This gathering, entitled “Pope Francis, Vatican II, and the Way Forward,” is in its second iteration, following the success of last year’s inaugural event of the same title held on March 25 and 26 at Loyola University Chicago. Once again, Chatham House Rules will be in effect for all participants.  

The event is co-sponsored by centers at three Jesuit universities: The Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life at Boston College, the Hank Center for the Catholic Intellectual Heritage at Fordham University, and the Center on Religion and Culture at Fordham University. 

The directors of those three centers serve as co-coordinators of the event: Fr. Mark Massa, S.J. of Boston College, Michael P. Murphy of Loyola University Chicago, and David Gibson of Fordham University. The three have been meeting weekly over Zoom since June of last year to plan for this year’s summit.  

Speaking on the second staging of this event, Fr. Massa said, “We’re building on the strength of what happened last year in Chicago … something like 32 of the 35 bishops wrote ‘please invite me back.’” 

According to Fr. Massa, himself a historian of U.S. Catholic culture and thought, the guiding question of the event has been, “How can we address and evangelize our culture more successfully and be less divided amongst ourselves ideologically? 

“I knew it was working [last year] when … I saw one of the reporters of the National Catholic Reporter talking to a cardinal right on Michigan Avenue.” 

Fr. Massa also mentioned that a cardinal said to him at lunch last year at the Chicago event “We would never talk about this at the USCCB.” Fr. Massa said that at the USCCB, “The bishops don’t talk that honestly to each other because there’s huge divisions politically.” 

“Unlike last year, this is a more focused event because last year we were talking about problems to achieving inner unity in the American church,” said Fr. Massa. “This year we’re actually using Pope Francis’s call to synodality as sort of the focal point.” 

“Synodality is neither conservative or liberal,” continued Fr. Massa. “It goes back all the way … to the beginnings of Christianity.”

“That we even have a second year is I think a gift of the Holy Spirit,” said Gibson. “We thought something needed to be done to give another space for conversation and for sharing … and the reaction was so positive to it … I think this will maybe be an annual thing for the foreseeable future.”

“The first year was setting out the stakes of the problems and the challenges … the first year was framing. And now we’re going into implementation … for example, synodality.” 

Murphy emphasized the importance of the theme of synodality, describing it as “part of the way forward vision that we have, which is to inhabit and live the Second Vatican Council and what its documents called for more faithfully in the 21st century.” 

Speaking on the process of synodality and its listening component, Murphy commented, “Where does that listening go? Well, certainly it’s prayerful and it’s in that tradition of being Church together, but it’s also living things out, helping solve complex social problems that are outlined.” 

Murphy, reflecting his background in literary and political cultures of Catholicism, also provided an angle on the role that tradition will play at the summit. 

“The bishops and the academies, the universities, have been apart for a while, and so we bring them back together and we have journalists as well. We get all these groups together to help depolarize and inhabit our tradition, which is a faith and reason tradition, to talk, pray, and work.” 

Emphasizing the work ethos of Catholic tradition, Murphy added that the event has “a summit quality, but it doesn’t want to stay there in the clouds … these bishops need to be the nodes of action.” 

Gibson, a journalist by trade, grounded the event in the broader Catholic space of dialogue. 

“There have been a lot of other movements of the Spirit, almost capillary, peripheral initiatives: Common Ground Movement, Voices of the Faithful, other things where Catholics have been able to have these conversations. And ours, I think, is one of those.” 

“Like society at large, we in the Church are in trouble when it comes to healthy conversations,” Gibson continued. “At the same time, I think the division or polarization is exaggerated, and it’s very often confined to a very angry segment on the Catholic ‘right’… it’s an angry, vocal segment of one particular type of Catholic.” 

“For one thing, all voices need to be heard. But, it’s also other voices, voices not associated with that angry, polarizing cohort, [that] need to organize themselves … That’s what we’re doing … We would rather, as they say, light a candle than curse the darkness.” 

Speaking on their hopes for the reception of this event, which drew some scrutiny after last year’s rendition for being secretive, exclusive, and divisive, the co-coordinators each expressed their vision. 

“We had a website last time, we had public liturgies, so the charge of secrecy was rather absurd,” said Gibson. “We’re proud of this as a sign of one of the many initiatives in the Church to incarnate that kind of synodal spirit.”

