Instaurare | Summer 2010

The Christendom College Quarterly Magazine

Summer 2010

Inside this issue...

Rugby Team Has Record Year - pg 7

Christendom Players Put on Hello, Dolly! - pg 9

Commencement 2010

College Mourns the Loss of Lu Niehoff - pg 11

From the President My dear friends, As we come to the end of our academic and fiscal year, I would like to share with you all some of the thoughts I shared with our graduates.

Ours is an age of great lights and great shadows. One thing that has become increasingly rare today is the forgotten virtue of loyalty and fidelity, a result, I believe, of the assault on truth and what Pope Benedict has called the “dictatorship of relativism.”

When fidelity is courageously lived in conformity to truth, it can be so powerful in drawing men and women to what is good and noble. An outstanding example of a figure that exemplifies this is a young man named Michael Monsoor. At the age of 20, he joined the Navy and became a Navy SEAL. He was very devout, frequently attended Mass and confession, and was an inspiration to his fellow soldiers. In April 2006, he was sent to Iraq. After showing great heroism and leadership, on September 29, 2006, while covering for his fellow Navy SEALs and some additional Iraqi soldiers on a rooftop, a fragmentation grenade was thrown and struck him in the chest. Although a rear exit was close by, and he knew he had only two weeks left on his tour of duty before he would return home, he recognized that the fuse was short and would not allow him to hurl the grenade away. So, with great courage, he fell down on the grenade, thus saving the lives of three Navy SEALs and eight Iraqi soldiers. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

I share this story with you, my dear graduates, because we can all take something from Michael’s sacrifice and his example of loyalty and fidelity. Where is the love for the church? Our beloved Pope Benedict XVI, in this Year of the Priest, has been configured to Christ Crucified. The world, through its assaults on him, is now trying to silence and discredit what at times seems to be the lone voice which speaks the whole truth about man, his dignity and eternal destiny against the vicious assaults of the culture of death. Our Holy Father, responding to the scandals in Ireland and throughout the world, has called for Catholics everywhere to practice penance and to make reparation for the sake of the Church.

Again, we echo that cry: where is the love for the Church?

In many ways it seems as if all asceticism is now gone, save in the field of professional sports and the United States military. Penance and the spirit of reparation have almost vanished from the Church. Men like Michael Monsoor, who served with honor, courage, and fidelity and made the ultimate sacrifice, should remind us all, especially through the great sacrament of Confirmation, the sacrament of the laity, that we are all soldiers of Christ, members of the Church Militant (that is, the Church fighting, the Church suffering), with a vital role to play in the great reform and renewal to which Pope Benedict has called us. However, oftentimes it seems that there is so much to do. How do we begin? Where do we start?

We do not begin like the worldwide media, by criticizing the Pope, nor by criticizing the bishops, nor by criticizing our local priest. Lord knows, given the weight of their responsibilities and the savage assaults directed against them, we must pray, pray fervently for them, lifting them up to the Lord daily in our prayers. The work of reform must begin with us as members of the Church, joined to Her and through Her joined to

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Timothy T. O’Donnell, STD, KGCHS

Christ, our Head, and to His vicar on earth. Let us in our own lives recognize this and as soldiers bear witness to what she really is.

As you know through your studies here and having lived in Rome, the Church is not just a political organization. She is not just an institution, as the media so frequently portrays her. She is His Bride, His mystical body. She is our mother who has been grievously wounded and is daily mocked and scourged. Each and every one of you in the class of 2010, through your education here, has a unique and irreplaceable role to play in this great divine drama of our age. Through your studies here, especially the study of history, you are in a position to understand the words of the great Cardinal Newman, who will be beatified by our Holy Father this September. Looking back on the history of the church, the great cardinal wrote, “The Church is ever militant; sometimes she gains, sometimes she loses; and more often she is at once gaining and losing in different parts of her territory. What is ecclesiastical history but a record of the ever-doubtful fortune of the battle, though its issue is not doubtful? Scarcely are we singing Te Deum, when we have to turn to our Misereres: scarcely are we in peace, when we are in persecution: scarcely have we gained a triumph, when we are visited by a scandal. Nay, we make progress by means of reverses; our griefs are our consolations; we lose Stephen, to gain Paul, and Matthias replaces the traitor Judas.”

My charge to you this day, Class of 2010: Always be men and women of the Church. Do not separate from Her. Do not betray Her, for She is, as the First Vatican Council called Her, a great standard raised to the nations, and as the Second Vatican Council called Her, a light to the nations. She is the great sacrament which makes our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ present to our starving and errant world. Let us recall that Christ comes and redeems mankind through His Church—His Church, for which He died. Always love Her, support Her, and always stand united in joy and suffering, in triumph and sorrow, with the Pope—Her visible head, for in our fidelity to Her and to the Rock which is Peter lies our fidelity to our Lord Jesus Christ. Praised be Jesus Christ, now and forever.

Thomas S. Vander Woude Memorial Golf Tournament October 8, 2010 9am: Shotgun Start - Scramble format Blue Ridge Shadows Golf Club, Front Royal, VA Join Christendom College’s Faculty, Staff, and Alumni as they take part in this 1st Annual Golf Tournament to benefit the Thomas S. Vander Woude Memorial Scholar-Athlete Fund.

Cost: $100/alumni or current faculty/staff; $150/friend of college; $400/foursome.

For more information or to register, please go to www.christendom.edu/golftournament

Cover Story

College Celebrates 2010 Commencement Weekend and Honors Pro-Life Leaders

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The Class of 2010 which graduated from Christendom College on May 15 was the 31st graduating class of the College. Ninetytwo Bachelor of Arts degrees and 2 Associate of Arts degrees were awarded during the commencement exercises held in Crusader gymnasium amongst a standing room only audience.

thy O’Donnell also gave a toast in honor of the parents of the Senior class and thanked them for entrusting their children to the College. Following his toast, he announced that the College’s longtime Chef, Ron Steckman, would be retiring during the summer, and the entire room of people expressed their appreciation for his ten-year service with their applause.

The College welcomed Dr. Charles Rice and Reverend Thomas Euteneuer to campus for the weekend, and honored them with an Honorary Doctorate and the Pro Deo et Patria medal, respectively.

Saturday morning saw the soon-to-be graduates, faculty, and honored guests walking in a bagpipe led procession from the Chapel to the gymnasium. Following the opening prayer by Chaplain Fr. Daniel Gee, Board Chairman Donna Bethell officially opened the commencement ceremonies.

