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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 Photographer: Tom O'Connor
Issue: February 15, 2008
Name: Nick Freeman
Age: 18
Year: Freshman
From: Butte, MT
Major: Undecided
Any Hobbies? I enjoy hunting and fly-fishing. When you live in Montana its hard not to be outdoors all the time.
What's your favorite class or professor? I love Dr. Cuddeback's Philosophy of Human Nature. He is such a brilliant teacher and the material is really exciting. This firm grounding in philosophical thought will really help me cope with all the whacked-out ideas in the world today.
Do you play any sports? I've played soccer since I was a little kid and I have picked-up rugby during my high school years.
Do you participate in any drama or music related activities? Not officially, but I love to sing with friends at parties—that's always fun.
What is your favorite thing about Christendom College? My favorite thing about Christendom is the enthusiasm of the teachers and students. It creates a great atmosphere for learning.
Why did you choose Christendom College? Without trying to sound too cliché, I wanted a tried and true college that would provide a firm grounding to start my life on.
What do you plan to do after graduation? I plan to teach English Literature, hopefully at the college level.
Students Listen to God’s Call
The College hosted its second annual Discernment Weekend on February 8-10.
Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde launched the weekend with an opening Mass and dinner on Friday evening where he blessed a hand-crafted statue of Pope John Paul II to be placed outside the College’s John Paul the Great Student Center. In his homily, Loverde told students that in Lent and in life we are called to fast, to pray, and to give alms.
“Christ’s words in the Gospel remind us that we must be with Him in joy and on the cross. In each of your specific vocations you will be an instrument of hope—divine hope,” the bishop said, referring to Pope Benedict XVI’s latest encyclical, Spe Salvi. Quoting St. Josephine Bahkita from the same encyclical the bishop said, “‘I am definitely loved and whatever happens to me—I am awaited by this Love. And so my life is good.’ Through the knowledge of this hope she was ‘redeemed’, no longer a slave, but a child of God.”
He told students that, with the help of God’s grace, actively living a life of hope would help them come to know and embrace their particular vocation, which God has willed for them from all eternity. “After all, in His will is our peace and our salvation,” he concluded.
Director of Vocations for the Archdiocese of New York Rev. Luke Sweeney gave the opening remarks on Saturday morning in which he addressed some of the challenges to youth discerning vocations today.
“Now I'm sure in a way we're preaching to the choir, for myself and for yourself,” he said. “You’ve grown up in a certain Catholic culture and tradition so that you know that priesthood, religious life, consecrated life, and marriage are good and worthy callings and I'm sure I would not hear what I hear from some parents: ‘I don't want my son to be a priest—I don't want my daughter to be a religious—I want them to be happy.’ Well, if we’re doing God's will, we will be happy. There will be sacrifice, but God will give us those seeds of happiness.”
Rev. Sweeney urged students to pray, to do spiritual reading, and to talk about their call with a priest.
“Speak with a priest,” he said. “Be able to open up your heart and see if that's where the Holy Spirit is calling you to. Otherwise, time might fly by and you might regret never having confronted that issue—never having asked God, 'Is this what I want to do?' whether you really want to or not.”
The day continued with Exposition and Adoration of the Eucharist with opportunities for Confession. Lunch followed and students were given the opportunity to socialize with the many priests and religious, many of whom where Christendom alumni themselves.
The afternoon featured a series of Breakout Sessions on a variety of vocations topics including: The Cloistered Life for Men and Women, Being a Missionary Priest, Diocesan Priesthood, Consecrated Vocations, and others. Psychologist Dr. Dana H. Medcalf, founder of the Veritas Clinics, delivered two sessions on Discerning Your Future Spouse.
“It was awesome,” Junior Kieran DuFrain said. “It’s great to just sit down and talk with religious. Discerning our vocation is something we students need to think about—we need to step back and say, ‘What am I supposed to do? What am I supposed to accomplish in my life?’ This weekend is perfect for that.”
Sophomore Therese Fetsko said that she wished that there would be more religious on campus all the time.
“Just seeing them is inspiring,” she said. “The talks were great—especially on the cloistered life. He didn’t try to dress it up. He explained the sacrifices and difficulties as well.”
Director of Career Development Tom McGraw, who organizes the event every year, was shocked to see the number of students at the Breakout Sessions. “It was like a traffic jam in between the sessions. They really filled the rooms to the brim. During the entire day there was a constant stream of visitors to the various booths—both students and children from the local community.”
McGraw also said that the weekend is not only beneficial for the students but for the priests and religious who attend. “They love the prayer time in our beautiful Chapel. It’s like a retreat for them. They gain energy from meeting the students and each other,” he said.
