Summer Conferences

Bishop Loverde offered Mass and delivered the homily. “There is a fundamental two-fold dynamic underlying our identity and mission as those who belong unconditionally to God in Christ Jesus and to his Church. This twofold dynamic is to be with the Lord Jesus and to be sent out in his name to proclaim the Gospel,” he said.

Loverde explained that St. Paul embodied this two-fold dynamic, and encouraged all to learn from and imitate him in daily life.

Following a break for lunch, Christendom College Professor of Theology Eric Jenislawski spoke on the challenges facing modern Biblical interpretation.

“Modern methods of interpretation often yield results that either cannot be reconciled to the Catholic faith or are spiritually sterile, not so much heterodox, but useless for preaching, spiritual meditation, or theology,” he said. “Biblical studies today could be described as ‘Christianity as reconstructed by a post-Christian generation of archeologists.’”

Jenislawski proposed that St. Paul can help put things back together again. “If we want to overcome today’s crisis in Biblical interpretation, we must renew ourselves in our Catholic tradition of Biblical interpretation, and the foundation of that tradition is the writings of St. Paul,” he said.

“If we want to rejuvenate Biblical studies, we need to make Biblical studies more Pauline.”

Sebastian Carnazzo, Ph.D., a professor of theology at Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary, explained that it was essential to read the Acts of the Apostles in order to understand the epistles of St. Paul.

“Acts tells you the story behind the Pauline epistles,” he said. “If you want to understand the epistle to the Romans, you have to understand the history of the Church in Rome. You have to understand that he is writing from Corinth. You have to understand what happened to him on that journey.”

Rev. Sebastian Carnazzo is a priest in the Melkite Catholic Church of America and pastor of the St. Elias Melkite Parish in San Jose.  He received his B.S. from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, in Animal Science with a concentration in veterinary medicine.  He then went on to receive his M.A. in Theology with a concentration in Sacred Scripture from the Notre Dame Graduate School of Christendom College and his Ph.D. in Biblical Studies at Catholic University of America in Washington, DC.  His dissertation was published under the title Seeing Blood and Water: A Narrative-Critical of John 19:34 (2012).  He joined the faculty of St. Patrick’s Seminary in the Fall of 2015 as a full-time lecturer in Sacred Scripture and Biblical Languages.  Among other teaching engagements and volunteer activities, he is also an adjunct lecturer in Sacred Scripture for the Notre Dame Graduate School of Christendom College and the academic director for the deacon program in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tulsa, OK.

Convert and author of many books, including By What Authority?: An Evangelical Discovers Catholic Tradition, Mark Shea brought the conference to a close examining St. Paul and his influence on evangelization and apologetics.

“When it comes to evangelism there is one commandment of Christ that all Christians are ready and eager to obey: Mark 1:44, ‘Go and tell no one.’” Shea quipped.

Shea explained that there are two popular schools of evangelizing: one which tells you to shout on the street corner, and the other that says, simply live your faith, also known as lifestyle evangelizing. Shea proposed that you had to do both.

“The Faith never asks us to make a choice between incarnating the Faith and talking about the Faith. St. Paul never saw a difference between living the Faith and talking about the Faith and we shouldn’t either,” he said. “We live in a culture that is so post-protestant that the Gospel really is news again.”

Shea petitioned all to imitate Paul in his missionary fervor. “Paul was successful because he did what he was commissioned to do, and God does not command us to do something and then not give us the power to do it.”

Christendom College’s annual Summer Institute was held on Saturday, July 12, 2008, at its Front Royal, Va., campus. The one-day conference, entitled “The Role of the Laity in the Catholic Church,” featured speakers from various professional fields. Congressman Chris Smith, film producer Steve McEveety, medical doctor John Bruchalski, Rev. Thomas Dubay, journalist Colleen Carroll Campbell, and Christendom College president Dr. Timothy O’Donnell all presented inspiring talks.

Colleen Carroll Campbell delivered a talk entitled Catholic Journalism and the New Faithful. Campbell is the author of the critically acclaimed book, The New Faithful: Why Young Adults Are Embracing Christian Orthodoxy. Formerly one of six speechwriters for President George W. Bush, she currently is a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center.

