Instaurare | Fall 2014

Instaurare The Christendom College Quarterly Magazine

Fall 2014

HISTORIC RECORD ENROLLMENT

Spiritual First Responder: Fr. Stephen McGraw | Alumni Lead in of Pro-Life Movement Life-changing Mentorship | Student Success at Summer Internships

Fall 2014

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From the President

Timothy T. O’Donnell, STD, KGCHS

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“We are now standing in the face of the greatest historical confrontation humanity has gone through. ... We are now facing the final confrontation between the Church and the antichurch of the Gospel versus the anti-Gospel.

We must be prepared to undergo great trials in the not-too-distant future; trials that will require us to be ready to give up even our lives, and a total gift of self to Christ and for Christ.” − Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, 1976 I would like to share with you our beloved parents, friends and benefactors some of the thoughts which I shared with our faculty and students at the beginning of this fall semester.

Through our carefully designed academic curriculum, our students will be prepared to begin a journey that will lead them to a lifelong pursuit of wisdom.

It is important for each of us to remember that we have been summoned to this Christendom community to be part of a mission. It is a mission, which is great, noble, and in this day and age, requires heroism.

Through our carefully designed academic curriculum, our students will be prepared to begin a journey that will lead them to a lifelong pursuit of wisdom. They have an outstanding group of faculty mentors − men and women of intellect and virtue who will help them make a good beginning to this lifelong journey. While our students are here, each of them will study theology, philosophy, history, literature, political science and economics, early Christian studies and classical languages, mathematics, and science.

Additionally, part of the goal of the formation at Christendom is to help our students become Christian men and women of character, and to recognize that their youth has been given to them not for self-indulgence, but for heroism.

Being here at Christendom, they are called

to become leaders! Each and every one of them is part of an elite group. This is not an elitism born of a false pride or arrogance, but an elitism in the sense that they are gifted and called to serve God and their fellow man through their education in Christian wisdom.

Further, through our entire program, it is our goal to help our students consecrate their intellects, their wills, and, ultimately, their very hearts to Christ. Christ came not to make life easy but to make men great!

The fathers of the Second Vatican Council taught that, “in reality it is only in the mystery of the Word made flesh that the mystery of man truly becomes clear” (Gaudium et spes, 22). During their time here, they will have the opportunity to deepen their encounter with Christ! Opportunities for daily Mass, confession, Eucharistic adoration, and First Friday devotions are offered along with opportunities for corporal works of mercy and mission trips.

So many of you reading this have sacrificed so much to make all of this available to our students. We need these young men and women, our beloved nation needs them, the Church needs them, Christ needs them.

Their time here at Christendom will allow them to become the great men and women that He wants them to be.

Thank you for your generous and sacrificial support!

Praised be Jesus Christ, now and forever!

Table of Contents VOLUME 22 | NUMBER 3 | FALL 2014

2 Historic Enrollment

On August 22, Christendom College welcomed 122 new freshmen to its Front Royal, Va., campus, making a record enrollment of 433 students.

8 Spiritual First Responder

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Christendom College chaplain Fr. Stephen McGraw’s experience at the Pentagon on 9/11.

5 Liberal Arts in Action 6 Rome to Me 7 Student Summer Internship Success

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10 Photos: This Summer 12 Alumni Lead in Future of Pro-Life Movement 14 Faculty Notes 15 Life-changing Mentorship 16 Sisters Benefit from Studies at Graduate School

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Instaurare Published quarterly by the Christendom College Marketing Office.

18 Alumni Mass and Reception 19 Classmates: Alumni News 20 News in Brief IBC Omnia in Christo: Vocational Discernment

Executive Editor: Tom McFadden Managing Editor & Layout: Niall O’Donnell Christendom College 134 Christendom Drive, Front Royal, VA 22630 800.877.5456 | christendom.edu Copyright © 2014. 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 (christendom. edu).” SUBSCRIPTION FREE UPON REQUEST. Instaurare magazine (pronounced “in-sta-rar-ay”) receives its name from the Latin in the college’s motto, “Instaurare Omnia In Christo” or “To Restore All Things in Christ.”

Christendom College does not discriminate against any applicant or student on the basis of race, sex, color, or national origin.

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Fall 2014

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HISTORIC RECORD ENROLLMENT

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On August 22, Christendom College welcomed 122 new freshmen to its Front Royal, Va., campus, making a record enrollment of 433 students.

“For many, Christendom is quickly becoming the ‘gold standard’ for quality, academic excellence, and faithfulness amongst Catholic liberal arts colleges in America today,” says director of admissions Sam Phillips. “This is evidenced by the fact that we are experiencing our second record enrollment year in a row, with the largest student body in our 37 year history.”

