, precisely what we proclaim as a mystery of faith a mystery of belief! is Christ’s death, His absence from this life and descent into the darkness of Sheol.
Given what we have affirmed so far, it would seem that Adoration would be the model for our participation in Christ’s sacrifice. Once again, Christ Himself went to extreme lengths to make clear that something more is required than sight We consume the Eucharist, mysteriously, because it will unite sight and perception into spiritual worship: “When the Risen One returns from the dead to break the bread for the disciples at Emmaus, and for His disciples who had gone back to fishing for fish and not for people on the Sea of Galilee, that gesture of breaking the bread opens their eyes. It heals them from the blindness inflicted by the horror of the cross, and it renders them capable of 'seeing' the Risen One, of believing in the Resurrection” (Desiderio Desideravi, 7) It is perhaps well known that in the Bread of Life discourse of John’s Gospel, Christ has an opportunity to soften or backpedal His command that we should eat His flesh and drink His blood and thereby have His life within us. Rather than sentimentalize or spiritualize the issue, Christ makes the matter more physical. Not phagein, to eat, but trōgein, to gnaw or to chew: this is how we are to relate to Christ’s flesh and blood It is therefore quite the dramatic mercy for our palates that He presents Himself to us under the guise of bread and wine Pope Francis expresses this quite beautifully in Laudato Si’ (236, which references Sacrosanctum Concilium, 8): “It is in the Eucharist that all that has been created finds its greatest exaltation. Grace, which tends to manifest itself tangibly, found unsurpassable expression when God Himself became man and gave Himself as food for His creatures The Lord, in the culmination of the mystery of the Incarnation, chose to reach our intimate depths through a fragment of matter ” We would misunderstand the Second Vatican Council's call for fuller participation in the Eucharistic celebration if we failed to see it in any other way than this: in the Eucharist, our redemption is accomplished. Take, therefore, and eat.
9
EATING
What we are tracking here is a moving dynamic where what is not seen by the physical senses is perceived by the spiritual senses. The case I would like to make is that this is, in fact, the whole point of the Eucharist. In the Eucharistic species, our eyes glimpse only bread and wine. But it is in the Eucharist that the whole Christ is made present: body, blood, soul, and divinity It is therefore the job of the Christian to learn to see more, to see beyond sight, to perceive with our spiritual faculties the infinite density of the Lord of the Universe having distributed Himself as food. It is true that we do not see Him with our eyes, but it is precisely that absence of vision that generates in us the spiritual desire the desire of our whole being, which takes up and synchronizes mind and matter to perceive and thereby unite ourselves with the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist
Frederick Burgess
Anonymous
Mrs Carol Crossed
Mr. & Mrs. Frederick Frank
Rev Victor Bartolotta
Jeremy Eisenman Wolford
Mr. James Weisbeck
Rev. Thomas Statt
Dcn. & Mrs. Frank Thomas and Nancy O'Keeffe
Mr & Mrs Arthur J Vinette Dr Norma Scavilla
Dcn Martin Dinan
Rev Thomas Mull
Dcn. Gregory Gaulin
Rev Gerald Beirne
Mr. & Mrs. John Horvath
William Shafer
St René Goupil was a French Jesuit lay missionary who traveled to the Americas in 1640 He worked with St Isaac Jogues and was ordained a priest to care for the sick and wounded in present day New York State. While traveling through the state, he was captured, tortured, and murdered. He
Mr. Tom Kubus
Mr Thomas Spence
Mr & Mrs Paul Dinicola
Ms Marianne Antczak
Mr & Mrs Jerry and Mary Lynch
Dr Kevin Parker
Knights of Columbus Finger Lakes Chapter
Robert Conway
Dr Rebecca Gifford
St. Bernard of Clairvaux was an adviser of popes, defender of the faith, healer of schism, reformer of a monastic order, Scripture scholar, theologian, and an eloquent preacher Despite his unfailing dedication to the challenging public work to which God called him, he always treasured the virtue of the hidden monastic life. Through the intercession of our namesake and the charity of the donors of this tier, we are able to carry on the zeal of St Bernard in pursuit of our theological and ministerial mission
Drs Larry and Sheila Dalzell
Rev Peter Bayer
ST. MARIANNE COPE SOCIETY ($250 $499)
Philip and Margaret Nothnagle
Mr Edward Kay
Your Generosity Remembered
Rev. Thomas Erdle
St Elizabeth Ann Seton was born in New York City in 1774 Due to her husband’s tuberculosis, she moved to Italy where she was first introduced to Catholicism When she returned to America as a widow she converted to the faith and went on to found the first Catholic school of girls in the nation, as well as the first American congregation of religious sisters She was the first American born citizen to be canonized a saint The charity of the donors in this tier allows us to carry out St Elizabeth Ann Seton’s zealous devotion to Catholic education.
