Christendom faculty members were featured at the 2024 Catholic Media Association (CMA) Awards, as announced by the organization on June 19. Dr. Andrew Whitmore’s Saintly Habits: Aquinas’ 7 Simple Strategies You Can Use to Grow in Virtue earned a Second-Place award from the organization, while Dr. Christopher Lane’s latest, a chapter in A Guide to John Henry Newman: His Life and Thought, earned a First-Place award. Dr. Matthew Tsakanikas was also the featured guest on the “Best Podcast — Single Episode” award-winner for 2024.
This is Whitmore’s first CMA Award, following the release of Saintly Habits last summer. Since its release, the book has garnered much acclaim, with Whitmore presenting an accessible guide to virtue that transforms the understanding of what a virtuous life looks like and teaches Catholics how to put this new knowledge into practice.
This is Whitmore’s first CMA Award, following the release of Saintly Habits last summer.
Whitmore, who earned his Ph.D. from the Catholic University of America, specializes in moral theology. One of his passions, both in and outside the classroom, is helping Catholics better understand this branch of theology, resulting in this new book, published by Ascension Press.
Lane, meanwhile, is no stranger to the CMA Awards, after his book, Callings and Consequences, earned Third Place honors in multiple categories from the organization in 2022. He contributed the chapter “Newman and a Historian’s Craft” to A Guide to John Henry Newman, which features contributions from numerous academic fields — including history. The book earned First Place honors in the “Newly Canonized Saints or those in the Process” category, bringing even more worthy attention to Lane’s latest work.
Lane contributed the chapter “Newman and a Historian’s Craft” to “A Guide to John Henry Newman,” which earned First Place honors in the “Newly Canonized Saints or those in the Process” category, bringing even more worthy attention to Lane’s latest work.
Lane, who earned his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame, specializes in the history of early modern Europe. His thought on Newman was impacted immensely by his friend and colleague Dr. Brendan McGuire, who passed away on Newman’s feast day, October 9, 2020. McGuire spoke on Newman as an early Church historian in 2019, and his analysis of Newman’s approach to history had a direct influence on Lane’s new essay, which points to Newman’s work as a model for engaging the past with nuance and integrity.
Finally, Tsakanikas was the featured guest on the First-Place winning episode of the “Purposeful Lab Podcast.” The show, which won the CMA’s Gabriel Award for “Best Podcast — Single Episode,” featured Tsakanikas discussing the possibility of extraterrestrial life due to last year’s Congressional hearings. The award-winning podcast, produced by the Magis Center was based on an article Tsakanikas wrote last summer on his Substack entitled “Congressional Hearings on UFOs and the Foresight of C.S. Lewis.”
Tsakanikas, meanwhile, was the featured guest on the First-Place winning episode of the “Purposeful Lab Podcast.” The show, which won the CMA’s Gabriel Award for “Best Podcast — Single Episode,” featured Tsakanikas discussing the possibility of extraterrestrial life.
Having served as a diocesan advisor and coordinator for exorcisms and deliverance ministries before returning to Virginia in 2015, Tsakanikas brought unique insights on the multi-faceted issues in the episode, which he interpreted as more paranormal than extraterrestrial. Developing the thoughts of Church Fathers and Doctors, including Augustine and Athanasius, Tsakanikas explained how, even if extraterrestrials were discovered or disclosed, that Christianity would always be the grand narrative for anything that is valid and true.
Watch Tsakanikas’ podcast appearance here.
The purpose of the Catholic Media Awards is to recognize the outstanding work of publishers, authors, and book editors that support the faith-filled life of Catholic readers. In past years, alumni and faculty of the college have earned numerous journalism awards from the Catholic Media Association for their work, including Dr. Christopher Shannon for his book, American Pilgrimage, Mary Stanford for her book, The Obedience Paradox, and Dr. Christopher Lane’s Callings and Consequences.