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Welcome

Director of Admissions, Samuel J. Phillips (’08)

On August 24, the college officially launched its 38th academic year with a convocation and Mass celebrated by Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde.

Professor of Theology, Dr. James DeFrancis

president for enrollment Tom McFadden. “We will be working personally with all of our students to help them succeed academically and in their post-graduate pursuits.”

The entire faculty takes the oath of fidelity to the Magisterium before Bishop Loverde.

Phillips also noted that the quality of the incoming students is “extremely high,” with two National Merit Scholarship finalists in the class, as well as an average SAT score of 1843—the highest ever for the college.

“We have also increased our commitment to one of our most unique qualities: personal attention,” says vice

This year’s class also includes an increase in male students—a promising sign for the college in light of the national trend of decreased male enrollment.

“I think that we’ve seen this increase because the truth about the liberal arts is resonating out there,” says Phillips.

“Young men are realizing that, in order to be successful in life, you need more than technical training. You need to excel in written and oral communication and not just be able to analyze and understand problems, but have the perspective to solve them. This is where our education delivers and the success of our alumni is a testament to it.”

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Farewell

Office Manager Judy Costello retired after more than 30 years of service to the college.

Over the summer, the college saw a number of changes in personnel—saying goodbye to some good friends and welcoming new ones.

Matthew Speer ’14 and Anna Harris ’13 replace Gabe Schuberg ’12 and Elizabeth Walsh ’12 as the Rome Program Residence Coordinators. Sam Phillips ’08 has taken on the position of Director of Admissions, formerly held by Tom McFadden ’90, who has been promoted to a new position of Vice President of Enrollment & Marketing. Luke Fier ’09 is the new Controller at the

college, replacing long-time Business Office Manager Judy Costello, who retired after more than 30 years of service to the college. Greg Monroe ’08 takes on the new role of Director of Career and Leadership Development, while Maribeth Kelly ’14 assumes the newly created position of Student Academic Success Coach.

Former Athletic Director Chris Vander Woude ’01 is now Acting Dean of Students, while former Director of Special Services Josh Petersen is now Athletic Director. Klarissa Blank ’14 is now Admissions Counselor, taking over from Theresa (Jalsevac) Hambleton ’13, while David Costanzo has been hired as the college’s new Major Gift Officer. Fr. Stephen McGraw ’88 was recently assigned to Christendom by the Diocese of Arlington as Chaplain, replacing ’ Father Donald Planty who was Chaplain for the past four years. And finally, the college welcomes Dr. James DeFrancis as a member of the faculty in the Theology Department.

With these many personnel changes, and plans to break ground on a number of new building initiatives, the future of Christendom College looks very bright and promising. In the words of freshman Tommy Carney, from Kansas, “I love it here. Every day I keep meeting new people who are absolutely amazing, and am having some of the best experiences of my life. It’s great to be at Christendom.”

It’s Personal at Christendom Christendom is committed to giving its students the opportunity to grow academically, in a personalized and supportive environment, so that they can achieve all of their dreams and ambitions. To that end, the college recently hired two staff members to work with vice president for enrollment Tom McFadden to support its mission.

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Greg Monroe ’08 Director of Career and Leadership Development

Maribeth Kelly ’14 Academic Success Coach

Through personalized, invested communication and commitment to students, Greg will be able to assist students in creating tailored success plans with practical tools for their future.

Maribeth is a very active influence on campus, meeting one-on-one with students in order to create an individualized, personal plan for success by connecting them with the specific resources and support they need to be successful in their academic pursuits.

ArtsinAction L i b e ra l

Dr. Donald S. Prudlo ’99 Associate Professor of Ancient and Medieval History Jacksonville State University

Christendom alumni are involved in just about every field possible and are making an impact on the culture. In higher education, our alumni are using their liberal arts educations to shine as beacons of truth and wisdom.

“My baccalaureate studies at Christendom provided a solid foundation for all the academic work I have been involved in since that time. The liberal arts education was broad, but deep at the same time. It is an education that will provide a young person not only with a body of knowledge, but with tools that will serve them throughout their Christian life—at home—at study— at work—and all at the service of the Church.”

“Undergraduate and graduate education today tends to produce exceptionally narrow specialist-professors who cannot speak outside their interests, much less to the general student population. Christendom’s core curriculum represents the best of all possible worlds for those striving to become professors and scholars in the humanities, for it grounds them in the permanent questions and educates them over the whole of the western tradition. My experiences at Christendom are foundational for my life as a professor and scholar engaged in dialogue with the non-Catholic world. I am profoundly grateful for what I received.”