Mr John Haefner
After her family emigrated to Utica, New York, St Marianne Cope joined the Sisters of Saint Francis in Syracuse. She “cheerfully accepted the work” of caring for leprosy patients in Hawaii and founded schools and homes for women and girls during her time there The charity of the donors in this tier allows us to carry on God’s will in the cheerful spirit of St. Marianne Cope.
Dr. Thomas and Alicia Carroll
Mrs Mildred Ellis
Mr. & Mrs. George and Anna Heisel
and other prisoners throughout his captivity He escaped, returned to missionary work, but was ultimately martyred St Isaac Jogues teaches us determination and selflessness in the pursuit of God’s work, which is made possible by the charity of the donors in this tier
Dcn Frank Kedzielawa
Mrs Elizabeth Gilges
Rev Charles Curran
ST. KATERI TEKAKWITHA SOCIETY ($1,000 $2,499)
Mr & Mrs Geoffrey and Janet Rosenberger
St Isaac Jogues was a French educator, Jesuit priest, and missionary who traveled to the Americas in 1636 He led a group of missionaries through present day Canada and New York State with the sole goals of education and evangelization. He was captured and tortured, but continued to baptize and minister to indigenous peoples
Rev. Dr. F. Richard Lesser
Mr John Rovaldi
Deacon Peter Battisti
Last Man Standing Club
Rev William Endres
Mr Thomas Jennings
10
ST. ELIZABETH ANN SETON SOCIETY ($5,000 $9,999)
Dcn & Mrs Edward Giblin
Mr & Mrs John and Cynthia Callard
ST ISAAC JOGUES SOCIETY ($2,500 $4,999)
Dr & Mrs Cutberto Garza
died uttering the Holy Name of Jesus, becoming the first canonized martyr in North America Just like St René, the generosity of the donors of this tier allows us to profess the name of Jesus in all that we do.
St Kateri Tekakwitha was the daughter of a Mohawk chief in present day upstate New York. She lived during a very tumultuous period of the 1600’s, but was nevertheless a very diligent, patient, and skilled worker She is known as the “Lily of the Mohawks'' for her purity and devotion We thank God for the devotion of the donors in this tier.
Mrs & Mr Margaret and Paul Churnetski
Our 2021 2022 Annual Donor Report recognizes those who made financial or in kind contributions to St Bernard’s between June 1, 2021 and May 31, 2022 We are deeply grateful to our friends listed here Through your prayerful support, we are able to continue to provide outstanding facilities and resources to prepare our graduates for a lifetime of ministry
ST. BERNARD SOCIETY ($10,000+, PLEDGES, ESTATE & SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION GIFTS)
ST RENÉ GOUPIL SOCIETY ($500 $999)
Ms. Jean McCormick
Mrs. Christine Constantine
Mr Matthew Gunesch
Ms Charlene Bantel
Mr & Mrs Robert and Kathleen Bauer
Mr Vincent Alfieri
Dcn & Mrs George Welch
Rev Daniel Condon
Dcn William Dringus
Mr. & Mrs. Timothy and Patricia Wood
Regina Puratich
Rev Daniel White
Mrs Linda Kate Scanlan
Jack Cairns
Mr. & Mrs. Raymond Grosswirth
Ms Barbara Compitello
Dcn. Ron Dombrowski
Caroline Bailey
Mr & Mrs Edward and Kathy Lynd Dcn Bernard McConaghy Rev Thomas Nellis
Dr & Mrs David and Ann Gaesser
Mr. Henry Constantine
($100 $249)
Mulligan Fund
Mr & Mrs Richard Scott
Mr. & Mrs. Raymond Shady
Ms. Theresa Adams
William Basile
Sr Laura Bufano
The Order of Cistercians was founded in 1098 and was further built by our namesake, St Bernard of Clairvaux This monastic order follows the “Rule of St. Benedict” and lives by the motto “ ora et labora,” pray and work. Just as the Cistercians employ the value of manual labor to deepen culture and community life, the gifts of the donors in this tier allow us to further our educational work
