Instaurare| Spring 2006

NSTAURARE

INSTAURARE The The Christendom Christendom College College Update Update Instaurare (vt. to restore, strengthen, renew)

April 2006 Volume XIV, Number I

INSIDE THIS ISSUE...

Major Speaker: Fr. Sirico page 3

A Pictorial Tour of the Library pages 4-5

Seniors Hang Up Their Jerseys page 8

Reflections on Our Mission Together – page 2

Chesterton Scholar Comes to Christendom – page 3 Christendom Attracts Catholic Converts – page 6 College Premieres Passion of Bernadette – page 6 High School Summer Program Changes Students – page 7

More Students Seek Christendom Education Than Ever Before

College experiences rise in applications and deposits; larger percentage of men applying

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At this time of year Admissions Offices around the country begin tabulating the applications and the number of deposits received for the upcoming 2006-07 academic year.

Christendom’s Director of Admissions Tom McFadden believes that the College will once again break all of its previous years’ Admissions records.

“Every year we record increasing interest in the ‘way of life’ offered here at Christendom,” says McFadden. “The number of applications we receive has grown by anywhere from five to ten percent annually, with last year’s topping off at an amazing growth of 16 percent. This is a substantial rise in applications, especially considering the fact that we are not planning on increasing our student enrollment for at least the next 5-7 years. This means that the percentage of qualified applicants who will be able to enroll at Christendom will decrease over the next few years, making our acceptance rate even more selective.”

As of mid-March, McFadden reports that the College had received a record number of applications and over 75% of the deposits from the incoming class.

The College plans on enrolling approximately 130 new students this fall.

“We seem to be on track to maintain our ever-growing number of applica-

Dean Reineking, Adam Marchand, Micah Willard, Andy Day, Joe Hambleton, and Zac Inman have found that their Christendom education has prepared them well for their future career choices.

see RECORD INTEREST, page 2

Bishop Loverde Chooses Christendom’s Notre Dame Grad School to Form Deacons

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Christendom’s Notre Dame Graduate School has been selected by the Diocese of Arlington, VA, to provide theological formation for candidates to the diocese’s Permanent Diaconate Formation Program. Bishop Loverde announced last October in the Arlington Catholic Herald that he was reviving the Permanent Diaconate Formation Program and that NDGS would start theology classes for the candidates in January 2007.

Bishop Paul Loverde announced recently that NDGS is to instruct the new candidates for the Permanent Diaconate Program.

Christendom College 134 Christendom Drive Front Royal, VA 22630

Return Service Requested

The candidates will take two courses per semester for four years. Following the directives of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, these will include fundamental, doctrinal, spiritual, sacramental, and moral theology, philosophy, Scripture, Patristics, Church history, and liturgy.

Enrollment in these courses will be limited to Diaconate candidates so as to foster community among the candidates and enable their professors to direct their teaching to educating for this particular ministry.

The first class of candidates is scheduled for ordination in December 2010. It is expected that a new class will begin each year for the next few years, then once every two years. With the extra course offerings will come a need for more professors. Dean of the Graduate School Dr. Kristin Burns hopes to convince some of Arlington’s fine diocesan priests to teach in this program. see DIACONATE PROGRAM, page 6

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Reflections on our Mission Together

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My dear friends, it is important always to remember that courage is contagious. When one man has the courage to take a stand, others are strengthened and grow in this virtue, one that is so particularly necessary in our time. Each semester that the Lord gives us allows us to renew our commitment to the study of the highest things, the permanent things. Let us also renew our commitment to strengthening our community here at Christendom. It is so important to recognize that we are not studying alone or in isolation. All of us – faculty, students and staff, with the support of our friends and benefactors – form a community in pursuit of and acquisition of the true, the good and the beautiful.

So often we take this great good for granted. That is Timothy T. O’Donnell, STD, KGCHS why at times it is good to leave for a while at Christmas or during the summer and come back to recognize the remarkable thing that is taking place here at Christendom College. During this semester, there will inevitably be joys and sorrows, for this is part of life. But let us always remember that “shared joy is double joy” and that “shared sorrow is half sorrow.”

We have been blessed with so many great friendships; we are not alone, we have one another. And this is a precious gift, which must be strengthened. Above all else, we have Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who has brought us here to be together. The faculty who are mentoring you and the staff who are here to help you recognize that they are not here just to earn a living.

They are here making a life and they do so by what they so generously give to others. It is important for all of us to recall that we are involved in something far greater than ourselves. Something which is intrinsically noble and heroic.

My dear students, please recall that you are not “Just going to school here.” You are not “Just taking classes.”

Dear members of the faculty, you are not “Just teaching.”

