Catholic Studies Blog

Posted by Renee, UST Graduate Student, Master of Arts in Catholic Studies

Good morning from the Catholic Studies Women’s House! We just got back from 7 AM Mass and had breakfast together. My name is Renee Burke-Drazba and I am a first year graduate student from Boston, Massachusetts. My roommates are Marisa Wachtel, who is a senior and Abby Saffert and Joan Hendrick, who are sophomores. We go to daily Mass together every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Community life is great! Although we have very different schedules, we get lots of time to hang out and have fun.

There’s no typical day in the Women’s House. Marisa, Abby and Joan all have classes during the day and since I’m a graduate student, all of my classes are in the evening. The one night that we take off is Wednesday night. It is our community night. We rotate each week who cooks dinner-this week, Joan made tacos and Texas sheet cake, which is a super rich chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. Dinner usually gets a little loud because we usually spend more time laughing than eating. After dinner, we pray a rosary together. At the beginning of the year, we wanted to choose a patron saint for our household. We chose Saint Gianna Beretta Molla, the patron saint of the pro-life movement. She was a woman who loved God and showed it by taking care of her family and by committing her daily actions to Him. We are learning more about her life together as a household and pray to her daily.

Between all the homework we have and part time jobs, we always find time to hang out and have fun. We go out for ice cream, watch movies, take trips to Coffee Bené (which is practically across the street!) and spend time with the men who live in the Catholic Studies Men’s House. Tuesday nights we watch Pride and Prejudice at their house and invite people who don’t live in the houses. I just ran my first 5K last weekend at Lake Harriet and although Joan was out of town, Abby and Marisa came to cheer me on! It’s great to know that I live with women who I can rely on, who support me and that I can have fun with.

The house we live in is so warm and cozy. We are so blessed that all the furniture was provided for us. Abby and Joan share a room with a separate office in it and Marisa and I have our own rooms. We have a huge backyard and our neighbors yellow lab, Daisy, has become the unofficial mascot of our house. She barks when we come home and loves attention. We have lots of living space and love to have people over. It’s such a blessing to live in a house that’s practically across the street from campus and it certainly feels more like home than an apartment or dorm.

That’s it for now! Come stop by and say hi if you are ever in the neighborhood. We’d love to see you!

Posted by Catholic Studies at 12:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by Jim Carrico, UST Graduate Student, Master of Arts in Catholic Studies

Last Thursday (10/22/09) the CSMA students hosted the second annual Fall Disputation. A disputation is a formal discussion upon some philosophic question, always phrased in a yes / no form. At this latest discussion the question posed was, "Is execution a legitimate form of punishment?" Most would agree that as a form of defense, execution could be resorted to in some instances. However the question was crafted so as to exclude this consideration and rather focus on the point of whether it is justifiable purely as a form of punishment. This question was elucidated by Dr. Kennedy and then taken up by, Dr. Wojda and Dr. Lu. What followed was a riveting examination of the nature of punishment in general and its aims. The fruit of the evening was that everyone went away with a more lucid sense of what issues were involved in the question. The CSMA students intend to host many more disputations in the future. So keep your eyes peeled and be sure to reply to emails and postings with any intriguing questions you may have. We are always looking for topics!

Posted by Catholic Studies at 04:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by Matthew, UST Senior, Chemistry and Catholic Studies

I could not really picture what my college experience would be like if I had not chosen to be a Catholic Studies major. The courses, by design, target the person as a whole seeking to advance the intellect and increase a person’s capacity for learning in a way that, in my opinion, no other department at St. Thomas can replicate. One would think that that my mind would be in two parallel worlds if I was studying Thermodynamics and Quantum Mechanics at the same time as the Life and Thought of Cardinal Newman and Pathways and Practices of Christian Spirituality; however, it is quite the contrary. Catholic Studies combines faith and reason together, without compromising either, to create a fulfilling and deeply humanizing atmosphere. The philosophical, historical, and theological aspects of Catholic Studies courses have improved my analytical skills by teaching me to examine a subject logically, from a historical context, and with prudence. Chemistry has given me a sense of how little we actually understand about the natural world and, as a result, manifests how important it is to study our, as Chesterton says, “little sister earth” with a rational, ethical, and an imaginative procedure.

Posted by Catholic Studies at 01:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by James, UST Senior, Philosophy and Catholic Studies

Any student can empathize with the unique set of fears and challenges brought forth by the beginning of a new school year. Our fresh bold feelings of hope, excitement, seriousness, and anticipation our often stifled a bit by a coupling set of fears and anxieties. It is only natural and right for us to look to our leaders for guidance and support when we experience such a mixed-bag of emotions.

At the beginning of this school year, I was blessed to take a retreat with the Catholic Studies Leadership Interns. This retreat was a wonderful opportunity for me to recall to mind who I acknowledge as my ultimate leader: Jesus Christ. With a total of five seminars, a group of about thirty Catholic Studies students learned the role of Catholic leaders in the world, which is always in the light of Jesus Christ’s perfect leadership. For example, we discussed how we define Catholic leadership, the necessity of Catholic leadership, the principles of Catholic leadership, where Catholic leadership takes place, the consequences of Catholic leadership, and much more.

We also spent a fair amount of time as a community in recreation: anything from canoeing to thrilling games of ping-pong to listening to the captivating sounds of Fr.Keating and Dr. Naughton’s guitar-playing-skills. It was a great time!
Most importantly, though, we spent time together in prayer by praying the hours of the Office, having a Holy Hour with benediction, and celebrating the Holy Mass. This, we know, is the source our communion.

All-in-all, it was a great blessing to retreat with the Interns. I was reminded of the power of Christ’s love and its uniting effects. The retreat re-ignited the Catholic vision within me; and, therefore, re-emphasized true principles through which I can orient my everyday life and lead others on the path to Christ.

Indeed, at the onset of a new school year, I empathize will all those who experience fear and anxiety. However, as Christians, we must fix our eyes on Christ who alone has the ability to dispel all fear and anxiety by revealing to us our true end. I conclude with a brief passage we read at the retreat, which was particularly inspiring to me. It was taken from a message given to the youth of America in May of 2008 by Pope Benedict XVI: “At times, however, we are tempted to close in on ourselves, to doubt the strength of Christ’s radiance, to limit the horizon of hope. Take courage!...Let your imaginations soar freely along the limitless expanse of the horizons of Christian discipleship.”

Posted by Catholic Studies at 01:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)