James Williams & Elizabeth Milliken
Sr Nancy Hawkins
Rev Dr Peter Fabian
Mr William Schott
Ms Gabrielle Baalke
CISTERCIAN SOCIETY
Dcn & Mrs Anthony Sciolino
Rev. John O'Connor
Rev Msgr Gerard Krieg
Ms. April Whitbeck
Diane Collison
Rev John DeSocio
Shirley Bradybaugh
Mr & Mrs James Mulcahy
Ms. Elena Cambio
Rev Robert Werth
Mrs Kelly Brunacini
Mr & Mrs David Wolf
Dr & Mrs Daniel Finn
Arnold Pyram
Ms. Margaret Benza
Dcn Paul Virgilio
11
Mr & Mrs Daniel Michalski
Mr Joseph Ragusa
Mr. Robert Stowell
Mr & Mrs Harry and Linda Messina
Ms Susan Storke
Dr Michael Ruhling
Rev Paul Tomasso
Rev. Albert Delmonte
Mr & Mrs Charles Steiger
Dcn & Mrs Albert Schrempf
Rev Stephen Kraus
Mr. & Mrs. John and Suzanne Goetz
Rev Frank Lioi
Dr & Mrs Robert Patterson
Mr & Mrs Martin and Mary Carlin
ST JOHN NEUMANN SOCIETY
Dcn & Mrs David Kepler
Ms. Mary Alice Westerlund
The Most Reverend Salvatore Matano
Dcn & Mrs John and Patricia Crego
St John Neumann was born in Bohemia in 1811 He traveled to New York where he was ordained a priest and was stationed in Buffalo He was a fierce advocate for the poor and traveled, often on foot, to build churches and schools for German and Irish emigrant children The charity of the donors in this tier allows us to further the ministerial and pastoral work of St John Neumann
Dr. Jean Baric Parker
Mr & Mrs Dominic Devaney
Robert O’Connor
Mr Kevin Connolly
Mr & Mrs Daniel and Pamela O'Neill
Mr John O'Connell
Anna Conway
Joseph Colosi
Dr Rajiv Dewan
Mrs & Mr Kathleen Dubel
Ms Katherine Skelly Rosalie Spellecy
Mr Bruce Wilcox
Dcn & Mrs Laurence and Anne Feasel
Yvonne Lawton
Ms Anne Kraft
Ms Patricia Schroth
Mrs Teanna Tomko
Mr & Mrs John Wolf
Mrs Joan Hacker
Mr Stephen Donofrio
Dcn E Gregory Mansfield
Dcn James Steiger
Mr. & Mrs. Richard and Kathleen Salvatore
Mrs. & Mr. Jeriann and Mike McEvoy
Mr & Mrs James and Carol McCarthy
Dr. Matthew Pietropaoli
Dr. Ronald Proud
Ms Gail Bauerschmidt
Ms Lois Cogovan
Mrs Christine Bart
Rev. Philip Billotte
($1 $99)
Mr & Mrs James and Barbara Bauman
Dcn. Paul Cerosaletti
Ms Joan Kehoe
Dcn & Mrs Peter Dohr
Mr Stephen Anderson
Mr. & Mrs. Jurij Kushner
Rev Robert Schrader
Rev R Richard Brickler
Ms. Mary Bodensteiner
Mr Donald Keeley
Ms Judith Alexin
Joan Caligiuri
Mrs. Joann Coan
Dr. & Mrs. Richard DeMartino
Rev Dr Edward Dempsey
Dcn. & Mrs. Paul Kisselback
Mr. Thomas Nowak
Rev James Mathews
Anonymous
John Carbone
Dcn. James Chappell
Rev Edmund Durr
Mr & Ms Edward and Catherine Nowak
Mrs Aline Glavin
Msgr. Robert Weiss
Mr & Mrs James Robinson
Ms. Jean Shafer
Mr John Laliberte
Rev. Edward Palumbos
James O'Rourke
Mrs Kathleen Bragle
Rev. Lawrence Wrenn
Dcn. & Mrs. Dominick and Joan Abballe
Dcn & Mrs Edward Knauf
Jonathan Schott
Mr Timothy Clark
Mr George Bauer
Dcn. Robert Lyons
John Fitzgerald
Dcn & Mrs Raymond Sullivan
Msgr James Lang
Mr & Mrs Bryan Brown
Mrs Mary Therese Murray
Mr Francis Lahr
Dcn & Mrs Patrick and Jeanne Shanley
Dcn & Mrs William Coffey
Mr & Mrs Robert Rosdahl
Mr & Mrs Gerald Andolina
Mr & Mrs William Gamble
Ms. Joyce Fishberg
Drs David Felten & Mary Maida
Dennis and Mary Ann Bender
Mr & Mrs John and Marylin Arrigan
Rev. Roy Kiggins
Ms Anne O'Donnell
Lynda Hunt
Rev F James Lawlor
Dcn & Mrs Timothy and Maureen McAuliffe
Ms Jacqueline Strecansky
Dr. & Mrs. George and Judith O'Brien
Mr Paul Sheck
Mr. & Mrs. Kevin and Shelia McGann
Dcn. Tom Grigson
Donald Muench
Ms Mary Stephenson
