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Editor:
Tom McFadden
Managing Editor: Niall O'Donnell
Contributing Editors: Tom O'Connor,
Jack Anderson (Sports Center),
&
Emma Boyle (The Rome Report)
Contributing Photographers: Tom O'Connor & Trena Pilegaard
Issue: April 18, 2008
Name: Ania Zganiacz
Age:18
Year: Freshman
From: Warren, CT
Major: Philosophy (but undeclared)
Any Hobbies? Art, reading, swimming, horseback riding
What's your favorite class or professor? Mr. McGuire's History of Western Civilization I and II. He''s brilliant and teaches history from a meaningful perspective that revolves around the motif "the Truth exists and the Incarnation happened."
Do you play any sports? I'm part of the swim club here because I've been swimming my whole life and it's the best exercise.
Do you participate in any drama or music related activities? I was part of the stage crew for the Mystery Dinner Theater. The people involved were a lot of fun.
What is your favorite thing about Christendom College? That everything we learn is valuable and based on Truth. The professors are all so dedicated to the students and the teaching of Truth.
Why did you choose Christendom College? My parents wouldn't let me apply anywhere else—it's the best thing that's happened to me.
What do you plan to do after graduation? Humanitarian work, maybe work for National Geographic. If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.
Murder, Mayhem, and Laughs
Last weekend was another great success for the annual Mystery Dinner Theater. This year A Reading of Aunt Louisse’s Will was performed. A lively cast gave attendees a comedic trip of whodunit fun.
Senior Bridget Kopec played an exacting grammarian tyrant, correcting everyone who did ill to the English language. Senior Erin McCafferty cranked out the laughs playing a California “valley girl,” who found herself enamored with the slightly insane attorney, played by Sophomore Joby Norton.
Thow into the mix of characters a goofy computer nerd, a biker, a New York gambler, a senile old lady, two secret agents playing the role of the flighty female, and a soft spoken and often confused southern boy, you can imagine the zaniness that ensued.
Sophomore Chris Dayton and Junior Elizabeth Fraser played what seemed to be the only “normal” people on stage as as an expecting married couple. They gave great straight performances, which is so necessary in comedy.
The proceeds of this fundrasing event go towards the Senior Class gift, which is yet to be determined. Last year the Senior class donated the statue of Pope John Paul II that stands proudly outside the Students Center.
Chestertonian Imagination
Dale Ahlquist, President of the American Chesterton Society and father of Julian Ahlquist (Christendom Class of 2007), spoke on G. K. Chesterton’s Idea of the Imagination this past Friday night. A capacity crowd attended the talk, which was held in the St. John the Evangelist Library. The audience consisted of Faculty, Staff, students and visitors from the local community.
Mr. Ahlquist is a renowned authority on Chesterton and has been invited to speak at hundreds of institutions and events around the country. He spoke about G. K. Chesterton’s theory on the importance of the imagination and the decline of the imagination in modern society. After the talk he accepted questions and comments and remained available for discussion over refreshments.
“I really thought that was a great talk and I couldn’t have agreed more with Mr. Ahlquist in his commentary on the imagination and its importance,” commented Sophomore Alan Ng.
Christendom College is one of a few schools in the United States which teaches Chesterton as part of a core curriculum and has been fortunate to have Mr. Ahlquist speak on several occasions.
A Thrilling Classic on Friday Night
Students were treated to a Hitchcock mystery during the Student Council sponsored movie night on Friday. Junior Beth Fettes was the SAC member in charge of the event and chose Rear Window to show to her fellow students.
This classic Hitchcock film stars Jimmy Stewart as a professional photographer who is confined to a wheelchair after an accident while on assignment. Grace Kelly is the heroine of the story and has the role of Jimmy Stewart’s girlfriend. Rear Window has been hailed as a classic since its original release in 1954.
Commenting on the movie night, Sophomore Lauren Merz told Beth Fettes, “Great movie choice – Rear Window is a great film and I’m so glad I had a chance to watch this classic!”
The SAC Movie Night series will finish up at the end of April and everyone looks forward to learning what the final movie will be!
The Truth About Jihad
The New York Times best selling author Robert Spencer spoke at Christendom College this week, giving a talk entitled: Jihad: What it Means and Why It Matters.
