A Special Visit to Huntingdon College

By Sr. Madeleine Marie, SsEW

Before COVID, Sr. Mary John Paul and Sr. Philomena had an opportunity to share a table with Curtis Martin, the Founder of the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast. Curtis encouraged the Sisters to visit the various campuses in our region, something we have done ever since. While we make monthly visits to the University of Alabama, Auburn, and the local campuses in Birmingham, we occasionally visit other schools as our schedule permits.

Back in September, Jimmy Schomburg, a young man from Sr. Clare Marie’s hometown of Decatur, AL, invited us to speak to the Loyola Society he started at his school, Huntingdon College in Montgomery, AL. Huntingdon is a small private school under the sponsorship of the Methodist Church, and there aren’t many Catholics on campus. Mother Louise Marie accepted this invitation and sent Sr. Clare Marie and me to visit.

With the support of the campus minister, Rhett Butler, the room was full of both students and faculty members for our visit. When we realized there were only two Catholics in the room besides ourselves, we just decided to open the floor to questions. It was a new experience to present the beauty of our life and the Church to a group of people who have never encountered it, but I found it fruitful.

A few months before, a friend recommended Mike Cosper’s book, Recapturing the Wonder: Transcendent Faith in a Disenchanted World. Cosper, an evangelical writer, makes the claim that the answer to “re-enchanting” our modern culture is by taking up certain practices, such as fasting and feasting according to the liturgical year, regular examination of conscience, praying the psalms daily, daily silence, annual retreats, and living according to a rule of life. As I read this book, I kept thinking, “This protestant pastor is describing my life as a Religious sister.” It turned out Cosper makes his annual retreat at the Trappist monastery in Gethsemani, KY, which influenced the development of his ideas.

I’m pretty sure the Holy Spirit put that book into my life for that day. I remembered it as we were getting ready to leave, and I pulled it off the shelf of my office bookcase. One of the students asked how they, as non-Catholics, could live some of what we do. I pulled out Cosper’s book and went through how each of these spiritual disciplines–which I pointed out were all Catholic at heart and lead us to encounter Christ–corrects a specific defect of modern culture. It wasn’t what I planned to say, but the Holy Spirit really led us to speak to these students in way that they found both understandable and challenging.

Our experience with the students and faculty at Huntingdon was truly remarkable. We were edified by the zeal of the students, as well as well as the college’s support of its Catholic students’ faith.

Recently, Huntingdon College posted an interview with Jimmy Schomburg about his work with the Loyola Society, the Catholic group on campus. We invite you to read about this young man and the good work he is doing to share the Good News of the Gospel to his fellow students which has been influenced by our community.