A book signing for Michael D. O’Brien’s latest novel, The Father’s Tale, was held in Ottawa at St. Patrick’s Basilica on the evening of November 24.  The Artist and Writer in Residence of Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy addressed the crowd of O’Brien fans and also graciously met with guests and signed everyone’s copies of the book.  Mr. O’Brien began his talk by reading the prologue of the novel, which paints a scene from far into the story.  He then spoke briefly about the book, and the main character, Alexander Graham, who discovers “he is more than he thinks he is, and that grace and Divine Providence are always at work.”



To read more about this epic story, please visit Mr. O'Brien's website, StudiObrien, here.  
A "book trailer" can be viewed here.

 

Third-year student David Groves presents the cheque to Dr. Keith Cassidy, President, and Maria Reilander, Senior Development OfficerOur Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy extends its heartfelt thanks to the Knights of Columbus Council 5793 of Collingwood, ON, for their recent gift in support of our mission. Third-year student David Groves presented the donation of $2,000 to Dr. Cassidy on behalf of his home-town Knights of Columbus Council.

The gift came in response to an appeal made through various Knights of Columbus contacts, highlighting the K of C Ontario State Board’s May 2010 motion to encourage councils to support Catholic institutions such as Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy. The motion had also been reiterated this year in the March 2011 issue of the K of C Ontario State Bulletin (read about it here). David Groves’ father, a brother Knight, had presented the request to his council, which was impressed with the work of the OLSWA. In a letter to the Academy, Grand Knight Michael Dynes expressed his amazement at the “dedication and devotion of [the] students,” and his conviction that if Catholic values are to be preserved in our society, “we need to support this type of education.”

Students performing at Defund Abortion RallyThe week of October 16th to 22nd was a busy one on the OLSWA Pro-Life front. Students spent lots of time getting ready for the first ever Defund Abortion Rally which took place in Toronto on Saturday, October 22nd. To prepare for the rally, Rebecca Richmond from National Campus Life Network (NCLN) visited the Academy to lecture on effective communication of the Pro-Life message.  She generously gave of her time so that as many students as possible were able to attend and benefit from the talks. She spoke about the logical presentation of Pro-Life apologetics and how to engage in positive discussion with others whose views might be clouded by their emotions.

Thursday evening, thirteen OLSWA representatives attended the annual Renfrew County Right to Life dinner in Pembroke, at which Rebecca Richmond also gave a speech about the importance of getting involved in Pro-Life activism. Later that night, St. Hedwig’s church was open overnight for Eucharistic adoration so that people could come and offer prayers for the success of the rally. Both staff and students came to spend an hour or two with the Lord over the course of the night, from 9:00pm until 7:45am Mass the next morning.

Defund Abortion Rally

Alissa Golob ('08) addresses the crowd.It is a great travesty that Ontario taxpayers pay a minimum of $30 million annually to cover the cost of abortions performed in our province, leaving some other health care needs unmet.   A group of youth in Ontario banded together to protest this injustice in front of the Provincial legislative buildings at Queen’s Park in Toronto.  Alissa Golob, Campaign Life Coalition Youth Coordinator and OLSWA alumna, was the leading organizer of the rally.  

Fifty students and several staff participated in the rally, heading down to Toronto by bus following an early Mass by Fr. Hattie.  There they stood in solidarity together with over 2,000 others, while listening to speeches given by pro-life doctors, young people, and post-abortive women.   OLSWA alumna Sharon Milan spoke movingly about her mother, OLSWA art instructor Patricia Milan, and her struggle with mouth cancer. Sharon highlighted the injustice of the situation in which Mrs. Milan had to pay out of pocket for many necessary treatments that were not covered by OHIP, whereas unnecessary and harmful arbortion procedures are fully subsidized. 

A petition to defund abortion in Ontario was also signed by all the participants, to be sent subsequently to the provincial legislature. The band Survived ’88, made up of OLSWA students Kathleen Dunn, David Groves, Rory MacIntyre, Tereza Smith and Elliott Warner as well as alumnus Patrick Wilson provided upbeat music before and after the rally. 

After another successful Pro-Life week, the Paul Sanders and Janine Lieu Pro-Life Club considers itself blessed to have a community who supports their cause, and wishes to express their thanks to Fr. Shalla and St. Hedwig’s for their charity, generosity and prayers.

