Dr. Timothy Gray, president of the Augustine Institute, a Catholic graduate school for Biblical studies in Denver, Colorado, came to lecture at the Academy on September 22nd. He brought with him a remarkable passion for the Bible which he shared with his audience, among whom were many OLSWA staff and students as well as members of the Madawaska Valley community. OLSWA’s Artist and Writer in Residence, Michael O'Brien, gave the opening address in which he described Dr. Gray as "a man in love with Christ." Dr. Gray proceeded to demonstrate this love by showing his zeal and deep-seated interest in the promulgation of the Word of God, and especially in his project, and the topic of his lecture, "The New Evangelization."

The New Evangelization, said Dr. Gray, is a three-part renewal of mankind's outlook on God, on the Church, and on ourselves. He argued that modern man has lost sight of who God is as a loving creator, revealed over and over again in Scripture; man views the Church as merely an organization with too many rules restricting people's freedom; and man no longer lives in Christ for others, but rather, he lives apart from Christ, and only for himself. Dr. Gray called his audience to a "fresh vision," a vision which begins by man's trust in God.

Part of the fresh vision that comes with the New Evangelization is overcoming fear, stated Dr. Gray. "Fear casts out faith," he said, as he mentally leafed through his Bible and summarized passages where the Israelites, the Apostles, and the disciples are told to trust God, to be not afraid. Man lives in a "culture of acedia", that is, a culture of sloth. People are afraid to pursue the best and highest good because they fear that they might fail. Dr. Gray exhorted his listeners to take the risk and trust in God. Only then can man begin to see God as He really is, and then go on to show others about God, about the Church, and about living one's life in Christ for the sake of others. Dr. Gray concluded his lecture with a quotation from St. Paul's Letter to the Philippians in which Paul tells the Philippians to be of one mind with each other in Christ, humble and charitable, just as Christ who is God humbled himself by becoming man and dying for us on the cross.

Dr. Gray gave an excellent presentation, humourous and engaging, thoroughly enjoyed by his audience. His passion for Christ and for the care of the Church touched the hearts of his listeners and left them in a tumult of chatter when he had finished speaking. OLSWA president, Dr. Keith Cassidy, presented Dr. Gray with a beautiful icon of the Madonna and Child, by a Madonna House iconographer, as a sign of the Academy's great appreciation for his time and his devotion to fostering the new springtime, the New Evangelization.