What is more important than the love of God and the love of neighbor? That is, what is more important than for me to love God and to love my neighbor? And how can I love what I have not seen or known?
In the course of the present discussion about the core curriculum, I defer to others, my fellow classmates, alumni, and professors, who are certainly more talented and gifted than I am. Still, I wish to share a few words.
When I originally came to campus my heart was set on studying engineering. But by 2004 I had walked a different path and earned a degree in theology and philosophy; and in the spring of 2006, when I finally left South Bend for home, I was a proud double Domer with yet one more theology degree.
Although at this point in my life I have come full circle, having returned to engineering and now pursuing a career at one of our national laboratories, I look back in gratitude and realize what I gift I received — and consequently have been blessed to share — through my study of God. In fact, when I went back to school to study engineering (where I attended only public universities), I came to realize how blessed I was to be able to engage and pursue the field of theology, guided by remarkable men and women, before venturing elsewhere.
Being exposed to theology at Notre Dame not only changed the course of my life, it also had an effect on my family, friends, and community when I returned to New Mexico. To be sure, it is impossible to say with certainty what my life would have been like, and where I'd be now, had I never taken a theology class. But I firmly believe that those first courses in theology allowed something within me to come alive and grow. Had it not been for those unique opportunities, I doubt that I would have ever encountered those wonderful professors who opened my eyes to the science of God and helped me come to a deeper appreciation of the inexhaustible gift of faith. Though our time together was brief, what they shared has remained, and I now carry it with me.
To those of you who have been charged with reviewing the core curriculum — which, as I understand it, will likely entail weighing the value of theology courses and entertaining the possibility of either modifying the current requirement or eliminating it altogether — you have elicited strong feelings of dissatisfaction and anxiety, not to mention several questions: What are the perceived pros and cons of these few mandatory theology courses? What is it that you see from where you are? What might the rest of us be missing? What might you be missing?
With what appears to be a lack of transparency on your part, I am left wondering (and so perhaps others as well) what motivates this desire for ‘bold change’ and whether there is some larger agenda at play? What can and will you do to help us understand what is on the table, and why? What is the larger vision and in what direction are we headed? Quo vadis?
If indeed you are working according to some agenda or directive, then I am doubtful that anything I write here will make a difference to a closed mind. If, however, you are truly seeking to find the best path forward for an institution established on faith, then I hope you might consider the significance and immeasurable benefit that (even small doses of) theology has provided to those who have passed through the halls of ND.
I wonder: If theology were not part of the natural way of life at Notre Dame, would it be possible for a student to miss the opportunity to encounter the beauty of Catholicism? I admit that I think this likelihood is vanishingly small. Yet it is possible. (Even today, as in Jesus’s own time, people turn away from the Son.) Therefore, wouldn't you agree that it seems more sensible to do everything within our power to reduce this probability rather than maintain or even attempt to increase it? What is the chance that others not as interested in theology as I was, might on their own also engage and come to appreciate the Church’s perspective on God and creation? Again, it is possible that a student could discover this beauty by way of the myriad paths on campus, from the architecture and art to campus ministry, from the CSC (Center for Social Concerns) to the various Catholic witnesses within the community (i.e., rectors, professors, priests, brothers, housekeepers, groundskeepers, dining hall workers, other students, and more). But why not go further and engage the mind of the student (starting, as theology uniquely does, from a position of faith) along with his or her heart?
There is absolutely no reason we should either settle with what we have been or give up something we have held precious for so long. Instead, we should take advantage of our uniqueness as a Catholic university and be seeking additional ways to make the Catholic tradition accessible — precisely in the natural mode of the university, not in some incidental fashion — to each and every student in concentrated form, not diluted; and be looking outward at the world from within the heart of the Church, rather than looking at the Church from the outside, as is possible at any other university.
There is and always will be an irreplaceable need for the Catholic university to light the way in a world that continually hungers and thirsts for God; to help each individual student connect with our intellectual tradition of faith — regardless if what is proposed falls on the well-trodden path, on rocky ground, amongst thorns, or on rich soil; and to be a powerful means for doing good in this country. May Notre Dame always strive to be such a place and community. Otherwise, to whom else will they go?
With all my heart, and on behalf of my family and friends, I urge you to cherish and further the authentic mission of the Catholic university.
In Notre Dame,
Michael Sena
Class of 2004 and 2006
Echo Faith Formation Leadership Program, Echo 1, Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend
Proud student of professors J. Cavadini, Rev. J. Jenkins, Rev. E. “Monk” Malloy, and J. McGreevy, not to mention so many others
