Campus Notes

The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts affords students the opportunity every Summer to take part in the “Catholic Culture of the British Isles Programme.”  Hosted by the College’s Oxford-based Center for Faith and Culture, the program allows Thomas More students to conduct graduate studies in the history, literature, and spirituality of “Catholic Britain” from the Middle Ages to “its refulgence in the modern age.”

The following are the reflections of a Thomas More College student who completed the program last week:

Friday finds us reading aloud G.K. Chesterton’s work, The Ballad of the White Horse, in a pub the author no doubt visited himself. That same evening, we listen to distinguished scholars discuss the work. Only a couple days later, we journeyed into the countryside to see the White Horse—a three thousand year old figure of a horse, 374 feet long, drawn into the hillside with a white chalky soil. …

Directly after finishing the ballad, we cross St. Giles Street to St. Bennett’s Hall for the conference…. A panel of English, Canadian, and American scholars discuss the work… As a recent graduate, I was thrilled by the little taste of academia. Some lovers of learning are able to continue studying for the entirety of their lives. They read, write, and discuss with even greater fervor than the undergraduate who has just glimpsed a glimmer of the glory of learning. …

In other words, as we learn about the White Horse we are looking at it, as we learn about the famous Cathedral of Worcester we are standing within it, as we learn about the sad ruins of the Cathedral of Saint James, we are touching the old and broken stones. The history suddenly takes on flesh and blood. …

On Wednesday, July 6, 2011, Professor Caldecott guides us to Littlemore, the once home of Blessed John Henry Newman. It is a short journey from Oxford and the route actually follows some of Newman’s daily walk. Littlemore is now a convent, but the nuns kindly allow us to look at Newman’s simple bedroom and the assortment of his belongings they have collected. Knowing that Newman attended Oxford himself and is well on his way to being canonized, it is a truly moving experience for us to tangibly encounter his memory. …

As Professor Caldecott tells this striking story to the pilgrims, they are standing beside the table itself. Clearly, the influence of great men like Blessed John Henry Newman, and so many others educated at Oxford, does not cease at the time of death.

After perusing around the room filled with many things connected to the life of Newman, we walk around the small English garden, and depart. There is the distinct sense that Newman has become a great deal more real to us and a much closer acquaintance. Again, history has taken on flesh.

Early Thursday morning, July 11, 2011, we begin our journey to London. First on the schedule is a tour of the Victoria and Albert Museum, more commonly known as the V & A, followed by a special tour of the Tower of Londonwith a focus on Saint Thomas More, and finally a visit to Westminster Abbey for evensong. …

It is early afternoon when we arrive at the infamous Tower of London, which looks rather less intimidating than one might expect. We enter the room in which Saint Thomas More was once imprisoned and try to imagine him there facing death at the hands of King Henry VIII, who was not only his king, but his friend. The tour guide tells us the familiar story of the saint and then leads us to the saint’s crypt. …