On Friday afternoon, Fr. Euteneuer, President of Human Life International, celebrated the Baccalaureate Mass and delivered the homily. During the Mass, Christendom’s choir, under the direction of Dr. Kurt Poterack, sang Schubert’s Mass in G, accompanied by violins and cellos. After the beautiful liturgical celebration, the Senior class and their parents attended a reception and dinner in their honor.

During the dinner, Senior class president Joby Norton toasted the College’s talented faculty while president of the Student Activities Council, Eve Owen, thanked the behindthe-scenes efforts of the College’s staff and administration. College President Dr. Timo-

Salutatorian Kyle Kelley of Wisconsin welcomed all the attendees and encouraged his fellow graduates to have hope as they enter the next phase of their lives.

Graduates Lauren DuFrain and Brad Thrasher from Sammamish, WA, with family.

Five of this year’s 94 graduates were from Canada: Lindsay Stuyt, Bernadette Jalsevac, Gemma Larcina, Marie Muys, and Marya Doylend.

“Hope is the driving force behind every good thing that has ever come about in the sad, confused world of human beings,” Kelley said. “Hope is the assurance that—in our struggle to accomplish God’s will and to create the best possible future for ourselves and those around us—we will never be lacking what we need.”

Following Kelley’s address, Rev. Thomas

Dr. Timothy O’Donnell awarded Dr. Charles E. Rice an Honorary Doctorate.

Christendom College awarded 92 Bachelor of Arts degrees and 2 Associate of Arts degrees on May 15, 2010.

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matters is the book that Christ writes—the Book of Love in the Kingdom of Heaven.

You want to be in that book.”

O’Donnell then awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters to Dr. Charles E. Rice, a former law professor, Catholic apologist, and author of several books.

Fr. Thomas Euteneuer, President of Human Life International, was honored with an award.

Euteneuer was awarded Christendom’s Pro Deo et Patria Medal for Distinguished Service to God and Country.

“If you are a graduate of Christendom College you will be called to some form of martyrdom for the sake of the Gospel—the Gospel message that transforms our society—and it is a message that they will not want to hear,” Rev. Euteneuer told students during his homily. “It is that message that will get you into a great deal of trouble if you’re doing it right.”

“God is not dead. He isn’t even tired,” quipped Rice. His address warned graduates of the great challenges they will face, but told them that they were on the “winning side.”

A Professor Emeritus at the University of Notre Dame, Rice used the current health care bill as an example of the threatening transformation of society and government.

He called the current government “a oneparty regime, the leader of which was elected with 54 percent of the Catholic vote” and said that it was changing America’s free economy and limited government into “a centralized command system of potentially unlimited jurisdiction and power.”

Alumni Relations Director Marie Antunes with Student Achievement Award Winner Sarah Miranda.

“The existence of God is not self-evident,” Rice said, “but it is unreasonable, even stupid, not to believe in God, an eternal being that had no beginning and always existed.”

The second lie is relativism, which Rice said is absurd, pointing out that the very statement “all things are relative” itself must be relative.

The third lie is individualism, which Rice held to be the origin of the so-called “pro-choice movement” as we know it today. Individualism claims that each person is an autonomous, isolated individual with no relation to others unless he consents to that relation.

“[The government’s] takeover of Rev. Euteneuer, who has travhealth care, against eled more than one million Salutatorian Kyle Kelley. miles as a pro-life missionary and has visited the manifest will of the people, fifty-seven countries, told the story of the not only funds elective abor“Planned Parenthood didn’t Martyrs of Brotherly Love. These martyrs tions and endangers the elderly think it up,” Rice said. “The were twenty Polish and German priests who and conscience rights—it was mother has no relation to her volunteered to aid the suffering at the Dachau enacted in disregard of legislaunborn child unless she conconcentration camp at the close of World War tive process and by a level of sents. The husband and wife II. Nineteen of the priests died of typhoid bribery, coercion, and deception have no continuing relation unthat was as open as it was un- Valedictorian Ryan Mitchell. less they continue to consent, from their interactions with the prisoners. precedented,” Rice said. and so on. The autonomous individual is his “I tell you their story because it is a heroic own god.” example of love,” Rev. Euteneuer said. “I en- Rice compared the health care bill to Gercourage you, brothers and sisters, that at this many’s Enabling Act of 1933, which ceded Rice admonished students to trust God dejuncture in your life, to decide simply that full and irrevocable powers to Hitler. spite the challenging times. “And pray, esyou will give pecially, to your lives “The Enabling Act received the needed two- Mary, His in love. You thirds vote only because it was supported by Mother and may do many the Catholic party, the Centre Party,” Rice said. ours,” he said. things—have “Our ‘Health Care Reform,’ enacted with the “At Lepanto excellent ca- decisive support of Catholic members of both in 1571, the reers, make houses of Congress, may be the Enabling Act odds against the headlines of our time in the control it cedes to govern- the Christian or live in si- ment over the lives of the people.” fleet were so lence—but it great that doesn’t mat- An advisor to Christendom’s Board of Direc- Las Vegas ter how your tors, Rice warned the graduates of three lies would have of the modern world. The first is secularism, taken that Graduate Eve Owen now works Graduates Nathan Scott and Kath- life ends up erine Sartor were married a week in the record or that there is no God or He is unknow- bet off the in Christendom’s Admissions books. What able. board. But Office as a Counselor. before graduation! Congrats!

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they prayed the Rosary and Mary gave the victory.”

Following the conferral of degrees, the Alumni Association’s Student Achievement Award was given to Sarah Miranda of Massachusetts for her years of selfless work in the community. Miranda participated in countless mission trips and led the student Outreach Club, which volunteers year round at the local Crisis Pregnancy Center, Habitat for Humanity, Meals on Wheels, and other local charities.

Valedictorian Ryan Mitchell then addressed his classmates, describing their graduation as a type of small death.

“Death is nothing but the separation of what should never part,” Mitchell said. “In graduation, we are separated from a life we have lived and from people we have loved. We have lived a life here fit, as Augustine puts it, ‘to melt our souls together, and out of many [souls] make but one.’”

death the temporary separation before life eternal, and in doing so we can even say that He has made death like unto life. He has made all things new.”

Closing the ceremony, College President O’Donnell delivered his charge to the graduates. He called on them to be faithful and loyal members of the Church and, despite the many problems with which the Church is plagued, not to blame the hierarchy and the clergy.

Alan Ng, from San Diego, CA, with his family.

“The work of reform must begin with ourselves,” O’Donnell said. “As members of the Church we must join to her, and through her, join to Christ our head, and His vicar on earth.”

He implored them to always love and sup-

Rachel Williams, Amanda Dennehy, Lauren Merz, and Regina Knight: Happy Grads!.

