We hope that all
of you are enjoying the Christmas season.
May it all bring us closer to Christ and His mother. May the Christ child bless you abundantly in
the coming new year. I was on time with
our Christmas greeting and here’s our annual newsletter for 2012. It will probably be a little long; so I put in
subtitles to make it easier to scan and read only what interests you. I tried to shorten it by putting in links to
my blogs to whatever you might be interested in for greater detail for future
reading if time permits. I would suggest
that you write an annual family newsletter or individual one if single because
a collection of them on disk or hard copy makes for a great family history for
posterity after we’re gone. If you do
it; I’ll read it. Promise! I’d be most interested.
Naomi and I went on the March for Life in
Washington January 22-23 as we did in and 2010 with a busload of people from
our parish and two others of southeastern Ohio along with a few
non-Catholics. The Catholic Women’s Club
and a second collection helped to underwrite it. It’s a great experience. Our entire family
went in 2008. For a detailed account of
it, click on http://paulrsebastianphd.blogspot.com/2012/01/southeastern-ohio-residents-march-for.html.
On the bus I had a long dialogue with a former witch and a Protestant
minister. She seemed to be so
sympathetic to the Church and observed how misunderstood Catholics are. Later she followed her daughter into the
Catholic Church. An even greater
experience would be going with a group to pray at an abortion clinic.
Abby Johnson, a former director of a Planned Parenthood Abortion Mill (http://www.abbyjohnson.org/) and author of the book, “Unplanned”, repeated and emphasized in a televised talk that the single most effective thing that one can do for the Pro-life cause is to simply pray silently and peacefully in front of an abortion clinic. The love showed despite some risk had a profound effect upon her. Sidewalk counseling is only effective if one is well trained.
Abby Johnson, a former director of a Planned Parenthood Abortion Mill (http://www.abbyjohnson.org/) and author of the book, “Unplanned”, repeated and emphasized in a televised talk that the single most effective thing that one can do for the Pro-life cause is to simply pray silently and peacefully in front of an abortion clinic. The love showed despite some risk had a profound effect upon her. Sidewalk counseling is only effective if one is well trained.
John-Paul, Our First College Graduate. We did a
lot of traveling in 2012. First was our
trek by our salvage ’04 Chevy Cavalier (bought at 120,000 miles and now at 205,000)
to Ave Maria University near Naples (see http://www.avemaria.edu/
for a virtual tour), Florida for John-Paul’s graduation. However, Naomi missed it because of the prom
and Stephanie was in the middle of final exams.
Stephanie, however, visited him for Holy Week. John-Paul graduated Magna Cum Laude as a
member of the University’s eighth graduation class with a demanding double
major in Math and Economics with an emphasis on a Catholic liberal arts
education. Having taken four years of
college courses at the University of Rio Grande as a high school student, he
was able to transfer many courses that facilitated a double major. He was also named the Outstanding Economics
Student, thus utilizing his full tuition scholarship to the utmost.
Jeb
Bush, former governor of Florida, was the commencement speaker, a friend of Ave
Maria University President H. James Towey (see http://www.avemaria.edu/AboutAveMaria/PresidentsPage.aspx). He was one of George W. Bush’s senior advisers
and member of his senior staff who attended Cabinet meetings as Director of the
White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives from 2002 to 2006. He was also Blessed Mother Theresa’s counsel
in the U.S. for 12 years. Towey is
determined to keep Ave Maria University an authentic Catholic Christ centered
campus despite rapid growth with aspirations to be a top academic institution
as Notre Dame. One faculty member says
this is very doable because the faculty is behind the concept as opposed to St.
Vincent College where he was previously president. Michael Novak, one of their professors, was
decorated by the President of Poland and gave a lecture on social justice at
the Presidential Palace (see http://www.avemaria.edu/NewsEvents/News/tabid/92/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/139/Ave-Maria-University-Professor-Decorated-by-President-of-the-Republic-of-Poland.aspx. On our way back we stopped at St.
Augustine, Florida which has a definite Spanish colonial flavor and a
well preserved colonial fort. It’s
really worth the stop (see http://www.floridashistoriccoast.com/?gclid=CLnKsuno37QCFUeRPAod63sARQ).
Celebrating the 60th
Wedding Anniversary of cousin Martha and Joe Loya
at the Byzantine Cathedral in Parma was a highlight
for the extended family. Deacon Greg
Loya and his six sons as altar boys all participated in the Mass. They were married in St. Mary’s Byzantine Catholic
Church in East Pittsburgh in May 1952.