We all together are seeking and growing in wisdom and knowledge, hopefully in imitation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who Himself continued to grow in wisdom and knowledge before God and before man. You are being formed and prepared here for a lifetime pursuit of the higher things. It would be a profound tragedy if your pursuit was to end simply at graduation. Your entire formation is directed to assist you in acquiring a knowledge of the highest things. Sadly, many in our fractured, broken world view this as a waste of time.

Published quarterly by the Christendom College Development Office.

Managing Editor, Layout, Design: Tom McFadden Copy Editor: Kathleen Blum Christendom College 134 Christendom Drive, Front Royal, VA 22630 (800) 877-5456 ~ www.christendom.edu Copyright © 2006. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is hereby granted, provided the following credit line is used: “Reprinted by permission from INSTAURARE, the quarterly newsletter of Christendom College (www.christendom.edu).” SUBSCRIPTION FREE UPON REQUEST.

Many colleges and universities also view our efforts here as a waste of time. But this is not the view of the Church, this is not the view of Pope Benedict, this is not the view of your parents, this is not the view of those who really love you.

Those who have taken my Ancient Biblical World Course are very much aware of my love for Cicero. The great orator once wrote, “He who is ignorant of what happened before his birth is always a child.” Here at Christendom, you can study the magna traditio. You can learn and draw from the streams of faith and reason flowing in life-giving harmony here in our program.

Through your course of study, you can also draw closer to Christ, who is the Way the Truth and the Life. I urge all of you to integrate what you learn in the classroom into your personal life; grow in virtue; grow spiritually and intellectually with your comrades in arms! I also encourage you to strengthen your friendships here – upperclassmen reaching out to lower classmen and lower classmen opening themselves up to the juniors and seniors. Build these friendships not on fads, not on the ephemeral, nor on drink, but on goodness, truthfulness and mutual fidelity to one another and to our holy Catholic faith.

Hilaire Belloc once wrote that “the grace of God is found in courtesy.” It is important for us to be gracious, courteous and concerned for one another. Greet one another with a smile and thank those who show their concern for you by their service and support: the faculty, staff and everyone within this community. I urge you – do not waste your time pursuing just what is “permissible,” a type of “Catholic lite,” a minimalist approach to the full glory of Catholic living. You are called in this age, as John Paul II wrote, “to the high standard of ordinary Christian living.” Your education here will be teaching you what is essential. That which is most essential is that you live a life worthy of a mature man or woman grounded in Christ and active in the pursuit and acquisition of wisdom.

which the characters were asked, “Are you a daughter of Eve?” “Are you a son of Adam?” Now of course since the coming of Christ we are even more than that. This reality calls for great reverence for we are sons of the new Adam and daughters of the new Eve. We live in an age in which it is necessary to restate the obvious because we have lost so much of what was characterized a generation ago as common sense. It is important to recall that we are all creatures composed of body and soul. We have a body with which we are meant to glorify God and which we must not abuse. We have a soul possessing the faculties of intellect and will. What a gift it is that we can think and can contemplate the highest things!

It is also important to remember that we have a will, which we can steel in the practice of virtue. Above all else, let us recall that we have been reconfigured in grace and made in the image and likeness of God. This is the fundamental truth of our existence, which reveals to us our core worth as human beings.

Do not sell yourself too cheaply. Do not sell your birthright as a Catholic for a mass of pottage. I urge you and all of us as we continue through this semester to stand with Christ! Stand with His Church! The Church for which He died, which is the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic and Roman Church. Stand with our Holy Father! I can assure you that if you do, if you stand with Christ, with His Church and with His Vicar, you will be changed. Just like the Wise Men who encountered Christ in the manger were changed. If you do this, when May finally comes around, like the Magi, you will find yourself going home, but you will go home by “another way.”

College President O’Donnell delivered the above address to the students and faculty at the beginning of this semester.

I had the joy of taking a number of my children to watch Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe over Christmas break. I was struck by the reverence with

RECORD INTEREST... tions,” comments McFadden. “It is a sign of our solid reputation that we are receiving so many additional applications from such qualified high school students.

The average SAT scores of those whom we have accepted so far are 655 (verbal), 600 (math), and 600 (writing); numbers well above the national average.”

Also of interest is the fact that more and more young men have been applying and enrolling at Christendom over the past six years. This despite the fact that according to recent news stories, the number of men going to college in the US has been declining.

“Colleges and universities across the country are grappling with the case of the mysteriously vanishing male,” writes Michael Gurian in the December 4, 2005, issue of The Washington Post. “Where men once dominated, they now make up no more than 43 percent of students at American institutions of higher learning, according to 2003 statistics, and this downward trend shows every sign of continuing unabated.

