Faith & Reason Essay Contest

In his address at the Collège des Bernadins in Paris, France (2008), Pope Benedict XVI explored the connection between Benedictine monasticism and Western civilization.  The monks of the West, he explained, did not set out “to create a culture nor even to preserve a culture from the past.”  Instead, their goal was at once more simple and more lofty: to search for God, quaerere Deum.  This quest, however, entailed, and still entails, the outward manifestation of the inward spirit, and so from the monk’s faith and devotion came forth a vibrant “culture of the word,” a culture of praying and reading, building and singing, cultivating and teaching.

Our patron, St. Thomas More, was himself greatly indebted to the heritage of Western monasticism, and in his Utopia portrayed a society enlivened and enriched by the holy simplicity sought by St. Benedict and his companions.  For St. Thomas More, and for Benedict XVI, the search for God calls upon every human excellence, from the bodily strength to endure the labors that charity demands to intellectual discipline, spiritual attentiveness, humility, and patience.

Today, the Holy Father tells us, we live in a world caught between the two poles of “subjective arbitrariness” and “fundamentalist fanaticism.”  That is why we need more than ever to labor manfully for the rebuilding of an authentic “culture of the word,” a culture founded upon “the search for God and the readiness to listen to him.”

At Thomas More College, you will find an academic community dedicated to the task of forming and preserving just such a “culture of the word.”  The students, faculty, and staff invite you to join us in pondering how the rich heritage of the Church’s culture can be articulated anew today for the sake of the world.  In that spirit, Thomas More College is pleased to announce the 2011 Faith & Reason Scholarship Essay Contest.  You are asked to reflect upon the Holy Father’s address at the Collège des Bernadins and to submit an essay in answer to the question:

How does a renewed “culture of the word” offer hope to the world today?

Submission Information

Essay submissions must be mailed by January 1, 2011.  Awards will be made by January 15^th. Essays should be two to three pages typed, double-spaced with 12-point Times New Roman font and 1-inch margins on all sides. Applications must include a cover sheet listing the applicant’s name, address, telephone number, e-mail, graduation date, and age. Completed applications should be sent to Mark Schwerdt at 6 Manchester Street, Merrimack, New Hampshire 03054, or via e-mail at mschwerdt@ThomasMoreCollege.edu.

Awards

First place prize of $30,000 over four years.
Two second place prizes of $20,000 each.
Three third place prizes of $10,000 each.