Dcn & Mrs Gregg Lawson
Mrs. Joanne Weber
MaryGrace Dansereau
Mr & Mrs Steven Pikuet Dcn & Mrs Joseph and Natalie Placious
Ms Carolyn Robinson
Mr & Mrs Scott Goldstone
Mr John Uebelacker Angela Valles
Dr Nancy Gadziala
Ms Kathleen Rourke
Ms Angela Kristan
Jennifer Sheets
Mr & Mrs David and Christine Jehle
Dr & Mrs Paul and Pat Fallon
Mr. John Kincaid
Mr & Mrs Phillip and Jane Lioi
Ms Sarah Stygles
Fernando Ontiveros
Mrs. Eleanor Greco
Mr Kevin O'Connor
Mr Matthew Fritz
Mr Richard Hasenauer
Mr James Havalack
Ms Anne Marie Ortenzi
Ms Ann May
Mr Philip Rohnke
Ms. Margaret Malvaso
Ms. Amanda Schiralli
Ms Dona Goyette
Edward & Carolyn Patane
Mrs Evelyn Dodd
Mr. Julian Robinson
Dcn. & Mrs. Matthew and Jeanne Dudek
Dr Timothy Davis
Mr Robert Lewis
Liesl Moheimani
Mr & Mrs Robert Ryan
Ms Mary Pesce
Mr Peter Ranalli
Ms. Gail Kindlon
Mrs Jo Ann Crowley
Ms. Suzanne Eberhardt
Mr & Mrs Thomas Sippel
Margaret Doyle
Rev Sandra Curtis
Philip Crandall
Ms Irene Deem
Mrs & Mr Francine and David Dimmick
Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Nescot
Ms Eleanor Nasser
Mr. & Mrs. Steven and Cathleen Danner
Mrs Ann McIntyre
Kevin Conway
Sr. Kay Schwenzer
Ms Rachelle Cotugno
Mr & Mrs John and Nancy Doyle
Dr & Mrs Gennaro Vasile Alessandro Vato Ms Barbara Veldran Lisa Vignogna Ms Eleanor Volpe
Mr Terrence Romance
Ms Terry McGraw
Mr & Mrs Robert and Eugenia Stratton
Mr & Mrs James Matz
Mr & Mrs Timothy and Molly Shine
Ms Patricia Mousaw
James Fishgold
Mrs Etelka Csagoly
Mr Jason Rose
CISTERCIAN SOCIETY CONT.
Patrick Flannigan
Ms. Alice Hoh
Ms. Rosalyn DellaPietra
Dcn. Michael Kristan
Mr. Chase Crouse
Ms Lara Kirk
Mr. Benjamin McEwen
Ms. Ellen Hotz
Mr Bernardo Franceschi
Mr David Zlotnicki
Mrs. Melanie Soberon
Mr & Mrs David and Linda Lindsay
Mr Tyler Davis
Ms Virginia Knopp
Mr & Mrs Edwin Meyering
Ms Marylyn DeGonzague
Ms Elise Kuhn
Bill Keenan
Mrs & Mr Deborah and Frank DiFilippo
Ms Dianne Kracker
Mr Walter Krawczyk
($1 $99)
Ms. Katherine Delaney
Ms Regina McGrath
Ms Agnes Gebauer
Ms Anna Dangelo
Mr. Bruce Frishkoff
Rose Tait
Lauren Patterson
Mr & Mrs Richard & Mary Heist
Dr. Joseph Lalka
Ms Ann Lagonegro
Ms Bernadette La Paglia
Mark Stechschulte
Eamonn Conway
Mr. John Magee
Mary Keniry
12
Ms Susan Gruber
Mr Thomas Cullen
Rev. William Michatek
Daniel McAndrew Greiner
Richard Emond
Ms Anne Mullin
Ms Helen Morone
Ms. Sophia Rogalskyj
Mr. & Mrs. Paul White Mrs Elizabeth Widman
Nancirose Halse
'22
'22
Left: Lisa Vignogna Right: Teresa Dunn
We count on your support to continue our good work. Please consider giving today through the enclosed envelope or by visiting stbernards.edu/giving. Thank you for your generosity! online store SHOPSBSTM.COM RECEIVE 20% OFF EVERYDAY ESSENTIALS NOW THROUGH SEPTEMBER 30TH! 13 Support St. Bernard's:
We were very proud to graduate 25 students this year. The Class of 2022 is one of the largest graduating classes in years! These graduates include the first ever conferral of our Graduate
On May 6th, 2022, St Bernard’s celebrated its 41st annual Commencement and conferral of degrees. The School’s graduates, administration, faculty, staff, and the broader community gathered for this solemn occasion at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Rochester, NY. The Most Reverend Salvatore R Matano, Bishop of the Diocese of Rochester and Chancellor of St Bernard’s, presided and delivered the commencement address The Most Reverend Robert J Cunningham, Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Syracuse, was also in attendance.
