How many times do we leave a gathering thinking,“ well that was fun”, but yet are left with an underlying feeling that somehow there was an element of meaninglessness in the way we spent our time. As soon as I walked into the beautiful new Albertus Magnus chapel to begin the first Catholic Studies community night, I knew this would be a very fruitful gathering. The mass was beautiful, with not an empty chair to be had. Following mass, we all piled into the gathering space, definitely challenging the room’s capacity, to listen to Father Laird’s powerful reflection on Mary and her role in our lives. After joining together in raising our thoughts to the call to receive our Lord and His will in ourselves, we shared in a most delicious Italian meal and had the opportunity to discuss this reflection. The whole evening had its focus on Christ and the meaning our lives have when we live in communion with our brothers and sisters, imitating our mother, Mary. I can’t believe that anyone left our gathering without a feeling of true fullness and nourishment which was rooted in the fellowship, support, and community experienced, but definitely not hindered by the wonderful pasta!

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!

Hard hats, saws, nail guns, noise complaints, saw dust, lots of coffee (some tobacco may also have been present), shouting foremen, crews working the normal business day to shame to meet deadline, an electrician, and even an on sight firefighter. Multimillion dollar construction contract in South Saint Paul? No way. Five hundred dollar construction contract in the middle of Saint Paul. More specifically, the 2009 Saint John Vianney Seminary’s homecoming float worksite.

In regards to the float contest, the seminarians have notoriously swept the homecoming “field” for as long as present memory can recall, regardless of the blue ribbon commission’s ultimate decision. A pirate ship, armed with candy lobbing cannons; a two-story castle, whose climax was a Lord-of-the-Rings styled battle between a twenty foot long dragon, his league of orcish minions and no less than forty armored knights ; and the Tommie version of the Trojan horse, which at first appeared like a slightly obtuse football—until it paused in front of the judges and (miraculously) became a football field housing a team Tommie football players.

This year was no different. The Sems warmed themselves that snowy October morning with the literally flamethrowing exhaust of their biblically proportioned Dolorian, which came complete with fully functioning, horizontally hinged doors and an endearing white haired Doc at its helm. And in tribute to the “125 Years” theme, the 125 or so seminarians that did not play main characters of the Back to the Future trilogy donned white shirts with years 1985-2009 stenciled front and back in black spray paint, and walked in single file line, thus creating wonderful visual pun.

Unfortunately, neither the time-line, nor endearing doc, nor even the hot Dolorian could secure for them the win. Apparently, despite the snow that the Sems ordered in that morning, the fire-extinguisher-bearing fire fighter, and the clearly competent scientist present (he was even wearing a white lab jacket for godsakes), the judges did not score the float well in the “safety” category. Which apparently is a scoring category.

Oh well. Maybe this year’s loss will motivate an even more massive float next year. Who knows… only time will tell.

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!

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.

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.”

In less than 300 days I will be walking down the aisle and saying my big “I DO!” Although I am both eager and excited, there are a lot of questions that have begun to surface. I am just starting to realize that I will no longer be an “I” but a “we.” So, what does that mean for my future? If I start having children can I work or does the Church say I should stay home and raise my children full-time? Do I have to homeschool, or can I ship my kids off on the morning bus? Does the Church have an instruction manual anywhere? As these questions began to plague me I was blessed that Catholic Studies offered me a summer research grant to dive deeper into these sorts of questions.

In particular, I focused on mothers with young children and whether or not they should work. After three months of intense research, writing, and contemplation I reached a very interesting conclusion: there is no one answer. Rather, each individual woman must use good discernment in order to follow the vocation that God has in store for her. One suggestion from Claire Wolfteich seems to me the most feasible and sensible: “The integration of work, family, and religious life may appear over the course of a lifetime. The pieces that [do] not seem to fit, the zigzag line, eventually looks like a path – at least for some women. A seasonal perspective affirms the multiplicity of endeavors that can give service and express the human relationship to God”(Navigating New Terrain125). So that’s it! There are different seasons of life. We often want to think in categorical imperatives, thinking that to be holy we must do this or that. Yet, life is seldom as black and white as that, and when seen in hindsight, both working and raising children can bring one closer to God. The best advice I heard overall is from University of St. Thomas School of Law professor Elizabeth Schiltz, when she told me to only plan six months at a time. She said that “every child is different, every season of life is different” and so I must be honest with myself, and be confident that God will use the Holy Spirit to guide me. More than any strict formula, what I found we need is a renewal of families in general, both husband and wife, mother and father – for being a mother and father is one's primary vocation. Our culture is witnessing great attacks against the family, with divorce, abortion, and gay marriage all at the forefront of the culture wars. A commitment must be made once again to strengthen marriages and families, renewing society at large.

