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the preaching issue

Welcome to Aquinas Institute of Theology’s New Quarterly Magazine, The Aquinas Way! This new magazine is designed to welcome you into Aquinas Institute, to get to know the school, its students, and its Catholic Dominican mission in a more personal way. You are probably familiar with the term “the Aquinas Way” as a set of values that we live and uphold both in educational tradition as well as personal formation. We wanted to evoke these values and give you a deeper understanding of how they are lived by the faculty, staff, and students of our school. Each of the quarterly issues will be largely themed along one of each of the pillars of Dominican life: preaching, prayer, community, and study. As a graduate theological institution that forms both friars of the Order of Preachers and lay students charged to preach, teach, minister, and lead, what better way to kick it off than with an issue devoted to preaching?

Welcome from the president Dear Friends, Thank you for being the first readers of The Aquinas Way, the new quarterly magazine of Aquinas Institute of Theology. This online publication presents an opportunity for our school to feature how the Dominican mission is manifest in the lives of our students, faculty, staff, alumni, and Board of Trustees. Each of the quarterly issues follows one of the four pillars of Dominican life, exploring through in-depth articles how prayer, study, community, and preaching are embodied by the people who make up the Aquinas Way. This first issue follows the pillar of preaching and tells the story of how our theological school makes the proclamation of God’s Word the foundation of everything we do. Preaching is constitutive of every aspect of Aquinas Institute’s educational and formational mission. One of the hallmarks of our school is the way preaching instruction characterizes the entire graduate theological curriculum. Students are formed as preachers seeing their study of theology and preparation for ministry in light of the vocation to proclaim God’s Word. This is made explicit in the many preaching courses available to master’s level students, but also in the opportunities of supervised practice of ministry, pastoral year internship, and other extra-curricular activities both on-campus and off. Aquinas Institute is the only Catholic theology school that offers a doctorate in preaching. Not only are our Doctor of Ministry (DMin) students trained as master preachers, but many become teachers of preaching in seminaries and other theological schools across the United States and beyond. Most are active in homiletic academies and often serve in leadership positions related to their training. Since its inception in 1993, the DMin in preaching has become one of the most effective ways to respond to the U.S. Bishops’ call to renew the preaching ministry of the Church. As many of you are aware, in the last few years Aquinas Institute has placed strong emphasis on programming for continuing education and lifelong learning for ministry. We have been fortunate to receive two major Lilly Endowment grants to spur on our efforts in this area. As we see it, continuing education in the Aquinas Way is rooted in the Dominican charism of making the Gospel and the Christian tradition accessible to wide variety of peoples. Preaching is the centerpiece of our efforts in both the Center for Community Engagement and Evangelization and the New Frontiers in Preaching to Underserved Catholics programs. These new initiatives provide accessible and affordable lifelong learning for the ministry of evangelization and preaching for both ordained clergy and lay pastoral leaders. I would be remiss in naming Aquinas Institute’s comprehensive commitment to preaching if I were not to mention the great contribution of the The Delaplane Initiative for Preaching Excellence. Again, as the result of generous funding from the Lilly Endowment, Aquinas Institute has created a very effective “think-tank” for Catholic preaching. Especially through advanced peer learning cohorts of preaching scholars, many of our DMin graduates have gathered for intensive workshops to expand their expertise in preaching. These efforts have been extremely fruitful in producing new scholarship on the subject. To name just a few publications from the initiative, the edited volume Preaching Racial Justice, Maurice Nutt’s Down Deep in My Soul, and Michael Kueber’s Preaching to Latinos all have significantly impacted the world of Catholic preaching. There are so many ways that Aquinas Institute fulfills the Dominican charism of preaching. This issue of The Aquinas Way gives you a sampling of the women and men who exemplify the way of the preacher. Warmest regards, Fr. Mark Wedig, OP President, Aquinas Institute of Theology THE AQUINAS WAY • JANUARY 2024

PRESENTING THE

ANNUAL AQUINAS LECTURE “He Spoke To Them In Parables” (Mark 3:23): Metaphor, Analogy, and Speaking a Word About God presented by:

Rev. Nicholas Lombardo, OP, PhD Ordinary Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology, The Catholic University of America

free and open to the public THURSDAY, JANUARY 25, 2024 | 7:00PM AQUINAS INSTITUTE OF THEOLOGY 23 SOUTH SPRING AVENUE, ST. LOUIS Parking will be available in the SLU Laclede garage

Please RSVP at ai.edu/aquinaslecture

AquinasW ay the

JANUARY 2024 THE PREACHING ISSUE VOL. 1 | ISSUE 1 Publishers: Fr. Mark Wedig, OP President Fr. Michael Mascari, OP Vice President/Academic Dean Fr. Patrick Baikauskas, OP Vice President for Institutional Advancement Donna Thro Executive Director, Business Affairs Editor-In-Chief: Bridget Kostello Coordinator, Marketing and Communications Editor/Writer: Joe Kenny Designer: Gayle Bordlemay Advisor/Contributor: Steve Givens (Spiritual Direction, ’14), Member, Board of Trustees Editorial Board: Ezra Doyle Coordinator, Center for Community Engagement and Evangelization Erin Hammond Director of Development Ali Meehan Registrar and Coordinator, Academic Affairs Samantha Messier Coordinator, Enrollment Management Theresa Orozco Coordinator, New Frontiers in Preaching Diane Parker Assistant Coordinator, Admissions and Financial Aid Photographer: Sid Hastings

Inside 4 2023 Year in Review — Highlights of a Busy Year 6 Meet the Aquinas Scholars Master of Divinity Students 8 The Role and Goal of Preaching: How and Why It Matters 12 Living and Proclaiming the Word: Preparing Master Preachers for Ministry in Black and Hispanic Catholic Communities 15 Fr. Manuel Williams, CR: A Life in Preaching 16 The 29th Annual Great Preacher Award Photo Recap 18 Book Review: Preaching Racial Justice 20 Transitions