Sr. Catherine Joseph Droste, OP ’87 Professor of Theology Pontifical University of St. Thomas

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By Katie Brizek ’15

Reflecting on My Semester in the Eternal City

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Photos by Midori Funai ’15

Rome was an extraordinary experience.

Our apartments were right on the Viale Vaticano, up the street from the Vatican Museums. After dining on a slice of pizza or fresh spinach and mozzarella from the nearby market, we would often get gelato after dinner and stroll down to sit and gaze on St. Peter’s by night.

We saw many churches and would frequently grab a map and go “church hopping” to see as many as we could. We climbed the Duomo of St. Peter’s and ventured down for Mass in the Crypt. We went on a scavi tour and got as close as you can to the bones of St. Peter.

I saw the Borghese gardens and countless, priceless works of art in the many museums I toured. I got lost a few times and took random buses, seeing parts of the city I never would have otherwise. I also got to travel and see things I never imagined, like Auschwitz in Poland, La Grand-Place in Brussels, and Sagrada Familia in Barcelona.

It was so easy to travel that it almost made the world seem small.

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But actually visiting those places and experiencing new cultures debunked that idea, and instead added to my ever expanding picture of the world as wondrously accessible, but fantastically dense with colorful detail.

Seeing just how various and dissimilar cultures are—not just on a continent, but within a single country— made it even more amazing that the Church is able to communicate truths to such different people, and unite them across the world in love for our faith.

My friends and I had competitions to see in how many different languages we heard Mass, as we traipsed across Europe, discovering with every fresh excursion just how universal the Church is.

Mostly, I had the experience of really feeling that I lived and belonged in the Eternal City, even for three short months. It was the most incredible thing I’ve done in my life and I know I will never forget it.

Find out more about the Junior Semester in Rome at christendom.edu/rome.

Students Enjoy Success at Summer Internships Name: Jessica Williams Year: Senior Interned at: Public Advocate Where: Washington, D.C. Her experience: This summer I had an internship at Public Advocate of the United States. It's a non profit political activist organization that focuses on traditional family values in the political sphere. My responsibilities included overseeing the organization's Social Media and Marketing department. I helped organize a campaign that focused on the impeachment of the US Attorney General Eric Holder. I also created videos for the organization by interviewing the public in DC on their opinion about pressing political issues, such as the attack on our religious freedom. My studies in the liberal arts at Christendom gave me the tools I needed to reason with all types of people on a deeper level. When I did occasionally run into the rebel who would mock or attempt to test my faith and beliefs, I didn't have to think twice about how I would handle the situation. Thanks to Christendom, my summer internship was a success.

Name: Joseph Gonzalez Year: Senior Interned at: Churchmilitant.tv Where: Ferndale, Mich.

His experience: My job was in the research and writing department. I researched news and wrote news stories related to the Church. I also helped them write a number of programs, including a show about the Church’s tradition of sacred music in the liturgy.

Without my liberal arts education, I would have been of little value to Churchmilitant.tv. My knowledge of philosophy, theology, political science, music, liturgy, Latin, and history enabled me to be a useful writer.

Because the programs are meant to evangelize and explain the Catholic faith to both unbelievers and poorly catechized Catholics, my liberal arts education was vital. For example, my class on Social Teachings of the Church with Dr. Bersnak last semester was extremely informative regarding the various encyclicals of the popes. I needed that kind of knowledge in order to write about the Church’s true teachings. That class saved me a ton of research.

“ When I did occasionally run into the rebel who would mock or attempt to test my faith and beliefs, I didn't have to think twice about how I would handle the situation. Thanks to Christendom, my summer internship was a success.”

Local Internships Left: Seniors Sarah Jamieson and Daniel McDowell currently are enjoying interning with a local top realtor, Beth Waller. The experience has been a fast-paced team environment and the students are gaining a broad experience in various aspects of business management, public relations, social media, and marketing. Right: This summer Mike Heffernan, (along with fellow seniors Dave Smith and Luis Adan) interned in Strasburg, Va., with the town’s Architectural Review Board.

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Spiritual First Responder Christendom’s chaplain at the Pentagon on 9/11

By Corinne Weaver ’17

Christendom College’s new chaplain, Fr. Stephen McGraw ’88, graduated with a degree in history. He went on to law

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On September 11, 2001, at 9:37 a.m., terrorists flew American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon, destroying the west side of the building and killing 125 people. Just as it happened, Fr. Stephen McGraw was mired in traffic on the highway next to the building.

“Traffic was at a standstill,” McGraw said. “Then suddenly I heard a whirring, rushing sound from directly above the cars and turned to see a plane crash into the Pentagon.”