Their wedding reception featured a Hungarian gypsy band. Fred (bless his soul) was a baby and John was
a cute ten year old runt who managed to get in on every wedding picture. Martha and Joe had more than their share of
crosses over the years including the tragic death of their only daughter, but
stuck it out with faith and courage.
They were rewarded with the joy of having eight grandchildren and one of
their four sons being a dedicated priest (Fr. Tom) and another a deacon (Greg).
Another highlight was the 50th
Wedding Anniversary of Betty and Bob Foley (Martha’s
brother). Congratulations! May they have many more anniversaries
together. May we all do as well. I just got out of the Army in time to attend
their wedding in Philadelphia in October 1962.
Finding His First Job.
John-Paul
found www.catholicjobs.com
to be a great starting point after graduation.
We traveled to Stafford, Virginia at the beginning of June for an interview
at a parish Catholic middle school and then to Benedictine Academy, a Catholic
military high school in Richmond, a long shot for a guy with no teaching
experience or education courses.
John-Paul is a natural teacher, having taught his four year old sister
how to read and write while in the first grade, even writing lesson plans. Before returning, we stayed one day with
Stephanie’s classmate, Abby Quinan in Manassas, Virginia, the site of a major Civil
War battle for a critical railroad junction.
We had a great time with the Quinan family and doing some sightseeing in
town. Her mother is amazing in home
schooling I believe five children and working as a nurse.
When
we returned, John-Paul found a newly posted ad for Ville de Marie Academy in
Scottsdale, Arizona just outside of Phoenix.
All of a sudden, everything fell into place as often happens when it’s
the Lord’s will. The Headmaster, Mr. J. Hickle
, called John-Paul an hour or so after he sent out his e-mail resume. The next day JP was invited for an interview
and given an offer before returning. So
he was able to finish his Accounting course at the University of Rio Grande and
play softball in the Church Softball League while preparing to teach Math,
Physical Science, Biology, and gym.
Catholic Familyland.
At the beginning of July our family helped out at Catholic Familyland (see www.familyland.org)
just outside of Steubenville. Prior to that we had to bet fingerprinted and go
through an FBI background check by diocesan regulations. Now they’re going from one extreme to the
other. After a home visit, Stephanie worked
for the summer at Thomas Aquinas College in the cafeteria. We did such tasks as helping to supervise the
500 foot water slide, help out in maintenance and setup for events, bus tables,
etc. It’s great as a family
retreat. About 100 families attended the
six days of pray and play. Each had their own cabin with room for 1 family of
eleven. There’s something for all
members of the family.
All
attend Mass in the morning with enthusiasm and have religious talks and
activities. The afternoons are filled
with water slides, swimming, softball, soccer, basketball, tennis, volleyball,
and even chess with tournaments. Joseph
won the chess tournament and John-Paul had his best games ever in the basketball
tournament which his team won. After a
catered supper, there’s a rosary & marshmallows bonfire night, an amateur
show, a square dance, family banner night, etc.
Later in the evening, the teens have a couple of hours of fun and faith
formation with a night of Eucharistic Adoration. Several confessors hear confessions every afternoon,
each under the shade of a tree. For more
detail and information, see www.familyland.com
and a future blog of mine at http://paulrsebastianphd.blogspot.com. Their www.FamilyCatechism.com
has the complete Catechism of the Catholic Church. Then there's a weekly guide to teach the
faith at home, www.FamilyCatechesis.com
because the primary educators in the Faith are the parents. In addition, www.familylandtv.com
provides a wide selection of television programs to watch at your convenience
instead of being tied down to a particular time.
Westward Ho! At the beginning of August, we helped
John-Paul buy a salvage 2010 Honda Civic and decided to help him to drive it to
Phoenix as well as assist him in finding an apartment and moving in. The trip was so long (almost three days) that
I thought at times we were in a covered wagon.
Finally, we made the descent form a high plateau of the Rocky Mountain
chain. It’s almost providential that our
good friends, Richard & Celina Koczwara and their beautiful family live in
Mesa, another suburb of Phoenix and operates an 11 room motel (see http://www.desertrosemotelaz.com/). We had a wonderful stay with them and
thoroughly enjoyed their traditional Polish hospitality for almost a week while
looking for an apartment with John-Paul.
