As the new academic year begins for students around the country, a video on Twitter caught my eye: tutors at the new East Coast campus of Thomas Aquinas College recited the Profession of Faith and Oath of Fidelity at Convocation in front of the College’s students.
“In fulfilling the charge entrusted to me in the name of the Church, I shall hold fast to the deposit of the faith in its entirety,” the tutors proclaimed before Bishop Mitchell Rozanski of the Diocese of Springfield on Aug. 24. “I shall faithfully hand it on and explain it, and I shall avoid any teachings contrary to it.”
What a hopeful and profound way to begin the year!
Thomas Aquinas College, known for its academic rigor and orthodox Catholicism, is now educating students in Northfield, Massachusetts, as well as Santa Paula, California. It joins other faithful New England colleges, including Holy Apostles in Cromwell, Connecticut, Magdalen College of the Liberal Arts in Warner, New Hampshire, and the Thomas More College of Liberal Arts in Merrimack, New Hampshire, in bringing a renewal of Catholic faith and culture to an area of the country that is sorely in need of it.
At Wyoming Catholic College in Lander, Wyoming, on Aug. 25, professors also made their annual Profession of Faith, and new professors made the Oath of Fidelity. The College has told The Cardinal Newman Society: “While we know that this is not strictly required, we wish to go beyond the minimum and demonstrate that all our Catholic faculty are committed to teaching all disciplines ad mentem ecclesiae.”
The profession and oath were made at a Mass celebrated by Bishop Steven Biegler of the Diocese of Cheyenne. He told faculty and students, “The formation of the whole person that Catholic education seeks—body and mind, heart and soul, faith and reason, seeks to form disciples who think and speak and act like Christ.”
Later that afternoon, freshman students also signaled their commitment to faithful Catholic education by signing their names in the official Student Register. “In signing this book,” Acting Dean Kyle Washut told the students, “you are making a public act of trust. You are announcing your intention to trust the Wyoming Catholic College community with your formation over the next four years. We are aware of the solemn duty imposed on us when you give us that trust, and we will honor it.”
The same day, the entire faculty of Christendom College in Front Royal, Virginia, made the Profession of Faith and Oath of Fidelity at a Mass of the Holy Spirit celebrated by Bishop Michael Burbidge of the Diocese of Arlington.
“I want to begin by thanking you and your gifted and talented administration and faculty for providing our students with such a sacred place to continue their education, to deepen their relationship with the Lord, and to grow in Truth and be prepared to articulate that Truth wherever the Lord sends them,” Bishop Burbidge said.
Catholic college presidents, too, are expected to recite the Oath of Fidelity according to canon law. Dr. Timothy Collins, the new president of Walsh University in North Canton, Ohio, recited the oath during the University’s Mass of the Holy Spirit on Aug. 28. Impressively, he was surrounded by members of Walsh’s founding order, the Brothers of Christian Instruction, and University Chaplain Father Thomas Cebula.
“When you think about the Oath of Fidelity, we think about it in terms of a covenant,” said Monsignor John Zuraw, the Mass celebrant and chancellor of the Diocese of Youngstown. “God has established a covenant with each and every one of us. And with any covenant, there are responsibilities. There are values that we hold deep within our very being.”
“As President Collins takes this Oath of Fidelity,” Msgr. Zuraw continued, “he takes it first and foremost to be faithful to God and all that he does and all that he will be. But this Oath of Fidelity also implies a relationship with each and every one of you… that he will do his best to lead this University with values and principles based on the Gospel.”
A public profession of our Catholic faith is an important witness to students and a comforting assurance about the type of education students will be receiving. While the Church does not require it of every professor at a Catholic college, canon law does require that every Catholic theology professor receive the mandatum from the local bishop, by which theologians promise that they will teach in accord with the Church. Often this is accomplished by a Profession of Faith or other similar measure.
Among the faithful colleges recommended in The Newman Guide, all theology professors have the required mandatum, and most take the Oath of Fidelity. Sadly we don’t see this everywhere, but there is an exciting renewal today at a growing number of Catholic colleges. Families seeking assurance of a faithful education have many good options.