Robert Spencer is the author of celebrated books such as: The Truth About Muhammad: Founder of the World's Most Intolerant Religion and Islam Unveiled: Disturbing Questions About the World's Fastest-Growing Faith. Mr. Spender has been a guest on Fox News, CNN, C-SPAN and many others, and has given presentations to thousands of schools and institutions across the world.
Mr. Spencer began his talk by saying that “it is a great pleasure to speak with college students who are free of the academic propaganda that blankets so many schools in this country.”
Mr. Spencer went on to explain the history of the Islamic religion, tracing its foundation, establishment, and current influence in society. He also educated those in attendance—a full-house in St. Thomas Aquinas Hall—on how to defend the Church against false Muslim teachings and exposed the contradictions and frauds in its doctrine.
Robert Spencer is also the founder of www.jihadwatch.org, an excellent source for information on Islam and the Jihad. Mr. Spencer received a enthusiastic standing ovation and graciously fielded questions after his presentation. He remained available to speak with students and faculty for the rest of the evening.
This incredible lecture can be heard at Christendom on iTunes U.
Students Attend Papal Mass at Nationals Stadium
On Thursday 50 students, along with 15 faculty and staff of Christendom College joined the 45,000 plus congregants at Nationals Stadium in Washington D.C. for Mass with Pope Benedict XVI.
The morning was gorgeous. God could not have provided more pleasant weather.
“It was incredible,” Sophomore Steven Ginski said. “I got goosebumps when the Pope first entered the stadium and drove around greeting us all.”
Nationals Stadium was filled to the brim with pilgrims who brought with them vibrant energy, hope, and joy. Everywhere you looked were smiling faces—even amongst the large slow moving crowds that were encounted upon entering and exiting the Stadium.
“In the exercise of my ministry as the Successor of Peter, I have come to America to confirm you, my brothers and sisters, in the faith of the Apostles,“ Pope Benedict said in his homily. “I have come to proclaim anew, as Peter proclaimed on the day of Pentecost, that Jesus Christ is Lord and Messiah, risen from the dead, seated in glory at the right hand of the Father, and established as judge of the living and the dead. I have come to repeat the Apostle’s urgent call to conversion and the forgiveness of sins, and to implore from the Lord a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the Church in this country.”
Read the entire homily by clicking HERE.
Later Thursday evening, College President Dr. Timothy O’Donnell joined the many leaders of Catholic Universities for a personal meeting with the pope.
The words of Pope Benedict at this meeting of Catholic university leaders gave strong affitrmation to the mission of Christendom College:
"I wish to reaffirm the great value of academic freedom… Yet it is also the case that any appeal to the principle of academic freedom in order to justify positions that contradict the faith and the teaching of the church would obstruct or even betray the university's identity and mission… Teachers and administrators, whether in universities or schools, have the duty and privilege to ensure that students receive instruction in Catholic doctrine and practice. Divergence from this vision weakens Catholic identity and, far from advancing freedom, inevitably leads to confusion, whether moral, intellectual or spiritual," Pope Benedict said.
Arrivaderci, Roma, My Home Away from Home
As I begin this final Rome Report, I have to admit mixed feelings. I would like nothing better than to recount all of our free weekend’s adventures in Barcelona, Geneva, Malta, Rome, and Cinque Terre.
I could then tell about Bernini’s masterful sculptures, which we have been privileged to see in the last week. Finally, I would simply close and pretend that nothing was different, that we will all continue to live, pray, and study within sight of St. Peter’s magnificent dome.
But we have to leave Rome within a week, and I cannot help but begin to reflect on our three months in the Eternal City. Therefore, I wish to use my last edition of the Rome Report to reflect upon the impact that such a semester can have on one’s spiritual life, intellect, and character.
Three months is enough time to change your life. For some of us, it was our first opportunity to “come home” to Rome, to see the Holy Father, to attend a papal Mass. We have truly experienced the fullness of what it means to be Catholic in this most Catholic of cities.
If I may be allowed to speak from personal experience, my semester in Rome has inspired me to take on the motto of Christendom College on a new, heretofore undiscovered level. Living in Rome has given me a new understanding of what it means to be in but not of the world. This was never demonstrated so clearly as it was the Saturday before Palm Sunday when the Christendom group went on St. Philip Neri’s Seven Church Pilgrimage.
Few actions can “Restore all things in Christ” like walking through the streets of Rome between the catacombs of San Sebastiano and the basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls singing the Hail Mary prayers of the Rosary in Latin. Enroute, I saw two Italian teenagers coming towards us laughing, until they realized what we were singing, and then they both stopped suddenly, bowed their heads, and made the Sign of the Cross.