As a newly ordained priest, he seized the opportunity to carry out his priestly duties, grabbed his purple stole and the holy oils of the Anointing of the Sick, and ran across the highway to the lawn in front of the Pentagon.

“I didn’t even move my car, but just left it there in the middle of the street,” he said. “I stood on the lawn and waited, while small explosions could be heard from the building.”

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school at the University of Virginia, and worked in Washington, D.C., until he discerned his call to the priesthood. Just three months after his ordination, he was present when the startling attack took place on the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia.

As a witness to a similar accident when he was sixteen, he didn’t attribute the crash to a terrorist attack.

He recalled, “I had no fear. I thought it was merely a tragic accident.”

Within a few minutes, medical personnel were saving the injured and bringing them out to the lawn. Fr. McGraw tried to comfort them as they were being tended to by the EMTs. “I kept saying to them, ‘Jesus is with you’, and they would respond with ‘Yes.’ That fact alone brought them

Fr. McGraw kneels and prays over a victim of the attacks outside the Pentagon on 9/11.

“I kept saying to them, ‘Jesus is with you.’”

great peace. Eventually I remembered more prayers and began to say them with the injured.”

“In a way,” he said, “my being there had a larger symbolic presence. People always ask in the wake of tragedies, ‘Where was God when all this happened?’ So I was a living answer to that.”

One of the survivors was a Catholic, and asked for the Anointing of the Sick.

“He did not know who I was because he could not see, but he asked for my name. When I told him I was a priest, he said he was Catholic. So I anointed him and said the prayers for the Anointing of the Sick.”

Small Person, Big Heart

Two years later, McGraw met the man again, who said all he could remember was that “somebody was praying” when he was lying on the lawn in front of the Pentagon.

Another person, stretched out on the grass, was dying.

“She said, ‘Tell my mother and my father that I love them,’” recounted Fr. McGraw. “I found out later who she was and wrote to her parents.”

Ordained in June of that year, Fr. McGraw said that he was ready to act on 9/11 because of a previous experience. Six weeks before, he was driving on a highway and saw a severe accident on the side of the road.

“But I didn’t stop,” he said. “Later that night, I felt I had failed in my mission, and I prayed for the person in the accident and for myself. I made a resolution to always stop from then on wherever I was needed.”

Being there, at the Pentagon on 9/11, only deepened his conviction in the truth of God’s eternal presence.

Leslie Mathews in the Advancement Office was surprised by a $110 donation from 11-year-old Gracie Clark, daughter of Jim ’97 and Valerie (Kelly) ’96 Clark. Gracie earned the money herself and chose to donate it to Christendom’s end of the Fiscal Year “Matching Gift Challenge.” This fine display of generosity touched the hearts of the entire Advancement staff.

“It wasn’t just her initial gift amount that touched me so deeply as much as it was her generous and giving spirit at such a young age,” Mathews said. “God bless her!”

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this su The college’s three-week program in Ireland, the St. Columcille Institute, was a huge success this year, even leading one participant to convert to the Catholic faith.

Participants enjoyed courses in theology, history, and literature, all aiming to form them as leaders in the new evangelization.

Additionally the institute was visited by Papal Nuncio to Ireland Archbishop Charles Brown and Vatican Radio Programing Director Sean Lovett.

christendom.edu/ireland

christendom.edu/experience

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ummer Experience Christendom Summer Program

Four one-week sessions of Christendom’s popular Experience Christendom Summer Program were held in June and July. As usual, the 179 students who participated found their time at the college to be life-changing— enjoying all the intellectual, spiritual, and cultural riches that come with being a student at Christendom. Due to the program being the most highly ranked of its kind in the nation, the college will host a total of six one-week sessions in the summer of 2015.

christendom.edu/ireland

christendom.edu/experience

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FUTURE PRO-LIFE MOVEMENT Alumni Lead in Local Pro-life Work I of the

“I believe they are the real future of the pro-life movement,” Christendom College Alumna Mary Brand says of local crisis pregnancy centers. “It’s where the rubber hits the road.”

Valedictorian of the class of 1998, Brand has been volunteering in pro-life work since she was in high school, from praying at abortion facilities to volunteering at crisis pregnancy centers. Now, she is a board member for her local crisis pregnancy center in Front Royal, Va., as well as the coordinator for the annual Walk for Life, an event that raises funds for the center.

L:R: Maura McMahon ’09 and Mary Brand ’98

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“I’ve come to believe that the work done locally at crisis pregnancy centers is invaluable in helping women faced with the decision of abortion and changing hearts,” she says.

