Spiritual Life
In his address to Catholic educators during his visit to the United States in 2008, Pope Benedict XVI taught that “First and foremost every Catholic educational institution is a place to encounter the living God who in Jesus Christ reveals his transforming love and truth.” At Thomas More College, we joyfully affirm the Holy Father’s proclamation and seek to create an academic community in which students, faculty, and staff can enjoy the fruits of the spiritual life. In the first place, our classes, taught from the perspective of faith seeking understanding, themselves form a kind of first foundation of the spiritual life, of the pursuit of God.
While formal religious observance is not required of our students, most do frequent the sacraments and practice the devotions of the Catholic Church. Holy Mass is offered daily in our chapel by a corps of six chaplains from surrounding parishes in the Diocese of Manchester and the Archdiocese of Boston. Confession is available daily, and priests are present on campus every day for individual conferences. The recitation of the Rosary in the chapel or at our outdoor Marian shrine are popular, as is the new college custom of chanting the Liturgy of the Hours in the morning (lauds) and evening (vespers).
In their spare time, many students are learning to paint Byzantine icons or Gothic Madonnas through lessons offered by our Artist in Residence. A cadre of acolytes keeps the liturgy orderly and reverent, while our student schola ornaments the celebration with English and Latin chant. The Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite is currently available twice monthly at a nearby parish, which a number of students, faculty, and staff attend. Others frequent a Byzantine Catholic liturgy offered weekly at a local Melkite parish.
Frances Cardinal Arinze visited Thomas More College's campus in 2009.
In sum, opportunities for worship, prayer, and reflection abound at the College, providing an appropriate setting for those moments of inspiration and vocation that are such a decisively important part of collegiate life.
Student life is carefully managed to minimize the distractions and disturbances common at many colleges; intervisitation between the sexes in the dorms is strictly forbidden, as are alcohol consumption on campus, and any use of drugs. Students dress modestly and in accordance with a sensible policy, as outlined in the student handbook.