If we don’t reverse it soon, we will gradually diminish the male identity, and thus the productivity and the mission, of the next generation of young men, and all the ones that follow.”

Christendom has resisted this trend. School records show that the percentage of male applicants has risen from 38% in 1999 to 45% last year. Additionally, 20% more men applied for the 2005-06 academic year than for the previous year, resulting in an incoming freshman class of 48% men, up from 43% the past two years.

Continued from Page 1 Christendom’s Admissions successes may be in part attributable to a growing appreciation in the public sector of the value of a liberal arts education. The stereotype of the unemployable liberal arts graduate is being shown for what it is: a fiction.

In an April 12, 2005, article in The Wall Street Journal Erin White writes that “some management professors think a liberal-arts degree may offer future chief executives a broader foundation to operate in an increasingly complicated, global and fast-moving business arena.”

She quotes Peter Veruki, who spent about 25 years in corporate recruiting and training and now manages external relations at Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management in Nashville.

“It’s about maturity and leadership rather than how many accounting courses did you take,” Veruki says. “Companies are going to start to look at the fundamental value set of an individual and their basic education. Did they study philosophy and culture and history rather than just accounting, finance and engineering? Fast-forward 20 or 30 years, we’re going to find [business leaders] who maybe majored in philosophy rather than business.”

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Acton Institute’s Rev. Robert Sirico Interprets Pope Benedict XVI’s Deus Caritas Est

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Reverend Robert Sirico delivered a lecture entitled “What’s Love Got To Do With It?” on March 6 at Christendom College as part of the College’s Major Speakers Program. The focus of the lecture was Pope Benedict XVI’s new encyclical Deus Caritas Est. Father Robert A. Sirico is cofounder and president of the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty, a non-profit, non-partisan, free-market educational organization. Since its inception in 1990, the Acton Institute has been on the forefront of educating future religious leaders about the principles of the market economy as encapsulated in

Pope John Paul II’s 1991 social encyclical Centesimus Annus.

Father Sirico began his lecture by focusing on the first part of Deus Caritas Est, in which Pope Benedict outlines a holistic vision of love that, to the surprise of many, does not reject or condemn the Greek notion of eros, but rather situates it in a broader context.

“What this means in practical terms is that love must be concrete and enfleshed – it can never remain a mere abstraction.

There is no greater demonstration of this enfleshment of love than in the Incarnation of the Son of God, the Eternal Word Father Robert Sirico gives the student body insight of the Father,” said Father Sirico. into Deus Caritas Est.

Chesterton Scholar Ahlquist Visits Christendom The English, History, and Classics departments joined forces to sponsor two talks by renowned Chesterton scholar Dale Ahlquist. Ahlquist is President of the American Chesterton Society and host of the EWTN series “G.K. Chesterton – The Apostle of Common Sense.”

He is also the father of Julian Ahlquist who is a junior at Christendom.

that Chesterton poured a great variety of material into this journal of politics and literature with original essays, poems, drawings, short news items and commentary.

Although Chesterton was a popular writer in his time, his newspaper never had a wide circulation; this explains in part why a complete collection is very rare. It also explains why the paper was never able to Students and faculty gathered support itself. Whenever there was in the College’s ChesterBelloc red ink, Chesterton would write a room to hear Ahlquist lecture new Father Brown story to pay the on G.K. Chesterton’s witty and bills. So, as Ahlquist explained, profound insights on Hamlet, “Many people had to be killed in Macbeth and A Midsummer order to keep G.K.’s Weekly going.

Night’s Dream. According to But Father Brown always discovered Ahlquist, Chesterton was less who the murderer was.” Several a critic of Shakespeare than important writers also contributed he was a critic of the critics articles to G.K.’s Weekly, including of Shakespeare, of those who George Bernard Shaw, Ronald would psychoanalyze ShakeKnox, Christopher Dawson, and Chesteron expert Dale Ahlquist. speare, of those who would George Orwell. But the most imforce Shakespeare into narrow modern philosophies, portant writer was G.K. Chesterton himself. There is a of those who claim Shakespeare was really someone great deal of Chesterton material here that is not found else, and of those who would “turn good poetry into anywhere else, and Ahlquist called it “a wealthy mine that bad metaphysics.” is waiting to be excavated.” He said that Christendom is very privileged to have this collection.

