The Current Crisis

In the present, highly secularized culture, such an institution is desperately needed. Where can our young people go to receive a solid grounding in the full, unified truth of the Faith and philosophy? Some head south to the United States, to such places such as Christendom College and Saint Thomas Aquinas College, but few can afford to do this. Why should our students have to study outside their own country, only to face crushing debts upon graduation? In any account, there is a crise de foi amongst the youth of the developed nations, including and perhaps especially of Canada, a crisis that our Holy Father well recognizes. This crisis is not only moral, but also intellectual.

We cannot practice, nor can we love, what we do not know. A recent poll reported in the Catholic Register (Feb 7, 2000) demonstrates that ignorance of the Faith amongst younger Catholics is abysmal, even scandalous-but not entirely surprising, given the corresponding crises and divisions within the Church. The present author was himself to some extent a victim of this ignorance. While pursuing courses in science and arts at the University of Western Ontario, I thought I knew at least a little about my faith, even though I did not live up to its ideals.

It was not until further studies in philosophy and theology opened my eyes that I realized how much I had missed: how Plato, Aristotle, the Fathers, especially the great Saint Augustine, and the medievals find their culmination and synthesis in the incomparable work of Saint Thomas; how these Thomistic principles may be used to discern what is profitable in more recent philosophy; how the Catechism summarizes 2000 years of the Church's divinely-inspired teaching; or how one's mind must be trained to define and reason properly by the art of logic; or even how to read the Church's prayers and documents in the original language by the study of Latin (still the Church's official tongue). Why were these truths not more universally studied and taught?

Fundamentals of the Faith

In the midst of my own studies, I sometimes thought that, given the chance, I should hand on to others what God had allowed me to learn. In His mysterious plan, He has given me and a couple of other teachers the opportunity to do just that. Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy seeks as a beginning measure to run a one-year liberal arts course, covering at an introductory level an admittedly vast range of knowledge. If God so wills, this one year will eventually grow into a full four-year program. At the very least, however, we will offer students certain fundamental principles which will stand them in good stead not only in their future academic endeavours, but in every aspect of their lives.

God does seem to be directing this apostolate to some kind of fruition. Bishop Brendan O'Brien of Pembroke has given his approval. The Academy has just signed a lease for the use of a parish-owned convent in Barry's Bay, beside Saint Hedwig's Church. The 11-bedroom stone building, with spaces for a classroom, offices and library, is in excellent condition, the Sisters of Saint Joseph having lived there until recently. The Academy has also received a generous donation of books, and now has a sizeable 30,000-volume library of its own.

Currently, we are running a quasi-official year-long pilot project called the Mater Ecclesiae Study Centre, in which a staff of three with a series of guest lecturers has lined up to teach six young people (18-25 years) courses in Christian doctrine, philosophy, logic, Latin, apologetics, magisterial thought (with emphasis on Pope John Paul II), as well as Gregorian chant and lives of the Saints. The feedback from the students, parents and supporters has been enthusiastic. Who knows what God can do with this small seed? The answer to this question depends not only upon God, but also upon ourselves. Are we willing to sacrifice in order to impart the immeasurable treasure of the Faith to the next generation of Catholics, or is the present decline to continue to who knows what levels? How will young people withstand the deceptions of the modern world without the intellectual principles the Church offers? God will bless whatever efforts, small or great, we are willing to make. Yes, this small seed may one day develop into a fully accredited college, but will always retain its foundational principle of being an apostolate to those who want to learn the truth without obscurity or compromise: Veritas vos liberabit.

Any help you are able to give us-spiritual, financial, or donations of books, furniture, etc.-would be greatly appreciated.

For tax receipt purposes, until we have our own charitable status, contributions may be made out to: Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy. For further information, please contact us at: Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy, 18 Karol Woytyla Square, Barry's Bay, ON, K0J 1B0. Tel. (613) 756-3082. Contact person: George Dienesch or myself.

This article originally appeared in Catholic Insight, June 2000.