I got an amazing education from Franciscan University of Steubenville.
Yet I missed out one of the best educational opportunities they provided.
It’s the stories that you tell…
There were a lot of great things about being a student at Franciscan.
One of the best was all the fantastic Catholic speakers that came to visit. Every week there was someone new.
I’m talking big names. Some of the best speakers around. Sometimes they were there for symposiums. Other times they were just passing through. And then, there were the summer conferences.
In case you didn’t know, Franciscan University puts on conferences…big conferences…all summer long. And they have some awesome speakers.
The Saturday night general sessions were always open to the students and it was amazing to drop in and see Dr. Scott Hahn, Fr. Benedict Groeshel, Fr. Stan Fortuna, Ralph Martin, or George Wiegel. One time I even met Fr. Groeschel walking the campus and he gave my wife a blessing when she was pregnant with our first child.
How I missed out
However, I was kind of a nervous student at Franciscan. I always studied way more than I needed to. I think it was the Navy that did that to me.
It was very good for grades, but unfortunately, I missed out on a lot of great presentations.
My wife always tells everyone how she got to see Alice Von Hildebrand, even though she wasn’t a student, and I didn’t because I was too busy studying. Sigh.
The Faith + Reason website
Well now all those great presentations are available to everyone…even poor, beleaguered students (like me) that study way more than they have to.
Franciscan University just launched a new website called Faith + Reason. It has videos and articles from Catholic speakers that visit the campus. And, some awesome speakers that are always there as professors.
Right now there are videos there from Scott Hahn (of course), John Bergsma, Jeff Cavins, Peter Kreeft, and Fr. Andrew Apostoli. There’s also articles and commentaries on the Sunday readings.
Faith that’s reasonable
I think this could be a great tool for enriching catechists formation. Having access to great Catholic thought from some of the best minds around will definitely increase their faith and give them greater insight into what they teach.
Even more so, it could be a great resource for those considering, or re-considering, the Catholic Faith–a place where they can be exposed to the best teaching the Catholic Church has to offer.
St. Augustine didn’t convert until he found someone who could make Christian faith reasonable. Someone who could talk about it eloquently. Until he heard St. Ambrose, Christianity was just a crude, underdeveloped philosophy to him.
Years ago, I saw a comment on one of Fr. Barron’s You Tube videos that really struck me. The commenter couldn’t believe they’d heard their favorite French philosopher mentioned on You Tube…and it was by a Catholic priest!
Hearing real, faithful, and reasoned teaching on the Catholicism is one of the best ways to draw people to the Faith. Catholicism is so misunderstood. Sometimes it takes hearing the best speakers to open someone’s eyes to it’s beauty and wonder.
The Faith + Reason website will be a fantastic tool for the New Evangelization. Point someone to it today at www.faithandreason.com.
And maybe now I can catch up on all the good stuff I missed.
You said it right about not being able to attend everything while studying at Fransican. I can’t say it was because I studied too much, but then I wasn’t ever in the Navy either.
I think you meant to say St. Ambrose and not St. Anselm as the one who influenced St. Augustine.
Oh, I think you’re right. I’ll make the correction.
Glad to know I wasn’t the only one. But there was a lot of stuff huh? You couldn’t do everything.
It was an excellent talk. Mrs. Hildebrand spoke on Edith Stein and how her femininity flowered after her conversion, leaving her intellectually AND emotionally fulfilled for the first time. In hindsight, maybe you weren’t the target market after all. 😉
Haha! Maybe not…but still!
Don’t feel too bad brother–in Rome for two years and never went to the Sistine Chapel or Vatican Museum….because I was studying. I don’t regret it. My first day there I told my spiritual director, an old Irish priest, “Father I just made TWO holy hours!” I was so proud and impressed with myself–not unusual for me (or most seminarians I think, lol) He leaned in and said “Oh, God LOVE ya Roy! But here’s the thing. I want you to make ONE holy hour and spend the other studying. When you’re a student your study is prayer too.” A great habit that’s stayed with me.
Great post, as usual brother. Glad to see Franciscan investing even more in their online presence. Most people in the world will never have access to their resources and tradition–the web makes it possible. What a great service.
Thanks Roy! Well, I guess I don’t feel so bad then. I was doing my duty and my prayer! 😉 You still have to make the one holy hour, though.
Yeah, I think this is a great service and will be a great resource. So many more people will have access to all this great stuff.
If I could just figure out how to stop levitating during my holy hour, I think I’d get so much more out of it. Sigh…
Oh no! You just keep on levitating. Even though it doesn’t feel like it, you’re praying.