To submit story ideas or to be considered to write reflections, book reviews or essays for future issues of The Aquinas Way, please email: kostello@ai.edu. To submit alumni news and updates, please share at: ai.edu/alumni/update-your-info. Please email alumni photos to kostello@ai.edu. The editorial staff of The Aquinas Way has made a sincere effort to ensure information contained here is accurate and correct. If your name has been misspelled or listed incorrectly, please contact us Bridget Kostello at kostello@ai.edu. Thank you

21 Alumni Spotlight: Danielle Harrison: Always a Preacher 22 Passages

23 South Spring Avenue | Saint Louis, Missouri 63108 314.256.8800 | info@ai.edu | ai.edu THE AQUINAS WAY • JANUARY 2024 @aitheology

@aquinas_institute

2023

Aquinas billboard

The Year in Review Highlights of a Busy Year

January 2-6 4 26

Aquinas at SEEK Aquinas Institute billboard goes up he 39th Annual Aquinas Lecture: “Revisiting Reasons Why T Thomas Aquinas Is Important for Theological Ethics Today” with Fr. James F. Keenan, SJ

Febuary 20

ook event: A Year of Vincentian Preaching by B Daniel Harris, CM; edited by Fr. Gregory Heille, OP and Emmanuel (Manny) Diaz (MDiv, ’24, Aquinas Scholar)

he Despositio (burying of the Alleluia); this student led T prayer service featured student preaching

March 3

tudent Services Committee (SSC) event: S Stations of the Cross and Lenten Fish Fry

7 Book event: Lying and Truthfulness: A Thomistic Perspective, by Stewart Clem, PhD

Dr. Hosffman Ospino with Aquinas Scholars Madison Williams and Manny Diaz 4

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irst Announcement of New Frontiers in F Preaching Academy

he Center for Community Engagement and T Evangelization hosts “The Church We Are: How Hispanics Are Building and Rebuilding U.S. Catholicism” with Dr. Hosffman Ospino

Aquinas at SEEK23

April

Aquinas Institute of Theology

CENTER FOR COMMUNITY he Center for Community Engagement and Evangelization T ENGAGEMENT AND EVANGELIZATION officially opens with a Panel Event: “Making Missionary Disciples: A Conversation on the New Evangelization,” featuring Sherry Weddell (Founder, Co-Director, Catherine of Siena Institute), Marie Putbrese (Fellowship of Catholic University Students representative), Peter Andrastek (The Evangelical Catholic) and Troy Woytek (Catholic Campus Ministry Association)

SSC event: Friars vs. Laity Kickball Game

May 10 12

Graduation Day

June

raduation Day – G Commencement Speaker Roberto S. Goizueta, PhD, and outgoing Board of Trustees member Dave Wenzel receive honorary doctorates

August 14

1 5 new students attend New Student Orientation

2023-2024 classes begin

Give STL Day celebration

he Center for Community T Engagement and Evangelization begins classes

July 20-23

ew Frontiers staff at N National Black Catholic Congress National Conference

New student orientation

September 15

New Frontiers in Preaching celebrates National Hispanic Heritage Month (through October 15)

he Center for Community Engagement and Evangelization hosts “For the Many: T The Eucharist As Remedy for Our Polarized Society” with Fr. John Baldovin, SJ

30 SSC event: Annual Friars vs. Laity wiffleball game (Friars win) Annual wiffleball game

October 12

he Center for Community Engagement and Evangelization hosts “Preaching With T Children: Exploring the Word of God With the Church’s Youngest Members” with Dr. Ann Garrido

12 Ai.edu premieres newly redesigned website 19 Aquinas Student Night at the St. Louis Blues game 31 Blessing of the Ofrenda in commemoration of Day of the Dead Blessing of the Ofrenda

November 1-30

December 10

ew Frontiers in Preaching celebrates N Black Catholic History Month

9 Great Preacher Award honors The Most Reverend Mitchell T. Rozanski, Archbishop of St. Louis, and Fr. Paul Whittington, OP, of St. Katharine Drexel parish (Chicago)

Advent Vespers and President’s Holiday Reception

Great Preacher Award honorees THE AQUINAS WAY • JANUARY 2024

Meet Our Aquinas Scholars K In Their Own Words

Emma Grace Johnson (MDiv, ’24) Why Aquinas? I like the idea of a small community and loved the idea of

one-on-one relationships with my professors. Also, the generous scholarship was a big factor in my discernment. Favorite Thing About Aquinas: The community has been my favorite part.

There is a great support system, which allows students to have theological discussions and debates while still being able to respect one another. Post-Graduation Plans: I am passionate about Catholic social teaching. Through my CPE experience, I loved my time in hospital chaplaincy. In wherever God leads me, I want to serve the Church and the Lord faithfully. More about Emma Grace: She currently works at Cardinal Glennon Children’s

Hospital as a chaplain, at Aquinas as a graduate assistant, and at St. Margaret of Scotland. As a youth minister at St. Margaret’s, she recently preached at the service marking the one-year commemoration of the Central Visual and Performing Arts High School shooting, an event covered by the St. Louis Review and several other media outlets.

Emmanuel “Manny” Diaz (MDiv, ‘24) Why Aquinas? What interested me was the idea of a small school community.