Fr. Massa added, “The reason why we’re so eager to invite most of the bishops from last year is that they proved themselves in the process, they’re very good listeners, they genuinely want to talk to theologians but also address theologians when they think theologians are wrong on things, so it’s a learning process on both sides … there’s precious few places in the American Catholic Church where that can happen.” 

Murphy said, “This idea was never meant to supplant the Common Ground initiative, which still lives, but we were just drawn to restoring these relationships out of the context of self-evident hyper-polarization; we had to fix it in our church first … we’re trying to do what we can to serve the Church from our location and bring the people together.”  

The keynote speakers include Rafael Luciani (Boston College) on “Synodality: A New Phase in the Reception of the Council,” Robin Darling Young (Catholic University of America) on “Synodality in the Early Church,” Hosffman Ospino (Boston College) on “Practical and Pastoral Theology,” and Bishop Daniel Flores (Diocese of Brownsville) on “Collegiality, Synodality, and the Pastoral Vision of Pope Francis.” 

Gibson said, “I hope people will see it as the constructive conversation we are sure it will be.”

Professor Polt, who is a tenured member of the Boston College faculty, teaches a class on “Beast Literature” (CLAS4280) which seeks to understand what “literature featuring articulate animals say[s] about our attitudes towards humans, animals, and the lines we draw between them.” 

As an assignment before the class, the students were required as homework to draw “fursonas” of themselves (drawings of what they imagined they would look like as an animal/furry).

Professor Polt is a self-identifying queer man and furry who on his personal Twitter account (@CBPolt) describes himself as “[w]orking to preserve & share furry culture.” Polt posted photos of these individuals in their anthropomorphic animal costumes which were taken during his class on February 23 with the caption, “this is the most amazing class I’ve ever had.” He also posted on his Twitter account a photo of two cakes that he brought for the students of his class which read, “sorry for making you furries,” in reference to the “fursonas” that the students were asked to draw.

One unidentified student on Herrd, BC’s anonymous posting app, wrote, “Why is BC funding a furry?” to which another student replied, “If ur talking about the prof it’s cause he’s pretty cool and his class is really fun”. On Twitter, one student posted, “I walk into class and this:” showing a photo taken in class of the four furries.

Boudin has a checkered background; his parents were imprisoned for their involvement with the Weather Underground, a left-wing terrorist group, and he was raised by fellow member Bill Ayers. 

In July of 2022, Boudin was recalled and removed from office by the residents of San Francisco due to dissatisfaction with his tenure. This fact was brought up during the panel discussion, to which Boudin responded by claiming that the people actually did want him. He blamed funding from right-wing opponents for his recall.

Boudin only received 35 percent of the vote in his 2019 election, but was elected by virtue of the ranked choice voting system for San Francisco district attorney. In his recall election, 55 percent of San Francisco residents, a strong majority in a usually progressive city, voted to remove him from office.

Boudin’s vision for progressive prosecution was to eliminate cash bail, and to avoid practice of the “broken windows” theory, which encourages strict enforcement of minor offenses in order to prevent larger ones. He claimed that this theory is not borne out by the data, and that prosecution of low level crimes are products of Jim Crow.

He argued that the larger share of attention should be given to major crimes, like gun violence and sexual assault. He also claimed that under his tenure, crime went down 20 percent. However, lesser but more common crimes, such as shoplifting and car theft, increased significantly during his tenure.

In California, up to $950 worth of goods can be stolen and still count as simple shoplifting, while in other states theft of that value would be charged as a misdemeanor. Boudin did not want to focus on these lesser crimes during his tenure, and this gave him a poor reputation in San Francisco for his management of crime, for which he was recalled.

Boudin highlighted that progressive prosecutors need to be committed to a vision of justice that minimizes incarceration. Several times during his time as district attorney, there were high profile cases of repeat offenders being released from custody and then going on to commit more crimes.

Despite his rhetoric stating that he was recalled due to a right-wing funded conspiracy, his recall was actually led overwhelmingly by Democrats. In particular, Asian-Americans living in San Francisco, who had especially suffered from anti-Asian hate crimes under Boudin’s watch, supported his recall.

Boudin continues to have a rosy depiction of his vision and his own popularity, despite the results of his policies and the general disapproval for his conduct. Although he claimed that his policies were data driven, San Francisco residents continued to voice their displeasure with his actions. 

His replacement for DA, Brooke Jenkins, has implemented harsher sentencing practices since taking office. She won a November 2022 special election to serve out the rest of Boudin’s term. She received 53 percent of the vote.