Christendom College’s annual Summer Institute was held on Saturday, July 12, 2008, at its Front Royal, Va., campus. The one-day conference, entitled “The Role of the Laity in the Catholic Church,” featured speakers from various professional fields. Congressman Chris Smith, film producer Steve McEveety, medical doctor John Bruchalski, Rev. Thomas Dubay, journalist Colleen Carroll Campbell, and Christendom College president Dr. Timothy O’Donnell all presented inspiring talks.

Chris Smith delivered a talk entitled Bearing Witness to the Truth in the Political Sphere. As a Member of the United States House of Representatives from New Jersey, Smith has championed the rights and interests of many, most especially the unborn.

Christendom College’s annual Summer Institute was held on Saturday, July 12, 2008, at its Front Royal, Va., campus. The one-day conference, entitled “The Role of the Laity in the Catholic Church,” featured speakers from various professional fields. Congressman Chris Smith, film producer Steve McEveety, medical doctor John Bruchalski, Rev. Thomas Dubay, journalist Colleen Carroll Campbell, and Christendom College president Dr. Timothy O’Donnell all presented inspiring talks.

Dr. Timothy O’Donnell addressed the topic of lay charism and Catholic education. Dr. O’Donnell is a renowned speaker, author, host of a number of EWTN programs, and the President of Christendom College where he also teaches Theology and History. He serves on the Pontifical Council for the Family.

Christendom College’s annual Summer Institute was held on Saturday, July 12, 2008, at its Front Royal, Va., campus. The one-day conference, entitled “The Role of the Laity in the Catholic Church,” featured speakers from various professional fields. Congressman Chris Smith, film producer Steve McEveety, medical doctor John Bruchalski, Rev. Thomas Dubay, journalist Colleen Carroll Campbell, and Christendom College president Dr. Timothy O’Donnell all presented inspiring talks.

Dr. John Bruchalski spoke on the healing presence of Christ in the practice of medicine. Bruchalski founded the Tepeyac Family Center with the mission of establishing an obstetrical and gynecological facility that combines the best of modern medicine with the healing presence of Jesus Christ. He has spoken on various topics concerning the renaissance of Catholic medicine.

Christendom College’s annual Summer Institute was held on Saturday, July 12, 2008, at its Front Royal, Va., campus. The one-day conference, entitled “The Role of the Laity in the Catholic Church,” featured speakers from various professional fields. Congressman Chris Smith, film producer Steve McEveety, medical doctor John Bruchalski, Rev. Thomas Dubay, journalist Colleen Carroll Campbell, and Christendom College president Dr. Timothy O’Donnell all presented inspiring talks.

Noted spiritual adviser Rev. Thomas Dubay celebrated Mass and delivered the homily, which explored the universal call to holiness. Rev. Dubay is a well-known retreat master and expert in the spiritual life. A Marist priest, he is an expert on the teachings and writings of the two mystical doctors of the Church, John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila.

“The family is under attack and we must take action to defend it” was the ringing theme at Christendom College’s 18th Annual Summer Institute on Marriage and the Family attended by 350 people at its Front Royal, Virginia campus on July 21. Speakers at the day-long conference included Fr. Benedict Groeschel, Bishop Robert Morlino, Sen. Rick Santorum, Timothy O’Donnell and Mary Stanford. Mass was celebrated by Bishop Thomas Welsh.

Franciscan Friar of the Renewal and EWTN personality Fr. Benedict Groeschel started the day discussing marriage and its enemies.

“I am sorry to tell you that there are in public in this country a number of Catholic priests who are not on our side. And it’s disgraceful,” he said. “Know where your enemies are and know where your friends are. As Cardinal Newman says, ‘Don’t worry about the enemies of the Church outside the Church, worry about the enemies of the Church inside the Church.’ And I want to state that categorically they are enemies of the Church and I will happily ‘take them on’ on television anytime.”

In his closing remarks he told the audience to have courage in the years ahead. “In the history of this world and until the end of time there will never be a Golden Age. There will be nice times and bad times. We live at a pivotal time to keep the faith and true ideas of Christendom alive. And where do you begin? In family life—in marriage.”