Since its founding 30 years ago, Christendom has been instrumental in helping many students find their vocations. Fifty-three priests are alumni of Christendom, and over 60 other alumni are serving God as religious brothers or sisters. Additionally, over 220 alumni-to-alumni marriages have taken place, all very strong and with many, many children.
Fr. Luke Sweeney’s remarks can be heard at Christendom on iTunes U.
A Catholic United Nations
On Saturday night students put on a great show for the priests and religious that were on campus for the weekend at Cultural Heritage Night. The St. Lawrence Commons seemed to be some sort of Catholic United Nations with the many flags of various nations decorating the hall as well as images of saints representing various nations.
The kitchen prepared food from Mexico, China, Japan, and Hungary. Students and college staff contributed as well, preparing little delights, including a Spanish potato frittata, Mexican flan, Greek baklava, Italian bruschetta, and authentic Chinese pinyin or green tea.
It was truly a multi-cultural feast!
After the tasting of the delectable delights, students gave a brief glimpse of Christendom talent in a little variety show. Junior KC DuFrain sang a number of classic Irish Ballads; Sophomore Alan Ng gave an impressive and comical display of Choy Li Fut martial arts; Senior Olivia Ruhl and Junior Andrew Tatum performed Yah Blowchka, a traditional Russian dance; Freshman Anna Zganiacz read and translated a beautiful polish poem; Sophomore Nathan Genewiek sang the Ukrainian National Anthem; and last but not least, Sophomores Krystle Schuetz, Sarah Miranda, Jennie Dhanagom, and Liz Francis with Juniors JP Minick, KC DuFrain and Senior Robert Schmid performed Tinikling, a traditional Philippine folk dance imitating the “tikling” bird dodging the traps in a rice field.
Check out all the fun below:
Is Torture Morally Permissible?
Last Sunday The Chester-Belloc Debate Society convened to discuss the proposition “Under certain circumstances the use of torture is morally permissible.”
Led by Theology Professor Dr. Eric Jenislawski as Faculty Moderator, and Seniors Joseph Mazzara, Jennifer Poston, and Paul Provencher as Executive Council.
Over 20 students gave a speech expressing their view. Among the more notable were Seniors James Connelly, K.C. Dufrain, Sheila Jenne, and Draper Warren.
Many strong arguments were presented and the final vote ultimately resulted in 23 in favor of the proposition, seven against, and seven abstained.
Hearts, Streamers, and Candy
Students filled the St. Lawrence Commons for the annual St. Valentine’s Day dinner, Thursday evening. Under the expert supervision of Sophomore class president Colin Kunath, the Commons was transformed into a festive dining hall, with more than its fair share of hearts, streamers, and candy.
The men of Christendom carried on the Valentine tradition of writing a personalized poem for every girl on campus, and then helped distribute fresh roses during dinner.
"The roses were beautiful," Junior Maura McMahon said. "I got a yellow one, which is my favorite color."
She also enjoyed receiving a poem. "It's a nice tradition and sometimes I'm really suprised at how good the poems are. There's a lot of talent here," she said.
Junior KC DuFrain wrote 27 of the poems himself. Thanks to his efforts and many other men of Christendom the 210 women of Christendom received a poem on St. Valentines Day.
Soaking in Firenze
Hello Friends!
It's hard to believe that our nine days in Florence are over, but we had so many beautiful experiences while we were there!
There were a few favorites, though, that I don't think anyone from our group will forget. The first came last Thursday, when we toured the Cathedral and climbed the top of the Duomo. The three hundred and sixty degree, panoramic view of Florence was breathtaking. Brunelleschi's dome is the biggest church dome in the world; it's just a few feet wider than St. Peter's in Rome!
As we climbed up, we exited first at the level of the fresco inside (the painting on the inside, which you can see when you go into the cathedral to tour or pray). This fresco, which depicts a Last Judgment scene, is the biggest in the world. Climbing up the side of the dome was a bit nerve-wracking, as there were many people trying to use the same narrow staircases! But we finally made it to the top, and it was perfect.
The Duomo sits head and shoulders above any other building in Florence, so it was the perfect view! During our tour with Mr. Akers, we learned about the competitions that it faced! Italian cities used to compete over the cathedrals that each respective city had. Church and state were so united that it was a matter of civic pride to have the biggest and best cathedral.
The same day that we toured the Duomo, we were also privileged to visit Santissima Annunziata, the spiritual center of Florence. This is the church where Father Mike Simone lived while he was studying Italian, and so with this great connection we were able to celebrate Holy Mass in the Artist's Chapel of Annunziata. In the back of the main nave of the church is a beautiful miraculous image of Our Lady.
The scene depicts the Annunciation, but it is Mary's face which is of special interest: the artist was afraid to paint the Blessed Mother's face, and so fell asleep before he accomplished that task. When he awoke, the face of Mary had been completed! Michelangelo came to see it, and claimed that no one but an angel could have painted such a face. Comparing it with other works of art from that era, we all had to agree. There is a lovely peace and purity in Mary's expression that is truly miraculous.