Mitchell pointed out that, following this train of thought, life would appear to be a series of small deaths. Thanks to Jesus Christ, however, there is hope and life.

“We know that Jesus Christ has conquered death—He has trampled it down with His own death,” Mitchell said. “Through His death unto life, He has given all of our sufferings and deaths new meaning. He has made

Graduate Elizabeth Francis with her many siblings, cousins, and relatives. Her parents, Tom and Anne McOsker Francis, are Christendom graduates.

Native Colombian Dennis Toscano graduated magna cum laude with a degree in Philosophy.

Alumna Jacqui Walz Fetsko ‘83 with her daughter, Therese Fetsko.

Adam Gardner (Political Science), Tim Lanahan (Philosophy), Chris Dayton (Political Science), Ryan Doughty (History), and Steven Ginski (Philosophy).

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port the Church and the Pope in joy and suffering.

“Each and every one of you in the Class of 2010—through your education, through what you have been given—have a unique and irreplaceable role to play in this great divine drama of our age,” O’Donnell said. “Always be men and women of the Church. Do not separate from her. Do not betray her— no matter what the cost, no matter what the temptation.”

Ninety-two Bachelor’s degrees were awarded to Anna Adams, Tyler Ament, Naomi Anderson, Cyrus Artz, Kristine Bennier, Charles Berninger, Teresa Boak, Shelagh Bolger, Olivia Bushey, Julia Callaghan, Catherine

Alumnus Dave Romanchuk played the bagpipe as he led the students on their way to the graduation.

Denise McWhirter received the Robert C. Rice English Language & Literature Award.

Senior Ryan Doughty received the Patrick Quest Leadership Award from Coach Vander Woude.

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Carducci, Monica Clarke, Daniel Collins, Karolyn Curran, Jessica (Reineking) Dalimata, Maureen Dalley, Chris Dayton, Mikaela Deighan, Amanda Dennehy, Jennifer Dhanagom, Richard Doi, Ryan Doughty, Marya Doylend, Seth Elmenhurst, Katie Erwin, Therese Fetsko, Allison Firehammer, Alisha (Onsager) Fogarty, Elizabeth Francis, Brian Gallagher, Adam Gardner, Greggory Gassman, Steven Ginski, Nathaniel Gniewek, Jeannie Goeckner, Jason Greene, Matt Hadro, Daniel Harrison, Lisa Hudson, Mary Kate Hunt, Lindsay (Willard) Hurd, Bernadette Jalsevac, Emily Jaroma, Laura Judge, Meghan Kavanagh, Kyle Kelley, Regina Knight, Jessica Kuznia, Tim Lanahan, Matt Lancaster, Gemma Larcina, David Long, Sarah Marchand, Peter McGuire, Dorothy Merrill, Lindsey Mersch, Lauren Merz, Zach Miller, JP Minick, Sarah Miranda, Ryan Mitchell, Jarred Mooney, Marie Muys, TJ Nacey, Alan Ng, Joby Norton, Eve Owen, Aaron Pfauth, Mark Pilegaard, Meghan Rubin, Bridget (Clarke) Sayler, Rachel Scanlon, Krystle Schuetz, Jozef Schutzman, Katherine

Jozef Schutzman with his mother, father (an alumnus), and brother.

Student Achievement Award winner Sarah Miranda with her family.

Brian Gallagher with his father and brothers.

(Sartor) Scott, Nathan Scott, Nate Scrivener, Sarah Slagel, Lindsay Stuyt, Alyssa Tappe, Brad Thrasher, Dennis Toscano, Katie Urban, Thomas Vicinanzo, George Walter, Elizabeth Whittaker, Rachel Williams, Joseph Wills, Paul Wilson, Bonnie Wunderlich, Joshua Zeringue, and Luke Zignego. Two Associate degrees were awarded to Lauren (Thrasher) DuFrain and Jennifer O’Neil.

The graduating class is comprised of 43% men and 57% women, hailing from all across America, Canada, and Colombia. An impressive 64% of the class graduated with honors.

A few other interesting statistics: 8 of the graduates are married, 11 are engaged, and at least 3 have plans to enter the religious life. Also noteworthy: 38 of them have siblings who are Christendom alumni and 5 of them have parents who are alumni. Close to a third of them majored in Philosophy, while 22% chose History and Political Science. Equal numbers of students chose Theology and English (12%) while the Classics majors were the minority with around 5%. Approximately 15% of the graduates plan on attending graduate school and many others will be entering the workforce in such fields as education, business, management, sales, information technology, higher education administration, and politics.

All addresses given during Christendom College’s Commencement Exercises, as well as the beautiful music provided by the College’s choir during the Baccalaureate Mass, are available for download at Christendom on iTunes U, christendom.edu/itunesu.

Graduate Jessica Kuznia with her family.

JP Minick (holding his niece) and family.

Crusader Rugby Has Historic Winning Season; Looks to Future

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Spring 2010 was a breakthrough season for Christendom’s rugby squad, which overcame tremendous adversity to post a 4-2 record against teams from much larger schools. Practice began in the arctic conditions of January and February; but not even the hardships imposed by three feet of snow could weaken the dedication of this extraordinary group of young men. After many weeks of grueling practices, the Crusaders played their first match of the season on March 20, against Division I rugby powerhouse, George Mason University.

The first match was played under near-perfect conditions on the beautiful rugby pitch at GMU. Before a huge pro-Christendom crowd that had traveled from Front Royal to cheer them on, the Crusaders shocked George Mason by a score of 32-19. Led by senior captains Zach Miller and David Long,

Christendom played tenacious second-half defense, gradually breaking down the resolve of the bigger, more experienced side from George Mason. In a quintessential team effort, both the forward pack and the back line did their part; the heroes are too many to name.

Norton, Ben Ranieri, Rob Hambleton, James Hannon, and Gabe Schuberg, the Crusaders decisively rolled over the University of Mary Washington 49-17, putting an exclamation point on a spectacular year.

After defeating George Mason, the Crusaders headed up to Philadelphia for the Collegiate Cup Tournament. Competing without three important starters, Christendom improvised, with experienced players out of position and newer players stepping into starting roles. In four games, the Crusaders posted a 2-2 record, highlighted by shutout victories over Haverford College and Susquehanna University– earning the team a second-place finish.

The final game of the season, on April 22, was perhaps the most dominant performance of all; with spectacular play by Joe Long, Patrick Even the snow couldn’t stop the team from practicing.

It takes a lot to take down Junior Bill Waller.

Christendom Crusader Rugby Team 2009-10 had its first winning season.