O 14
The Classes of 2021 and 2022 each held twenty five students; what a blessing that
Nine of the graduates have been ordained permanent deacons; five pre seminarians from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany graduated and transferred to major seminary to continue their priestly formation; and several hold significant positions in ministry and catechetical leadership, such as Pastoral Associate and Stewardship Director, Director of Faith Formation, Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry, Director of Religious Education, Faith Formation Coordinator, and Pastoral Association of Liturgy and Communications They represent five academic programs, four dioceses, and three countries
Certificate in Catechetical Leadership
COMMENCEMENT 2022
over the last two years, St Bernard’s has presented the Church with 50 graduates! While each of these graduates brings to bear their own gifts and mission in the Church, they also carry with them the intensive human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral formation they received during their years within the St. Bernard’s community It is an unforgettable and unparalleled honor for all of us at St Bernard’s to work under the Formator, the Holy Spirit, in raising up laborers to work on behalf of God’s harvest
The faculty and staff at St Bernard’s will miss every one of our recent graduates more than they know We thank God for the gift they are to the Church and the world, and we rest assured they will do great things as they trust the Lord and His plan for their lives!
Class of 2022 with Bishops Matano and Cunninghanm
I am beginning to grasp beauty’s importance in the life of a Catholic and how profoundly Jesus is the center of everything, especially the liturgy, because of St Bernard’s summer course on “Beauty, Liturgy, Glory: Towards a Philosophical and Theological Aesthetics ” Dr Kuhner, Dr Loughlin, and Rev Van Lieshout have personalities and manners of presentation that let conversations flow towards refreshing and cleansing concepts, enriching my mind and soul Every class is a treasure trove that I look forward to participating in The reading assignments are rich but comprehensible What St Bernard’s offers in their free summer audit is a gift to the Church that should not be passed by!
This past summer, St Bernard’s launched its third annual Free Audit Initiative! Our first initiative occurred during the summer 2020 semester in the middle of some of the most trying moments of the pandemic We wanted to give back in a way that would allow us to share the gift of our community of learning in as accessible a manner as possible in order to offer formation, education, and hope during a time of quarantine This gift was received and reciprocated beyond our greatest hopes, and we decided to make the Free Audit Initiative a feature of every summer semester moving forward! It is impossible to adequately express how much our summer auditors from 2020, 2021, and now 2022 have contributed to our School through their engagement and personal witness to a life of faith and pursuit of the truth
Gretna, Nebraska
St Bernard’s is continually blessed by those who audit a course through our free summer audit initiative, and we look forward to welcoming many of this summer’s auditors as students this fall and in future semesters!
By the Numbers
When I was given the opportunity to audit wonderful courses for free with fabulous professors, it was truly a gift In the summer of 2021, I registered for "Wounded by Beauty: The Gift of the Life and Thought of Luigi Giussani to the Church and the Modern World " Dr Marco Stango along with Apolonio Latar led the class with such great enthusiasm that I felt I was in Italy listening to Giussani himself teaching from his book: “ Religious Sense." This summer was another gift to journey with the literary giant, J.R.R. Tolkien, in the class, "Tolkien the Artist: Creativity and the Image of God." Dr. Siobhan Latar’s teaching made the understanding of fantasy for adults extraordinary. The faculty, staff, and my classmates at St. Bernard's enriched my Catholic faith and sparked the desire in me to continue learning and seeking! I look forward to their future summer offerings.