This city in the middle of the desert is beautiful, especially during
winter, but it was an oven when we were there……115 F…….still more comfortable
than the muggy 90 F in the east. One
afternoon we had a fascinating visit to the Goldfield 1890s vintage ghost town
a half hour away (see http://www.goldfieldghosttown.com/).
John-Paul’s
school, Ville de Maria Academy (see http://www.villedemarieacademy.org/),
a Catholic college prep school with only about 75 students, has only a handful
of students in each class, great for individual attention in its classical
liberal arts curriculum. Its small
faculty is very dedicated to make the school Christ centered with the faith
integrated into all of its courses while still being very good
academically. We’re very happy that
John-Paul has a key role in this very noble enterprise that has so much potential. Next year it will occupy the closed St.
Daniel School. With more space in a
parish environment, it hopes to expand and be better able to compete with the
excellent charter schools in the area.
Visiting Stephanie at Thomas
Aquinas College in Santa Paula, California. Finally, we drove the car across the desert
with its occasional almost blinding sandstorms into California to visit
Stephanie at Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula just outside of northwest
Los Angeles. The scenery there is breathtaking,
being nestled in a bowl surrounded by mountains with a newly constructed church
standing out. That together with the
landscaping, ponds, gardens, & an orange grove plus Spanish colonial type architecture
makes it one of the most beautiful campuses in the world. The functioning pendulum and statues of great
scholars further gives a great learning atmosphere. Click on http://www.thomasaquinas.edu/
for a slide show on its home page. Naomi
was already there for a two week summer great books program for high school
seniors.
The
beautiful church recently constructed dominates the campus. Much of any Mass there is in Latin. We attended one Liturgy during the week in
the old Tridentine Mass completely in Latin.
I thought I was in a time capsule going back to the 1950s as a kid. They have a staff of full time priests to
attend to the spiritual development of the students as well. Most of the students attend daily Mass and
each dorm has prayer to end the day.
Being
ranked among America’s Top Colleges by the U.S. News & World Report, Forbes,
and the Princeton Review, Thomas Aquinas College is probably the best Catholic
liberal arts college in the country (See http://www.thomasaquinas.edu/about/press-releases). The entire very demanding standard curriculum
for all graduates is based upon reading the great books in the
original……Aristotle, Homer, Plato, Augustine, Aquinas with some readings in the
original Latin, Shakespeare, Euclid with the same proofs & propositions, Einstein,
etc. Reading and discussing these
pioneering works puts the student in the shoes of the pioneer intellectual who
encountered obstacles, road blocks, and contradictions. The student goes through the same
discovering and reasoning processes as the original scholars to obtain insights
and arrive at the truth in the advancement of knowledge throughout history…….Theology,
Philosophy, Mathematics, and the empirical sciences with labs.
The
focus in this Christ centered institution is upon searching for the true, the
good, and the beautiful in God’s creation.
The small classes (less than 20 students) with a total enrollment of 358
are based upon the Socratic Method (mainly discussion) with an emphasis upon
rhetoric and developing the mind. Classroom
discussion even spills over into the cafeteria after class.
Stephanie
will have a general liberal arts degree quite equivalent to majors in
Philosophy and Theology. Many of their
graduates teach and do parish work.
Others go on to graduate school to pursue a variety of specialties……law,
business, medicine, education, etc. Tragically,
one of Stephanie’s friends there, Andrew Kent Moore ended up as a martyr for
the pro-life cause in the Walk Across America.
You can read the details on my blog at http://paulrsebastianphd.blogspot.com/2012_07_01_archive.html. With each home visit, we see in Stephanie marked
intellectual and spiritual growth. She’s
our scholar, a perfect fit for Thomas Aquinas College and she loves it. In addition to the academic, Stephanie works
13 hours a week since they don’t give academic scholarships as such; participates
in social functions; and takes part in different intramural sports. Her high school varsity experience makes her
a standout in basketball.
Back to Kent State. After flying back to Columbus minus John-Paul
and Stephanie, it was back to school for Naomi and Joseph. In September Jaga and I attended the
celebration of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Kent
State University Catholic Newman Center.
Needless to say, the campus looked so different and it was great seeing
old friends, especially Janet and Bob Stadulis who were wonderful to us,
inviting us for Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving. I wrote about it and the crucial importance
of Newman Center or Club on the secular campus in my blog at http://paulrsebastianphd.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-newman-clubcenter-catholic-presence.html.
