From the Editor
A NEW SPRINGTIME OF HOPE, COMMITMENT AT THE ABBEY It seems appropriate that our latest issue of Crossroads would come out at the height of spring. There is a palpable sense of a new springtime of hope, promise and commitment here at Belmont Abbey College as the school year draws to a close. For example, in the heart of the Abbey, the monastery, two more monks, Brother Anthony Swofford and Brother Edward Mancuso, have taken their solemn vows to lay down their lives for their confreres and the entire Abbey community (please see our story on pp. 28-29). And Abbot Placid Solari is taking to the radio airwaves to bring life lessons from the Rule of St. Benedict to a world sorely in need of them (please see page 38). At the College, all sorts of exciting news abounds. For instance, the Wall Street Journal found some of the things the College is doing so intriguing,
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they wrote a front-page feature on us (see page 44). The Abbey has also earned top grades in a prestigious national survey of student engagement (see page 45) and continues to climb in the U.S. News & World Report rankings. Four Abbey scholars have published significant new books (pp. 40-41), and the inaugural Honors Institute class has arrived to further bolster the Abbey’s academic excellence (pp. 20-22). In Abbey Athletics, new Athletic Director Richard Dull has quietly made his presence felt with three outstanding coaching hires, including Stephen Miss, who was named Conference Carolinas’ men’s basketball Coach of the Year (see “This Miss is a Hit,”pp.51-53, as well as our interview with Dick Dull, pp. 54-55, plus stories on women’s basketball coach Susan Yow and men’s lacrosse coach Jim Dietsch on pp. 56-57 and 58-59, respectively). So, you might wonder, what is the cause of this “new springtime” at the Abbey? We’d like to suggest that one source could be the College’s very conscious effort to return to, and more fully incarnate, the hallmarks of its Benedictine heritage. Hence the terrific columns you’ll find on the “Benedictine Hallmarks” in the opening section of the magazine (pp. 5-8), as well as our interview with one of the Abbey’s leading lights, Father John Oetgen (don’t miss “The Glories of a Benedictine
The Magazine of Belmont Abbey College
“We hope you’ll consider this issue of
Crossroads to be a kind of invitation to enter more deeply into the life of this very special community.” Education,” beginning on page 10). Whether you’re a loyal alumnus, a longtime friend or someone new to the Abbey, we hope you’ll consider this issue of Crossroads to be a kind of invitation: to enter more deeply into the life of this very special community; to find a cause here you can believe in and passionately support with your time and treasure, or at the very least, your prayers. So come join in the conversation. Become a part of the age-old rhythm of ora et labora, prayer and work. And savor along with us the many blessings of being Benedictine.
Ed Jones
Spring 2008