Brand and her husband, Jonathan, are parents of four children, one of whom is adopted. She says that she has

an immense appreciation for women who are faced with an unexpected pregnancy, yet choose to carry the baby to term and place the newborn up for adoption.

Alumnus Appointed Director at USCCB

“It is one of the bravest and most loving things a woman can do in this culture, where abortion is so prevalent and seems like the only way out,” she says.

She describes the juggling of her time as the mother of four little ones and a volunteer as “a bit of a balancing act.” Yet, balancing time is something that she says she learned to do well during her busy years as a student at Christendom. She was volunteering for this same pregnancy center back then.

“Christendom gave me a sense of mission,” she says. “There was a passionately pro-life culture at Christendom, which fostered my desire to work and pray to end abortion in our country.”

Christendom alumni were instrumental in the center’s 1991 founding. Nancy Briggs ’82, Maggie Ciskanik ’84, Hannah Jurkowski ’86, Tom ’84 and Tina ’83 Furtado, as well as Frank ’83 and Angelique ’83 O’Reilly were founding board members who assisted in the launch and development of the center. Local Christendom alumni and students continue to assist as volunteers, including Maura McMahon ’09, who serves as one of the center’s staff members.

Today the center serves almost 400 women each year with over 1,200 visits and over $23,000 administered in material assistance. Additionally, last year, the center started an ultrasound program and currently sees 100 women each year, many of whom are abortion vulnerable.

“We are starting to see more and more women who are coming in for ultrasounds, who are leaning towards abortion,” Brand says. “Recently, a woman who had had several previous abortions, chose life for her baby after seeing the ultrasound. In the past two months, seven abortion-vulnerable women, including three who had had abortions already scheduled, did not go forward with their abortions.”

These victories for life are fruits of the center’s ministry, which Brand describes as “Christ-centered, offering love, hope and compassion by sharing the Gospel in word and deed to those He sends us.”

In August, alumnus Mark Rohlena ’00 became the director of the Office of Domestic Social Development of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

“Mark Rohlena has a proven track record as a leader and manager in putting the Church’s social teaching into action,” said Msgr. Ronny Jenkins, USCCB General Secretary. “Mark has a heart for the poor and vulnerable and a critical understanding of the way public policy impacts the Church’s ground-level, charitable work. He is well-formed in the faith, and especially Catholic Social Teaching, which has inspired his strong commitment to service, leaving a successful career at a large law firm to advocate for those most in need.”

Rohlena double-majored in history and political science and economics at Christendom before earning his law degree from Ave Maria School of Law. Rohlena says that he is thankful for the skills he gained at Christendom and sees his alma mater as an essential first step to the success he has found as a lawyer, CEO of Catholic Charities, and in his future work with the USCCB. Previously Rohlena worked as president and chief executive officer of Catholic Charities of Central Colorado and the Senior Ethics and Conflicts Attorney for Holland and Hart, LLP of Denver.

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Faculty Notes Prof. John Cuddeback, Professor of Philosophy, has been combining food and philosophy, delivering a keynote address entitled, “Being Grateful for Hunger,” at the Catholic Farm, Food and Faith Dinner, as well as delivering a lecture entitled, “Friendship: Presence in an Age of Absence,” at the San Gennaro Festival at Three Fox Vineyards.

Prof. Patrick Keats, Professor of English Language and Literature, appeared in the International Journal of Language and Literature. The title of his article was “Dracula: Bram Stoker’s Victorian Quest Thriller.”

Prof. Christopher Lane, Assistant Professor of History, taught a course on the Ancient and Biblical World for the Magdala Apostolate of the Institute of Catholic Culture (the Magdala Apostolate brings free courses to religious sisters, live and online).

Prof. Robert Matava, Graduate Assistant Professor of Theology, gave a paper at a conference exploring issues at the intersection of philosophy and theology in July at the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology at Berkeley, Calif. The title of the paper was “Creation, Causal Priority and Human Free Choice.”

Prof. Marcello Lippiello, Assistant Professor of Classical and Early Christian Studies, attended a three-week course in spoken Ancient Greek. This course is run by the Polis Institute of Jerusalem and sponsored by the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross.

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Prof. Brendan McGuire, Associate Professor of History, gave a conference paper entitled, “The Rose Mosque Revealed: Results of an Archaeological Field Study,” in June at the Symposium on Medieval and Renaissance Studies in St. Louis, MO. Prof. Ben Reinhard, Assistant Professor of English Language and Literature, was published in The University Bookman with his review of Tolkien’s translation of “Beowulf.”

Prof. Christopher Shannon, Associate Professor of History, published a review of the new biography of L. Brent Bozell: “Living on Fire: The Life of L. Brent Bozell, Jr.” by Daniel Kelly in the June-July 2014 issue of First Things.