Students Score Well on National Greek Exam

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The American Classical League recognized 12 Christendom College students for their performance on the 2010 National Greek Exam, an annual exam that measures students’ ability to read Greek at sight and knowledge of Classical Greek language and literature.

Sophomore Brian Killackey submitted a perfect paper on the Homeric Greek Exam; only two perfect papers were submitted in the whole country on this exam this

year. This is the second year in a row that Killackey has earned a perfect score on the National Greek Exam.

Kyle Kelley, Ryan Mitchell, and George Walter received highest honors, each only one correct answer away from a perfect paper and Christine Ascik, Frances Allington, and Angela Swagler took high honors. Miriam Rauschert, Benjamin Allen, Julia Callaghan, Anthony Dhanagom, and Joseph Wagner received Brian Killackey submitted a perfect paper. merit awards.

Sophomore Karl Haislmaier goes up for the ball.

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Warren Carroll Lectures on “Truth Exists, the Incarnation Happened”

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“If you are Christendom students, you will never even listen to anyone who tries to tell you that truth does not exist,” Christendom’s Founder Dr. Warren Carroll told students at a lecture entitled “The Watchwords of Christendom College: Truth Exists, the Incarnation Happened” given on April 26. “You will know that in a very real sense you are the sons and daughters of truth, who have it and will not give it up nor ever fail to speak for it.”

Carroll’s lecture focused on the horrors committed by the Communists in Cambodia, which he used to illustrate what happens when the existence of truth is denied. Carroll described how the Communist organization known as Angka Leou came to power and the inhumane policies that they enforced.

“They were led by a monster named Pol Pot, who shares with Hitler the remembrance of a man who killed millions of his own people,” Carroll said.

Pol Pot and the communists abolished money, separated children from their parents at age six, and banned toys along with all religious and social celebrations. Marriage was delayed until after military service and then required permission of the Angka Leou. All travel was banned and all Cambodians were classified as party members, peasants, work-

Breathe Catholic DVD Available

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Breathe Catholic, Christendom’s latest informational DVD, is available for free by contacting the Admissions office at 800.877.5456, or emailing admissions@christendom.edu. Additionally, the entire 30-minute production is available on Christendom’s YouTube site.

ers, and soldiers.

Carroll described the horrors that occurred during the complete and immediate evacuation of Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh.

The city’s entire population was sent to work in fields as part of the “social revolution.”

Hospitals were emptied—doctors stopped in mid-surgery—patients, who could not walk, crawled. The roads filled so quickly that the mass could only move a few hundred yards an hour. Soldiers shot anyone who lagged.

“The very small children, the old, the sick, soon began to fall. They died where they lay, and the driven hordes trampled their corpses,” Carroll said. “Why would any sane man have done such a thing? Because that is the logical result of denying that truth exists.”

Christendom Founder Warren H. Carroll. timately led him to convert to the Catholic Church, which has never ceased to proclaim truth, he said.

Carroll, who was educated at Bates College and received a Doctorate of History from Columbia University, described feeling “lost and angry” at Columbia, where he said that truth was denied.

“Those of us who remain alive and free can still, and always should, proclaim to the world that truth exists and the Incarnation happened,” Carroll concluded. “Never forget that you learned that here, at Christendom College. Never listen to anyone who denies it, whatever his scholarly credentials. It is what Christ told Pilate by His very existence.

It is our hymn of salvation.”

“I knew that education was about truth, and I could not imagine accepting anything less,” he recounted. Carroll’s search for truth ul-

This lecture and many others can be downloaded at Christendom on iTunes U, www. christendom.edu/itunesu.

Carroll described the denial of the truth as a “modern Black Death of the mind.”

Admissions Office Holds “Meet-n-Greets”

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Admissions Director Tom McFadden traveled to Washington state in mid-April to give two presentations on the College.

On April 14, at an event hosted by alumni John and Michelle Charba in Olympia, he spoke to a group of prospective students and their families on the distinctive qualities of a Christendom College education.

dom families and their friends.

Many other “Meet-n-Greets” are scheduled this summer. If you are interested in hosting one, please contact the Admissions Office.

The next day, he went to the home of Rich and Julie Thrasher (parents to recent graduates Brad and Lauren) outside Seattle where he spoke about the College and spent time Admissions Director Tom McFadden gave a presentation on April 15th at with other Christen- the home of Rich and Julie Thrasher in Sammamish, WA.

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Christendom Players Perform Hello, Dolly!

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The Christendom College Players filled the Skyline High School Auditorium with music, color, and laughter with their performance of Hello, Dolly! on April 16-18.

Hello, Dolly!, based on Thornton Wilder’s The Matchmaker, features music and lyrics

by Jerry Herman. The play tells the story of a matchmaker named Dolly Levi who takes a trip to Yonkers, New York, to see the “wellknown unmarried half-a-millionaire,” Horace Vandergelder. While there, she convinces him and his clerks to go to New York City. In New York, she goes on a matchmaking spree with his friends—saving Vandergelder for herself.

Featuring a 40-member cast, Hello, Dolly! was the biggest show the Players have put on.

Sophomore Meghan Kelly, as Dolly, led the players with her charm, great acting, and beautiful voice. Kelly was well-supported with the vocal talents of Senior Cyrus Artz, who played Cornelius Hackl, and Sophomore Jacqueline Kenney, who played Irene Molloy.

the spring. Since Christendom does not have a drama department, students from all departments and disciplines participate in the productions put on by the Players. For many Christendom students, this makes the liberal arts experience rich in the fine arts as well.

Jacqueline Kenney (center) and Therese Lamirande (right) were wonderful additions to the cast.

The costumes–especially the many hats–really made the show come to life.

Sarah Halbur was part of the supporting cast.

Senior Nathan Gniewek, who played the curmudgeonly Vandergelder, had great comedic chemistry with Artz and Dominic Vieira, who played Barnaby Tucker.

Artz sang the praises of Director Mike Powell, who he describes as having a real vision for the show and a gift for getting that across to his actors.

“We’re also extremely blessed in our producer, Dr. Keats, who works harder than any of us and has years of experience in both the acting and technical aspects of the stage,” Artz said. “Without both of them, we would have had a very difficult time harnessing the talent on campus into creating a professional, enjoyable experience for our audiences.”

Dominic Vieira, Nathan Gniewek, and Cyrus Artz gave powerful lead performances.

Many others contributed greatly to the successful production. The dancing was choreographed by Sophomores Dominic Vieira and Brianna Miller, and the costume design was headed up by Admissions Counselor Beth Fettes, and Freshmen Rachel Kujawa and Hannah Graves. Freshman Kelly Lawyer was responsible for the props while her classmate Sarah Belk added great color to the set with her painting skills.