OLSWA band "Survived '88" performs at Queen's Park, Toronto.

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NCLN Symposium

NCLN 2011 - photo by Andrew GrantThe first weekend in October, a handful of pro-life leaders from OLSWA attended National Campus Life Network’s annual symposium in Toronto. NCLN is an organization that coordinates and guides campus pro-life clubs from universities across Canada. This conference welcomed leaders from these groups as they came together for a weekend of leadership training and inspiring talks, while sharing valuable information on how to improve their campus pro-life clubs. OLSWA students John D’Agostino, and Ashton and Matt Hatchen were present to promote “Crossroads”.  Marie-Claire Bissonnette and Sarah Wilson, part of the executive team OLSWA’s pro-life club, attended on behalf of the Academy, and have returned from the symposium with enthusiasm to continue spreading the pro-life message. 
 

On Thursday, November 24, OLSWA Artist and Writer in Residence, Mr. Michael D. O'Brien, will be launching his new novel, The Father's Tale, at St. Patrick's Basilica Crypt in Ottawa, ON.  Book signing begins at 7:30 p.m., with an address by Mr. O'Brien at 8:00 p.m.  We hope to see you there!

The Father's Tale is a novel about a quiet man whose college-age son suddenly disappears.  The story, which traces the father's long search to find his missing son--and himself--is a modern retelling of the parables of the Prodigal Son and the Good Shepherd combined.

To read more about this epic story, please visit Mr. O'Brien's website, StudiObrien, here.   
A "book trailer" can be viewed here.

Click here for the book launch poster.

The evening of October 17, OLSWA was pleased to host Dr. Clemens Cavallin, a professor of religious studies at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, who came to speak about the “place for religious studies in the context of a Catholic liberal arts education.”  Dr. Cavallin, “a man of profound Catholic faith” is interested in the relation between non confessional  studies of religion and the theological search for wisdom as Mr. Michael D. O’Brien said in his introduction.  Dr. Cavallin is presently mainly focused on academic exchange with Indian universities and is also the author of several publications on the theme of religion, including a book entitled The Efficacy of Sacrifice.

Dr. Cavallin introduced his speech with a background on the challenge for Catholic education in a country where the State controls the universities, a state only recently freed from political ties to the Lutheran Church.  Teachers teaching religious studies are obliged to adhere to “confessional neutrality”, a neutral standpoint with regards to religion, which imposes difficulties on confessional theology. Dr. Cavallin explained that it was only last year in which the first Catholic institution of higher education since the Protestant Revolution, The Newman Institute, was awarded rights of examination.

There is no strong tradition of the liberal arts in his country, he said. Dr. Cavallin believes, however, looking at Catholic liberal arts studies in other countries, that there is a place for religious studies which, if taught within the proper Catholic context, will aid students to a better understanding of the recent phenomenon of globalization and will open up channels for interreligious dialogue.  He stressed the importance of “how to incorporate other cultures without succumbing to cultural relativism and a ‘smorgasbord approach’” which says that one may pick and choose what religion, or elements of different religions, to adopt into their own system of beliefs and practices.

He advocated for a shift away from the modernist utilitarian approach to education (a mere “transmission of scientific knowledge and methods” directed to economic gain) in favour of the more fruitful and fulfilling education of a Catholic liberal arts program, whose pursuit is truth and personal development.

Many OLSWA students and staff attended the lecture, and were left with new ideas to think about, with regards to new educational material, as members of a Catholic liberal arts school.

On Sunday, October 16, a large group of OLSWA students hiked to the neighbouring community of Wilno on the annual, autumnal pilgrimage. As usual, they started out from the Academy early in the afternoon, making their way through town and onto the wide dirt path of the old railway track which leads from Barry’s Bay to Wilno, ten kilometres away. This year’s hike took place a few weeks later than in previous years, but the weather held out nonetheless and the pilgrims enjoyed a fine autumn day to walk, sing and pray before reaching the beautiful Saint Mary’s Church at the top of one of Wilno’s hills. Following a short time of reflection there, and a look at the stunning panorama, the travellers were welcomed to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Zakrzewski for a hearty outdoor meal and delicious home-made pies, around a glowing campfire and under the last light of a beautiful sunset.
 