Starting out this new academic year on the right foot is a very hopeful sign. Please keep Catholic educators in your prayers, that they will faithfully teach and witness to our students, preparing them to walk with Christ throughout their adult lives.
This article first appeared at The National Catholic Register.
To Restore Integrity: Newman’s Idea of Education
/in Mission and Governance Commentary, St. John Henry Newman Latest/by Patrick ReillyOver the course of his lifetime, John Henry Newman was many things: scholar, reformer, preacher, convert, theologian, priest, and cardinal. Through it all, however, he was an educator. Cor ad cor loquitur (“Heart speaks to heart”) was his motto, and he believed strongly that “personal influence” is the best means of teaching the truths of our Catholic faith.
“Speaking from heart to heart” was so much his manner that students at Oxford and later Dublin’s Catholic University would flock to hear his sermons. His guidance inspired the high-school boys at the Oratory School in Birmingham, England, including Hilaire Belloc. And Newman met personally with parents to forge genuine partnerships in the care of souls – an unusual practice at the time for English boarding schools.
The practical schoolmaster was also a great visionary, whose Idea of a University and University Sketches helped define the Catholic university at a time when education was splintering into diverse models and objectives. Amid many pastoral works, Newman also wrote numerous texts of devotion and theology on topics such as the Blessed Virgin Mary, development of doctrine, the role of the laity in the Church, and the nature of conscience.
It is extraordinary to find so many achievements in one man. And how do we reconcile the private Newman with the public intellectual, who eagerly battled “liberalism in religion”?
Continue reading at The Catholic Thing…
Sister of Life: ‘You Will Never Regret’ Attending a Faithful Catholic College
/in Blog Newman Guide Articles, Profiles in FCE/by Cardinal Newman Society StaffSister Mariae Agnus Dei of the Sisters of Life is one of many religious sisters whose vocation was nourished by faithful Catholic education.
Founded in 1991, the Sisters of Life now have more than 100 sisters serving across the country and in Canada. The sisters take vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, plus a special vow to “protect and enhance the sacredness of every human life.”
The Newman Society is grateful to Sister Mariae Agnus Dei for sharing her story and testifying to the influence of the faithful Catholic education that she received.
Newman Society: Why did you choose to attend a faithful Catholic college? What role did it play in your life and your vocation?
Sister Mariae Agnus Dei: Choosing a Catholic college was a poignant moment of grace for me. I watched older siblings go off to secular colleges and return to the home emptied of their faith, and with that, the hope and peace of a life lived with Christ. I knew I wanted something different. God did too. He placed a deep desire in my heart to find a college that not only had strong academic and athletic programs, but also a culture where I could encounter Christ and grow in my faith. He led me to the doors of The Catholic University of America [a Newman Guide-recommended institution in Washington, D.C.]. It seemed to have everything I wanted: a good nursing program, Division III athletics, and a solid commitment to integrated Catholic education and student life. I told the Lord I would go if He got me a scholarship and told Him the amount I needed. He answered promptly through an acceptance letter from the University with the offer of a scholarship that matched my prayer to the dollar. The deal was sealed, and I left the beauty of rural Maine for the urban jungle of D.C.
Looking back, I can honestly say going to Catholic University was one of the most pivotal and important decisions of my life. At Catholic University I found the Christian community, academic integrity, sacramental life and culture to irrevocably and all but entirely fall in love with God. They were beautiful years of learning and discovery — humanly, intellectually and spiritually. Whether running cross-country, engaging the deeper questions of my heart with other students at campus ministry events, attending the many cultural events at the University or in the city of D.C., diving into the well-rounded curriculum of the nursing program, or serving as a student minister, I found Christ alive and ready to be encountered in the fabric of campus life at Catholic University. Father O’Connell, the University president at the time, held a Catholic vision strong enough to create an integrated culture of faith on campus — a gift I am eternally grateful for.