Prof. Mary Stanford, Adjunct Instructor of Theology, was the opening speaker for a lecture series on “Faith and Fertility” at St. Veronica’s Parish in Chantilly, Va., this summer. Her talk was entitled, “The Beauty of God’s Truth: God’s Intention for Human Sexuality.”

Prof. Thomas Stanford, Professor of English Language and Literature, is acting as peer reviewer for the Mississippi Quarterly, a scholarly journal dedicated to the life and culture of the American South, past and present.

Prof. Steve Weidenkopf, Graduate Lecturer in Church History, appeared in the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars Quarterly, with his review of “Not Peace but a Sword – The Great Chasm between Christianity and Islam” by Robert Spenser.

Life-changing Mentorship These testimonies originally appeared in the September 7 issue of Our Sunday Visitor Newsweekly. In the issue, three out of the five professors profiled in the national newspaper were Christendom College faculty.

Dr. Lisa Marciano English - Mary Goba, Junior from Language Lombard, Illinois

& Literature

“Dr. Marciano has encouraged me to grow and keep pushing forward and has helped me to progress in my academics and in who I am as a person. She helped to strengthen me in my faith both by what she teaches in the classroom and by being active in her own faith. She has been a tremendous mentor and has given a great deal to me with her great patience and kindness, and I am so grateful for it.”

- Mary Goba, junior from Lombard, Ill.

Dr. John Cuddeback Philosophy

“Dr. Cuddeback is the quintessential philosophy professor, the most challenging professor I’ve ever had and the one who was able to amaze me the most. One day he was talking about man being a body-soul composite, and how what we do with our bodies can affect our souls and vice-versa, and, in fact, our bodies are amazing because that’s what matter looks like when it is informed by an intellectual soul. Something about the way he said it impressed on me deeper than ever before how ‘fearfully and wonderfully made’ we humans are. I walked out of that class almost floating, wanting to just stare at my hands in amazement at the wonderfulness of it all. I even had tears in my eyes in one of his classes from the sheer beauty of what he was saying. What Dr. Cuddeback taught us that semester was like a puzzle piece that finally clicked into place, and I see the entire world differently now — in a good way. I had known a lot of what he said before, but the way he drew the answers out of us by more than simply lecturing us gave me a complete understanding of my own humanity and nature in general that was unlike anything I’d learned before.”

- Rachel Hoover, sophomore from Nashville, Tenn.

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Alive in the

Sr. Carol Hohmeier and Sr. Ann Marie Zierke

Faith

Marian Sisters Benefit from Studies at Christendom Graduate School

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The Marian Sisters of the Diocese of Lincoln have discovered that the Christendom Graduate School and the Vita Consecrata Institute provide a grace-filled opportunity for on-going theological formation and study.

Several of the sisters have attended the summer program over the years, and their Christendom education has had a lasting impact on their ministries and has enabled them to deepen their practice of living the “joy of the Gospel.”

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Two sisters earned the MA degree in 2011, and two others are currently enrolled in the masters’ program.

Sr. Cecilia Ann Rezac, the order’s Mother Superior, uses her systematic theology studies as she teaches the sisters during their formation. Referring to the words of Saint Irenaeus, “the glory of God is man fully alive,” Sr. Cecilia says. “Truly, the more we learn about the truths and beauty of God – the more alive we become in the faith.”

Sr. Kathryn Maney found her degree in moral theology to be of help in her understanding of human nature and spiritual growth, as well as in the instruction she provides for those in novitiate and in catechism classes. She has served as diocesan archivist and currently acts as the administrative assistant to the Bishop.

“My experience at Christendom was a tremendous gift both to me and to those whom I serve,” she says. “It opened the eyes of my heart more fully to the beauty and wisdom of Holy Mother Church’s understanding of the human person and his eternal goal.”

Sr. Carol Hohmeier and Sr. Ann Marie Zierke have just completed their third summer at Christendom.

Graduate School of Theology Hooding & Commencement On August 2, the Christendom Graduate School held its 2014 Hooding and Commencement Ceremonies, awarding nine Master of Arts in Theological Studies.

Sr. Carol attends the Vita Consecrata Institute, cosponsored by the Institute on Religious Life, in order to concentrate her studies in the theology of the consecrated life.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed my summers at Christendom,” Sr. Carol says. “The learning atmosphere and the instructors are so totally Christ-centered and everyone is so helpful—it’s like having an extended family right on campus. The professors are readily available, committed and passionate about what they teach—what a gift.”

College Chaplain Fr. Stephen McGraw, along with graduates Fr. Paul Nguyen and Fr. Andrew Luong, celebrated Mass before the ceremony, which was held in Christ the King Chapel.

