Community and Culture Rhetoric
November 21, 2021
Our parish school, Donahue Academy, recently held its second Community & Culture Night. The evening included hors d’oeuvres, fellowship, a mini-Shakespeare performance, a song and a pair of powerful presentations by Mr. Graham, Cameron Millward and Dr. Lendman.
Mr. Graham’s comments focused on how the Catholic, classical format our of PK-12 is so conducive to forming young adults who “know how to live life virtuously.” The seminars our students attend allow them to see the truth as it is formed and grows in others, much like how St. John Henry Newman discussed the Development of Doctrine as ideas of the Church spun from mind to mind throughout history. Importantly, according to Mr. Graham, seminars do not lead to relativism. They lead to a more accurate discernment of the truth by a more accurate encounter with reality.
Dr. Lendman recalled how he witnessed a student of his transform from a shy, retiring girl into a young woman willing to defend a thesis publicly. Her time at Donahue Academy had vaccinated her against the temptation to acquiesce to the views and opinions of others. She was able to confidently defend her thesis against strong questioning because her formation in the high school had prepared her to do so.
The entire presentation is available on Donahue Academy’s website in video and audio format. All parishioners are encouraged to watch and listen.