This is only a taste of everything we have experienced in Florence, but here is one more "taste": after feeding our souls at the beautiful churches of Florence, we fed our stomachs at our favorite gelattaria: Grom, a little place hidden behind the Baptistery, next to the Duomo. There we found not only delicious gelato, but also what Father Simone vowed was the best hot chocolate in Italy. We could only agree with him; this hot chocolate was absolutely delicious. Students tried to find words to describe it, but the closest we could come was this: if a Hershey's bar was melted in a cup and topped with the best homemade whipped cream in the world, that would be a close approximation.
Our trip to Florence was, as you can tell, awesome. Next week, I'll have lots to tell you about Assisi and Rome!
St. Frances of Rome and St. Lawrence, pray for us!
Ciao!
In
honor of the 30th Anniversary of Christendom College
the Chronicler Online takes a peek into the past
of the college each week.
Before There Was Instaurare...
You are all familiar with Christendom's colorful Instaurare newsletter recently formatted to be a magazine. Every issue is ripe with colorful photos and many pages of stories. This was not always the case. Christendom has had a few different ways of letting the world know what we're up to. The first was the Christendom College Report.
The first issue was published September 20, 1976—one year before the college opened it's doors. It contained interesting articles about choosing Christendom's location, visions for student life and the like—even a request for books for the Library.
This first issue really gives you a sense of Christendom's humble beginnings and how much we have grown in the last 30 years.
Now you can take an exclusive look at the very first edition of the Christendom College Report! Click on the image to the right to download the PDF version.
Crusader Baseball: A New Era
Until this past year, Christendom’s baseball team had never won more than a single game in a season. However, a solid freshman class in 2007 propelled the team to four wins. Now, with their most successful season in school history under their belts, the baseball Crusaders are looking to build upon their successes with even more young talent. This year has seen another massive influx of talent from the first year students. There are five freshmen along with several new upperclassmen that have joined the team and these newcomers should help bring even more to the table.
Returning from last year are key members TJ Nacey and captain, Tim Lanahan. Nacey provided countless highlights at third base last season and was also very productive in the batter’s box. Lanahan, with his tough guy swagger and thick Long Island accent, is highly respected by all his teammates and will anchor the rotation as catcher.
Meanwhile after a lengthy holdout, junior John Mercandetti finally decided to play this season. “Merco,” as his teammates call him, was a huge bat last season and his return should inject an extra boost into the lineup.
The lineup will be further strengthened by junior shortstop Tim Curran and sophomore outfielder Ryan Doughty while two freshmen, James Hannon and Aaron Pfauth might just be two of the biggest mainstays on the mound this season. These guys and several others will be instrumental to the team’s performance this season.
Unfortunately, the team did lose several players who were big parts of last year’s team. Juniors, Marion Miner and Alex McCullough both are attending this year’s Rome program and will miss the season. McCullough was a very popular player and a quality relief pitcher while Miner was solid hitting the ball.
Despite these losses, the team feels positive because of the number of new players on the team. Freshman Tom O’Conner reinforced this sentiment saying, “we have always been really short on pitching and its great to have some freshmen guys step up and take some starting positions, trying to fill the gaps that some of the big guys like Alex McCullough and those that went off to Rome left.”
The upbeat attitude, along with the solid additions, should help the Crusaders to their fair share of victories this year and they are approaching this season with enthusiasm. “It should be a great season,” said O’Conner, “and we’re really excited to get on the field for the first game and see how it turns out.”
Q: What is the male to female ratio of your students? I've heard that most liberal arts colleges have a female majority.
– R.T., Lexington, KY
A: You are correct in saying that most liberal arts colleges tend to have more females than males. In fact, it is not only in liberal arts colleges where this is becoming a trend. There are many stories recently in the secular press that talk of the fact that men do not seem to be going to college anymore. The reasons are varied, but here are a couple of links to stories about this new trend.
"Disappearing Act: Where Have the Men Gone?" by Michael Gurian in The Washington Post
"Colleges aim to equalize male, female ratio" by
Arlene Horton in Cardinal Points
"College gender gap widens: 57% are women" by Mary Beth Marklein in USA Today
But, with all of that said, here’s how things have been working at Christendom over the past 4 years: Fall 2004: Male to Female Ratio: 40:60; Fall 2005: Male to Female Ratio: 44:56; Fall 2006: Male to Female Ratio: 45:55; and Fall 2007: Male to Female Ratio: 48:52.
So, for one reason or another, Christendom’s male to female ratio has actually been getting closer over the past number of years. And this upcoming fall, I think we will remain at around the 48:52 mark.
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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