I wanted more of an intentional style, in which you can be more intimate with classmates and professors. I also was excited to study with Dominicans. Favorite Thing About Aquinas: The ministerial opportunities, such as being

able to work for SLU campus ministry and the Archdiocese of St. Louis, and the hospital. They have been great experiences, yet they come part and parcel with my classes. Post-Graduation Plans: Hospital chaplaincy More about Manny: He currently works as a chaplain at Barnes-Jewish

Hospital. Last year, Manny became a published author with the publication of the book “A Year of Vincentian Preaching,” which he and Fr. Gregory Heille, OP edited. He also presented a paper entitled “An Interpretation of Social Justice through Laudato Si’s Foundation in Theology of the People” at St. Mark’s College in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, at the Pope Francis & The Future of the Church: Prospects and Challenges for Renewal Conference.

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K Master of Divinity Students Grant Hartley (MDiv, ’25) Why Aquinas? I had begun an MDiv program at a non-Catholic seminary,

and, in the middle of that, I entered the Catholic Church. I wanted to finish my theological education and become more grounded in my new theological tradition. Favorite Thing About Aquinas: There are two: our professors are excellent,

and I have learned so much. It is not like I am being taught what to think, but how to think – how to engage with the Catholic tradition well. Second is the diversity of the students. I have spoken with many students who come from different perspectives, and they challenge me and sharpen me. I also love that there is a mixture of lay and religious students because I love being challenged by the perspective of the religious, and I also think the religious benefit from the perspective of us lay students. Post-Graduation Plans: Over the past few years, I have been involved in

writing and speaking on the intersection of faith and spirituality. I would love to continue that work. More about Grant: He is a prolific writer, editor and podcaster who has been published in numerous publications, most notably in America magazine.

Emily Alvarado (MDiv, ’26) Why Aquinas? I have a great appreciation for Dominican life and Dominican

discipline. Study is a big factor of my life, and I am glad to have found a place where that is supported. Favorite Thing About Aquinas: The small sizes of the classes are very nice,

because they have allowed me to develop relationships with other people here. I also really like St. Louis and believe that it is a great place to study theology. Post-Graduation Plans: Diocesan Evangelization or study Canon Law More about Emily: She is a talented social media creator, and she is the one

responsible for many of the Aquinas Institute posts you see on Facebook and Instagram!

PLEASE NOTE!

JANUARY 28 is the deadline for the following: Applications for Master of Divinity, Master of Arts in Theology and Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies Aquinas Scholar Award consideration Nominate an Aquinas Scholar Today THE AQUINAS WAY • JANUARY 2024

The Role and Goal of Preaching How and Why it Matters by joe kenny

Fr. Paul Whittington, OP

AQUINAS INSTTUTE OF THEOLOGY

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The congregation at a Catholic parish in Independence, Mo., sat forward in their pews, eyes glued to the pastor of their parish as he delivered a homily tying his life and theirs to the Gospel reading. The Catholic priest told of struggles he faces to be humble and lead a congregation. Then, using examples, he pointed out that everyone has struggles yet needs to rely on God and must refuse to give up.

reaching in the Catholic Church seeks to be relevant, touching people’s hearts and helping them to become Christ for others.

Aquinas Institute of Theology provides the study and education on what the Dominicans call “Holy Preaching.” It’s an expression of our shared life, where as a community we make a comprehensive and dynamic response to God’s presence in our lives and the world. Rev. Gregory Heille, OP, Professor of Preaching and Evangelization at Aquinas, explains that Catholic laypeople are looking for preaching that “touches on or gives meaning to their life.” The Second Vatican Council revised the liturgy to, among other things, make preaching a priority. The aim in the liturgy now is for “full, conscious, active participation” by laypeople. That also is the purpose of the homily at Mass, Fr. Heille stated. The goal helps participants in the Mass finding meaning in their lives in terms of the Scriptures of the day, liturgical season, and liturgical action of the Eucharist. Good preaching should ask what, so what, and now what.

“What does today’s liturgy and readings have to say about our lives as Christians, why is that important to us, and the now what — as at the end of Mass we go out as Christians in our daily lives,” said Fr. Heille, who also directs the Doctor of Ministry in Preaching degree program and the Lilly-funded Delaplane Preaching Initiative at Aquinas and is an animator of the global Dominican Preaching Network. It’s all about taking what is preached back into one’s life at home, work, and society — making a difference as Christians. Aquinas Institute is sponsored by the Order of Preachers or Dominicans, whose vocation is animated by the gift of preaching. Students include student-brothers preparing for ordination and laypeople preparing for other ministry in the Church. Each is enhanced by the preaching curriculum at Aquinas. Lay students will preach in other contexts such school teachers, hospital chaplains, retreat leaders, and more. Courses in Scripture, worship, theology, Christian formation, and field work all provide a context as they go into their ministry and practice that “Holy Preaching.” Aquinas is the only Catholic school in the world to have a doctoral program in preaching. Many of the 145 graduates with a doctor of ministry in preaching degree are teaching courses in preaching

Fr. Michael Mascari, OP

THE AQUINAS WAY • JANUARY 2024

Fr. Mark Wedig, OP (center) with Fr. Michael Mascari, OP (left) and Fr. James Marchionda, OP (right)

at seminaries. These preaching educators are working in the United States as well as countries such as Nigeria, Vietnam, Germany, Ireland, and Canada. Fifteen Aquinas doctoral students and graduates just published a book called Preaching Racial Justice. Preaching is more than about personal conversion or walk of faith. “It’s about how we become full, conscious and active participants and citizens in our world, how we bring our faith to bear on a more peaceful and just world,” Fr. Heille said. For example, people need to hear about the suffering in the Holy Land and longing for peace there, he said. It’s important to hear about huge world events from the pulpit, he said, not from the standpoint of politics or a cultural divide, but from the Christian perspective on human dignity, justice, peace, and other Catholic social teaching.