James O’Donovan contributed to the reporting on this article.

Faggioli stated that the power structures in the Church are unstable and that the voice of the Episcopate is in a “moral wilderness.” He also said that the Church needs new ways to proclaim the gospel with the voice of the people over the “clerical elite.”

Overall, there was a strong focus on the prophetic voice of the laity. Faggioli said that there is a strong link between prophecy and apostolicity. Quoting Edward I, he said, “What touches all should be approved by all,” to emphasize the need for lay voices in the Church.

Faggioli also quoted Yves Congar, a significant figure of the Second Vatican Council who stressed the Ecclesiology of the Episcopate and the Laity, especially the Threefold Office of Christ which we receive at Baptism—priest, prophet, and king. Faggioli believes that the prophecy role of each member of the Church consists of “teaching and mystical knowledge.” It should be mentioned that the full quote on this role in Lumen Gentium lists the Council’s definition of this role which does not mention mystical knowledge, but rather prophecy as the witnessing to the Faith through living as an example, “especially by means of a life of faith and charity and by offering to God a sacrifice of praise.”

Faggioli said that there is a “general instability” to the Catholic order and that there has been a collapse of Church authority and legitimacy. He believes that there has been a “politicization of prophecy.” Faggioli stated that he also believes the claim of the Church as being a counter-cultural organization is made to legitimize the Church’s stances and “prophetic nature.” However, it should be noted that many of the Church’s teachings which are considered counter-cultural are defended in the Catholic Catechism.

Faggioli reached his assessment of the current Synod on Synodality. He called the process a “de-Europeanization of Catholicism” and he listed his main issues that are on the table.

First is the “challenge to rethink the apostolic voice.” In this issue, Faggioli questioned the relationship between the Teaching Church and the Learning Church. He said that synodality cannot be reduced to “another wave of interpretation of Vatican II,” and that the Church should transition from a Theology of Church Teaching to a Theology of Revelation.

Second, he said there can be no Church of the future without the voice of the people- the laity. He said their prophecies, “haven’t been listened to at home in the Church” and that the Church needs more “open doors.”

Third, he brought up ministeriality. He believes that the Church should move from male ordained ministry towards a “plurality” of ministerial roles. He said that there are risks of the “gentrification of prophecy.”

Fourth, he spoke about women in the Church. He called them “guests in their own house” and emphasized that the “vision and prophecy” of women should be noticed. He also said that one issue that should be looked at exclusively is executive roles for women in the curia and more offices.

Finally, he spoke on Prophecy and the Charismatic element. He said that in the wake of the abuse scandal, the dangers of seeking popularity at home for “prophets of prophetic charisma” have been made visible. Faggioli noted they have hidden behind the mask of communities that try to “save the Church.”

In his conclusion, Faggioli said that the Church currently reacts to secularism with “apologetics on enmity.” As a result, he says we are often seen as a Church in which God is an “enemy of men and women.” He quoted Dei Verbum saying, “God speaks to humankind as friends.” He said that Theology is becoming “sectarian and un-Catholic.” He did not give any specific examples of these divisions, nor did he give examples of what the voices being denied are asking for. 

Finally, Faggioli said that there is a need to “enlarge the tent” of the Church and that there is a need for evangelization that is not measurable in political victory, but rather a “Church walking towards the Kingdom.”

Carroll was made the superintendent of the system in 2019, and has been working furiously to revamp the state of the Catholic diocesan schools in Boston and its surrounding suburbs.

Carroll described the situation he entered upon through Cardinal Dolan’s comment that “American Catholic education has become hospice care.” The superintendent considers most Catholic schools to be hopelessly secularized and desperately in need of revitalization.

In particular, Carroll cited the statistics of a decline from 5 million to 1.6 million enrolled students in Catholic schools nationwide in the span of the 1960s to the current day. His assessment: “We are one generation away from the [churches] becoming museums.”

Though there is a dearth of teachers all around, Carroll noted in particular a lack of men stepping up to the plate. He cited the lack of strong male faith role models in the classroom as one of the critical maladies inflicting the Church and causing an outflux of young men throughout the years.

As a convert himself, Carroll emphasized that the battle he is waging is above all “a fight for souls” in the field of education. Thus, he stated that his efforts have been to reverse the secularization of the Catholic school system and make them places where young men and women grow in virtue toward eternal life.