Sr. Ann Marie is studying for an MA in evangelization and catechesis and says she has gained a greater depth of knowledge to share with her high school students.

“The friendships that I have formed have helped me to have a better understanding of the universal church and her mission,” she says.

In addition, Sr. Ann Marie makes use of her new theological knowledge in her many guest appearances on Spirit Catholic Radio where she speaks on Scripture, the Saints, and vocations.

GETTING YOUR M.A. IN THEOLOGY ONLINE

Graduate Christian Rocha gave the valedictory address.

HAS NEVER BEEN SO AFFORDABLE.

Special Offer for First Time Students!

Enroll for one course and get the second course free.

703.658.4304 | christendom.edu/bogo

Fr. Andrew Luong receives his Advanced Apostolic Catechetical Diploma.

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Alumni Mass & Reception

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The Alumni Affairs Office combined an Assumption Holy Day Mass with an alumni reception to welcome Christendom’s new chaplain, Fr. Stephen McGraw ’88. More than 140 people attended Mass at Christ the King Chapel on August 15, with alumni volunteering for the choir and reading the epistles at Mass. Following Mass, a reception in St. Kilian’s Café gave alumni the opportunity to mingle with each other and welcome Fr. McGraw. While other alumni-priests have served as chaplain, Fr. McGraw holds the distinct honor of being the first graduate of the college to fill the role of college chaplain.

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Fr. Stephen McGraw ’88 celebrates the Feast of the Assumption Mass for more than 140 alumni, faculty, staff, and their families.

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College president Dr. O’Donnell tells the alumni that they are always welcome on campus and encourages them to visit often.

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John Janaro ’85 chats with Frank Nicely ’86 and his wife, Peggy.

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Vince Criste ’98, Assistant Director of Alumni and Donor Relations, presents Fr. Stephen McGraw ’88 with a spiritual bouquet on behalf of the entire alumni family.

5.

Christendom’s executive vice president Ken Ferguson chats with Walter Janaro ’83 and Dori Rutherford ’93.

6.

Fr. Stephen McGraw ’88 and Dr. Eleanor Kelly, Director of the Teacher Formation Program, share a laugh at the reception.

7.

Doug Briggs ’84, Patrick ’88 and Francine Orr, and John Ciskanik, Vice President for Advancement, enjoy a conversation.

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Instaurare

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CLASSMATES

our to dy Sen sions s mi es@ sub ssmat .edu cla ndom iste chr

[your paper & ink alumni social network]

1980’s

Doug Briggs ’84, Walter Janaro ’83, and Niall O’Donnell ’03 enjoyed a visit with former Christendom classics professor Dr. Patrick Duffy in early September. Duffy stopped by the college on his way to a spiritual retreat at Holy Cross Abbey.

2000’s

A Ph.D. candidate at the School of Philosophy at the Catholic University of America, Dan Gutschke ’08 has begun teaching as an adjunct instructor at Christendom.

Katie (Wunderlich) Hepler ’13 and Mark Hepler ’13 married on May 31, 2014, in Fryburg, Penn.

1990’s

A group of alumni rendezvoused at the March for Marriage in DC this summer.

Above alumnae Mary Walsh ’98 and Mary Kay Soos ’97 pose for a picture in front of Capital Hill. Below, Vince Criste ’98 takes a photo with Christendom Advisory Board member Sen. Rick Santorum.

Joe and Emily (Mersch) Molitor ’08 welcomed their daughter, Mary Clare, to the world on June 3,2014. She is much loved by her parents and her big sister Monica.

2010’s

Jacob Akers ’13 and Maureen (Bellow) Akers ’13 welcomed into the world their beautiful baby girl, Evangeline Cecilia, on June 21st, 2014.

Postulant Sarah Golden ’12, pictured lower right, will be receiving the Holy Habit on October 7 at Bethlehem Monastery of the Poor Clares of Barhamsville, Va.

Jennifer (Nussio) Petersen ’14 and Jared Petersen ’14 were married on June 28, 2014, in Christendom’s Christ the King Chapel. (Photo courtesy of LongBrook Photography).

Fall 2014

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NEWS in BRIEF

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Pope Francis renewed the appointment of Christendom College President Dr. Timothy O’Donnell as consultor to the Pontifical Council for the Family. O’Donnell received a letter in August from Council President Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia stating his congratulations.

Christendom College announces the launch of a new scholarship matching program this year for admitted students. Students can now request that Christendom’s scholarship committee review and match their scholarship offers from other peer institutions. For more information visit: christendom.edu/scholarship.