Fr. Patrick Baikauskas, OP

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In a high-functioning parish, opportunities are provided for people to talk about the topics— perhaps war, abortion or racial justice — in other settings. Preaching should arise up out of the conversation and faith life of a community, Fr. Heille said. A preacher is informed by that conversation, feeding back into those conversations. The U.S. bishops, in their document of 1982 on preaching, Fulfilled in Your Hearing, stated that the preacher is a mediator of meaning. “It probably starts real conversation afterward,” the Dominican priest said.

Preaching is meant to be a dialogue, said the specialist in theology of preaching, homiletic pedagogy,

evangelization of culture, and racial equity education. “The word homily comes from a Greek word meaning conversation. Especially when you’re talking about difficult topics, the preacher does need to be humble and admit that it’s a sensitive topic and he or she doesn’t know all the answers, but together can we think about and talk about these important things.”

Sr. Sara Fairbanks, OP, Associate Professor of Theology and Preaching at Aquinas, provides a perspective as a Dominican Sister of Adrian, Michigan, a congregation that stresses a way to “preach with your life.” In health care, counseling, teaching, social work, law, peace, and justice activism, or whatever field they’re in, they see works of justice as a form of preaching the Gospel. Lay students at Aquinas also will have a wide range of ministries in the community where they won’t be in a pulpit but will have a sound theology to share with others. “Aquinas is about a broader sense of preaching the Gospel, but also very much in the work of teaching preaching,” Sr. Fairbanks said. Preachers who touch hearts know their audience — their concerns, joys, and struggles, Sr. Fairbanks said. “You really have to have concrete experiences. You have to talk about our stories of struggling with life. Then you put that into dialogue with the Scripture story. Our story becomes the Scripture story, the Scripture story become our story. And they illuminate

each other. God is in both stories. When you start telling a story that people can really relate to, it evokes experiences for them. It may not be their same experience but it will tap into experiences for them that they can share with God.” When people think about their own lives, they see how the preacher brings the Gospel into it and what God is saying about that experience. “It’s awesome. God is alive and with us today, aware of what we’re going through, and has a word of encouragement for us. That’s healing compassion,” Sr. Fairbanks said. She cited a student who converted to Catholicism, became educated in theology, and began preaching on the Gospel. The student told of preaching on the Gospel at a high school retreat, where Jesus tells of giving to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s and comparing that Gospel to looking into a mirror and the image it projects. The student “talked about that Gospel and how we belong to God, we are created in the image of God and how we’re supposed to be the image of God for one another,” Sr. Fairbanks recalled. Adopted as an infant, the student never saw anyone who had her image. She had no relatives and never saw her parents. “She never saw her image in another until she saw her first child. She opened our hearts to how precious it is that we’re made in the image of God,” Sr. Fairbanks said. Preachers who have a love relationship with God communicate it in good preaching, Sr. Fairbanks said. They communicate sound theology and relate ethical implications, including an awareness that encounters with other people are the ways of representing God to them and seeing God in people.

Sr. Sara Fairbanks, OP

Using imagery and story-telling, a warm and personal tone, creativity, or humor, and avoiding a hint of superiority are among other ways students at Aquinas are taught to relate to their audience. “They bring the story of God to life, in our lives. Preaching is an art form, too. It’s fun,” Sr. Fairbanks said.

Applications are now being accepted for the 2024 Doctor of Ministry in Preaching cohort at Aquinas Institute of Theology. The deadline for applications is April 12. Learn more about the Doctor of Ministry in Preaching program For more information about applying and admissions, please email parker@ai.edu

THE AQUINAS WAY • JANUARY 2024

Living and Proclaiming the Word Preparing Master Preachers for Ministry in Black and Hispanic Catholic Communities by joe kenny

AQUINAS INSTTUTE OF THEOLOGY

Aquinas Institute of Theology NEW FRONTIERS IN PREACHING ACADEMY A newly created Preaching Academy for permanent deacons and pastoral leaders serving the Black and Hispanic Catholic communities is designed to allow their gifts to shine. “It’s an opportunity to build preaching within the Catholic Church, especially in the African-American community and also the Hispanic community,” said Deacon Lawrence Houston, who serves as a deacon at St. Peter Claver Parish in New Orleans and is associate director for school faith formation in the Archdiocese of New Orleans.

Deacon Houston, a member of the Council for AfricanAmerican Catholic Deacons for the Archdiocese of New Orleans, serves as a “thought leader” helping plan the Academy and will be one of its students. The Bible is the Word of God, and our purpose is to read it and live it, Deacon Houston said. Sometimes Catholics may not understand parts of it, so “when someone preaches, it helps to open that Word up. It offers a way of looking at it so someone can understand how it applies to them in their life, right now in a situation they may be going through.”