In the wake of COVID-19 school closures, in which Catholic schools capitalized by opening unusually early and thus saw a reversal of the six-decade decay in numbers, Carroll saw a special opportunity to open the windows and clear the air.

One of the more surprising statistics Carroll presented was how radically he has cycled his subordinates. For example, in his relatively brief time in office, he has replaced 45 school principals, though he insisted that they cycled out of their own accord.

  However, more daring on Carroll’s part was the primary subject of his talk at the STM: The St. Thomas More Teaching Fellowship (no relation to aforementioned society).

Building on the albeit short-lived boost in finances and numbers, Carroll has initiated through this fellowship a program for rapidly collecting and training prospective teachers according to his ideal of a new evangelization starting in the classroom.

Carroll’s vision, which has already been tested with promising results, is to gather and instruct fellowship members in large cohorts, and then send them into the schools. They would also be required to share apartments and homes, found with the diocese’s help, for the duration of the fellowship to facilitate a sense of unity and fraternity in their efforts.

Here is where the self-described Catholic Boss Tweed’s scheme reaches BC’s broader population. Carroll’s vigorous campaign recruits fresh teachers without a degree in education. His requirements: Talent and a firm commitment to the teachings of the Church. In his view, BC is a promising recruitment ground.

Of course, the superintendent made it clear that he would not accept just anyone in this fellowship. Though a specialized degree in education is not necessary, his motto for selection is: “Talent, talent, talent!” He surveyed his audience at BC with hope.

Carroll encouraged all students present, but most especially upperclassmen and graduate students, to consider reaching out and inquiring further into the fellowship, no matter how certain the prospects of committing. 

Further information can be found on the Fellowship’s page on the Arcadia Education Group website.

On Saturday after breakfast, the students prayed Morning Prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours. Then, upperclassmen leaders gave personal testimonies about the different ways they have encountered the Lord, such as through personal struggles, social justice, and finding God’s grace in their faith journeys, with each talk centering around a cardinal virtue: prudence, justice, temperance, or courage.

The students later separated into small groups of three-to-five people each and shared more intimate conversations reflecting on their lives of faith both on and off campus.

During their free time, the students got to relax, chat, and get to know each other better while playing Bananagrams, singing, dancing, and eating meals.

Students also participated in Ignatian contemplative prayer, such as the Examen, as well as getting the chance to pray individually.

“My favorite part of the retreat,” said Jack Dillihunt, CSOM ‘26, “was getting to spend time praying in nature with two of my good friends; we went down to the lake which was just down the hill from the main house and we got to sit in silence peacefully contemplating the Lord’s goodness.” 

When asked if he would recommend Ignite to a friend, particularly a freshman, Jack replied: “Absolutely, because you get to meet people who similarly want to grow closer to God in holiness.”

Regarding the retreat’s influence on participants’ spiritual life, Christopher Tomeo, MCAS ‘26, said that “Ignite gave me a greater sense of interior peace that made me know I was loved by God, a peace that hasn’t left me till this day,” said Christopher Tomeo, MCAS ‘26, regarding the retreat’s influence on participants’ spiritual lives. “I’m especially grateful to our wise upperclassmen who counseled the freshmen well.” 

He was glad he went on the trip since he, “got to know many freshmen who I wouldn’t otherwise have met. I gained a greater knowledge during the trip, and I appreciated the fact that Ignite provided great access to the Sacraments, in particular Confession, and Sunday’s Mass.”

One of the leaders heading Ignite this year, Jackson Claflin, MCAS ‘25, spoke to the Torch about his decision to lead as well as the purpose of such a freshmen-oriented retreat.

“A lot of the retreat leaders had been on the retreat as freshmen, and we found many of our best friends there,” Claflin said. “We wanted to pass on that experience to freshmen, who are often struggling to find authentic friendship. A retreat like Ignite is a rare place where freshmen intentionally come together to grow closer to God, and that common mission is a great foundation for friendship. By leaving behind our daily worries and obligations on campus for a weekend, we were all able to focus entirely on faith and fellowship, and it was a beautiful experience.”

“I wish that we would have spent more time outside enjoying the beauty of God’s natural creation,” Dillihunt added. “I really enjoyed how we prayed the Liturgy of the Hours together, and I would like to see more of that type of prayer in the future.”

If any changes were to be made by Chris, he “would have loved some more unstructured time during the day.” He said that “although the many activities were wonderful, it was a bit overwhelming at times.”

