Advent, 2018

Dear Friends of Thomas Aquinas College,

We are approaching the end of a year that has seen much turmoil, frustration, and anger, both in the Church and in the wider world. It is difficult not to be discouraged in such times. That is why it is all the more important to recall that every year ends with a beginning. In the last month of the calendar year, we begin the new liturgical year. We enter the season of Advent.

Please pray for Norm Goyette, Jr., the father of Thomas Aquinas College Dean John Goyette, who passed away December 7 after a brief illness. “Norm and his wife, Marian, have been loyal friends of the College and have been among our most generous benefactors over the past 40 years,” says President Michael F. McLean “They are also the parents and grandparents of a number of alumni and students.” 

Many of the dear friends who have given generously to Thomas Aquinas College and its students over the last year gathered in downtown Los Angeles on December 1 for the annual Christmas Dinner. There they enjoyed excellent food, fine music, and good company.

The Most Rev. Mitchell T. Rozanski, Bishop of Springfield, Massachusetts, recently appeared on WGBY-TV’s Turning Point, alongside Admissions Counselor Patrick Cross (’14) to discuss Thomas Aquinas College’s recently approved plans for a branch campus in his diocese. (See video, above.)

At 6:28 p.m., one year ago today, flames erupted just a half mile from the California campus of Thomas Aquinas College. The ensuing inferno, later named the Thomas Fire for its proximity to the campus, would become the most destructive fire in California’s recorded history. Over the course of nearly six weeks, it ravaged more than 280,000 acres, destroying nearly 1,100 structures. Yet by God’s grace, and through the work of U.S.

Please pray for Joe Kern, who for many years served as Thomas Aquinas College’s general counsel, and who has fallen seriously ill. Members of the College’s President’s Council, Mr. Kern and his wife, Lynda, are the parents of four alumni: Hannah (Tulberg ’77), Paul (’80), Mary (Orellana ’82), and Charlie (’85). They are also the grandparents of six alumni: Dorothy (Berndt ’11), Sam (’11), and Henry (’16) Tulberg; and Rafael (’07), Gabriel (’08), Helena (’11), and Regina (’16) Orellana.

Lord, hear our prayer!

On Saturday afternoon some 20 Thomas Aquinas College students gathered at the Ventura Planned Parenthood to sing Christmas Carols, “spreading the joy of Christ,” as senior Rachel Rivera described it, “to those who are blind to the joy of birth.” In an effort to encourage hope, the group, organized by junior Ryan Uchison,

Please pray for the repose of the soul of the Most Rev. Robert C. Morlino, Bishop of Madison, Wisconsin, and a longtime friend of Thomas Aquinas College, who died Saturday night after suffering a cardiac event three days earlier.

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of Bishop Morlino, who, just last spring, served as our Commencement Speaker,” says President Michael F. McLean.  “He was on that day, as he was throughout his 44 years as a priest and bishop, courageous in proclaiming the truth, not unlike the lion depicted on his coat of arms.”