Deacon Enrique Castro assists the pastor of St. Peter Parish in To preach the Word is to “bring the Word alive off the page,” Jefferson City, Missouri, serves as full-time Diocesan Director of giving hope and direction, he said. There’s a liveliness in the Hispanic and Intercultural Ministries and is Executive Director African American and Hispanic communities when it comes of Faith Formation there. “Communicating the message in a way to worship, tied back to their that’s understood in a cultural ancestral way of understanding context is so important,” he God. “So when that Word said. The needs in terms of preparing a generation is being shared, there has to Aquinas Institute of Theology’s be a joy, an excitement about of master preachers and the demands New Frontiers in Preaching it,” Deacon Houston said. “To Academy will form permanent of evangelization in both communities is a open that Word up and bring deacons and pastoral leaders to it in a way that it touches common thread between the two dimensions become master preachers in the people is important in both Black and Hispanic Catholic cultures.” of the Preaching Academy, but for two very communities through hybrid As a student in the Mastery learning informed by expert different demographical reasons. in Preaching Certificate faculty, peer preachers, and Program, he will take part Fr. Mark E. Wedig, OP mentorship for parish vitality. in a five-course academic President, Aquinas Institute of Theology Aquinas president Fr. Mark experience designed to increase E. Wedig, OP, noted that it’s intercultural competence and important that Aquinas, as a excellence in preaching as lived in the Aquinas Way. He is theological school, prepares and informs students through its seeking to enhance his preaching. “I’m able to open the Word graduate degree programs but also has an outreach involving up in a way that people really feel what the message is, what lifelong learning for ministry, including for underserved God is trying to tell them.” populations and specific needs of the Church. These efforts He’s encouraging the 15 other African American deacons in “help the Church expand its footprint and venture into new his diocese and others to consider being part of one of the areas,” Fr. Wedig said. Academy’s cohorts and will share what he learns with them. The New Frontiers in Preaching Academy will reach what Deacon Castro also helped Aquinas Institute formulate the research shows is a growing Hispanic population in the Church preaching program, particularly for ways it can help Hispanic with a lack of ministers to serve it and an evaporating Black deacons and laypeople. Deacons in his diocese study homiletics Catholic population. “The needs in terms of preparing a in their formation program, which helps them in beginning generation of master preachers and the demands of evangelization their journey of preaching. But once ordained, they have to seek in both of those communities is a common thread between the an outside source for continuing education in preaching. “This two dimensions of the Preaching Academy but for two very is an opportunity to gain practical skills” for both deacons and different demographical reasons,” he said.

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THE AQUINAS WAY • JANUARY 2024

laypeople who preach in prayer groups, ecclesial movements, retreats or other contexts, he said. With the bishop’s permission and when the pastor requests it, deacons in Jefferson City can conduct Sunday Celebrations in the Absence of a Priest in Spanish in parishes when a Mass in Spanish cannot be provided, or they assist the priest with the homilies. The Mass is the same everywhere but the way the liturgy is celebrated varies by culture, Deacon Castro noted. Some communities respond better to a longer homily, for example, and others to shorter ones, he said. “It’s important for us to be able to convey the Gospel in a real way that touches people’s lives,” he said. “When we express our feelings and maybe some situations we have gone through and tie that to the Gospel, that’s when people feel connected.” Javier Orozco, executive director of Human Dignity and Intercultural Affairs for the Archdiocese of St. Louis, has helped plan the Academy along with a few others since Fr. Wedig began considering ways to reach out to the underserved communities. Orozco is excited about the collaborative and inclusive nature of the program, which connects participants to expert faculty informed by the preaching tradition of Aquinas Institute and provides access to a network of preachers, mentors, and resources. “It is intended to be a rich, informative experience honoring the intellectual content but also the spiritual faith-formative experience in an integrated way that brings both the mind and the heart,” he said. “It connects the Church to our faith and our communities within the Church.” The program honors the differences that enrich the Church. “Our Church has a rich diversity of communities, languages, experiences, of ways of integrating the Gospel message in their lives. So to have the opportunity to prepare master preachers in the certificate program in a way that honors and seeks to improve in making connections to the lived experiences of a diverse community is important and very helpful,” he said. The 10 faculty members come from those communities and have a richness of experience there. One of them is timone davis, Associate Professor in the Institute of Pastoral Studies at

AQUINAS INSTTUTE OF THEOLOGY

Members of the New Frontiers in Preaching Academy staff and faculty

Loyola University Chicago and associate convener of the Black Catholic Theological Symposium. The fact that preaching is taken seriously in the Catholic Church with a serious effort from the Dominicans for training people is heartwarming, davis said. The Academy will allow the Black and Hispanic people’s gifts to shine, while considering that they have a distinct way of proclaiming the Word, she said: “What’s different about this program is we’re raising up people in the community, and having that groundedness helps them become better preachers.” In whatever setting, they will have a better understanding of preaching that not only informs but also transforms, davis said. “Words matter and do make an impact.” Theresa Orozco, Coordinator of the Academy, said the purpose is to bring the charism of the Order of Preachers to people serving an underserved population. ”It’s a great opportunity to be a part of the mission of the Church and bringing the Word of God to others,” she noted. The first class of students in the Academy will begin February 22. It is designed to enhance their work, develop resources for them, and connect them with a ministry leadermentor. The Lilly Endowment grant funding the Academy is in addition to an earlier grant creating lifelong learning for ministry and continuing education.

Permanent Deacons and Pastoral Leaders Apply Now Black Catholic | Hispanic Catholic

Fr. Manuel Williams, CR:

A Life in Preaching

On a popular social media site, Fr. Manuel

school in medicine or law, but a job in the

Williams, CR, is described as a reader,

social service center opened his eyes to

thinker, believer, and servant leader.

the needs of the poor for justice, education, economic opportunities, and—

Within that context, he’s deeply interested

more significantly— for spiritual suste-

in preaching and its importance in the

nance. Once in seminary, he knew he’d

Catholic Church. “Preaching is absolutely

found his vocation.

essential to the health and vitality of Christian communities and particularly

Because of his background growing up in

important in my world view in venues I

a traditional African American family, he

practice ministry for African-American

knew that the soldiers of the modern civil

Catholics,” he said.

rights movement kept moving through song and words. People walked 381 days

The priest of the Congregation of the

in a bus boycott encouraged, empowered,

Resurrection is thrilled and honored to be

and sustained by good preaching from

a part of Aquinas Institute of Theology’s New Frontiers in Preaching Academy as

Click on Fr. Williams’ photo to

a member of its faculty. “It is a critical

learn more about his journey.

effort,” Fr. Williams said. “And I’m so glad that Aquinas and the Lilly Foundation

clergy such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and by laypeople. “Preaching is not only vital in terms of a personal relationship with God in the person of Jesus, the

who have left Catholicism and other

Christ, but also as a means of action, of

churches, he finds one of the main

social justice, of making the Church, the

reasons is the preaching. “So I know

community, more humane and more just.