Evan Collins
The 2022 Free Audit Initiative in particular was a huge success In total, St. Bernard’s drew over 350 auditors from across the United States and the world; this represents a 92% increase in participants compared to last year! Auditors from Ireland, Hong Kong, Japan, Canada, South Africa, Nigeria, Germany, Italy, Indonesia, and several other countries benefited from this opportunity, as well as Americans from 35 different states (including Alaska and Hawaii!) We were particularly honored to welcome an auditor from Ukraine; this revealed to us again the importance and the reach of this initiative, made possible by our use of synchronous distance education.
Carole Polzer Houston, Texas
15 F R E E A U D I T I N I T I A T I V E :
Catholic bioethics is becoming ever more indispensable to modern life It helps orient the Body of Christ towards a deeper understanding of key issues surrounding human life, the human body, and the human person, apart from the quicksand of changeable societal norms Ultimately, this helps us make better decisions and assists us in the evangelical work of pointing the way for others Through these kinds of careful moral decisions, deliberately made, we can encounter and experience the singular fulfillment that God intends for us.
This initiative awards students a GCCB upon completion of both the nationally recognized NCBC Certification Program in Health Care Ethics and two 3 credit bioethics courses from St Bernard’s It is designed to comprehensively address a variety of pastoral and clinical situations and may also be credited towards a Master’s degree at St Bernard’s or other accepting institutions Jean Baric Parker, D Be , St Bernard’s adjunct faculty member, has been appointed as the GCCB’s Program Director
In this endeavor, St. Bernard’s draws not only from its current bioethics faculty members (Drs. Jean Baric Parker and Peter Colosi), but also from other faculty with expertise in relevant topics such as the Theology of the Body, Moral Theology, Pastoral Care, and Catholic Philosophy, as well as from several distinguished guest lecturers
Referencing the new St. Bernard’s/NCBC collaboration, Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, Ph D (or Fr Tad, as he is best known), Director of Education at the NCBC, states: “We at the NCBC are delighted to collaborate with St Bernard's on this unique program It’s incredibly valuable to have up to 15 graduate credits available to students for certificate work completed with us and with St Bernard's ”
By
Jean Baric Parker & Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk
Jean Baric Parker, D.Be., is Program Director for St Bernard’s Graduate Certificate in Catholic Bioethics, Rochester, NY
confront them in their vocational work, as well as in their personal and family lives. Individuals who desire to better understand Catholic teaching on these topical issues will also benefit; the two St Bernard’s courses are open to St Bernard’s students without the NCBC certification, as well as others who wish to audit
The Certificate
The GCCB will be of particular interest to health care professionals, chaplains, ordained and religious persons, diocesan employees, marriage counselors, lawyers, and those connected to the health care or educational systems. Students will find answers to questions that
Beginning this academic year, two graduate bioethics courses, “Catholic Bioethics at the Beginning of Life” and “Catholic Bioethics at the End of Life,” will alternate between St Bernard’s fall and spring semesters The courses will build upon and extend the rich foundation in anthropology, theology, and philosophy introduced through the NCBC Certification Program, addressing topics such as abortion, artificial contraception, in vitro fertilization, surrogate pregnancy, euthanasia and physician assisted suicide, advance directives, hospice and palliative care, organ donation, ordinary and extraordinary care, and artificial nutrition and hydration, to name a few.
Society has perhaps never been more divided on issues like abortion, bodily autonomy, physician assisted suicide, gender dysphoria, genetic manipulation, Covid vaccine mandates, and conscientious objection rights, to name a few examples
St Bernard’s is delighted to offer a new Graduate Certificate in Catholic Bioethics (GCCB) in conjunction with the renowned National Catholic Bioethics Center (NCBC), in Philadelphia, PA
Catholics trying to make sense of these issues in light of their faith, and especially those who encounter ethical dilemmas in their career or pastoral work, need to understand and draw from the extensive ‘ethical toolbox’ made available by the Church from her long tradition of moral reflection This toolbox draws upon the Church’s 2000+ year walk with Christ to provide time tested ethical principles based on sound Catholic theology, philosophy, and anthropology GCCB graduates will be well equipped to apply these ‘tools,’ first introduced during their NCBC training and then expounded on at St. Bernard’s, to a range of relevant situations.
