Thomas More College Of Liberal Arts: Academically Strong, Fully Faithful
in the confession of the saving mission of the Incarnate Son of God, Jesus Christ, continued and mediated by the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church."
Thomas More College is precisely the type of educational institution that has the power, through and in and with Christ, to change the world.
The Life of Worship: An Integral and Indispensable Aspect of The Catholic College
Pope Benedict XVI taught that "First and foremost every Catholic educational institution is a place to encounter the living God who in Jesus Christ reveals his transforming love and truth." In answer to such a guiding principle, Thomas More College "joyfully affirms[s] the Holy Father's proclamation" and seeks to "create an academic community in which students, faculty, and staff can enjoy the fruits of the spiritual life. In the first place, our classes, taught from the perspective of faith seeking understanding, themselves form a kind of first foundation of the spiritual life, of the pursuit of God."
In keeping with the commitment to nourish the spiritual life of students, Holy Mass is celebrated daily in the chapel, and the sacrament of Confession -- so necessary for living the gospel life -- is also available daily. Catholic devotions are popular: students and faculty alike often recite the Rosary in the chapel or at the outdoor Marian shrine. Also, the new college custom of chanting the Liturgy of the Hours in the morning (lauds) and evening (vespers) is popular. "In sum, opportunities for worship, prayer, and reflection abound at the College, providing an appropriate setting for those moments of inspiration and vocation that are such a decisively important part of collegiate life."
Ex Corde Ecclesiae: A Guiding Principle For Catholic Educational Institutions
In the opening paragraph of the Apostolic Constitution Ex Corde Ecclesiae, the Venerable Pope John Paul II wrote, "Born from the heart of the Church, a Catholic University is located in that course of tradition which may be traced back to the very origin of the University as an institution. It has always been recognized as an incomparable centre of creativity and dissemination of knowledge for the good of humanity."
The Catholic educational institution is an "incomparable centre" of knowledge by virtue of its fidelity to Christ and the fullness of truth found in his Church. This is so because knowledge is built on the structure of human history; and the supreme knowledge -- a deposit of incomparable value known as the deposit of faith -- is that knowledge of God which he himself revealed to humankind in history, a knowledge which culminated in the Person of Jesus Christ. It is the Church founded by Christ who was entrusted with this sacred deposit, a treasure whose beauty easily surpasses that of the cosmos, and transmits it in its fullness to the nations, to people of all cultures and societies. It is through the lens of the Church in which God's revelation is illumined with clarity. Therefore we might say that knowledge is mature, whole and complete only when it is in accordance with the living Magisterium of the Church.
Further, this concept of wholeness of knowledge -- what might be called intellectual health -- is revealed in the selfless gift of Christ on the cross. Through Christ's uncompromising act of love, man is able to learn what it means to be fully human, thus joining his intellect and will with reality as it is, throwing open a sublime doorway in which he sees with clarity the meaning of his existence, what he must focus on, learn and know. The pursuit of knowledge which is ungrounded in Christ's ultimate sacrificial gift of love results in an intellect that is less than healthy. It is not unlike living indoors, in isolation one's whole life, without ever having witnessed the explosion of fiery color in a sunrise.
In Ex Corde Ecclesiae, John Paul II lays out several key guiding principles for the Catholic College:
The College publicly professes an institutional commitment to the Catholic Faith;
II. The College promotes reflection upon the "growing treasury of human knowledge" in light of the Catholic Faith;
III. The College promises fidelity to the Gospel as taught by the living Magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church; and,
IV. The College seeks to instill in its students the desire to serve the common good through works of justice and charity, to answer the Church's universal call to holiness, and to serve the Church's mission of the evangelization of the world.
Thomas More College takes the guiding principles of Ex Corde Ecclesiae seriously: "Consonant with its mission and as an expression of its institutional fidelity to the Catholic Faith, Thomas More College fully accepts the Apostolic Constitution Ex Corde Ecclesiae (1990) and, as the Constitution itself dictates (General Norms, Article 1, §3) recognizes the Constitution as one of its governing documents."
"It is the honour and responsibility of a Catholic University to consecrate itself without reserve to the cause of truth. This is its way of serving at one and the same time both the dignity of man and the good of the Church, which has an intimate conviction that truth is (its) real ally ... and that knowledge and reason are sure ministers to faith. Without in any way neglecting the acquisition of useful knowledge, a Catholic University is distinguished by its free search for the whole truth about nature, man and God. The present age is in urgent need of this kind of disinterested service, namely of proclaiming the meaning of truth, that fundamental value without which freedom, justice and human dignity are extinguished. By means of a kind of universal humanism a Catholic University is completely dedicated to the research of all aspects of truth in their essential connection with the supreme Truth, who is God" -- Pope John Paul II
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F. K. Bartels is a Catholic writer who knows his Catholic faith is one of the greatest gifts a man could ever have. He is managing editor of catholicpathways.com, and a contributing writer for Catholic Online.
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Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.
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Any Catholic University that does not use the "Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition" as a TEXT by first or second year students, leaves young people to the personal intrepretations, and possible errors - of any individual teacher.
The CCC keeps us: free from our own error, free from the errors of others, and free from purposeful errors of "enemies within" the Church.
Ave Maria University in FL uses the CCC by students as a TEXT.
Thank you for introducing us to Ex Corde Ecclesiae. Excellent article.
An excellent article concerning the need for Catholic Education. There is an enormous amount of ignorance today, even among Catholics, regarding the teaching of the Catholic Church. Unfortunately, many of our Universities that "profess" to be "Catholic" are not upholding the teaching authority of the Church. As F.K. Bartels indicates, a truly "Catholic" University will embrace all the tenets of "Ex Corde Ecclesiae." The last I knew, out of all the Catholic Universities in the USA, there are only about 30 that actually hold to the requirements of "Ex Corde Ecclesiae." Some, if not all of these Universities also provide a program of study for a Master's Degree in Theology for "non-traditional" students. Studies in the classroom may be just once a month over an entire weekend every month during every semester; the rest of what would be class-time consists of required home study, including writing papers to be graded and take home exams, etc.... Most of the students work; some are raising families. It is a wonderful opportunity to become better equipped to help other Catholics understand their Catholic faith. Over the years, I have read probably a hundred books, most being Catholic classics by the saints and other renowned Catholic authors over the centuries. I thought I was going back to school to become "qualified" to help others understand more about what the Church teaches. I found that I was the first to be enriched by the experience! Much of the problems of the laity that we see today in the Church are due to ignorance. We have two generations of Catholics now, most of whom have not been properly taught the Catholic faith. No wonder they do not "adhere" to Catholic teaching in matters of faith and morals! The anti-Christian culture that now surrounds us is caught up in secularism, hedonism, and materialism; our old enemies, the world, the flesh and the devil are "alive and well!" The message of our Lady of Fatima is more pertinent than ever: pray, say the rosary, and do penance....Indeed, little children understand all this best... and it is of huge importance that our children are properly catechized--But, Jesus also calls us adults to "be converted and become like little children...." We all need to at least study the Catechism of the Catholic Church, to get into the shape we need to be in--in order to adhere to it! Need I say that our Catholic Faith is our greatest treasure? Through it we come to know Jesus, the Way the Truth and the Life and His Will for us, as expressed in the BIble, the Catechism, and the teaching authority of the Church. There is no greater happiness on this earth than to walk in the Truth--with Jesus Christ in His Church!