it is critical for building faith across

Born in Aliceville, Alabama, and raised

Words did that. Preaching did that,” said

demographics and across culture,” said

in Montgomery, Fr. Williams has a

Fr. Williams, who serves on the boards

Fr. Williams, who has served as director

bachelor’s degree from the University

of several social service and education

of Resurrection Catholic Missions and

of Notre Dame in Indiana, a Master’s in

organizations

pastor of Resurrection Catholic Church,

and missions throughout the United

both in Montgomery, Ala., since 1990. He

States, specializing in African American

also has taught Black Catholic history,

Catholic spirituality and history. In 2021

theology, liturgy, and preaching at the

he co-taught a course on Anti-Racism

Institute for Black Catholic Studies at

Preaching with Rev. Greg Heille, OP, of

The Church has provided limited efforts

Xavier University of Louisiana in New

Aquinas Institute.

to enhance preaching in the Black and

Orleans.

Hispanic communities in the past. The

When he was baptized in 1968 at age 11,

has been instrumental in forming him

the young Manuel Williams and his fam-

for ministry. The fact that it is the only

ily started attending Mass together, oc-

Catholic institution that offers a Doctor

casionally going for a second service at

of Ministry in Preaching and chooses

his father’s Baptist congregation. Then

to affect preaching through the New

a persistent Holy Cross priest convinced

Frontiers

Preaching has a sometimes understated

him to attend the University of Notre

another example of its dedication to

impact on the Universal Church. When

Dame. After graduation from Notre Dame

help build the Kingdom and advance the

he encounters people of all generations

in 1979, he intended to pursue graduate

Gospel, he concluded.

recognize this and have invested the human capital and other resources to begin to address that critical need.”

Divinity degree from Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis, and a Master’s in Theology from Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans.

African American community has strong oral and aural aspects, Fr. Williams noted, so preaching is important to motivate as well as sustain, encourage, educate, and form faithful disciples.

and

preaches

revivals

Aquinas Institute, Fr. Williams said,

Preaching

Academy

THE AQUINAS WAY • JANUARY 2024

thursday, november 9, 2023 hilton st. louis frontenac honorees: Most Reverend Mitchell T. Rozanski Archbishop of St. Louis and Reverend Paul Whittington, OP Pastor, St. Katharine Drexel Parish, Chicago, Illinois

Don and Nancy Ross

sponsored by:

Don and Nancy Ross

Cindy Drury and Archbishop Rozanski

The Honorees with the Aquinas Executive Team and Board Chair Dan O’Brien , PhD

AQUINAS INSTTUTE OF THEOLOGY

Fr. Paul’s family and friends

Fr. Patrick McDevitt, CM and Fr. Louis Morrone, OP

Members of the St. Katharine Drexel Gospel Choir

Aquinas students Emma Grace Johnson and Br. Andrew Martin del Valle, OP

Members of the New Frontiers in Preaching Academy staff and faculty

Archbishop Rozanski

THE AQUINAS WAY • JANUARY 2024

book review:

Preaching Racial Justice Edited by Gregory Heille, Maurice L. Nutt, and Deborah L. Wilhelm Orbis Books, 2023

by steve givens

There’s an old rule of etiquette that says that religion and politics shouldn’t be discussed in “polite company.” That can be sage advice around the holidays to keep the family dinner table civil. In a similar vein, there seems to be an unspoken rule in many Christian churches that calls out yet another subject that many preachers and parishioners believe needn’t ever be proclaimed from the pulpit: racial justice. The editors of and contributors to Preaching Racial Justice believe there has got to be a better way. Created and edited by three theologian-preachers with ties to the Aquinas Institute of Theology, the book sets out a “Catholic response to racism that is intelligent, pastoral and prophetic,” Fr. Gregory Heille, OP, writes in the preface. “Though we can hardly be surprised to hear when our colleagues in church ministry find themselves in a reluctant, anxiety-producing, or seemingly untenable position regarding preaching or teaching about Christian responses to racism, we say: Do not give up!” Rather, Fr. Heille urges them to, “hold in creative tension the competing values at play in society, our lives and the church — for the sake of the Gospel.” The book espouses that, while some preachers and teachers want to (and do) address this complex issue, others feel handcuffed by these tensions in their congregations, ultimately choosing silence over the risk of polarization or loss of listeners and learners. The authors in this timely and critical collection believe in the opposite of such silence. They call for a bold proclamation of a gospel of reconciliation and for better and more authentic dialogue as a “source of tremendous creativity for mission in the church.” 18

AQUINAS INSTTUTE OF THEOLOGY

What’s at stake here is bigger than what we might want to imagine. For unless the preachers among us (including pastoral ministers, theologians, and all baptized members of the community) are willing to take a stand (and a pulpit) against the anti-gospel values that fuel institutional racism, the credibility of the church, its leaders, and even its God will be in doubt and held up to ridicule by many. The authors have a clear target in mind with this volume, and it is not adding to the existent discord. Rather, they aspire to truth and reconciliation, to helping heal within Christian congregations the wounds of racism by paying attention to what real dialogue on the subject of 500 years of slavery, racism, and white-body supremacy in the Americas has to teach. Under an umbrella theme of preachers being called to be “prophets, pastors and practical theologians,” the book contributes a much-needed Catholic voice to the literature of preaching about race. The book is the result of a project organized by the Aquinas Institute of Theology, which gathered all of the contributors together for nine months of online dialogue and then brought them together in St. Louis for a week-long writing retreat. This intentionally diverse community modeled the “core values of dialogue and inclusion constituting authentic values of catholicity,” Heille writes. Operating under three traditionally held “voices” that contribute to good theological conversation — the voice of the church and its scripture, liturgy and teaching; the voice of the culture; and the understanding of the believing community — the book includes three sections of five diverse authors each: The Preacher’s Journey (edited