Every year the Christendom Players produce two plays: one in the fall and one in

Meghan Kelly gave Barbra Streisand a run for her money in her portrayal of Dolly Levi.

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Robert Scrivener Went From “Kicking and Screaming” to Board of Directors

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“My first experience with Christendom was in 1978 when I was sent there kicking and screaming to a brand new, one-yearold college,” alumnus and Board Member Robert Scrivener says. Scrivener’s mother had heard of Christendom College through The Wanderer newspaper and had given him the ultimatum: “Go to Christendom or pay for your own school.”

“By the time I graduated in 1981, I had fallen for this school and have been involved in one way or another ever since,” Scrivener says.

A General Manager for the Maryland-based Reliable Contracting, Scrivener has served on the boards of Maryland Highway Contractors, Maryland Aggregates Association, Maryland Asphalt Association, and various other professional groups. He was one of the founding officers of the Christendom College Alumni Association, and has served on the Board of Directors of the College since 1990.

Scrivener met his wife, Anne Marie, at Christendom and his sons appear to be following in their father’s footsteps. Four of Scrivener’s eight sons have graduated from the College

so far and met their wives there: Alex and Ashley (Filiault) Scrivener (’05); Bryan and Christina (Fernandez) Scrivener (’07); Richard (’08) and Ky (Leopold) Scrivener (’09); and Nathan (’10) who is engaged to Katie Cruser (’11).

children there.

Scrivener experienced first-hand what he calls “an excellent formation that takes place in an academically challenging environment.” And that’s why he sends his

“I firmly believe that an education at Christendom is the right foundation for any career you choose,” Scrivener says. “Not many teenagers know what they want to do in life. The best we can give our kids is to start them off with a solid foundation.”

Scrivener says that Christendom gives students a solid Catholic background, along with an excellent liberal arts education, which enables them to think for themselves and make the right choices, based on Catholic moral teaching.

“Whether you go on to graduate studies or jump into the work force, there is no better preparation for life’s challenges,” he says.

2009-10 Crusader Baseball Team: (back, l to r) Coach John Mercandetti, Troy Spring, Ryan Doughty, John Schofield, John McWhirter, Sam McMahon, Eric Maschue, Nate Collins, Charlie Rollino, Matt Naham; (front) Pat Stein, Tim Beer, Nicholas Blank, Patrick Rose, TJ Nacey, Dan Mitchell, James Redlinger, Christopher Tipton, Jeremy Vierling, and Tim McPhee.

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Christendom to Begin Reaccreditation Process

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The importance of accreditation for a college or university cannot be overstated. With an accredited institution, a student has some assurance of receiving a quality education and gaining recognition by other colleges and by employers of the course credits and degrees earned. Accreditation is an affirmation that a college provides a quality of education that the general public has the right to expect and that the educational community recognizes.

If a college or university is not accredited, its graduates may have a more difficult time gaining entrance to graduate school, or transferring to another college.

Christendom has been fully accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) since 1987, and as a result, is able to award the Associate of Arts and Bachelor of Arts degrees, and the Master of Arts degree in Theological Studies. But, in an effort to maintain the best educational standards and practices, colleges and universities are asked to go through a reaccreditation process every 10 years and document their adherence to excellence. Beginning in the 2010-11 academic year, Christendom will begin the reaccreditation process, which requires a lot of effort and commitment on the part of the faculty, staff, and administration.

“The College will document—for its peer institutions in SACS—that it adheres to the highest standards of professional conduct and best practices,” says Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Steve Snyder. “Reviewing the whole institution and documenting every vital aspect of Christendom’s commitment to excellence is no small task, especially for a college dedicated first to student needs, but everyone who works at Christendom is pitching in to complete this important task.”

In September 2011, Christendom will submit hundreds, if not thousands, of pages of analysis and documentation for review by the SACS off-site and on-site review teams. This documentation is Christendom’s Compliance Certification Report, showing the College’s commitment to a culture of excellence and is the first step in the reaccreditation process.

More information will follow as the process continues throughout the year.

Mitchell Scores Perfect on GRE and Earns Prestigious Scholarship

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Graduate Ryan Mitchell will be heading to The Catholic University of America (CUA) this fall to pursue a PhD in Historical Theology.

Mitchell was the Class of 2010’s valedictorian and impressed CUA’s graduate scholarship committee so much that he was offered the prestigious Knights of Columbus scholarship.

This full-tuition scholarship is only awarded to the most exceptional applicants and comes with a living stipend of $16,000 a year.

Mitchell, who achieved a perfect score of 1600 on the GRE, will be joining a host of other Christendom College alumni who are pursuing graduate studies at CUA.

According to CUA’s website, the doctorate in historical theology represents an achievement in theological scholarship and research, designed to prepare students to make contributions to knowledge in historical inquiry while broadening their understanding of other areas of theology.

Mitchell is eager to begin this new adventure in his life. “Christendom has given me the necessary breadth of vision to study and weigh the thought of theologians, both ancient and modern, in light of their relationship to the unchanging Truth. I am excited to continue my education and to delve deeper into historical theology at CUA.”

College Mourns the Loss of Former Administrative Director

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On Thursday, April 22, former Administrative Director of Christendom’s Notre Dame Graduate School, Luther Niehoff, passed away after a courageous battle with cancer.

Niehoff was born on January 5, 1936, in Palmerton, PA, where he attended Lehighton High School, was actively involved in athletics, and played in the high school band. Upon graduating from high school, he joined the US Navy, first working at sea on destroyers, and then stationed primarily on the east coast before finishing his naval career serving at the Pentagon. Niehoff had a distinguished twenty-year career with the Navy, retiring as Chief Petty Officer, the highest noncommissioned rank in the US Navy.

Niehoff converted to the Catholic Faith shortly after his marriage to Claire. On their honeymoon, when Claire told him that she was getting ready to go to Sunday Mass, he declared, “Not without me you aren’t!” He accompanied her to Mass every week until he became a Catholic himself.

After retiring from the Navy, Niehoff began a second career in business administration, serving first as a court reporter and then as a firm administrator for local law firms before coming to work at the graduate school.

According to Graduate School Dean Dr. Kristin Burns, Niehoff had a strong desire to work for the Church and expressed this desire to his pastor, Rev. Franklyn McAfee, who at the time was president of the Notre Dame Apostolic Catechetical Institute (now Christendom’s Graduate School). Father

McAfee suggested that Niehoff come to work for him at NDI, which was then housed in a tiny office at the diocesan Chancery and held classes at Bishop O’Connell High School and at Marymount in the summers. Niehoff served at the graduate school for almost 20 years, first under Father McAfee, then Father William Saunders, and finally under Dr. Burns, and was instrumental in the merger of NDI with Christendom College.