Improvements such as these could help to make the experience even more engaging and fulfilling for the next round of freshmen retreat-goers.

After another successful retreat, this Boston College tradition is sure to ignite faith in the hearts of many students for years to come.

The memo was condemned by the USCCB and several prominent bishops. Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, chair of the USCCB’s Committee for Religious Liberty, issued a statement on the document. “Let me first be clear: Anyone who espouses racism or promotes violence is rejecting Catholic teaching on the inherent dignity of each and every person.” Cardinal Dolan made it clear that white supremacist views have no place within the Catholic Church.

However, he also emphasized that the nature of the FBI memo was troubling, particularly “in its religious profiling and reliance on dubious sourcing” and that he was glad that the FBI had rescinded the memo. He cautioned that he hoped that the contents of the memo, and the disturbing trend of labeling Catholics as extremists, would not permeate future activity by the FBI.

The FBI has since retracted the document, stating that “it does not meet our exacting standards.” While this may be true, the document itself states that it made its assessment “with a high degree of confidence.” The FBI has not explained the process by which the information of the document was reviewed for inclusion. It is also not clear that the document would have been retracted were it not leaked.

The FBI has justified monitoring of religious groups for the purpose of monitoring terrorism in the past. The ACLU previously reported that in 2006, an FBI agent pretended to convert to Islam and began spying on Orange County Muslims. He gathered information from hundreds of Muslims, but was reported to the police by the community once he began to espouse extremist views.

Cardinal Dolan and the rest of the USCCB are expressing worries that something similar will occur within traditionalist Catholic communities. The FBI memo states that there is ideological overlap between traditional Catholics and extremist groups, including abortion and LGBTQ. However, the memo does not distinguish what separates the beliefs of traditional Catholics from the mainline beliefs of the Catholic Church on these issues.

For example, the Catholic Church holds that abortion is gravely immoral and advocates for its legal restriction. This is presumably an overlapping belief between traditional Catholics and extremists that the FBI is highlighting. Does this qualify as a position that would warrant monitoring by the FBI? If so, then there is nothing that would stop the FBI from spying on the Catholic Church writ large.

The USCCB recognizes that what happened to Muslims in the aftermath of 9/11 could happen to Catholics. They want to make sure that Catholics who are merely adhering to the beliefs of the Church are not going to be unfairly targeted for their faith. The FBI retracted the memo, which seems to signal that the Church will be safe for now, but the threat of persecution still looms.

Schlozman began the lecture by outlining statistics surrounding the political affiliations of different religious groups in the United States, noting that shares of religious affiliations in the U.S. population have changed over time.

Schlozman stated that two thirds of Americans identify as Christian, but that Catholics and mainline Protestants have suffered a decreased adherence and share of the population.

She then noted that although they are outnumbered two to one by Latino Catholics, Latino Evangelicals are a growing share of the population, and that the majority are converts from Catholicism.

Now a quarter of all American adults, Schlozman recognized that the number of religiously unaffiliated persons (atheists, agnostics, and so-called “nones”) have “soared in recent years,” who by number exceed each of the number of Catholics, mainline Protestants, and Evangelicals.

As for the unaffiliated, Schlozman claimed that they are much more likely to “accept science” and less likely to attend religious services, and that a high proportion of the unaffiliated are educated, white, and young.

Calling differing party loyalties among religious affiliations “nothing new,” Schlozman stated that in the early 1970s the previous New Deal era split between Catholic Democrats and Protestant Republicans shifted to one between “churched” Republicans and “unchurched” Democrats.

After summarizing voting patterns by religious affiliation (and in some cases by ethnicity within each affiliation), Schlozman summarized her half of the lecture by claiming that Republicans “are a party of white Christians,” and that Democrats are “religiously diverse.”

Hopkins followed by proposing to refute three assumptions in the general relationships between religion and politics: that religious identity forms first, religious beliefs are more personal than political affiliations, and that religious beliefs are more strongly reinforced by social connections than political beliefs.

To the first assumption, Hopkins pointed out that adolescents often move away from religion and return after marriage, commonly forming political identities in that period, and that the trend of people marrying later in life exacerbates this trend.

To the second assumption, Hopkins argued that conservatives have increasingly labeled themselves as Evangelicals “even if they don’t subscribe.”

To the third assumption, Hopkins cited a statistic that Americans are less likely to marry someone of the opposite political party than someone of a differing religious affiliation, concluding that Americans are more likely to associate with those with similar political positions more strongly than their likelihood to associate with those with similar religious beliefs.