For more information, visit: stbernards.edu/catholic-bioethics-certificate
Why a Bioethics Certificate
Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, Ph.D., is Director of Education at the National Catholic Bioethics Center, Philadelphia PA
NATIONALCATHOLICBIOETHICSCENTER
16
Beth & John Mortensen 17
And while there’s no fellowship like the physical presence of those we love, we at the Aquinas Institute have been humbled and honored to be able to spread this miraculous style of education wider than ever through the capabilities of modern technology. Face to face video conferencing has allowed our professors to lead a discussion of Thomas Aquinas or the Book of Job for students from around the globe and coming from every phase of life. Retirees, career professionals, and stay at home mothers can participate in this living study of Scripture or the Mystery of the Trinity. Our new partnership with St. Bernard’s is enriching our courses with new professors, making them available to more students, and granting credit toward theology degrees. Liberal arts core classes taught according to the same method can provide students with the foundation for a deeper grasp of theology or help fill out undergraduate studies. For more information on this new partnership between the Aquinas Institute and St Bernard’s, visit: stbernards edu/blog/new great books graduate certificate
classroom often became like a miniature image of the Church for my classmates and me
Interior of a Gothic Church, by Pieter Neefs the Elder
Beth & John Mortensen are the founders of the Aquinas Institute Beth received her Masters and Licentiate degrees at the International Theological Institute in Austria, and her doctorate in sacred theology at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland She is the recipient of two grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities for translating the Sentences Commentary of Thomas Aquinas, published by the Aquinas Institute
At first this mission and this educational method often seemed at odds: students who had grown up in communist cultures were apprehensive about sharing their thoughts in public. They were accustomed to professors being “out to get them” and feared that asking students for “the answers” might be one more trap. But the students who persevered found in this method the antidote to the dehumanizing habits of communism. They also discovered, along with us Westerners who were studying at their sides, that discussing the works of masters is a short route to a life changing education.
Reading primary texts and discussing them with invested peers brings a student into direct conversation with a great mind, like St Augustine, St Thomas Aquinas, or St John A professor is there not to impart his own wisdom, but as a fellow learner at the feet of the master But this method doesn’t just make professors into fellow learners; it makes students into teachers When students have grappled with a great text first hand and debated its meaning with their classmates, they acquire an ownership of their knowledge that goes deeper than anything gleaned from a lecture or from studying on one’s own The process of discussing a saint’s teaching in the classroom empowers a student to convey that teaching to anyone outside the classroom In this striving toward truth through community, the seminar
Today my Eastern European classmates are all over the world, building up the Church as professors and catechists, founding marriage programs and family centers and working for bishops’ conferences The bond that I share with them from having discussed the highest things in our theology courses makes me feel united with their efforts wherever I am
The theology graduate school that my husband, John, and I attended featured a mission and a pedagogy uniquely ordered toward building up the Body of Christ The mission was, in part, to train Eastern Europeans to rebuild the Church in their homelands after communism The pedagogy involved studying the actual writings of the saints, magisterial documents, and, of course, Scripture, and discussing these texts in seminar classes
Hearts, Upward!
Sursum Corda!
Adoration of the Lamb, by Hubert van Eyck
What do we encounter in the Eucharist, this grain in the infinite universe? What we see seems to be nothing, a simple piece of unleavened bread. Yet, there, in this “nothingness,” is everything. There, in what appears to be banal, is the meaning, depth, and sweetness of life. When we look at the Eucharist, we see that this “nothingness” reveals the beginning of creation: when there was nothing, there was love (Jn 1:1) There was never a time when there wasn’t this glorious love, this ever melting affection of the Father for the Son in the Holy Spirit; and from this tender, meaningful love, the world came into existence
18
Lifting up Every Moment as a Eucharistic Offering
18
This apparent “nothingness” reveals to us that there can never be any circumstance or gesture, however banal, that lacks some meaning. Everything, whether it be cleaning one’s room or washing dishes, or when life seems to be drowned in nothingness, is filled with a wealth of meaning. Everything can become an occasion to see what is truly beautiful, to acknowledge that Christ is the meaning of everything: everything can become a Eucharistic offering A moment that radiantly expresses this is the unexpected privilege of accompanying someone on their deathbed It is a sacred moment in hiding, as it were: under the appearance of
BY SIOBHAN & APOLONIO LATAR
When we look at the Eucharist, we see that this “nothingness” reveals the beginning of creation: when there was nothing, there was love.