Ahlquist also delivered another talk outside the library’s rare books room in the library to celebrate the college’s acquisition of a complete run of G.K.’s Weekly. Describing the paper as “Chesterton’s Scrapbook,” Ahlquist said

“Probably more than any other doctrine of the Christian faith, it is the doctrine of the Incarnation that is the cause for Christianity to be an institutional religion, one concerned with hierarchy, culture, history and the like. Christianity is, as Chesterton quipped, ‘the religion of stuff.’”

To be Christian means to embrace a certain form of universality that used to be called the brotherhood of man, he explained. No life can be considered valueless, something to be thrown away or disregarded. All people are made from their conception in the likeness of God and therefore their lives must be considered infinitely valuable. Christianity broke with the old world by embracing the universal call to holiness.

Father Sirico next tried to outline the relationship between religion and politics and said that according to Pope Benedict, religion can have too large an impact, insofar as government seeks to enact an agenda that belongs in the realm of personal ethics.

“We do not need a state which regulates and controls everything, but a State which, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, generously acknowledges and supports initiatives arising from the different social forces and combines spontaneity with closeness to those in need,” writes the Pope. According to Father Sirico, it is because of this manner of thought that many believe that within a free economy, there is creativity, spontaneity, and initiative, not only in building commercial enterprises but also in building non-profit charitable institutions, that seek to help the poor.

He concluded by reiterating Church teaching that the pursuit of justice is primarily a political and not a religious task. In fact, the Holy Father writes in this encyclical that “A just society must be the achievement of politics, not of the Church.” This will sound somewhat radical in these times when the Christian Left takes it as a doctrinal postulate that the Church must always and everywhere seek some form of justice.

“No, says Benedict, love is our specialization. Moreover, ‘there is no ordering of the State so just that it can eliminate the need for a service of love. Whoever wants to eliminate love is preparing to eliminate man as such.’”

John Paul II Inspired Art Exhibit at Christendom Christendom hosted a sacred art exhibit from February 5 through March 17. The exhibit, “Contemplating the Sacred: Religious Works of Contemporary Artists,” showcased the work of 10 artists from across America and some from around the world.

The exhibit was first launched at Catholic University of America and the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington, DC, at the suggestion of the late Pope John Paul II in his encyclical letter to artists.

Artwork by artist Edmund Sullivan.

Paintings by artists Donna Supremaunt and James Langley.

Donna Supremaunt’s The Reading.

James Langley’s The Saviour, and Holy Family in Workshop.

In that encyclical, he stated that “in order to communicate the message entrusted to her by Christ, the Church needs art. Art must make perceptible, and as far as possible attractive, the world of the spirit, of the invisible, of God. It must therefore translate into meaningful terms that which is in itself ineffable. Art has a unique capacity to take one or other facet of the message and translate it into colours, shapes and sounds which nourish the intuition of those who look or listen.”

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St. John the Evangelist Library: A Self-Guided Tour Christendom’s St. John the Evangelist was completed and opened in the fall of 2004. Although many friends, alumni, benefactors, and potential students have visited the campus since that time and have been able to tour the magnificent building for themselves, we would like to take this opportunity to present a “virtual visual” tour of the library for those unable to visit our campus. - Editor.

The St. John the Evangelist Library, designed by O’Brien and Keane LLC, can house up to 150,000 volumes in 40,000 square feet of space. With classrooms, electronic media, computer labs, study-carrels, and an impressive collection of books, it is the academic center of campus.

A quotation from Pope John Paul II’s encyclical Fides et Ratio.

From the earliest design meetings in 1998, the College sought an architectural plan for the library that would reflect a Catholic vision.

In classical architecture, octagonal buildings (such as the library’s Rotunda) have represented intuitive or spiritual ideas while rectangular buildings (such as its main section) have represented rational or intellectual ideas. The great St. Augustine wrote of “faith seeking understanding,” and guests to the library, pilgrims all, see this journey symbolized in the plan of the building as they walk through faith to arrive at intellectual understanding and ultimately wisdom.

A front view of the St. John the Evangelist Library.

The circulation desk is on the left as you enter the building.

The column in the center of the piazza is dedicated to Our Lady, Queen of Christendom. The principal axis runs through Our Lady’s column and continues through the Library in one direction while our Lady faces in the other direction towards the Chapel of Christ the King, offering a maternal greeting to all who approach the library.

On the south side of the piazza is a memorial plaque to Mr. William Carrigan, who was an early and instrumental benefactor of Christendom College. College founder Dr. Warren Carroll, in his history of the College’s founding, said that without Mr. Carrigan, Christendom College would not exist today.

The exterior of the Dome is modeled on the Baptistry of the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome. Atop the 50 foot high dome sits a beaten copper cupola in Roman style, adorned with the angel of St. John’s Apocalypse.