Hopkins then examined the perceived connection between white Evangelicals and the Republican Party, saying that adoption of an Evangelical identity is now seen “as a political act.”

He noted an increase of non-church attendance among professed Evangelicals, the rise of an “Evangelical” or “born-again” Catholic identity, and President Donald Trump’s switch in affiliation from Presbyterian to non-denominational.

As for the Democratic Party, Hopkins considered how the influence of political affiliation has potentially alienated liberals from churches. On this topic, he highlighted that those who move away from religion over time are proportionally Democrats.

Hopkins cited two “regular church-goers” that speak often of their religiosity—former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and President Joe Biden—as exceptions. Pelosi, a self-professed Catholic, was notably notified by Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco in May 2022  that she was “not to be admitted to Holy Communion unless and until she publicly repudiate her support for abortion ‘rights’ and confess and receive absolution for her cooperation in this evil in the sacrament of Penance.”

Fr. Mark Massa, S.J., Director of the Boisi Center, asked the first question of the question and answer session, asking why public figures he sees to be religious, such as Hillary Clinton, a self-professed Methodist, and Biden, who carries a Rosary and attends daily Mass often, are often portrayed as “godless,” adding: “Is this because of the abortion issue?”

Hopkins hypothesized that Democrats may be wary of talking too much about religion as it could alienate their coalition, with the exception of black Evangelicals, referring back to a statistic earlier presented by Schlozman that black Evangelicals are a very loyal Democratic voting group and her statement that they are the exception to Democrats being “some kind of godless party.”

They were the first performers to sing the piece “When I am Still” based on the “Londonderry Air,” as arranged by William Adams with text by ValLImar Jansesn. This piece was not specifically composed for LAG, however LAG was the first to perform this piece publicly. 

Ryan noted that “[LAG] has been rehearsing since December for this performance,” continuing that LAG has put in much work to do their best work. LAG rehearses around twice a week, on Wednesday and Sundays. Rather than performing in their usual four scale (soprano, alto, tenor and bass), LAG performed their piece in eight scale, where each voice category (soprano, alto, tenor, and bass) is split in half. She continued by stating that although the piece was challenging, “the challenge is for the greater glory of God.” We as Catholic Christians should try to honor God with all of our activities and things we do in our lives, or to live out a central Jesuit, Catholic principle, to find God in all things. LAG chooses to especially focus on finding God through their musical ministry during many of Boston College’s liturgical functions. While the individual singers of LAG have put in a lot of time, effort, and love into practicing this piece since December, Ryan told the Torch that Myers Chambers is like a “rock” of LAG, who will also be conducting another piece at the Carnegie Hall Concert. She also made sure to express her appreciation for all that Chambers has done for LAG. The bus ride to and from New York City is long, and they arrived back at 4:00 A.M, on Monday February 20(just in time for early morning classes), after leaving on Friday, February 17th. 

When not performing at Carnegie Hall, members of LAG find themselves ministering at many BC masses through their music. The sixty-five members of LAG have been divided into three cohorts who sing at St. Joe’s Chapel, St. Ignatius Church and Trinity Chapel. If one only goes to Mass at one of those three locations, one would think that LAG is in reality a lot smaller than it actually is. Interestingly, Ryan noted that many students who minister through LAG continue to do so in their freshman chapel even after their freshman year, revealing the bonds that they feel they have made and the good they think they have done ministering there. 

During larger campus Masses, such as the Mass of the Holy Spirit in September or the Advent Mass in December, the entirety of LAG gathers together to minister to the school population. Ryan also noted that LAG does not perform at Mass, but ministers through their music. She notes that “music has a unique capacity to lead people to God, through the lyrics, the instrumental qualities,” however ultimately, “the focus should be on Mass, and not on the music.” God is the source of and is goodness Himself, so worshippers should turn their focus toward him rather than on the accidents or external qualities of the Mass. When we worship these external qualities and not God himself, we fail to honor God and live in a right relationship with him. However, when LAG is not performing a liturgical function, Ryan noted that is when LAG is “performing” rather than ministering. In the spirit of St. Augustine, Ryan laughed and said “when you sing, you pray twice.” Both the work of singing and the prayer itself is pleasing to God and allows us to give him glory and direct our hearts toward him. 