Newman Society: How did you discern your vocation?
Sister Mariae Agnus Dei: My experience at Catholic University grew the generosity, trust and freedom to give God permission and surrender to His plans for my life and vocation. Who am I? What am I called to do with my love? At Catholic University I found resources to ask and answer these questions authentically and fruitfully. I discovered my life was a gift. I was good. And God had great plans for my life. A year after graduating, His call burst into my life in full color. I was working the night shift as a nurse in intensive care. As I sat down in the nurse’s station after an intense “code,” I was full of gratitude that the patient we had worked to save was now stable. The precious gift of life flooded me through and through, and I perceived a new invitation at the door of my heart. In this moment, I discovered the love of a Father — one that knew me to the depths of who I was. I held this mystery of grace in my heart and arrived home just as my roommate was waking up. She asked me how the shift went. I was surprised at my reply, “I think I have a vocation to religious life.” She paused, looked at me, and said, “Rachel, you’re tired. Go to bed.”
I did so, and yet, when I awoke, the question of vocation was burning even more deeply in my heart. Shortly thereafter, I met with the diocesan vocations director. He told me to go be quiet before the Lord, pray for the grace to know the deepest desires of my heart, and pray for the grace not to be afraid of what came in answer to that question. My whole soul was filled with a peace unlike anything I had ever tasted. I went to a nearby Church for Mass, knelt and let the Holy Spirit lead my prayer. As it came time to receive the Lord in Holy Communion, I knew He was inviting me to receive Him in a new way. The veil of my heart was drawn back, and I beheld what I knew was my deepest desire — Love Himself. An invitation resounded throughout my soul with gentleness and clarity, “Consecrated life with the Sisters of Life… will you come?” I responded with a full-hearted, joy-filled, “Yes”!
I have been a Sister of Life now for 12 years and couldn’t be happier — God’s dreams for my life and my love have far exceeded my own and continue to surprise me each day. I’m overwhelmed by the joy, gift, love and beauty of this call, this “yes” to Love. I remain eternally grateful for my years at Catholic University and the incredible ways it laid a foundation to hold God’s dreams for my life.
Newman Society: What advice would you give to students who are trying to make the decision about which college to attend?
Sister Mariae Agnus Dei: To those discerning colleges, all I can say is you will never regret choosing a place that is invested in forming, supporting and flourishing every dimension of your life — mind, body, heart and soul. You are uniquely created in the image of God and have a unique gift of love to give. Only a college committed to serving and revealing God’s full vision for the human person will ennoble the life and love your heart desires to live. The years you spend at college, the people you encounter, the culture in which you immerse yourself, will inevitably lay a foundation for the rest of your life. In choosing an authentically Catholic college, you will be on course to live the good life you desire and become who you were made to be.
One Word Could Erode Catholic Education
/in Blog, Mission and Governance Commentary, Nondiscrimination and Diversity Latest/by Patrick ReillyIn three amicus briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court filed last month, the bishops and Catholic educators—together with other major religious groups—urged the Court to uphold the meaning of “sex.”
It’s one little word. But if the Court gets it wrong, our religious freedom could be quickly eroded.
And while all Catholics and Catholic institutions would be endangered, there is a double threat to Catholic education: both to the integrity of its employees, and to its ability to teach young people the authentic Catholic faith.
Continue reading at Crisis Magazine…
EWTN Radio: Newman Society Discusses Recent Pew Study Findings and More
/in Blog Latest/by Cardinal Newman Society StaffNewman Society President Patrick Reilly was recently hosted on The Good Fight with Barbara McGuigan on EWTN radio. During the first hour of the show, they discussed a number of topics, including the recent Pew Study that found that only 26 percent of U.S. Catholics under age 40 believe in Christ’s Real Presence in the Eucharist.
Faithful Catholic education is a key solution to restoring belief in the Real Presence in the Eucharist. “There are a variety of ways of teaching, the point is that teaching and formation has to happen and we cannot compromise on that, ” said Reilly.