Inside the Rotunda, is a stained-glass image of the Library’s patron, St. John the Evangelist sitting on his cathedra (chair) surrounded by the words that open the Gospel of St. John—IN PRINCIPIO ERAT VERBUM, “In the beginning was the Word…” This image was taken from the Book of Kells, which is considered the most beautiful of medieval manuscripts. Affixed to each of the remaining seven walls are cast stone blocks, each etched with one of the seven “I am . . .” statements from the Gospel of St. John.

The reference desk is in front of you as you enter the building.

Our Lady Queen of Christendom looks out over the campus.

The College is eternally indebted to the late William Carrigan.

The information commons is flanked by six massive Corinthian columns.

At the summit of the Rotunda soars an eagle, the symbol of St. John, surrounded by the words “ET VERBUM ERAT APUD DEUM ET VERBUM ERAT DEUS,”... and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” The Celtic Cross on the terrazzo floor of the Rotunda is a symbol of the cosmic sacrifice of Christ with the red inlay denoting the five wounds of our Lord.

A quotation from John Paul II’s encyclical Fides et Ratio crowns the main entrance from the Rotunda into the library. The union of faith and reason has been the central theme of Catholic education and of this pontificate, for “only in the mystery of the Incarnate Word does the mystery of man take on light.”

The Main Level contains all of the traditional library services, including the Circulation Desk, the Reference Desk/Reference Collection, Periodical Section, and a substantial portion of the main cataloged collection.

The cathedral ceiling provides both beauty and light.

Stained glass window of St. John the Evangelist.

Celtic cross on the terrazzo floor of the Rotunda.

H.Reed Armstrong’s bust of Pope John Paul II overlooks the periodicals.

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The visitor is struck by the dignity and solidity of this building, with its beautiful hardwood trim, paneling, furnishing, and shelving. Plans for more modestly priced, factory made furnishings and standard trim were gladly laid aside when an anonymous benefactor donated the wood and the carpentry work required to do it justice.

One of the smaller student study rooms.

The College’s periodicals provide insightful commentary for the students.

One carpenter among the small army of craftsmen who labored on the worksite for months was heard to say that “this kind of carpentry” was more common in the 1800s. Christendom College has been truly blessed by this anonymous donor!

In the center of the Main Level is one of the Library’s prominent new features: the Information Commons, comprised of long tables with 16 computer workstations for individual use and occasional smaller group instruction.

Rising up from the Information Commons and through the Gallery Level to the grand cathedral ceiling 45 feet above the floor is an Open Space flanked by six massive 44-inch square cherry Corinthian columns. With its combination of skylights and backlighting this space encourages contemplation of God’s awesome creation.

An anonymous donor provided all of the beautiful cherry and hardwood.

The Rare Books Room is on the East side of the library.

A bust of Pope John Paul II is an original work by renowned Catholic sculptor H. Reed Armstrong and overlooks the periodicals section of the library.

The Gallery Level accommodates the main collection stack space, additional study space, the Walters Board Room, group study rooms, a Faculty Lounge and the Rare Books Room.

At the south end of the Gallery Level (the “Rotunda end” of the building) is the Rare Books Room, designed as a temperature controlled environment for the preservation of the College’s rare books collection.

The Vernon Walters Board Room is on the upper level of the library.

The lower level of the library provides additional study space.

At the north end of the Gallery Level is the Lt. General Vernon A. Walters Board Room. Christendom is honored to dedicate its Board Room to the memory of this great man and benefactor of the College.

Outside the Board Room, above the fireplace, is an original 18th century etching of the city of Rome, symbolic of the College’s attachment to the Eternal City, home of the Apostolic See. Situated on the east side of the Board Room is the largest of the five Group Study rooms in the Library; on the west side is the Faculty Lounge.

An 18th Century etching of Rome hangs outside the boardroom.

There are currently four classrooms in the lower level of the library.

One of the library’s larger student study rooms.

The computer lab is located on the lower level.

The Lower Level is designed for two purposes: initially, for short-term use as classrooms and minor Departmental special events; later, when the Library’s main collection capacity of the Main Level and the Gallery Level begins to overflow, for additional stack space. Also housed in the Lower Level is a permanent computer center with desk space for over 100 up-to-date computer terminals, as well as a Language Laboratory.

The St. John the Evangelist Library provides a setting of quiet grandeur appropriate for the education of generations of Catholic leaders in our country and for the gathering of friends and supporters of Christendom College for years to come. Through the services available in this building, many will find food for the mind and solace for the soul.

Anyone interested in taking a tour of the library should contact the library staff at 800.877.5456 ext. 231.

Custom built study carrels line the outside walls of the library.