“For many students Lu was the ‘face’ of the grad school,” said Burns, “the one everyone went to and who took care of everything from advising students to paying the bills.

Luther was deeply loved by students and faculty alike and will be greatly missed.

We missed Lu when he retired and moved away, and to hear that he had passed away was really a sad shock. The grad school lost a true friend.”

Niehoff was an active member of the American Legion and the Knights of Columbus. He was also an usher at St. Lawrence Catholic Church in Alexandria and at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception for many years. He was famous as an avid golfer, but he was also an excellent bowler and softball player.

Christendom College President Dr. Timothy O’Donnell remembers him as “a great man who loved Our Lord and His Church,” saying, “Lu and his lovely wife, Claire, were a joy to have as part of our community. We will miss him and, with hearts full of gratitude, we will remember him and his family in our prayers.”

Niehoff is survived by his beloved wife of fifty-three years, Claire, as well as three sons, a daughter, and eleven grandchildren.

Luther and Claire Niehoff at a going away dinner held in their honor in 2007.

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Alumni Changing World for the Better Working at LifeSiteNews.com

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“No one who leaves Christendom College leaves with small ambitions,” alumnus John Jalsevac (’08) says. “Every one of us feels that somehow we have to do everything that is in our power to change the world for the better.”

Jalsevac is one of five Christendom alumni currently working for LifeSiteNews.com, a widely-read Internet news service dedicated to providing balance and more accurate coverage on culture, life, and family matters than is usually given by other media.

Jalsevac, the assistant editor of the news service, says that he has always known that he wanted to do what he can to change the world through the art of writing. He attributes his success in the field of journalism to his experience with Christendom’s student journal, The Rambler. He served as editorin-chief of the news and opinion journal for three semesters, and editor emeritus for an additional semester.

“That experience gave me a jump-start in developing an eye for what constitutes good writing, and for how to guide other writers,” he says.

Alumna Kathleen Gilbert (’07) is the US Bureau Chief at LifeSite and says that her Christendom education has been extremely crucial to her work.

INSTAURARE

Volume XVIII, Number II - Summer 2010 Published quarterly by the Christendom College Admissions & Marketing Office.

Executive Editor: Tom McFadden Contributing Editor: Niall O’Donnell Copy Editor: Torey Cervantes Christendom College 134 Christendom Drive, Front Royal, VA 22630 800.877.5456 ~ www.christendom.edu Copyright © 2010. 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 magazine of Christendom College (www.christendom.edu).” SUBSCRIPTION FREE UPON REQUEST.

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LifeSiteNews staff members James Tillman, Matt Anderson, and Peter Smith.

“We are required to not just report the prolife and pro-family news from around the globe, but re-frame it from our very unique perspective—one that is grounded in the dignity of the human person, the family, and most essentially, reality,” she says. “In addition to properly portraying very subtle and complicated questions of good and evil, we have to be able to connect-the-dots of current events, in order to reveal the real narrative thread—the true structure behind the Culture of Death’s complex and multifaceted attacks against humanity.”

Salutatorian of her class, Gilbert calls her work at LifeSite both critical and very effective in the pro-life movement.

“Without a Christendom education, I would have come to such a task far less equipped,” she says.

Alumnus Matt Anderson (’09) feels the same way. The Chief Administrator of LifeSite’s US office, he says that many graduates have found a natural fit in the field of journalism due to the advanced writing skills students gain at Christendom. Anderson however is using a different skill set.

“My position is mostly focused on business related issues,” Anderson says. “Thus, coming into the job I didn’t have any practical experience in this, and I had to quickly learn what was going on and what needed to be done.”

Anderson manages payroll, advertising,

fundraising, and much more. He recently developed a system that allows LifeSite to sell licenses to other publications, granting them permission to reprint their articles.

“My Christendom education gave me the ability to learn quickly,” he says.

Jalsevac describes LifeSite as a news service that challenges the prevailing post-Christian, secularist worldview that permeates much of the mainstream media.

“In order to effectively challenge this worldview, you need to not only know what it is, but also what the alternative is. Christendom’s broad, challenging, and profoundly Catholic liberal arts curriculum prepares its graduates for this task better than any other college of which I am aware,” Jalsevac says. “There are many complex, and disturbing issues facing our civilization. Without a solid intellectual and spiritual training, it would be very difficult to sort through many of these issues, and to put them into their proper context.

Christendom provides that training.”

Class of 2009 valedictorian James Tillman is a contributing writer to LifeSite while he attends graduate school full-time at The Catholic University of America and alumnus Peter Smith (’09) is a full-time writer/reporter on LifeSite’s staff.

You can read the many great articles by these alumni and sign up for LifeSite’s daily email alerts at www.lifesitenews.com.

Student Delivers Paper at Roman Conference Students Celebrate IWP’s Christendom Graduate School student Ro- Hildebrand’s Nature of Love, Karol Wojtyla’s land Millare recently delivered a paper entitled, Love and Responsibility, and Pope Benedict 20th Anniversary

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“Love is Stronger than Death,” at a conference exploring the Christian Personalism of Dietrich von Hildebrand. The conference was held in Rome on May 27-29.

XVI’s Deus Caritas Est. According to Millare, “Since love is the key to understanding the nature of the human person, a distortion of love will lead to a false anthropology. Utilitarianism is the root of the culture of death and love is the foundation for building a culture of life. As more people embrace the true meaning of love in light of luminous minds such as Von Hildebrand, Wojtyla, and Pope Benedict, society will draw closer to realizing a true civilization of love.”

Von Hildebrand (18891977), an anti-Nazi activist who fled the regime and settled in the United States in 1940, wrote a number of philosophical works which are said to have helped many to embrace the Catholic faith. With Pope Benedict XVI among his admirers, his writings contributed to the development of a rich Christian Graduate student Roland Millare.

