Cory Lakatos
Eucharistic Procession on Hope's Campus
Cory Lakatos
Transformed by Beauty: Student Curators Reflect ...
Cory Lakatos
Catholic Art Exhibition at the Kruizenga Art ...
Cory Lakatos
The Big Bang, the Beginning, and Creation
Cory Lakatos
African American Saints in the Making with ...

Student Stories: Drew Hoeksema on Seeking the Truth

I grew up in the CRC (Christian Reformed Church) and when I was coming into college I knew that I had a good relationship with God. At that time, I was deep into reading the Bible, prayer, and living out my faith through good works. However, now that I look back, I see that I did not have much understanding of faith and the reasons behind why I held such beliefs. That all changed when I was introduced to the beauty and genius of Catholicism through the Saint Benedict Institute.

I think that God touches people in three different ways: goodness, beauty, and truth. Nowhere was this truer for me than in the latter. What led to this new discovery of faith was simply looking for answers, but what I did not expect was falling so much more deeply in love with Jesus and the Church that he gave to us. The explosive passion I feel interiorly comes from my unshakable confidence in Catholicism. This confidence is indispensable in helping me expand my love of God and of others. In the Gospel of John, Jesus declares that he is the Truth. This faith in Christ is not irrational. In fact, it is more rational and truer than any other truth that I’ve encountered. As someone whose curiosity led me to more intimacy with God, I am an unrelenting advocate for the idea that people deserve answers to their questions. There is no better place for this than at Hope College.

Even when I don't fully recognize it, I am so grateful to have access to the remarkable ministry of the Saint Benedict Institute. My faith journey has led me to my Confirmation, which will be held on November 26, 2023, on the campus of Hope College. Spera in Deo.

Drew Hoeksema a junior from Grand Rapids, Michigan. He is studying business.

Photos of Drew’s Reception into the Catholic Church at On-Campus Mass

Student Stories: Julia Suss on Freshman Year

As a freshman moving from another country, it was easy to feel overwhelmed at the beginning of the semester, being caught up in adapting to a completely different environment. The Catholic life on campus has helped bring me back to what really matters. Especially going to daily Mass and having the commitment of going to adoration every week has allowed me to ground myself in God. It is fantastic to be able to slow down during the day to go to daily Mass and have the chance to take part in the Eucharistic mystery. This has been crucial to bringing me closer to Christ and not letting me drift away from him during the craziness of freshman year.

Julia Suss is a freshman from Curitiba, Brazil. She plans to declare a major in political science.

Student Stories: Altar Servers

I've come to realize that being a part of a team is something deeply fulfilling for me. My perfectionism plays a role in how much I enjoy altar serving, but it is helping me to humble that part of myself. Besides, what team could be better than serving the Lord with your bros?

Altar serving has really given me a physical connection to the concept of being part of the sacrifice at Mass. As someone in the crowd, it's easy for me to feel like I'm on the outside and that I'm simply a bystander. Being a server reminds me that we are all active participants in what is occurring on the altar.

Personally, it has given me more reverence for the Mass. Especially at Hope, altar serving has a certain duty to it. When serving, you are an example for the congregation, and as such one needs to have the utmost respect and attention for what is happening on the altar. In this way, altar serving has reminded me to try to be a Catholic, and a servant, in every part of my life and not just at Mass.

Joseph “Joey” Flynn is a sophomore from Kalamazoo, Michigan. He is majoring in Biology.

I think what I enjoy most about being an altar server is what I learned about the Mass itself and the fact that I can participate in it now. I get to be a part of something much larger than myself and that is pretty special to me. Being an altar server, I now understand the significance of this incredible event that happens every day and I can even take part in its mystery. Aside from the knowledge I've gained, being an altar server forces me to go to daily Mass at least once a week, which is always healthy. Even when my faith is weak, I still go because I have made a commitment that I can't back out of just because I don't feel like it.

Luke Brady is a sophomore from Hillsdale, Michigan. He is majoring in Biology.

Video and Photos of Bishop Perry: African American Saints in the Making

On October 16, 2023, Bishop Joseph Perry joined us to discuss the path to sainthood for six African American Catholics. Watch his lecture below and view photos from the event.

Photo Credit: Haniah Kring

The Big Bang, the Beginning, and Creation

Thursday, November 16, 7:00 p.m.
Maas Auditorium at Hope College

Did the universe have a beginning? Was it created? Are these the same question? And will the universe come to an end or last forever? This talk will discuss what Christian revelation, philosophy, and contemporary science have to say about these questions.