The rear of the building which faces the Shenandoah River.

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Catholic Convert Michael Baggot Finds Home at Christendom

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Throughout its 29 year history, Christendom has always attracted not only some of the brightest young minds in America but also some of the country’s most dedicated, committed, and orthodox Catholic youths. And the spiritual and intellectual culture of the campus fosters the students’ desire to follow Christ’s call to holiness.

Christendom sophomore Michael Baggot is a case in point.

Baggot was brought up without religion, the son of fallen away Catholics who were ill-formed in their faith.

In his mid-teens he came across a taped lecture on St. Augustine entitled “Grace and Original Sin.” This first ignited his slow embrace of Christianity. He later moved on to other taped lectures on topics in philosophy and theology, and all the while he was consumed by thoughts of the Last Things.

As he became attracted to Episcopalianism, C.S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity helped save him from the lures of liberal Christianity. Convinced of Jesus’ divinity, he faced the dilemma of finding where and how to practice his faith. His belief in objective truth and recognition of the need for a systematic presentation of belief through creeds and dogmas helped prepare him for the difficult process of “church shopping.”

“In general, apologetics books were difficult to come by; however, through the internet, I was able to find vast amounts of information from thinkers of various Christian persuasions,” he said. “The internet articles dealt concisely with the major theological issues that would influence my decision. Dave Armstrong’s homepage ‘Biblical Evidence for Catholicism’ proved to be the online resource most influential on my thought.”

He later read a number of Catholic books which explained what the Church teaches. In fact, his acceptance of Catholicism was greatly accelerated by simply learning from reliable sources what the Church actually taught.

“I got a hold of a copy of the Catechism. I was swept away by the language in it, a document steeped in the biblical, patristic, medieval, and modern wisdom of the saints and other great men of the Faith. The Catechism and the Second Vatican Council documents suggested a depth and breadth of thought that invited further exploration.”

After discovering Catholicism, he could not settle for a life based on anything besides Catholic doctrine and practice. He spent a year at a secular school with a strong campus ministry that encouraged him to deepen his prayer life and to evangelize. When his efforts to supplement his secular education with Catholic reading in his spare time proved unsatisfying, he transferred to Christendom.

“During my freshman year, I was pleasantly surprised to walk into the Commons in the midst of a group rendition of the Salve Regina in honor of Our Lady’s Nativity,” he recounted. “I will also always remember the experience of seeing one of my professors jump up and down as he received news of Cardinal Ratzinger’s election as Pope. By the afternoon of Pope Benedict XVI’s election, many students, faculty, and staff were gathered in a Eucharistic procession.”

From the gorgeous traditional architecture of the Christ the King Chapel to the beautiful Latin liturgies held within, Baggot believes that the prayer-centered life on campus is instrumental to his continued conversion.

“At Christendom, the Eucharistic Sacrifice is truly treated as the source and summit of the Christian faith. Sunday Mass is rightly celebrated with a particular solemnity. The soaring polyphonic prayers of the choir rise up like the smoke screen of incense used around the altar. Further, thanks to the complimentary Christian Prayer books

given to incoming students and the common recitation of Lauds and Vespers, I have happily made the universal prayer of the Church my own,” he concluded.

Baggot, who is joined on campus by at least eight other converts to the Faith, is discerning his vocation to the priesthood and, when not making people laugh, is involved in the College’s pro-life activities and the Legion of Mary.

Christendom Among Top 10 Conservative Colleges

For the second consecutive year, Christendom was ranked by Young America’s Foundation as one of the top 10 conservative colleges in the United States.

Young America’s Foundation named institutions of higher learning that offer a holistic conservative experience for students. This year’s list of schools features 10 institutions that are, through their mission and programs, dedicated to discovering, maintaining, and strengthening the conservative values of their students.

Most offer coursework and scholarship in conservative thought and emphasize principles of smaller government, strong national defense, free enterprise, and traditional values. A number have a religious affiliation, but some do not.

College Hosts National Premiere of The Passion of Bernadette On the vigil of the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, Christendom hosted the national premiere of The Passion Of Bernadette, the sequel to Bernadette. Christendom students and alumni packed the “theatre” in the St. John the Evangelist Library.

Though neither the director of the film (Jean Delannoy) nor the actress who played Bernadette (Sydney Penny) is Catholic, the film told the story of St. Bernadette with sensitivity and respect. The sequel was filmed in the actual convent where St. Bernadette lived in Nevers, France, and where her incorrupt body still lies.

“I think the audience walked away from the film very pleased,” said Director of Student and Alumni Relations Tom McGraw, “because everyone could see that it was not only accurate, but also authentic.”