Prominent speakers feapersonalism, especially through his stress on tured at the conference, which sought spethe transcendence of human persons. cifically to examine Dietrich von Hildebrand’s recently translated work The Nature of The conference theme, “The Christian Per- Love, included John Crosby, Joseph Siefert, sonalism of Dietrich von Hildebrand: Ex- Michael Waldstein, Michael Novak, Robert ploring His Philosophy of Love,” drew Spaemann, and Alice von Hildebrand, wife academics from around the world to discuss of the late Dietrich von Hildebrand. what it means to love and be loved, questions about the dignity and destiny of the human Millare and his wife, Veronica, reside in Katy, person, and especially about the capacity of TX, where he has served as Theology departthe human person to encounter the other by ment chair of Pope John XXIII High School making a gift of self to the other. for the past six years. He received his BA in Theology from the Franciscan University of In his paper, Millare sought to examine the Steubenville in 2004 and will earn his MA in true nature of love by studying the simi- Moral Theology from Christendom’s Gradularities and differences among Dietrich von ate School in 2012.

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Six Christendom seniors attended the Institute of World Politics’ (IWP) 20th Anniversary Gala, held in Washington, DC, on April 14.

While there, the students met keynote speaker General Michael Hayden, as well as the Chairman of IWP’s Board of Directors, Owen Smith, who had donated the tickets to Christendom. Smith’s father-in-law was the late William Casey—former head of the CIA and a great friend of Christendom.

“It was really great to be there,” said Senior Krystle Schuetz, who will be attending IWP this fall. “It was encouraging and eye-opening in a hopeful way. These are the people you never hear about, but they are the ones who are fighting for good in the world.”

Senior Chris Dayton was particularly excited to meet General Hayden. “I quoted him dozens of times in my thesis,” Dayton said. “It was incredible being able to ask him some frank questions about the conflict in Afghanistan and get some amazing answers.”

Grad School Dean Gives Series of Philosophy Lectures in Austria

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Dr. Kristin Burns, professor of philosophy public life in the spirit of Christian values.” and Dean of the Christendom Graduate About 75 young Slovak professionals dedicated to building a free society School, traveled to Vienna, based on Catholic notions of Austria, this past spring to deman and virtue attended the liver a series of lectures on Enweekend. Burns’ talks traced lightenment Philosophy. The current attitudes, such as relaweekend theology conference tivism and humanism, to their was sponsored by the Neuwalenlightenment roots in empiridegg Institute which promotes cism and nominalism. Besides “freedom through education the philosophy lectures, the in Central and Eastern Euparticipants also heard talks on rope.” The conference is a yearsacramental theology and funly event for members of the damental moral theology.

Ladislav Hanus Fellowship, a Slovak organization that seeks The Neuwaldegg Institute is to inspire “young people to rean educational institute headdiscover the values of Western Dr. Kristin Burns. civilization and to form a new generation of quartered in Neuwaldegg Castle in Vienna. young leaders who would be ready to serve in It is part of the multi-national Educational

Initiative for Central and Eastern Europe (EICEE), founded by friend of Christendom College Fr. Marcel Guarnizo. Christendom founder Dr. Warren Carroll serves on the board of EICEE, and Father Marcel studied at the Christendom Graduate School, while his sister Melissa is a graduate of the College. The Christendom connection is more than this, however: one of the founders of the Hanus Fellowship is Slovak philosophy professor Dr. Jan Banas, who attended lectures at the Christendom Graduate School several years ago when he was in Washington as a Witherspoon Fellow. Since St. Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Theologiae is not translated into Slovak, the Graduate School students donated money to purchase an English copy for Banas so he could more easily study his favorite philosopher.

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Boxing Club’s Shenandoah Showdown

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On April 23, students, staff, and faculty filled Crusader Gymnasium for Christendom’s second annual boxing tournament, The Shenandoah Showdown. There were a total of four fights pitting College Chaplain and boxing coach Fr. Daniel Gee’s boys against the boys of Special Services Manager Tom Heaston.

Senior Tim The Terror Lanahan. Schmittino’s months-long training could not make up for Lanahan’s years of experience. Lanahan moved quickly around the ring and fired every available shot. While Schmittino scored some nice jabs himself, he was no match for The Terror.

Lanahan claimed the title.

The first fight was for the lightweight title and featured Brian Boom Shakalacka Killackey versus Steve The Iron Curtin. It was a fast paced fight, very evenly match. It was the only fight to have a split decision as to the winner.

The majority gave Killackey the title.

Fr. Gee’s boys won every match. The tournament was a great bonding experience for the students, faculty, and staff. As is usually the case with exciting new events at Christendom, the boxing tournaments are quickly becoming part of Christendom’s tradition.

The next two fights were easy for the judges to decide. Brian Aint Lyin’ Pelletier defeated John Boots Schofield. Schofield came out strong and was thought to win, but Pelletier showed him that slow and steady wins the race. Mark The Hitman Hepler dominated Marvelous Matt Marchand. Hepler’s exacting hits proved too much for Marchand to absorb.

In the evening’s main event, Admission’s Associate Director Vino Mike Schmittino took on

Mark Hepler (blue) gave Matt Marchand a beating.

Steve Curtin (red) gives Brian Killackey a left.

Brian Pelletier (blue) defeated John Schofield.

Mike Schmittino (red) and Tim Lanahan put on a good fight for the crowds, with Lanahan winning.

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Scholar Athletes Presented Awards

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Playing sports at Christendom gives students an opportunity to develop, not only athletically, but academically. Students gain dedication, discipline, and focus through a proper approach to athletics, which in turn, can be applied to studies as well as sports. The Scholar Athlete Award provides an opportunity to acknowledge athletes who have successfully applied these traits, both in academics and sports. Every year, two seniors, one male and one female, are selected from the graduating class and acknowledged for their dedication to both academics and athletics.

This year, the recipient of the Men’s Scholar Athlete Award was TJ Nacey and the recipient of the Women’s Scholar Athlete Award was Rachel Williams.

Nacey, in addition to holding the highest GPA among all male student athletes, was a four year starter on the baseball team as well as a member of the basketball team. Primarily a third baseman, turned pitcher his last two years, Nacey was team captain his senior year. His commitment to two sports, as well as to the academic life, made him an easy choice for the award.

“TJ is a great example of what a Catholic student athlete should be and in particular what is possible at Christendom,” says Coach Vander Woude. “His contagious laughter and team-oriented hard work made him a huge part of the teams he played on over the past four years. He really deserved this award.”

Williams received equal recognition for her accomplishments on and off the court. As a three year starter on the women’s volleyball team and team captain her last two years, Williams dedicated herself to Christendom athletics. A cornerstone to the women’s volleyball program, she organized practices, challenged teammates, and offered positive advice and support to those around her. Displaying a similar commitment to academics, Williams graduated with the highest GPA among female athletes in her class. According to Coach Vander Woude, she provided a wonderful example of a model Christendom student athlete and she “was the unquestioned leader of the team for her last two years, and that leadership and enthusiasm has given the volleyball program a great boost for the future.”