This event is cosponsored by the Dean for the Natural and Applied Sciences, the Physics Department, the Religion Department, and the Magi Project at the Collegium Institute. It is the second lecture in the Creation, Evolution, and Our Place in the Cosmos series hosted by the Saint Benedict Institute in fall 2023.

Stephen Barr is President of the Society of Catholic Scientists, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Delaware, and former Director of the Bartol Research Institute. He earned a Ph.D. in physics from Princeton University in 1978. Professor Barr does research in theoretical particle physics, especially grand unified theories, theories of CP violation, neutrino oscillations, and particle cosmology. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society (2011). He is the author of Modern Physics and Ancient Faith (University of Notre Dame Press, 2003).

Student Stories: Molly Leonard on Daily Mass

Regularly attending daily Mass has been the single most important part of my life at Hope. What had originally set Hope apart from other schools in my college search quickly became the anchor of my daily prayer life. Whether my day is great or tough, perfectly ordinary or wrapped up in the craziness of my student-athlete schedule, I am able to find a steady reminder of what really matters praying with my peers in St. Anne’s. It is a wonderful gift that, even in between classes, I can be brought into the central mysteries of the Christian faith and share in the self-same body of Christ.

Molly Leonard is a junior from Grand Rapids, Michigan. She is majoring in mathematics.

Ecology, Evolution, and Faith: Video, Student Reactions, and Photos

On September 7, 2023, the Saint Benedict Institute welcomed Sr. Damien Marie Savino for a lecture titled What Is Man that You Are Mindful of Him? Ecology, Evolution, and Faith. We are grateful to Sr. Damien Marie and our co-sponsors for this wonderful talk showing the compatibility of faith and science. You can watch the full lecture, read student reactions, and see photos from the event below.

Student Reactions:

“One thing I took home from is that it’s super important to emphasize how science and religion don’t have to conflict.”

“Great lecture and dinner, food was great, and Sr. Damien Marie Savino was great company. I loved hearing her story about the northern lights and hearing about her love of nature and creation.”

“I learned about new theories in the field of evolution.”

“It was very beautiful to see how Sr. Damien Marie's heart for God impacted the way she approached her studies with the warmth of humility and piety. Her talk helped me better understand why evolution does not threaten Christianity, but is actually quite compatible with it. I want to be #bestiesfortheresties with her.”

“I loved the event and enjoyed hearing from Sr. Damien Marie. The dinner was insightful to learn about vocation, God and creation, and how evolution is viewed by the Catholic Church. This lecture did a great job of appealing to different disciplines: religion, biology, and philosophy.”

Photo credit: Haniah Kring

African American Saints in the Making with Bishop Perry

Monday, October 16, 7:00 p.m.
Haworth Hotel at Hope College

African American Catholics have a rich and complicated history. At present, there are three million African American Catholics in the United States. Six African American Catholics have active formal causes for sainthood before the Vatican. Some of these figures escaped slavery and others died as recently as 1990. Any one (or more) of them could become the first canonized African American saint. Come hear Bishop Joseph N. Perry discuss the path to sainthood for some of these important figures.

Most Reverend Joseph N. Perry, a recently retired Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago, is a professor of canon law at Mundelein Seminary, chair of African American Affairs for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the postulator for the cause of sainthood for Venerable Father Augustus Tolton (1854-1897), and a past vice-president of the board of the National Black Catholic Congress.

This event is co-sponsored by the Hope College Religion Department, the History Department, the Center for Ministry Studies, Campus Ministries, the Center for Diversity and Inclusion, and Hope Catholics.

A Long Obedience: Cultivating Christian Virtue in Long-Term Illness

Tuesday, September 19, 7 p.m.
Graves Hall, Hope College

This event is hosted by the Girod Chair at Western Theological Seminary and co-sponsored by the Saint Benedict Institute. The panel discussion will be recorded. Register to receive a link with the recording.

Modern Christian stories of “the good life” often assume faithful obedience leads to healthy, happy lives. Christians who are ill become recipients of prayer and care to buoy them back to health. However, despite medical advances, sometimes illness remains mysterious or untreatable. In addition, many patients with other forms of long-term illness receive benefits from medical treatment, yet continue to live with chronic pain, fatigue, and other types of physical and mental distress.

What does faithful and fruitful Christian discipleship look like for believers enduring long-term illness? For centuries, Protestant and Catholic theologies of “the virtues” have described the Spirit’s work through particular habits and dispositions to conform believers into the image of Christ. This panel explores the question: What resources and implications does the Christian virtue tradition have for believers and congregations when illness is chronic and ongoing? How might this tradition provide a pathway for chronically ill Christians and their communities to grow more deeply into “the good life” as redefined by Christ, and bear witness to the good news in a hurting world?