DIACONATE PROGRAM...

“Listening to some of my non-Catholic friends’ objections to the Faith, I realized how important a more rigorous Catholic intellectual formation is. At Christendom, I can soak in the great treasures of Western Civilization and reflect on the good, the true, and the beautiful while preparing to be a better disciple of the Lord.”

Rev. Frank J. Ready, Vicar General for Pastoral Services of the Arlington Diocese, is the Director of the Permanent Diaconate Formation Program. A review board of permanent deacons will help him select from among dozens of applicants those who will be presented to the bishop as aspirants beginning this June. The aspirancy period, during this coming summer and fall, will concentrate on spiritual formation, educating the aspirants about the vocation and responsibilities of the permanent diaconate and helping them discern their vocation.

Baggot says that Christendom’s educational experience, including its social, moral, and cultural life has aided him in his knowledge and love of Christ and His Church.

He appreciates the way that the daily life of the students manifests the community’s Catholicism.

The Graduate School will teach its prerequisite Introduction to Theology course to the aspirants during this period. The aspirants selected to be deacon candidates in December will start the 4-year theological formation program at NDGS in January of 2007.

Both director and actress strove for a genuine portrayal of St. Bernadette. Penny said that “this is really how Bernadette affects people. She’s a symbol of maintaining integrity and honesty, and how it works on everyone.

Honesty and truth are immutable.” Delannoy sharing this opinion, also said, “I am certain that the life and death of St. Bernadette will forever hold a profound significance for all people.”

Continued from Page 1 NDGS trained deacon candidates in the eighties as the Notre Dame Apostolic Catechetical Institute (NDI).

Then Bishop of Arlington Keating, announced a moratorium on the program in 1985. The last permanent deacons ordained in the diocese were in 1989. Some of those men have died or retired, and there is now a great need for permanent deacons in this fast-growing diocese, even though it has been blessed with vocations to the priesthood. “We are excited to be serving the diocese in this way again,” said Dean Burns. “I guarantee that they will receive an excellent formation.”

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INSTAURARE, April 2006

High School Summer Program Has Deep Impact on Participants

C

Christendom College’s annual two-week summer program for high school students will be held on its Front Royal, Virginia, campus in two different sessions from June 18 to June 30 and from July 10 to July 22, 2006.

participate.

“High school students today have so many colleges from which to choose,” says Admissions Director Tom McFadden. “I think that it is important for students to determine which college fits their needs best. Spending two weeks at Christendom, experiencing dorm life, the culture, the professors, and even the food, can do much to help students determine whether Christendom is the right place for them to spend their college years.”

According to high school senior John Wardle (Poland, OH) his experience at the two-week summer camp had a profound impact on his life.

“Before my parents sent me to the ChristenJohn Wardle and Will Peyton thoroughly enjoyed their Summer Program dom Summer Program this past summer, I had not really wanted to attend Chrisexperiences. tendom at all. But after attending, I now The program, now in its eighth year, gives rising high have a completely different feeling. What I found at school juniors and seniors the opportunity to experience Christendom was an unapologetic feeling of Catholilife as a student at an authentically Catholic college, cism. The respect and love shown for the Eucharist was where they will be immersed in a fully Catholic envimost impressive; it moved your very soul closer to God. ronment where fun, friendship, culture, and academics Even outside the chapel, aspirations toward grace were are seamlessly woven together. encouraged. The professors who taught the classes were As in the past, the College is expecting approximately not only teaching truths, but were striving to live them, 100 students from across the country and abroad to too. I noted that all the professors attended daily Mass

Brian Gallagher and Kyndra Carder have both applied and been accepted to Christendom.

with us, and I found it very inspiring.”

The students’ daily schedule will be packed with edifying and enjoyable events, including classes in the mornings, attendance at daily Mass, and a variety of afternoon activities. Some of those activities include canoe trips down the Shenandoah River; hikes through Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Mountains; exciting softball and volleyball games; a trip to an Orioles baseball game at Baltimore’s Camden Yards; a trip to the Nation’s

In Gratitude to God (and Friends) for a Good Year On behalf of our many undergraduates and our Notre Dame Graduate School (NDGS) students, who all benefit greatly by your generous support of Christendom College, I extend my heartfelt thanks and pledge to you my continued prayers!

By the time this issue of Instaurare arrives at your doorstep, our 2005-2006 fiscal year will be in the home stretch. With over 90% of our $1.7 million operations expenses target achieved, Christendom is poised, if we have a strong finish, to close its fiscal year books in the black for the third consecutive year, thanks be to God. Furthermore, the sooner we hit the mark and balance our books, “the sooner President O’Donnell will be able to tackle a nagging challenge: that of replenishing financial reserves,” according to Mr. Mark McShurley, Christendom’s Executive Vice President.