join us for a panel discussion by Heille), Black Lives Matter (edited by Rev. Maurice Nutt, CSsR), and Ancestors and Stories (edited by Dr. Deborah Wilhelm). In these sections, the writers exemplify the “trivocal preaching” characteristics of being prophets, priests and sages, a definition set forth by Kenyatta R. Gilbert, who teaches preaching at the Howard University School of Divinity. In Fr. Nutt’s preface to Part II and his accompanying essay, “Understanding and Preaching #BlackLivesMatter,” he describes how, in direct opposition to the principles of American democracy and the pro-life ethos of the Catholic Church, “racism interrupts the ordinary daily lives of people of color, whether they are jogging, grocery shopping, sleeping, or at Bible study.” The essays in this section, he writes, advocate for preaching that “demands that America honestly examine its conscience to see and accept its capacity to hate and destroy Black human life.” Part III, edited and introduced by Dr. Deborah Wilhelm, asks the reader to, “look backward, around, and forward all simultaneously,” considering the effects of generational trauma and the influence of our ancestors and their stories, songs and beliefs on our current understanding of racial justice. “We are who we are in part because our ancestors were who they were,” she writes. What the authors of Preaching Racial Justice set forth is not the impossible task of an easy fix to racism but, rather, as Heille writes in the preface, “a wish for readers to witness the trauma of systemic racism, to testify to the relevance of the gospel in teaching and preaching about a Christian response to racism, and together to find ways forward to beloved community.”

Preaching Racial Justice What steps can we, as people in the church, take toward being One Body in Christ? featured panelists:

Thursday, March 7, 2024 6:30 p.m.

Fr. Gregory Heille, OP

Aquinas Institute of Theology 23 South Spring Avenue St. Louis Fr. Maurice Nutt, CSsR

This event is open to the public. To register, visit: ai.edu/prj

Deborah Wilhelm, DMin

Steve Givens (Spiritual Direction, ‘14), an Aquinas Board of Trustees member and Executive Director of

Rev. Dr. Dietra Wise Baker, DMin

Bridges Foundation, brings Ignatian Spirituality and the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola to everyday life for those who live in the Greater St. Louis area.

Aquinas Institute of Theology CENTER FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND EVANGELIZATION

Aquinas Institute of Theology NEW FRONTIERS IN PREACHING ACADEMY

transitions alumni Ann Hammer (MDiv ‘03) was recently named Social Outreach Coordinator for the newly created Western Vicariate of the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

Michael Byrd (MA ‘11) was recently ordained a minister in the Unitarian Christian Church of America in Cincinnati, Ohio. He is anxious to begin his service at Foley Road Unitarian Christian Fellowship in Cincinnati.

Dr. Jared Bryson (MDiv ’05) has served as President and CEO of Catholic Charities of St. Louis since June 2022 He leads a federation of 9 agencies that provide compassionate, caring, and Christcentered services to people in need.

Dr. Jacob Torbeck (MA ‘12) has joined the faculty at Briar Cliff University in Fall 2023. He is the second holder of the Sisters of St. Francis Endowed Professorship in Theology. Dr. Torbeck teaches courses in theology, spirituality, and ethics.

Dr. Greg Phelps (MAHCM ‘06) is the Medical Director for Covenant Palliative Care Service in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Jacob Harrison (MA ‘16) was named Chief Catholic Mission Officer for Intermountain Health in Broomfield Colorado in November.

Michael Miller, Jr. (MA ‘07) completed the Doctorate in Healthcare Mission Leadership at Loyola University Chicago. Dr. Miller serves as System Vice President of Mission and Ethics forSSM Health in St. Louis. He also is an adjunct faculty member at Aquinas Institute of Theology and Saint Louis University.

Ray Cook, OMI (DMin ’20), was installed as the new Provincial of the United States Province of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate in October 2023.

Sr. Kathryn Press, ASCJ (MDiv ‘08) is again living in Waterford, Ireland with her community, the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Cheryl Archibald (MAPS ‘10) began a new position as Parish Life Coordinator at St. Pius V Catholic Church & St. Vincent DePaul Parishes. Cheryl serves in partnership with Fr. Richard Wehrmeyer, CM, who is pastor for both parishes, as part of the reconfiguration of parishes in the St. Louis Archdiocese.

Josh Ostertag (MA ‘23) and his wife, Lydia, welcomed their first child Monica, in July of 2023. Josh is currently serving as a Campus Minister at Thomas More University.

faculty We say good-bye to Fr. Kevin Stephens, OP, who leaves Aquinas to become the Administrator of École biblique et archéologique française de Jérusalem (French School of Biblical and Archeological Research of Jerusalem). He was appointed by the Master of the Order, fr. Gerard Francisco Timoner, III, OP, effective December 1, 2023. He succeeds Fr. Stanislaw Gurgul, OP. We wish Fr. Stephens all the best as he begins this new position!

Fr. Louis S. Morrone, OP

and one more big one! On June 5th, Fr. Louis S. Morrone, OP (MDiv ’92), was elected as the 13th Prior Provincial for the Province of St. Albert the Great. Fr. Morrone will serve a four-year term.

Monica Ostertag AQUINAS INSTTUTE OF THEOLOGY

Nick Uxa (MA ’23) is now a full-time teacher in theology at Cor Jesu Academy in St. Louis.

Hannah Turchi (MAPS-CGS ’21) was recently named to the Board of Trustees for The United States Association of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. She is one of two new Board members this year and becomes the latest of several Aquinas MAPS-CGS graduates who have served on the national Board.