Our Lady Seat of Wisdom is pleased to announce the appointment of a new associate chaplain, Fr. Joseph Hattie, OMI, who will join OLSWA chaplain Fr. Paul Burchat in ministering to the spiritual needs of the Academy.  We are deeply privileged to have Fr. Hattie living in residence next door in the rectory of St. Hedwig’s parish, allowing him to be present at OLSWA on a daily basis and to assist the pastor, Fr. Christopher Shalla, in his ministry to the local community. Fr. Paul, who is a member of Madonna House and has been OLSWA’s chaplain from its beginning, will continue to be available on campus for spiritual direction twice weekly.

Fr. Hattie arrived in Barry's Bay in September, fresh from the busy city life of Halifax. He is originally from Nova Scotia, where he grew up just off the Bay of Fundy in the small town of Digby, which is not much larger than Barry's Bay. From there, he went on to St. Patrick's College in Ottawa and attained a Bachelor of Science, before God called him to the priesthood. His novitiate took place in Arnprior, and he spent the remaining years of his scholasticate in Ottawa. He was ordained an Oblate of Mary Immaculate in 1964, which means, he jokes, that "my boss is a Lady.” Fr. Hattie immediately began teaching at St. Patrick's high school in Ottawa, where he worked until he was transferred to Halifax in 1974, to work as chaplain at Dalhousie University. Ten years later, he was sent to Rome to study, obtaining a doctorate of Theology in Marriage and Family at the John Paul II Institute at the Lateran University. In the fall of 1986, Fr. Hattie travelled west to the Archdiocese of Vancouver where he established the Office of Marriage and Family Formation and worked for thirteen years, He then spent five months with his fellow Oblates at the shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in France. From there, he returned to his home province of Nova Scotia to continue another ten and a half years in the Office of Marriage and Family Formation for the archdiocese of Halifax, until he moved to the Madawaska Valley this September. Fr. Hattie is also currently a board member for Priests for Life Canada, as well as spiritual director for WOOMB Canada (World Organization of Ovulation Method Billings) and WOOMB International. He is also the author of books on sacramental marriage and manuals for marriage preparation. Needless to say, OLSWA is honoured to have him as chaplain and spiritual director.

Michael O’Brien, our Artist and Writer in Residence, remembers Fr. Hattie from his St Patrick’s high school years. “When I first met Fr. Hattie, I was a sixteen-year-old wild man, secretly toying with the seductions of agnosticism and atheism. I think the majority of my fellow students were pretty much like me, barely converted, hardly evangelized. Then one day in September, this manly, dynamic, red-haired young priest walked into our classroom and introduced himself as our new religion teacher. Within minutes he had captured our respect (no small achievement), not by force or threat or by entertaining us, but by the conviction of his faith, by his good humour, and his endless patience in dealing with us savages. Before I knew it, I was living my faith again and even involved in youth retreats.”  More than forty-five years have passed since then, and O’Brien notes that Fr. Hattie is the same man as ever, though older, (white-haired,) learned, and a great advocate of Our Lady’s role in conversion and growth in faith. “He was a kind man when I first met him,” says Michael O’Brien, “with a listening heart and depths of wise counsel. But beneath his gentleness there was a great strength. He was an unshakable rock. And he’s still the same man.”

Before accepting the invitation to join OLSWA, Fr. Hattie was invited by two archdioceses to be part of their pastoral teams. However, he has observed the growth of the academy from its beginning and has prayed for us constantly. In the end, he was very happy that the discernment process with his Oblate superiors determined that he would he be sent here to become part of our mission to serve youth in the new evangelization. For this we are deeply grateful to God and to Father Hattie’s “boss.”
He says, “As an Oblate of Mary Immaculate, it has been a privilege to have Our Lady as my boss over the years, and I look forward to benefiting even more from her wisdom, here at Our Lady Seat of Wisdom.” 
 

We are delighted to announce that the Canada Revenue Agency has clarified our status with respect to the issuing of T2202A Tuition, Education and Textbook Amount Certificates.We are indeed entitled to issue these certificates and we will be sending them out to all students enrolled over the last few years. This is a significant development and should make it easier for students to afford our institution.
 

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.