John F. Ciskanik

Our financial reserves, also called contingency funds, are measured by the number of months Christendom can survive without any additional gifts. Prudent financial management suggests that Christendom should maintain about twenty months of reserves. While residual market weaknesses following the 9/11 attacks has encouraged a watchful eye on this indicator, the College’s monthly reserve number is currently in the low teens – and improving.

Fortunately, Christendom College continues to score well – 9th level out of 10 – on the Consolidated Financial Index (source: Salluzzo et al., Ratio Analysis in Higher Education.), which indicates that the College achieves its mission with sound financial management.

Here are a few examples of how Christendom uses your support to achieve our mission.

Your support enables President O’Donnell to offer a competitive Financial Aid program for Christendom undergraduates this year. Your gift makes it possible for the College to welcome back His Eminence, Francis Cardinal Arinze, for our 17th Annual Summer Institute.

Your gift allows our Student Activities Council to sponsor nearly a decade of “Spring Break” mission trips by our students to Mexico, to the Dominican Republic, to Brazil and to other mission destinations. Your generosity helped us attract the popular Vita Consecrata Institute, which will be held in conjunction with our annual Notre Dame Graduate School summer program this July at our Front Royal campus. I could go on!

It is an honor for me to acknowledge publicly our deep appreciation to the following for their extraordinary generosity to Christendom College during the past quarter: for a $250,000 gift from the Fred C. and Catherine B. Andersen Foundation of Minnesota; for a $200,000 bequest from the estate of Lilian B. Mekus, which established the new Francis A. and Lilian B. Mekus Memorial Scholarship Fund; for a $100,000 gift from Mr. and Mrs. William S. Martin of California; and for $100,000 from Fr. J. Carl Vogel, Jr. of Texas given in return for a Christendom College Charitable Gift Annuity (Thank you all so very much!) Please do please keep these good people in your prayers.

Finally, as I promised in earlier columns, let me update you on the status of a looming obligation on our part – the need to ensure the financial stability of Christendom College for future generations.

In pursuance of the long-term goals established by the College’s current Strategic Plan, the College has hired a professional consulting firm, Bentz Whaley Flessner, to conduct a careful and thorough assessment of Christendom’s ability to undertake a campaign in the next few years to build our endowment. A full report from Bentz Whaley Flessner will be presented to President O’Donnell this summer.

May Our Lord continue to bless you and your work!

John F. Ciskanik is Vice-President for Development and Planning.

Students from all across the country take part in the program.

Capital to visit the John Paul II Cultural Center and the monuments and museums; and a special evening of fun and camaraderie at College President Dr. Timothy O’Donnell’s house.

Laura Judge (Westminster, MD) said that before the summer camp she had become so used to having to stand up for her faith and defend it, that she was surprised when she met so many other young people who had the same views that she did.

“It was tremendous to be able to pray before meals without receiving strange looks and to suggest going to church at midnight without someone asking if you had gone insane! I have never been around a group of so many young people who did not complain about going to Mass everyday!”

And Mary Kate Hunt (Plano, TX) added that her fellow students really impressed her.

“I met dozens of people at Christendom and almost every single one was absolutely amazing! I feel closer now to a few of the people I was there with than to some of my other friends whom I have known my entire life.

I think one of the reasons I get along with them so well is that we have the same, or at least, very similar, beliefs.

Living where I do, I didn’t think anyone outside of my family believed exactly what I do. I know that when I go to Christendom I will be surrounded by the right kind of people, the people who, for the most part, will influence me in a positive way.”

Application forms for the High School Summer Program are available on Christendom’s website or can be obtained by calling the Admissions Office at (800) 877-5456.

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INSTAURARE, April 2006

Crusader Basketball

Senior Basketball Players: Rick Sadowski, John O’Herron, Coach VanderWoude, Joe Kucharski, and Chris Lancaster.

Freshman, and daughter of College President Dr. Timothy O’Donnell, Dubh O’Donnell added extra height to the team.

Freshman Becca Harris helped lead the Lady Crusaders to victory.

Freshman Greg Monroe was one of the Crusaders’ leading scorers this year.

St. Patrick’s Day Celebrations 2006

The Clansmen and the singers help in the celebrations.

Three Christendom students led the entrance procession playing their bagpipes.

Founding faculty member Ray O’Herron sings Irish ballads.

College President Timothy O’Donnell leads the entire College community in singing Irish songs.

Christendom Students Put on Broadway Musical: The Scarlet Pimpernel