Omnia in Christo The Anthropology of Love: John Paul II and the Theology of the Body In his lectures on the Theology of the Body, John Paul II notes that man’s bodily shame did not develop until after sin had entered his heart.

It is the mark of sinful man to forget that the body is a symbol of the person, the “communicator” of the person. Fallen man instead perceives what is physical in man as detached from what is spiritual and begins to perceive the body merely as a possession for pleasure, an object destined for many, and no longer a properly personal reality.

Why is it that that first sin manifested itself precisely in this way?

John Paul II gives us a brilliant examination of that first sin and why it resulted in such a new and warped experience of the body.

The first man and woman existed from the beginning in a relationship with their Creator. This relationship is best described as one of total and complete gift. Right from the beginning, they had known nothing else but God’s total generosity and care for them in the Garden. In this “dynamic of gift,” God was the Supreme Giver, and they were the grateful receivers.

What we need to contemplate is that being a receiver can be more difficult than it sounds. Being on the receiving end of a gift requires a willingness to accept the gift without condition: after all, with a gift, we never quite know what we are going to get. One does not “order” a gift for oneself according to certain specifications.

Furthermore, receiving a gift makes one quite vulnerable to the giver of the gift—it makes one, in a certain way, freely indebted to him, willingly obliged to him, and inextricably involved with him.

The receiver of a gift carries a great burden; the entire relationship hangs in the balance based upon his or her free response to the gift. Will he receive it gratefully or ungraciously? Will he wound the giver? Or affirm him through an appreciation of his efforts?

From the beginning, the human person has struggled with being on the receiving end of a gift. And in the end, Adam and Eve simply could not countenance being in such a position with regard to God. They could not stand having to accept such generosity on God’s terms. Perhaps the humility required by such terms was more than they could bear. They instead chose to accept Satan’s proposition that God’s gift to them was motivated not by love, but by jealousy—that God’s command to them regarding the forbidden fruit was not for their good, but in order to withhold power from them.

Such an idea was totally insupportable in the face of God’s complete generosity toward them; nonetheless, our first ancestors chose to accept the lie of the tempter. As John Paul II declared, Adam and Eve “questioned the gift” in their hearts. Imagine presenting a loved one with a gift and hearing him reply, “What is this for? What do

Mary Ellen Stanford, M.T.S.

you want from me?” When a giver’s motivation is questioned by his receiver, the relationship may well be in jeopardy. In this very same spirit, Adam and Eve questioned the love which was at the source of God’s gifts to them. They chose to believe that God’s relationship to them was not rooted in loving gift, but in a mere power play.

From the beginning, then, humanity has had a mistaken notion about power. We have made the fatal error of believing, like Adam and Eve, that God’s power, that his authority, was bound up in some sort of factual knowledge that we could gain—the knowledge that would somehow make us gods.

Such an error has echoed down though the millennia and was summed up in Francis Bacon’s statement that “Knowledge is power.”

When in reality, true power was first and foremost rooted in love, in the utterly unmerited divine gift of creation itself.

Adam and Eve should have been striving for a deeper personal knowledge of God: the knowledge that comes from a loving relationship, from union. Instead they tried to acquire a kind of scientific knowledge of God’s divine secrets; that’s gnosticism! That is to understand God as a great magician, not a tremendous lover.

They were duped into thinking that they could be divinized by information—by some set of facts—rather than through a transformation— a loving and grateful union with their Creator in whose image they were made.

In this grand act of distrust, Adam and Eve turned their hearts from God—by eating the fruit, they refused God’s friendship in favor of “getting something” they wanted. They made a decision no longer to “receive” God’s good gifts on His terms, but to “take” them without regard for their once loving relationship. There is a dramatic difference between receiving and taking. Receiving is the proper response to a gift; “taking” some portion of a gift while rejecting the rest is disastrous and will inevitably wound the giver.

It is only after their hearts turn from God in this way that they suddenly experience the change in their bodies. They suddenly become aware of their nakedness and hide from one another in shame. Their bodies did not suddenly become “dirty” or bad; rather, they symbolized in a physical way that something had gone spiritually awry.

Because of this, however, they “felt” the consequence of sin in their bodies, as we still do today. It is no accident that the moment man and woman first sinned against God that they would turn against one another as well.

What we find now is that the body, designed to communicate for, to “present” the person, to speak the “language of love,” can tell a lie.

Sin makes it possible to view another person as an object to take and possess, rather than as a gift, only to be received in loving relationship.

Mary Stanford earned her BA in Philosophy from The University of Dallas in 1997 and her Master’s in Theological Studies from the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family, Washington, DC, in 2000. She is currently an adjunct instructor in Theology at Christendom College.

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Non Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 6445 Merrifield, VA 22081

134 Christendom Drive Front Royal, VA 22630 Return Service Requested

Announcing...

Alumni Class Challenge

for all grads celebrating 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 year anniversaries!

• • • • • •

25 Year Challenge donates $2500 over 5 years ($500 a year for 5 years).

20 Year Challenge donates $2000 over 5 years ($400 a year for 5 years).

15 Year Challenge donates $1500 over 5 years ($300 a year for 5 years).

10 Year Challenge donates $1000 over 5 years ($200 a year for 5 years).

5 Year Challenge donates $500 over 5 years ($100 a year for 5 years).

Class of 2010 donates $100 over 5 years ($20 a year for 5 years).

If all of the members of these anniversary classes participate, it will total $290,000 over 5 years. is uniform across the board. Anyone who has matriculated at the College for one or more semesters is considered an alumnus/a of the College. Donations to the fund are tax-deductible and can be made by Since its founding in 1998, the Fund anyone at any time throughout the This year, the College is asking has distributed over 100 scholarships year. those classes celebrating their 5th, to legacy students. During the 200910th, 15th, 20th, and 25th year 10 academic year, 29 legacy students The College plans on celebrating a anniversaries (Classes of 2005, received the Alumni Scholarship and successful 2010 Alumni Class Chal2000, 1995, 1990, 1985), as well at least 20 additional legacy students lenge at this year’s Homecoming, to as the Class of 2010, to step up to will be coming as freshmen in the fall. be held over the weekend of October 8-10. Mark your calendars and the plate and make 5-year pledge The amount of the Scholarship award save the date! commitments.

In 2003, the Christendom Class of 1993 was asked to participate in the inaugural Alumni Class Challenge donation program. They didn’t just participate; they donated over $30,000 to the College.

Alumni Class Challenge gifts will go toward the Alumni Scholarship Fund which is a scholarship fund for children of those who have attended Christendom (legacy students).