Ryan also told the Torch that something that she loves about ministering through LAG during Sunday Masses at Boston College is getting to come together with other young students during Mass and truly form a Boston College faith community. She contrasted her experiences here with her home parish, where mostly older people worship. As for larger Boston College Masses (such as the Mass of the Holy Spirit in September, a cornerstone of Jesuits schools all around the world), something that Ryan particularly loves is how the school comes together despite interfaith differences. When asking about what made LAG so special to her, she responded that the four pillars of LAG are very important to her: faith, community, service, and social justice. The community aspect was especially important for her-LAG does not have auditions and all are welcome to join no matter their level of musical ability or expertise. To create community outside of ministering during Masses, LAG has a retreat as well. Furthermore, she noted that “all are welcome” at LAG. “People love to get to know one another and are very approachable.” The LAG community encourages anyone who is interested in ministering through music at Boston College to join. Ryan encourages would-be newcomers to come say hello at the LAG office (which is located directly next to Eagle’s Nest and close to the mailroom). 

While LAG’s performance in Carnegie Hall on February 19 is once in a lifetime; LAG’s music ministry is ongoing during Masses and other functions throughout the year. Through faith, community, service, and social justice, they hope to form a loving society to do good in the world. Whether they minister at Sunday or schoolwide Mass, they hope to lead others to God and his goodness through their love of music. Should you wish to join, just stop by the LAG office!

Marriage in today’s world seems crazy, let alone marrying young. 50 percent of marriages end in divorce, and many of the marriages that stay together are unhappy. I understand why the world thinks it is insane to get married, but my fiancee’s professor is wrong; we have every reason to expect our marriage will last.

Couples who avoid cohabitation before marriage (as all Christians should) have a drastically lower divorce rate. For society at large delaying marriage lowers the divorce rate, but among Christians getting married sooner results in the lowest divorce rate in the country. Additionally, couples who marry young report higher levels of satisfaction throughout their marriages, as well as significantly better sex lives. Religious young couples top the charts in both categories. As far as the data goes, Katherine and I have every reason to be optimistic about our marriage.

Why do Christian young couples buck all the trends? Readers of this paper will not be surprised to hear that God’s plan for marriage works best, but why does it work? There are several reasons.

First, we can be confident we will grow together. When I discuss my marriage with atheists I’m usually asked “but what if she changes?” Of course she will change, if she remained the same person at 41 as she is at 21 our marriage could never survive. The reason I can rest easy knowing she will change is because Katherine and I share unbreakable values. Even though her mannerisms or hobbies may shift, I know Katherine and I will always seek the most important things in life. If she changes, I expect it will be from one degree of holiness to the next.

Second, Christians build cornerstone marriages rather than capstone mariages. By marrying young, Christians tell each other that their marriage is the fundamental cornerstone of their life that will provide the strength to overcome obstacles. Young married couples have always relied on each other for strength, and can’t imagine facing life without their spouse. Conversely, the world treats marriage like a capstone on a life already successful in other areas. While at first this seems to make the marriage more secure (especially financially), it creates the problem where the marriage has to weld together two fully formed lives. Both spouses spent the last decade building a life based fully around themselves, which probably involved few sacrifices and many partners. Therefore, each party to the marriage knows that they can get the benefits of marriage (sex) without being married, and that they don’t need their spouse to provide. Naturally this creates an attitude rife for divorce.

Third, Christian marriage isn’t about happiness or being in love; it’s about serving God. While I certainly hope my marriage will make me happy, and that I will always be in love with Katherine, neither of those two things are in human control. If marriage were based on feelings, then the marriage ends when the feelings fade. Rather, the love marriage is built on is to will the good of the other, of which we can always get control. The strongest binding agent in a Christian marriage is knowing it isn’t a contract, where the goal is personal gain, but a covenant where the goal is to give yourself away. Sacrifice is part of the vocation. This is why arranged marriages have such a low divorce rate, because there is never the illusion that the marriage was based on fading feelings. A Christian marriage is called to be the same way. God makes marriage because it forces us to live for something other than ourselves, which paradoxically will make us far happier than anything else.

Finally, the reason young marriage is possible for young Christians is because God makes it possible. In the Catholic Church marriage is one of the Sacraments, where God welds the spouses together for the purpose of raising Godly children. Marriage is nothing less than a vocation from God, and God gives the graces to carry it out. In the current world of terrible marriages, a healthy marriage can be seen for what it always was: a miracle from God. Ultimately, it is Him that I trust to make my marriage last.