“Every single young person who is baptized must understand the Eucharist, must love the Eucharist, must devote their life to the Eucharist. And if that’s not happening, then we are failing,” he continued.
Listen to the full recording here.
A New Year’s Resolution for Catholic Colleges
/in Blog Latest, PR Register Column/by Patrick ReillyAs the new academic year begins for students around the country, a video on Twitter caught my eye: tutors at the new East Coast campus of Thomas Aquinas College recited the Profession of Faith and Oath of Fidelity at Convocation in front of the College’s students.
“In fulfilling the charge entrusted to me in the name of the Church, I shall hold fast to the deposit of the faith in its entirety,” the tutors proclaimed before Bishop Mitchell Rozanski of the Diocese of Springfield on Aug. 24. “I shall faithfully hand it on and explain it, and I shall avoid any teachings contrary to it.”
What a hopeful and profound way to begin the year!
Thomas Aquinas College, known for its academic rigor and orthodox Catholicism, is now educating students in Northfield, Massachusetts, as well as Santa Paula, California. It joins other faithful New England colleges, including Holy Apostles in Cromwell, Connecticut, Magdalen College of the Liberal Arts in Warner, New Hampshire, and the Thomas More College of Liberal Arts in Merrimack, New Hampshire, in bringing a renewal of Catholic faith and culture to an area of the country that is sorely in need of it.
At Wyoming Catholic College in Lander, Wyoming, on Aug. 25, professors also made their annual Profession of Faith, and new professors made the Oath of Fidelity. The College has told The Cardinal Newman Society: “While we know that this is not strictly required, we wish to go beyond the minimum and demonstrate that all our Catholic faculty are committed to teaching all disciplines ad mentem ecclesiae.”
The profession and oath were made at a Mass celebrated by Bishop Steven Biegler of the Diocese of Cheyenne. He told faculty and students, “The formation of the whole person that Catholic education seeks—body and mind, heart and soul, faith and reason, seeks to form disciples who think and speak and act like Christ.”
Later that afternoon, freshman students also signaled their commitment to faithful Catholic education by signing their names in the official Student Register. “In signing this book,” Acting Dean Kyle Washut told the students, “you are making a public act of trust. You are announcing your intention to trust the Wyoming Catholic College community with your formation over the next four years. We are aware of the solemn duty imposed on us when you give us that trust, and we will honor it.”
The same day, the entire faculty of Christendom College in Front Royal, Virginia, made the Profession of Faith and Oath of Fidelity at a Mass of the Holy Spirit celebrated by Bishop Michael Burbidge of the Diocese of Arlington.
“I want to begin by thanking you and your gifted and talented administration and faculty for providing our students with such a sacred place to continue their education, to deepen their relationship with the Lord, and to grow in Truth and be prepared to articulate that Truth wherever the Lord sends them,” Bishop Burbidge said.
Catholic college presidents, too, are expected to recite the Oath of Fidelity according to canon law. Dr. Timothy Collins, the new president of Walsh University in North Canton, Ohio, recited the oath during the University’s Mass of the Holy Spirit on Aug. 28. Impressively, he was surrounded by members of Walsh’s founding order, the Brothers of Christian Instruction, and University Chaplain Father Thomas Cebula.
“When you think about the Oath of Fidelity, we think about it in terms of a covenant,” said Monsignor John Zuraw, the Mass celebrant and chancellor of the Diocese of Youngstown. “God has established a covenant with each and every one of us. And with any covenant, there are responsibilities. There are values that we hold deep within our very being.”
“As President Collins takes this Oath of Fidelity,” Msgr. Zuraw continued, “he takes it first and foremost to be faithful to God and all that he does and all that he will be. But this Oath of Fidelity also implies a relationship with each and every one of you… that he will do his best to lead this University with values and principles based on the Gospel.”
A public profession of our Catholic faith is an important witness to students and a comforting assurance about the type of education students will be receiving. While the Church does not require it of every professor at a Catholic college, canon law does require that every Catholic theology professor receive the mandatum from the local bishop, by which theologians promise that they will teach in accord with the Church. Often this is accomplished by a Profession of Faith or other similar measure.