On September 20, the Catholic Studies Department kicked off the 2009-2010 academic year with its annual ice cream social. The event was very well attended with over 150 students, faculty, and staff coming out for the Sunday evening event. An information table gave newcomers the opportunity to learn what Catholic Studies is all about. In addition, members of the new student organization C.S.I. (Catholic Students Incorporated) were present to hand out flyers and provide information about upcoming events on campus. The social was a huge success and was a great way to reconnect with old friends as well as to meet the newest additions to the Catholic Studies Department!

John Rogers here. I'm a Catholic Studies Master of Arts student, and I've spent the last two summers as the event coordinator for the Church and the Biomedical Revolution faculty seminars. During the school year, I attend CSMA classes part-time and work full-time as a teacher at Saint Thomas Academy in St. Paul, MN. This summer I took "Paul’s Letters" with Dr. Martens and an independent study on "Phenomenology and the Theology of Disclosure" with Dr. Wojda.

After summer classes ended, I hit the road with my friend Russell Shurts, who will be entering the UST Master’s in Engineering program in the fall. We headed to Lancaster, PA, and spent a week competing in the 19th annual World Boardgaming Championships. This convention is a chance for 2000+ boardgaming enthusiasts to test their mettle and play their favorite games. A lot of the events at the WBC are either European-style games (popular ones in the U.S. include Settlers of Catan, Carcassonne, and Power Grid) or strategic/war games (Risk and Axis & Allies being two of the best known). It’s also a great opportunity to try out games that are brand new or currently in development.

Perhaps my favorite event at the WBC was the Here I Stand tournament. Here I Stand is a six-player war/political/religious game about the Wars of the Reformation. Players control either the Protestants, Papacy, English, French, Hapsburgs, or Ottomans and try to score points by capturing cities, converting areas to their religion, exploring the Americas, etc. I advanced to the semifinals in this event and had a blast meeting lots of people who are as interested in this period of history as I am! In addition, I was able to try out "Small World" (pictured above) early on in the week. I liked it so much I purchased it at a discount in the Dealers' Room on Thursday, and played it four more times throughout the week. It's a fast-paced, multiplayer game of territory control. This is the sort of game I knew I could quickly introduce to my family. They really enjoy it!

If you want to learn more about my trip, or about board games in general, please visit my blog about board games: Margin of Victory.

I have been going to summer camp since I was 10. I love the magic of summer camp; the evening activities, skits, campfire, making s’mores, and fingernail polish parties with the other girls in my cabin. In fact, even before school got out for the summer, I was counting down the days until camp. It should be no surprise that I decided to work as a counselor at Camp Birchwood for girls in Northern Minnesota. This summer I have found myself challenged as my job duties include not only instructing wilderness activities and living with a cabin of campers, but also planning and leading camping trips. The most memorable trip for me was a 6-night trip to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA). My co-counselor, Kat, and I took seven 12-14 year olds (as many as we could take on our permit) on the Alpine Loop route, leaving from Grand Marais, MN. The BWCA is comprised of many lakes, rivers and islands, and for those of you who have never been, I recommend that you add it to your “bucket list” right away. During the day, we canoed 4-6 hours, stopping for a lunch break around 1 pm. Upon arrival to our campsite each evening, we would guide the campers through setting up tents, preparing the fire, cooking, tying the bear bag (for food/scented items), and practicing the “Leave No Trace” principles to protect the land so that someday my campers’ grandchildren can enjoy the same beautiful landscape as we did.

One of the first nights on trail, we went around in a circle and shared our goals for the trip. I had two goals that I expressed out loud: that I would have a meaningful conversation with each camper during the trip and that I would increase my ability to rely on the land for my basic necessities and practice living simply. At the beginning of the summer during staff training week, each staff member added a line to the camp’s 2009 summer mission statement. My addition was that this summer each girl who went on a trip would feel beautiful and strong at the conclusion of the trip. I believe they each accomplished this, and will continue to enjoy the outdoors and be open to the possibilities that they face as they get are reaching their high school years. They acquired the skills of building a fire (even when our matches were basically duds), living off the land, and enjoying each other’s company through conversations, a scarcity in a society where technology is heralded because it is convenient, albeit increasingly impersonal.