The Crusaders men’s soccer team has had a strong start to its new season, defeating Lord Fairfax Community College 6-2, NCAA III Bryn Athyn College 5-2, and Penn State Alto 9-0.

Dr. Pat Fagan, the Director of the Marriage and Religion Research Institute, addressed the students and faculty on September 22. Fagan’s talk, which was part of college’s Major Speaker Program, explained how, from a sociological viewpoint, the married intact heterosexual family that worships God weekly has the most positive effect on children and society.

Instaurare

Taken from the college’s motto “Instaurare Omnia in Christo,” this section features an excerpt from a recent paper or talk by one of Christendom’s distinguished faculty.

Omnia in Christo Vocational Discernment in Early Modern France

I

In both scholarly and popular contexts, one finds a great deal of conventional wisdom about the Christian concept of vocation. Of note is the claim that lay (especially married) vocation was a specifically Protestant idea, one embraced by Catholics only in the twentieth century, around the time of the Second Vatican Council. These perceptions can be seen, for example, in a historical sourcebook of Christian writings on “vocation,” published in 2005. Although a good book on the whole, it retains many old assumptions about Catholic approaches to vocation, both in its selection of texts and in the editor’s remarks on each text. A closer look at the Catholic pastoral advice of seventeenth-century France tells a different story. Many clerics were preaching and teaching young people about the question of vocation and, in so doing, they freely spoke of the lay, married state as a vocation.

For France, the seventeenth century was a period of energetic Catholicism that saw, for example, the founding of many new religious orders, a flourishing of spiritual writings for the laity, and a renewal in clerical formation. As the century wore on, however, this dynamic spiritual milieu tended in an increasingly rigorist direction.

Among many spiritual writers, the conversation shifted away from the gentle sweetness of a St. Francis de Sales and toward a more fearoriented approach to the spiritual life.

Ironically, the notion of marriage as a vocation flourished during this rigorist turn. St. Francis de Sales in the early seventeenth-century—not to mention some medieval and sixteenth-century writers—had already readily called marriage a vocation. Yet what helped promote this idea among later, more rigorist writers was their fear that many French Catholics had not followed God’s call and thus were in the wrong state of life. In their view, being in the wrong state of life meant that you had forfeited much of the divine help God would have given you to fulfill your duties in life. Later seventeenth-century writers thus developed highly systematic approaches to vocational discernment, in an attempt to get young people to discern rightly God’s call, whether to the priesthood, to the religious life, or to marriage.

To preface their discernment advice, these writers stressed the urgency of right discernment in no uncertain terms.

Charles Gobinet, a doctor of the Sorbonne and the rector of a Paris collège, wrote the following in a piety manual for young people: “If we search into the cause of the disorders which we see in each state of life—priestly, religious, or

By Prof. Christopher J. Lane

lay—in which so many acquit themselves of their duties so poorly, we shall find that a great part of the evil comes from this source: namely, that their entry has been evil; and we find that a majority of people enter into the states of life lightly, without examining whether . . . they are called there by God.”A Jesuit named Bernard Dangles, in a guide for spiritual directors, wrote that, on the choice of a state of life depended “the good or bad life, the happy or unhappy death, and the eternal salvation or damnation of each person.”

This sort of rigorist, fear-oriented approach to vocation yielded some surprisingly modern results. First, in contending that right vocational discernment was the key to a happy life and a good society, these writers affirmed that everyone had a calling. In other words, marriage did not come from the absence of a calling, but entering marriage rightly demanded discernment of a calling, no less than entering religion or the priesthood. Secondly, the process of right discernment demanded freedom (in French, liberté) from coercion by parents in vocational choices. Whereas the laws of the French state increasingly favored parental control over entry into marriage, the priesthood, and the religious life, vocational discernment advice pushed back at the level of pastoral care. The great Jesuit preacher Louis Bourdaloue [pictured above] put it thus: “The father of a family is not the distributor of vocations. . . . It does not depend on him that a daughter is called to the religious state or to that of marriage; and the determination which he makes of it is an attack on the sovereign domain of God.” Seventeenth-century pastoral writers and preachers therefore developed a vocation-based worldview that encompassed all Catholics—whether lay, clerical, or in religious vows—and that was meant to have implications for all areas of life, from family relations to royal laws to the appointment of bishops. The history of this worldview deserves to be integrated more clearly into our historical understanding of early modern Christianity, of liberty as a concept, of French state-building, and of the place of the laity in modern Catholicism.

Christopher J. Lane is Assistant Professor of History at Christendom College. His current research, for his doctoral dissertation at the University of Notre Dame, focuses on the history of vocational discernment and of lay vocation in early modern France.

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