Among the faithful colleges recommended in The Newman Guide, all theology professors have the required mandatum, and most take the Oath of Fidelity. Sadly we don’t see this everywhere, but there is an exciting renewal today at a growing number of Catholic colleges. Families seeking assurance of a faithful education have many good options.
Starting out this new academic year on the right foot is a very hopeful sign. Please keep Catholic educators in your prayers, that they will faithfully teach and witness to our students, preparing them to walk with Christ throughout their adult lives.
This article first appeared at The National Catholic Register.
Dominican Sister Discerned Vocation in ‘Silence’ of College Chapels
/in Blog Newman Guide Articles, Profiles in FCE/by Kelly SalomonEditor’s Note: This article is part of our new “Profiles in Faithful Catholic Education” series which features graduates of faithful Catholic schools and Newman Guide colleges who are leading the renewal of the Church. Other recent profiles can be found here and here.
For one Dominican sister, two years on a faithful Catholic college campus were just what she needed to discern her vocation to religious life.
Sister Bernadette Marie of the Dominican Sisters of Saint Cecilia in Nashville, Tenn., said that during her high school years she realized that the “secular environment of a public university” would not provide her with a “strong faith-based community.” As she explored potential colleges, her wish-list included “daily Mass, times of Adoration, and a strong community.” When she visited Benedictine College in Atchison, Kan., which is recommended in The Newman Guide, she “fell in love with the Catholic environment immediately.”
During college, Sr. Bernadette Marie studied theology, education and art and became involved with many activities on campus, including intramural sports and Bible studies. She formed great friendships with her peers, who encouraged her to grow in her relationship with Christ and “become a better all-around person.” She also met professors who cared about her “spiritual and academic growth.”
“At Benedictine College, I was blessed to see many adults living their vocation to the full,” said Sr. Bernadette Marie. “I recall with fondness praying early morning rosaries with President Minnis and other students… witnessing the gift and sacrificial love of families through resident hall directors and their young families. The Benedictine monks and other religious sisters studying on campus helped me to see that total dedication to God was a joyful sacrifice of love.”
There were many elements of life on the faithful Catholic college campus that helped Sr. Bernadette Marie to be open to her vocation — a vocation which she had inklings of earlier in her life. But she says that she discerned her vocation “first and foremost in the silence of the chapels on the campus.”
After just two years at Benedictine College, Sr. Bernadette Marie left campus to begin a new adventure with the Nashville Dominicans, whose apostolate is Catholic education. The sisters, who wear long white habits, are dedicated to a life of prayer and have a strong sense of community. After additional formation, Sr. Bernadette Marie taught second grade students for several years, helping prepare them for their sacraments. Now she serves in the vocations office of her community, which allows her to meet with young women on college campuses who are “thirsting for the truth and a deeper relationship with Christ.”
When it comes to her own journey, Sr. Bernadette Marie is full of gratitude and “overwhelmed by the incredible gift” she received at a faithful Catholic college. “I knew that the Lord had to be calling me to something even better in the convent because I had been so happy at Benedictine,” she said.
Catholic Schools Must Restore America’s Faith in the Real Presence
/in Blog, Student Formation Commentary, Prayer and Sacrament Latest/by Patrick Reilly“He is truly there in the Eucharist,” says Amelia Shripka. The 8th-grader at Everest Collegiate High School and Academy in Clarkston, Michigan takes delight in the Eucharistic procession that her school holds every year. It’s a “great time to reflect on what Jesus did for us,” she says.
But according to a recent report from the Pew Research Center, such strong faith is increasingly uncommon. The Pew study found that only 26 percent of U.S. Catholics under age 40 believe in Christ’s Real Presence in the Eucharist.
So how does the Church restore faith in its most precious sacrament? One key solution is the renewal of faithful Catholic education, whether in parochial schools, lay-run schools, online programs or in the home.