At St. Thomas’ Catholic Studies department, we have tremendous role models to look up to in our professors, priests, upperclassmen, and seminarians. They are such advocates for the faith and really embody Christ in their words and actions. I have always felt like I have someone to go to when I am struggling or want to share good news about a personal matter or academic triumph. This summer, I have learned how humbling it is to find myself in a position where I am a role model for others. At camp, how I act and how I carry myself leaves a lasting impression on the campers, not only those who live in my cabin, but also those to whom I teach canoeing or rock climbing. Now more than ever, these girls need solid role models who are identifiable and living happy and positive lives. This summer, I have had the opportunity to grow as a leader and mentor, while encouraging the girls who come to camp to take healthy risks and create lasting memories with their friends. Being a camp counselor certainly keeps me busy, but I am loving every second of it!

The topic has long preoccupied the heart of man: the meaning of human suffering. In this issue of Logos: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture, philosopher Peter J. Colosi offers a thoughtful reflection on the work of John Paul II on the meaning of suffering as informed by the writings of phenomenologist, Max Scheler.

Colosi identifies an “inextricable link between suffering and love…almost like a mountain and a valley, such that if the suffering were to vanish, so necessarily would the love.” He draws heavily upon John Paul’s notion, taken from the apostolic letter, Salvifici doloris, that one of the primary purposes of suffering in the world is, paradoxically, to create an opportunity to “unleash love.”

He poses three foundational questions concerning suffering:
1. What is the origin of suffering?
2. What is the metaphysical status of suffering?
3. Given the reality of suffering, what is its inner meaning, how does it relate to the other aspects of our lives, and what should our response to it be?

The article concentrates primarily on John Paul’s response to the third question.

Read the entire article.

Subscribe to Logos Journal.

The Center for Catholic Studies continues to keep busy over the summer months. One recent event that Catholic Studies co-sponsored was the National Association of Catholic Family Life Ministers’ conference, “Becoming a Marriage-Building Church.” As co-sponsor of the event, the Center for Catholic Studies was brought in at the early planning stages of the event. The conference and pre-conference was held June 22-28th on the St. Thomas campus. The focus of the conference was to encourage Church members to be an active part of the U.S. Catholic Bishops’ National Pastoral Initiative for Marriage (NPIM).

The days were filled with guest lecturers ranging from bestselling author Christopher West to our very own Father Peter Laird (who graciously filled in for a keynote speaker, only days before the event started).

Before each keynote lecture there was prayer followed by a fun scene from the play “I Do I Do!” performed by the Donald Codden and Kecia Rehkamp. The play’s only prop was a large poster style bed donated from the local Slumberland store, which was kept on stage for the duration of the conference. The bed served to transition the scenes of the life of a marriage from getting married, to having children, to monitoring teenagers out past their curfews, to the quiet blankness of an empty nest. Throughout the week many conference participants could be seen quickly walking from the various residence halls to the OEC Auditorium so as not to miss the next scene of the play. This very clever tactic thought up by Chris Codden helped to keep attendees on time and ready for the keynote speakers!

The warm, somewhat muggy week was filled with prayer, business meetings, workshop sessions, three floors of vendors in Murray-Herrick atriums, celebration of the Eucharist at the St. Thomas Chapel, as well as Mass at the Cathedral of St. Paul to close the Pauline year. The Mass, presided over by Archbishop John Nienstedt, S.T.D., was followed by a wedding cake reception. Attending the Mass was particularly exciting for many of the conference attendees, especially those who traveled from other states and countries, as the Cathedral had just received the special distinction of shrine status, being the only shrine in North America dedicated to Saint Paul.

A little fun was also thrown in with an ice-cream social and barbeque dinner with a very special guest appearance - the Father Guido Sarducci character of Saturday Night Live fame! Father Sarducci entertained the all-ages crowd before the Karaoke fun began and finished the night.

Chris Codden, President of the National Association of Catholic Family Life Ministers, summed the week up: “The conference hosted more than 500 people from the United States, Canada, the Bahamas and Australia, which included nine archbishops and bishops and 50 clergy. We feel the conference was a great success and look forward to the fruit of the work begun here; to the impact on the culture and society; to becoming a "Marriage-Building Church".

Posted by Sarah, UST Senior, Catholic Studies

If I had to choose one word to describe me, I would only have to glance at the top of my left foot in order to find the answer. This single word that has been tattooed on my foot is pasja, which means “passion” in Polish. The “P” is a Christian fish, symbolizing my passion for faith; it is located on the top of my turning foot, symbolizing my passion for dance. I feel so blessed to study and gain experience in academic fields revolving around these two passions. My name is Sarah White, and I will graduate from the University of St. Thomas in May 2010.