This kind of simple, powerful witness was enough to call those two boys to recollection. This is only a prelude, however, to the strong witness that some of us may be asked to give at some point in our lives for our faith.
We stand on the shoulders of saints, martyrs, and pilgrims; we walk the same streets in which they lived, walked, prayed, and died for the Faith.
The Roman martyrs were heroes for the Church, and we are called to imitate them along our path to Christ. Living in the world, we are called to be daily witnesses—martyrs—for the Faith. Rome has been a stop along our way, along The Way, the path of Christ in which we follow His footsteps. The grace to live such a life can only be found in the Cross of Christ, until one day we can tell Him, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the Faith.”
Holy Mary, Mother of the Church, pray for us!
St. Lawrence and St. Frances of Rome, pray for us!
In
honor of the 30th Anniversary of Christendom College
the Chronicler Online takes a peek into the past
of the college each week.
Christendom and the Pope in '79
From the desk of Alumnus Walter Janaro:
Back in October of 1979, I was a freshman at Christendom when Pope
John Paul II made his first trip to America. The total enrollment
back then was 52 so we closed down the entire college and all 52
students along with various faculty and staff camped out overnight on
the Mall between the Washington Monument and the U.S. Capitol in
Washington DC.
It was a different world back then—no tickets were necessary and
security measures were virtually nonexistent (though there was a
definite police presence); so there was a crowd in the hundreds of
thousands for a Mass that was both moving and electrifying because of
the presence of the great John Paul.
Crusader Rugby Drops a Close One to Mount St. Mary’s
The Crusader Rugby team traveled in force to Emmittsburg, Maryland, this past Monday to take on Mount Saint Mary’s. A large number of students traveled with the team to give their support and the team put on a show once they snapped out of a sluggish start.
Ben Ranieri pumped the Crusaders up with a bone crunching hit that laid out two defenders in the first half. The collision was so fierce that Ranieri, a longtime rugby player, tore a gash into his nose that required ten stitches. Before leaving for the hospital, Ranieri roared instructions to his teammates, trying desperately to keep them focused.
After the first half Christendom trailed 26-0, but they stormed back, determined to make it a game. They made some runs deep into the Mount’s territory early in the half, but the Crusaders kept seeing great chances snuffed out through a series of turnovers. Finally, Johnny Hambleton punched in a try with a tremendous effort to put the Crusaders on the board. KC Dufrain added the conversion and Christendom was back in business.
Then the two teams traded scores back and forth as the bruising Hambleton brought the crowd to its feet with another try. Greg Monroe added another to make it 36-19, but time was not on Christendom’s side. The Mount added another score late to make it 41-19 and the Crusaders dropped a tough one.
However, the second half was something the team felt they could build on.
Christendom rugby is still a new sport at the college and yet the players compete with a great intensity. This intensity is embodied in the performance of Ranieri this past week. His ability to motivate the team really gave them a shot in the arm and helped them put up a great fight in the second half. Assistant coach Beckett Adams was proud of the fight his team showed in the latter stages of Monday’s game. “We picked it up in the second half,” he said, “our defense played poorly at times…we have a lot of work to do, but it was good to get three tries in the second half.”
With the scrapping attitude of this team, there is little doubt success is just around the corner for these ruggers.
Q: If I have already applied to Christendom and have been accepted and notified of the amount of academic scholarship that I qualify for the fall, am I able to still retake the SAT to try and get a higher score in order to get more academic scholarship from Christendom?
– H.G., Naples, FL
A: Yes you can. In fact, we highly recommend it. We will use the highest ACT score or the highest combination (highest reading + highest writing +highest math score) from all of your tests to determine how much academic scholarship you will receive from us. So, if you are below a 1920 on the SAT (or a 29 on the ACT), my advice is to register for the June 7th SAT test or the June 14th ACT test and see if you can get above that number. If you already qualify for one level of scholarship with us, you can always get bumped up to the next level if you get a 2061 on the SAT or above (or a 32 on the ACT). It’s definitely worth the $50 or so that it costs to take the test.
If
anyone has questions about applying, visiting, scholarships,
financial aid, campus life, rules and regulations, majors,
core curriculum, transfer credits, or even about the food
here at Christendom, please do not hesitate to contact me
at any time: 800.877.5456 ext 1290 or tmcfadden@christendom.edu.
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