A New Beginning

On Monday, 30 July, 2012, I set out on one of the greatest adventures of my life. God's Providence has brought me to this point; without the Lord, my life would have never taken this turn. And so, first and foremost, my journey must be dedicated to Him. May "Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam" ever be my prayer throughout. I entrust myself, my words and my deeds, to the Virgin Mary, Our Lady, Seat of Wisdom. Finally, I take as my patron for this adventure Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman, that by his example and intercession I may be led by that "kindly light."

Now that my invocations are concluded, I may proceed to tell you what precisely is this adventure. Basically, my heart's desire to live and study in England has been heard. From 30 July-21 August, I have the honor of participating in The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts' program, "Catholic Culture of the British Isles." This three-week program consists of one week at the campus of Thomas More College (hereafter TMC) in Merrimack, New Hampshire, one week at Downside Abbey in Bath, England, and a final week in Oxford, with St. Benet's Hall as our home base. During these weeks, my companions and I will be immersing ourselves in the culture, tradition, history, and literature of England with a specifically Catholic focus. We will be covering various literary periods, from Anglo-Saxon to Modern, and studying a multitude of authors and figures, from the Gawain poet and William Shakespeare, to Fr. Gerard Manley Hopkins and Bl. John Henry Cardinal Newman, to C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. The program will end with a day trip to London.

One week after the summer program concludes, on Thursday, 30 August, I will begin my time as a student at the Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies (hereafter CMRS), affiliated with Keble College, Oxford. I am to spend two semesters at CMRS, coordinating with the Michaelmas (Autumn) and Hilary (Spring) term schedules of Oxford. During Michaelmas term, my peers and I will be studying the Medieval period; during Hilary term, the Renaissance period. Each semester is composed of an Integral Course on the period of focus, one Seminar course, and two Tutorials. Our Spring Term will end in mid-April, at which time I will return to my home college of Franciscan University of Steubenville to finish my senior thesis and graduate with my Bachelor of Arts in May.

My blog posts will follow my time in New England and Olde England chronologically; I look forward to sharing my Aventures in Oxenford and Elleswher (translated, Adventures in Oxford and Elsewhere) with you!

In Jesus through Mary,

Victoria