Join the Faith and Illness Initiative for this evening panel event, featuring Dr. Matthew Levering, James N. Jr. and Mary D. Perry Chair of Theology, University of Saint Mary of the Lake; Dr. Rebecca Konyndyk DeYoung, Professor of Philosophy, Calvin University; Rev. Wendy Haack, Healthcare Chaplain, Northwestern Medicine Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital; and Dr. Peter Jaggard, M.D., NorthShore University Health System; moderated by Dr. J. Todd Billings.

Bishop Barron on the Catholic Intellectual Tradition

Presented by our friends at the Harvard Catholic Forum and co-presented by the Harvard Catholic Center

Sunday, September 17, 4 p.m. Eastern Time
Memorial Church, Harvard Yard, Cambridge, and Live-Streamed

Bishop Robert Barron, founder of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries, explores some foundational themes in the Catholic intellectual tradition, including God, the human person, sin and grace, society, and freedom. All flow from Christology, our understanding of Jesus, so that, as St. Bonaventure said, Christ is truly found at the center of all the disciplines pursued in the university.

This event is made possible through the support of grant #62372 from the John Templeton Foundation, “In Lumine: Promoting the Catholic Intellectual Tradition on Campuses Nationwide.”

What Is Man that You Are Mindful of Him?

Evolution, Ecology, and Faith

Thursday, September 7, 7:00 p.m.

Winants Auditorium, Graves Hall, Hope College

One of the polarizing questions in today’s culture is the question of evolution and its relationship to faith. Many presume an antagonism between the theory of evolution and the Christian faith and find it difficult to conceive of a harmonious relationship between them. This lecture will address this apparent disjunct and consider the theory of evolution in light of the resources of the Catholic tradition. It will do so in the context of the implications of the debate for Christian anthropology and for a holistic understanding of the unique role of humans in creation as stewards and mediators.

This event is cosponsored by the Hope College Department of Religion, the Green Team, and the Cultural Affairs Committee, as well as the Magi Project at the Collegium Institute. It is the first in the Creation, Evolution, and Our Place in the Cosmos series hosted by the Saint Benedict Institute in fall 2023.

Sister Damien Marie Savino, FSE, is a Franciscan Sister of the Eucharist who has served as the Dean of Science and Sustainability at Aquinas College since 2016. She holds a doctorate in civil (environmental) engineering and a master’s degree in theology from the Catholic University of America, as well as a master’s degree in soil science from the University of Connecticut and a B.S. degree in biogeography from McGill University. She has lectured and written widely on questions at the interface between science and theology and ecology and faith. Sister Damien Marie is the director of the new “Educating for Laudato Si’ Initiative” sponsored by the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist.

Creation, Evolution, and Our Place in the Cosmos

The Saint Benedict Institute is hosting a fall lecture series on Creation, Evolution, and Our Place in the Cosmos. The goal of this series is to show that faith has nothing to fear from science but is actually in harmony with it and can even encourage our Christian convictions. The speakers will serve as models of faithful Christian scientists who demonstrate the harmony of faith and reason. These events will show students a different way of reading Scripture and thinking about science. Two faithful scientists will speak in this series:

Sr. Damien Marie Savino, FSE, is an environmental engineer specializing in restoration ecology, ecology and theology, and science and theology. She is the Dean of Science and Sustainability at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, MI. Sr. Damien Marie will present What Is Man That You Are Mindful of Him? Evolution, Ecology, and Faith. She will focus on the anthropological dimension of the evolutionary question. 

Stephen Barr is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Physics and Astronomy of the University of Delaware and former Director of its Bartol Research Institute. He is the President of the Society of Catholic Scientists and author of Modern Physics and Ancient Faith (University of Notre Dame Press, 2003). Dr. Barr will present The Big Bang, the Beginning, and Creation, a lecture that will discuss what Christian revelation, philosophy, and contemporary science have to say about the origins of the universe.

In addition to their public lectures, we are organizing meals with a select group of students, including students strong in their faith and those who are questioning. We will ask students to read a relevant article to be discussed with the speaker over an intimate meal. This will allow students to encounter faithful scientists up close, ask hard questions, and see the harmony of faith and reason in action.

Creation, Evolution, and Our Place in the Cosmos is made possible by a LeMaître Grant. In honor of Georges LeMaître, the theoretical physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and Catholic priest sometimes called the “Father of the Big Bang,” the Magi Project is pleased to award grants to support projects and events on science and religion for an undergraduate audience. Many thanks to the Magi Project for supporting this series!

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