The visit of the International
Pilgrim Virgin Statue in October and later the visit of the Pilgim Image of Our
Lady of Guadalupe in December (sponsored by the Knights of Columbus)
were among the highlights of our parish devotions. Our pastor combined it with Eucharistic Adoration
for 24 hours each time. It was such a
privilege to be involved in its promotion.
To our great surprise, our local newspaper not only published much of my
article on the first visit, but also published a photo of the statue in color
on the front page. For greater detail
including fascinating facts about Our Lady of Fatima and Our Lady of Guadalupe,
see my blogs #95-96 for the former and #104-106 for the latter at http://paulrsebastianphd.blogspot.com.
Naomi
is a senior, her fourth year in the PSO program at the University of Rio Grande
where she simultaneously receives high school and college credits for each
course she takes there. It’s still seven
straight semesters of all A’s (one A-).
She continues on the Swimming Team for her base high school, Gallia
Academy and hopes to make the district championship meet in her specialties of breast
stroke and the butterfly. Naomi works as
a cashier nine hours a week at the El Toril Mexican Restaurant in town and
three hours a week with the local Municipal Court.
In
November we made a campus visit to Franciscan University of Steubenville, a
very Christ centered Catholic university.
This is one of the few Catholic Colleges that has remained very faithful
to their original missions. John Paul’s
Ave Maria University and Stephanie’s Thomas Aquinas College are of the same
mold. Naomi plans to get a Bachelor
Degree in Nursing and then go to graduate school to become a midwife. We ran into one of the leaders of the
Diocesan Youth Rally who is on the swimming team. So she arranged to meet the Swimming coach
and observe one of their practices.
Naomi is only a few seconds within the times of their best swimmers. She fit right in and got a partial
scholarship to boot.
Joseph
is a sophomore, his first year in the same PSO program as Naomi at the
University of Rio Grande. The baby of
the family is already the tallest of all of us.
He plays basketball and tennis in the spring for Gallia Academy. He’s also one of the top members of his high
school’s Quiz Bowl team. He is an avid
reader, subscribing to the Weekly Standard and regularly reads the National
Review online.
Jaga
continues as a full time mother since we have two kids still in the nest and
the other two come home during the Christmas and summer breaks. Our family is blessed. That frees her to volunteer as a nurse in the
Free Clinic we helped to found, to work in a soup kitchen, to be a member of
the Catholic Women’s Club, and other activities as daily Mass and reading the
Divine Office each day. Because Jaga is
a stay at home Mom, I can get involved in considerable volunteer work.
Paul
continues as a Eucharistic Minister to the sick. I have learned the value of suffering in
becoming closer to God and have the opportunity to unite one’s cross with the
Lord’s cross, offering it all up as a dynamic prayer for the Church, the
missions, for our country, and our loved ones.
In this way the sick person can be more valuable than the President! The Knights of Columbus is also a great
opportunity for fellowship and service. I
continue on the Steering Committee of the Diocesan Men’s Day of Renewal (see
our Conference Blog by clicking on www.diosteubmen.org).
Fr. Tom Loya has been one of our
speakers and has four articles on that blog. I’m also vice-president of our free
clinic (see Blogs #90 & 91 of http://paulrsebastianphd.blogspot.com.
Jaga
and I are advisers to the Catholic Newman Club of the
University of Rio Grande where I am Professor Emeritus and a member of the Chaplaincy
Board. With what time is left, I
like to write for the Gallipolis Daily Tribune and my blog
at http://paulrsebastianphd.blogspot.com. Take a look at the titles; I think that you’ll
like at least some of them, especially Blog #102 on a detailed analysis of the unsustainability
of the National Debt. Being busier than
ever in retirement is a lot better than becoming a couch potato and wither
away. Retirement is such an opportunity
to serve on one’s own terms and pace while keeping sharp mentally and
intellectually and utilizing past experience and skills acquired over the years
for the benefit of God’s people. On the
fun side, I follow the Pittsburgh Pirates and Pittsburgh Steelers closely along
with Rio Grande sports. To keep in shape
I try to take daily half hour walks and a weekly mile swim. Changing strokes and keeping a good rhythm
makes it rather easy.
So 2012 took us from a beach on the Atlantic
Ocean at St Augustine to another beach on the Pacific Ocean at Ventura as we
continue to carry on with our family, aspiring to grow spiritually and doing
our part for the Church and the Community.
When you die, may the world be just a little bit better because of
you. God bless.