Continue reading at Crisis Magazine…
CNS Joins Amicus Brief Opposing Redefinition of Sex in Title VII – Harris v EEOC, U.S. Supreme Court
/in Blog Amicus Briefs, Public Policy and Legal (General)/by Cardinal Newman Society StaffClick here to read.
CNS Joins Amicus Brief Opposing Redefinition of Sex in Title VII – Bostock v Clayton County, U.S. Supreme Court
/in Blog Amicus Briefs, Public Policy and Legal (General)/by Cardinal Newman Society StaffClick here to read.
Holy Eucharist Adored at Faithful Catholic Colleges
/in Student Formation Commentary, Prayer and Sacrament Newman Guide Articles/by Kelly SalomonFor one student, visiting prospective colleges left her feeling “uncertain and worried.” Brigid Ambuul of California toured five secular universities, but she wasn’t convinced by their sole focus on “worldly success.”
Then she visited a faithful Catholic college and ducked into the perpetual Adoration chapel to say a prayer in front of the Blessed Sacrament. It was there that she knew her college decision was made.
“It’s funny how things start to turn around, once you put God in the center of a situation,” she explains.
On this campus, “God wasn’t just an afterthought,” but rather He permeated all aspects of student life from the classroom to the chapel. The college seemed especially committed to spiritual formation, and it gave her a “newfound sense of hope and excitement” for her future.
As a result, Brigid is heading to Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio, this fall to begin her studies.
A recent Pew Research study found that only 26% of U.S. Catholics under the age of 40 believe that Jesus Christ is truly present in the most Holy Eucharist. Clearly there has been a breakdown in forming young people in the Faith. But if we are looking for hope for the future, we need look no further than America’s most faithful Catholic colleges.
“Though it is tragic and deeply troubling that so many young people… do not believe or do not know that the Eucharist is Jesus, there is great hope in seeing young people who do believe this doctrine with their whole being,” says Austin Schneider, director of campus ministry at John Paul the Great Catholic University in California. The college offers Eucharistic Adoration every weekday during the school year.
“These fervent young Catholics not only inspire me, but I believe they have the capacity to draw many others into a deeper, intimate knowledge of Jesus Christ,” he continues.
Since the 1960s, there has been a decline in fidelity at many Catholic colleges. In response, the Church urges every college to “give a practical demonstration of its faith in its daily activity, with important moments of reflection and of prayer.” Students and employees should be “encouraged to participate in the sacraments, especially the Eucharist” (Ex corde Ecclesiae §39).
Dr. George Harne, president of Magdalen College of the Liberal Arts in New Hampshire, takes the directive seriously. He promotes the “centrality of the Eucharist” on campus in a variety of ways, including the college’s beautiful and reverent celebration of the liturgies of Holy Week and Easter.
Another president, Dr. Bill Thierfelder of Belmont Abbey College in North Carolina, built an Adoration chapel on campus as one of his first initiatives at the helm.
Students participate in Eucharistic processions at the University of Dallas in Texas, and Adoration is included in outdoor camping trips at Wyoming Catholic College. These Eucharistic activities attend to students’ spiritual formation as well as their intellectual education.
In Virginia, Christendom College is devoting its time and resources to building a magnificent new Christ the King Chapel, which will have double the seating capacity of the current chapel.
The Pew Research study found that most Catholics who attend Mass weekly do believe that the Eucharist is the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. Catholic families should know, then, that students at faithful Catholic colleges are more likely to attend Mass regularly. The colleges recommended in The Newman Guide provide strong faith communities that support daily Masses and well-attended weekly Masses, and most have plentiful opportunities for Eucharistic Adoration — some even offer it perpetually.
A faithful Catholic education reinforces the fundamentals of the faith and forms students for sainthood as well as earthly success, with Christ at the center. The spiritual difficulties facing young Catholics today are enormous, but there are places where college students can love and adore Jesus Christ in the Eucharist while preparing for life and the challenges ahead.
This article first appeared at The National Catholic Register.