Ave Maria, FL

We went to Ave Maria on Monday to check out the progress of the town. The university is up and running as well as the grammar & preparatory school which has 135 students. We were told that 200 families have moved in or will be moved in by years end. We went to Mass at noon in the Student Union and saw 60+ students, 7 or 8 professors and some families in attendance. The Sign of Peace was a noticeably welcome omission from Mass. Another noticeable difference from most schools was the backpacks left outside the room where Mass was being held and for that matter backpacks were left everywhere, bikes were left unlocked all without any seeming concern of theft, kind of like the way things are supposed to be! The Oratory is scheduled for completion on January 13th, 2008 and it is an interesting mix of traditional and modern materials. The Oratory brings to mind the Pope’s Mitre, its entrance is made of stone and wood with 12 statues of the apostles in cubicles above the doors and its interior clearly evoking the palms laid before Jesus as he entered Jerusalem, albeit these palms are made of steel. Stores are under construction in the piazza surrounding the Oratory and currently the only one open is the book store and here we stumbled across a gem of a book by Josef Pieper, Leisure: The Basis of Culture. The proprietor told us this book is the first book all incoming freshman are required to read and we could see why as the author maintains that our bourgeois world of total labor has vanquished leisure, and issues a warning that unless we regain the art of silence and insight, the ability for nonactivity and substitute true leisure for our hectic amusements, we will destroy our culture – and ourselves. Pieper wrote this book in the 50’s as Germany was rebuilding itself after World War II and is nothing if not prescient and almost worth the trip itself. All in all it was a very worthwhile excursion and I came away thinking the people who are moving their families into Ave Maria are truly urban pioneers embarking on an adventure. It will be fun to watch this university the town and its residents grow.