from us is an intelligent silence, which is the language of intimacy The most intimate things are not the most immediate Intimacy is a patient longing, a continuous affirmation of and being at joyful rest in the depth of the other The language of silence, therefore, is the love of time, the patient ordering of our minds to what is essential and eternal In front of the Eucharist, we learn not to despair because we find a place for our weaknesses and sinfulness. Before the humble love of Christ, we can place all of the burdens we carry. There, before the hidden Christ, is the patience of the Father who bears the whole world in the Holy Spirit with the Son
19
In this year in which we are invited to deepen our awareness and appreciation of the gift of the Eucharist, we will all have the opportunity to rediscover the Eucharistic nature of our own life, and the ways in which we are called to participate in all the possible Eucharistic offerings of ourselves in the hidden, simple, ordinary, every day invitations to embrace and imitate this Eucharistic form of Christ’s love
Remembering such a vigil, of his struggle just to fill his lungs after long years of robust life and service and availability to all and everyone, and the apparent emptiness of such a time, a new layer of meaning to the word “Eucharist” is brought to light. For “Eucharist” means “thanksgiving.” And what is thanksgiving? We are tempted to think of it as simply a word you say to someone in response to something given to you: an expected response to the action or gift of another But if all of life is a gift, if everything we have is given to us, then the proper form or structure of everything we do ought to be a thanksgiving offering The priest who anoints the dying man recalls to him that as a husband and father, he has lived out the task of caring for and providing for his family. Now, he has one last task: to offer his last battle, his suffering and pain, for his family. And he embraces and lives this final outpouring of the gift of his life back to the Father The work of those last hours becomes a testimony of gratitude for all he has been given in life He gave his whole life and love, his work, breath, and time, for the sake of his children: even his pain when it was all he had left to give On the outside, to a common bystander, it looked like nothing, a useless, empty suffering, at a pitiful end. But with Eucharistic eyes, one can see that the weight of infinity is in those last sacred moments, so much so that in singing, “Lord, remember me, when you come into your kingdom,” one can be palpably aware that the Lord one is appealing to is not somewhere far off in an abstract kingdom, but within this suffering, Eucharistic flesh of this man’s body, being transformed in its offering
God works in discreet ways, not because He wants to deceive us, but because He is humble. What this requires
Why is Christ hidden both in His divinity and humanity in the Eucharist? In this hiddenness, we are educated in the virginal love of Christ Love requires a certain distance in order to recognize and affirm the depth of the whole of the other The distance in the Eucharist (the hiddenness of His divinity and humanity) reveals that our plans or projections cannot measure love At the same time, it is only because Christ is substantially present in the species of bread and wine that we can touch Him, receive Him, and be one Spirit with Him. What we learn from contemplating the Eucharist is to have the childlike posture of accepting love, of embracing the way God comes to us without preconceptions We learn, not simply to receive love, but to desire to receive love And to desire to receive love means recognizing that what we receive is always greater than what we can do
bodily suffering, not immediately apparent. It is excruciating to be helpless, to not even know what the person needs, for him to be unable to say how he feels or whether he is thirsty or hot or cold; it is a return to the helplessness of the beginning of our lives: a helplessness just as tangible to the care giver as the patient, when the witness can only keep vigil, and be present with him
Apolonio Latar III, S.T.L., studied Philosophy at Rutgers University and Sacred Theology at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome, and received his M Ed at Marymount University. Both serve as adjuncts at St. Bernard's.
In front of the Eucharist, we enter into the prayer of Christ Himself Who said, “Father, they are your gift to me I wish that where I am they also may be with me, that they may see my glory that you gave me, because you loved me before the foundation of the world” (Jn 17:24) What we see when we look at the Eucharist is the glory of the Father’s love There, where Christ is hidden in His divinity and humanity, is the eloquent silence that is full of mercy, disrupting our distractions, manipulations, and our self centeredness. God chooses this “nothingness,” this piece of bread, to manifest His profound love for all of creation. It seems that He prefers what is fragile, what is simple, to reveal His glory It is the subtlety of His descent into the world, of uniting all of the cosmos to Himself
Siobhan Latar, S.T.D., studied Humanities and Catholic Culture at Franciscan University and received her Licentiate and Doctoral degrees in theology from the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies in Marriage and Family in Washington, D C
120 FRENCH ROAD | ROCHESTER, NY 14618 Non profit Org. US Postage Paid Rochester, NY Permit No. 699 CATHOLICITY AS GIFT AND TASK: A Conference Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Communio SEPTEMBER 30 OCTOBER 2, 2022 Rochester, New York Join us in person or online! Learn more: stbernards.edu/conferences JEAN DUCHESNE, PH.D. JEAN-LUC MARION, PH.D. TRACEY ROWLAND, S.T.D. DAVID L. SCHINDLER, PH.D. REV. JACQUES SERVAIS, S.J., PH.D. In-Person KEYNOTE SPEAKERS: Sponsored by Communio: International Catholic Review, Word on Fire Academic, & Ignatius Press