Jennifer Crouch (MDiv ‘11) is currently working towards a Master of Social Work degree at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and completing a practicum working with youth who have an Autism Spectrum Disorder or Adjustment Disorder diagnosis.

Beth Rheume (MAPS ‘23) is now working as the Director of Religious Education and Adult Faith Formation at Saint Nicholas Roman Catholic Church in O’Fallon, Illinois.

alumni spotlight Danielle Harrison:

Always a Preacher by steve givens There’s a line that runs through Danielle Harrison’s life and work, and her eyes light up when she talks about it. She’s a preacher. “The idea is to help folks understand that Jesus or God wants to be in relationship with them and loves them,” says Harrison, who earned a Master’s Degree in Theology with a concentration in Biblical Studies from Aquinas in 2007. “I want to give them ways in which to encounter, experience, and receive that love for themselves so they can share it with others. Everything I do is around that.” A native of Haiti, Harrison’s family moved to the United States when she was a child, landing in St. Louis where her father worked as a physician at Homer G. Phillips Memorial Hospital. Raised Catholic, she was educated at Visitation Academy from first through twelfth grades, and then attended Dartmouth College and Saint Louis University Law School. Her wide-ranging career in ministry and social justice has seen her teaching theology and leading mission integration efforts at several St. Louis Catholic high schools, co-founding a retreat ministry in Southern California, creating a center for spiritual development for a hospital system in Lubbock, Texas, and helping lead the Jesuits’ United Central and Southern Province’s Slavery, History, Memory, and Reconciliation Project, among other ministry work. Whatever she’s doing, it’s all a matter of faith. “It doesn’t matter if I’m preaching at a retreat, leading a conversation around equity and inclusion, or talking to an administrator about professional development, it’s all about faith and must be grounded in this idea of inviting people to see the goodness of God in themselves so they can begin to see the goodness of God in others. Because you can’t give away what you don’t have.”

Currently, Harrison serves as a member of the preaching team at King’s House at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows in Belleville, Illinois, and is the president of Mission, Faith, Equity Consulting, which works with secondary schools and religious communities throughout the country in helping them integrate their mission, vision, and charism into their daily practice, focusing on issues of diversity, faith, equity, and belonging. Whatever and wherever she’s working, she’s always a preacher at heart, which is something she learned during her time at Aquinas, she says. She credits many faculty members for instilling in her a great love for scripture and preaching but says that, more than any one individual, it was the community. “We prayed together, we ate together, we hung out after class together. It was a family. I loved the mix of the religious community and the laity, together talking, wrestling, laughing, and sometimes fighting, but we were all there to learn as much as we could so we could reach out to others.” Now, Harrison is returning to Aquinas to help lead the African-American track of the New Frontiers in Preaching Academy, which seeks to form permanent deacons and pastoral leaders to become master preachers in the Catholic Hispanic and Black communities. “What I love about what Aquinas is that it’s always trying to see how it can be relevant in the world,” says Harrison, who is a contributor to the African American Catholic Youth Bible. “I’m going to be helping break open the Bible and what it means in the context of African American spirituality, which is communal, ritual, biblical, and social justice oriented. “To be an effective preacher, you have to share from your experience,” she says. “People have to see that you are walking the walk that you’re talking about. You’re not just preaching at them; you want to accompany them.” THE AQUINAS WAY • JANUARY 2024

passages To learn more about an individual, click their name.

Mary Frances “Francie” Casey Mrs. Casey was notably the first applicant for the Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies – Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (MAPS-CGS) cohort in 2006. She passed away in May 2023 at the age of 86.

Fr. Stanley A. Drongowski, OP Fr. Drongowski studied for the priesthood at Aquinas Institute of Theology in Dubuque, and he returned to earn his Doctor of Ministry in Preaching. He passed away in July 2023 at the age of 71.

Dan Foley Mr. Foley was a member of the Board of Trustees and longtime supporter of the Dominican mission. He passed away in June 2023 at the age of 84.

Margaret Gilleo Ms. Gilleo earned a master’s from Aquinas Institute. She is famous for the Supreme Court case City of Ladue v. Gilleo, 512 U.S. 43 (1994) She passed away in June 2023 at the age of 81.

AQUINAS INSTTUTE OF THEOLOGY

Jeanine Spirek Mrs. Spirek earned a Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies from Aquinas Institute. She passed away in February 2023 at the age of 84.

Fr. Benedict Viviano, OP Fr. Viviano taught at Aquinas Institute in Dubuque from 1972-1981 and then in St. Louis from 1981-1984. He passed away in May 2023 at the age of 83.

Sr. Joyce Williams, OP Sr. Joyce earned a Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies and Graduate Certificate in Spiritual Direction from Aquinas Institute of Theology in 2001. She passed away in March at the age of 81.

THE AQUINAS WAY • JANUARY 2024

THE NEXT ISSUE OF

AquinasW ay the

COMING MARCH 2024 Do you have an Alumni Update? Keep us up to date. With continued gratitude to the members of our Board of Trustees: Daniel L. O’Brien Chair Barbara Thibodeau Vice-Chair George Avila Jennie Weiss Block, OP Fr. Wayne Cavalier, OP Fr. Vincent Dávila, OP Fr. Augustine DeArmond, OP Angie Doerr Mary Etrick Steve J. Givens Mary L. Hill Lucie F. Huger Fr. Patrick Hyde, OP Fr. Roberto Merced, OP Fr. Louis Morrone, OP Brian P. Reardon Harry (John) Sauer Br. Joseph Trout, OP Kristin Tucker Fr. Mark Wedig, OP Dr. Carolyn Wright Brian Yanofchick