I know that I’ve come a long way over the past few years- literally and figuratively. I’m originally from Norwalk, Iowa and have had my fair share of 4-hour car rides to and from school on breaks and holidays. I have attended Catholic schools since the first grade, and I wanted to be out of state yet not too far away, so St. Thomas seemed like the perfect fit. My major in Catholic Studies is the perfect accompaniment to all three of my minors: psychology, dance, and family studies. It is also the perfect tool to assist me in all areas of life; studying and discussing Catholic principles and beliefs every day has helped me with relationships, leadership skills, practicing spirituality, jobs on and off campus, and many other things.

Unlike every other soon-to-be senior, I do not have an internship this summer because I’m working for NDA, also known as the National Dance Alliance. For the past 4 summers I have been teaching at dance camps all over the United States. As mentioned earlier I’m used to traveling, and I absolutely love it. This year I will be working camps in Indiana, Minnesota, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, and Wisconsin. I thoroughly enjoy meeting and working with new people at every camp and the many roles that we must play such as teacher, mentor, customer service rep, evaluator, performer, choreographer, competition coordinator/adjudicator, and recruiter. Our company offers many styles of dance such as jazz, hip hop, pom, lyrical, modern/contemporary, kick, and prop/novelty; we also offer levels ranging from beginning to elite. Even though my job is very physically and mentally demanding, it is also the most rewarding and joyful experience ever. I get paid to do what I love, and I see immediate results of the positive effect I have on high school girls all over the country. One phrase that continues to motivate me every time I prepare for a camp consists of four simple words: Praise Him with dancing!

As a Catholic Studies Leadership Intern for the past year, I have given the opportunity to develop my leadership skills while expanding my vision of the world. The Catholic Studies internship program seeks to instill principles of leadership in all of its members (29 of us total this year). After a year of study and training on the topic of Hispanic Catholicism, we traveled on a ten day Spring Institute to Peru to see how the Ecclesial movement, Sodalitim Christianae Vitae, has formed a clear vision of seeking "a better, more just, fraternal and reconciled world, committing themselves to the integral development of the human being". It was an adventure in which my companions and I understood a new culture, made new friends across the sea, and saw the fruits of what a committed group, faithful to Jesus Christ and his Mother, can do to transform a culture with their daily lives and actions.

Fr. Michael Keating and Dr. Jonathan Reyes led our trip to the cities of Lima and Arequipa where we visited the "Soladit" formation houses for men and women, learned about the Incan people at the pagan temple of Pachacamac, and visited the Church of St. Rose and her resting place. We also spent time with students at the secondary education centers of San Pedro (for boys) and Villa Caritas (for girls), as well as the Catholic University of San Pablo. Through these schools, the "Soladits" hope to properly educate the entire person to lead the next generation of bringing about a society of Love. We visited the many social projects lead by the movement including many elementary schools and day cares for poorer children of Lima and Arequipa as well as centers for the handicapped of all ages, who would otherwise be left to their own devices. Perhaps one of the greatest highlights of the trip was meeting the founder of the movement, Luis Fernando Figari, who explained his vision of a better world through a truly Christian culture.

There was so much more that we did and learned during our time with the Sodalitium in Peru which will not fit in such a small blog entry; but I would like to extend my gratitude to our friends, Jose, Andres, Barbara and Carolla, who shared their time and lives with us. They proudly guided us through the Ecclesial movement to which they have devoted themselves, with the hope that their lives and actions will bring about a truly Christian culture of Love in Peru and throughout the world.

Check out the Center for Catholic Studies' latest issue of Perspectives. Some of the highlights from the spring 2009 semester include:

• Catholic Studies Graduate Program Profiles Learn why students chose the Master of Arts in Catholic Studies and how they are incorporating it into their lives.
• Introducing the Habiger Institute for Catholic Leadership Learn about how Catholic Studies undergraduate students are learning Catholic leadership skills through the Leadership Intern program and the Latino Leadership program.
• Spotlight on the Terrence J. Murphy Institute for Catholic Thought, Law and Public Policy Learn about the mission and work of this institute.
• The Art of Iconography Read about a Catholic Studies graduate student and his work in iconography.
• Congrats graduates! Read about the Catholic Studies graduating class of 2009, this year numbering 62 students.