AmericanPapist Comments
They are always looking for help of one sort or another at the USCCB HQ down the street. That goes ditto for the National Shrine across from the CUA campus. And since Archbishop Thomas Kelly is finally getting out of Louisville and taking his sabbatical at said House of Studies, he'll probably need an assistant of sorts. Seriously. BTW, you'll need your bishop's permission to work at the USCCB.
I had the pleasure of attending evensong at the Dominican chapel during the Anglican-Use conference. A truly beautiful place. Good luck in Washington.
As far as employment goes--you might try the Catholic information center downtown. http://www.cicdc.org Good luck, God bless.
Good Luck Thomas!
Thomas- You'll like the Washington area. I study at Christendom's Notre Dame Graduate School, which is right across the river in Alexandria. It is very orthodox. Here is the schedule for fall: http://www.christendom.edu/grad/.../
offering.shtml Actually some of the professors teach both at Dominican House and Christendom.
I've heard great things about Dominican House.
I'm getting a master's in theology here. I do know they advertise at the graduate school at Christendom housing with Catholic roommates and with Catholic families. Most of it is geared towards housing in the Virginia suburbs, but you'll probably want to be in Washington. I'll let some of my classmates know you are looking for housing.
Ditto on the House of Studies. I've been there two years in a row for Tenebrae (which was amazing). I also have a friend who took a class there which I'm pretty sure she was pleased with. Every Dominican I've met from the House of Studies has been a wonderful example of religious life.
My oldest daughter was very happy to see that dominican symbol because is quite similar to the one of the convent school where she was for years - she and some of my other daughters.
Drop me an e-mail. My brother has a place on New Jersey avenue and he may be looking for a roommate about that time (since he should be finished with the flooring repairs)
Many congratualations.
Welcome to DC. Silver Spring is also a nice area that's relatively inexpensive and right on the red line.
Congrats on your decision. Good people down there! I know the Catholic Information Center has assisted other young Catholics in finding roomates, so you might want to look into that. Look up the CL guys down there too.
Wow, it seems like everyone's moving to DC. First Dawn Eden, now you. I want to second J.D. Aquila's suggestion that you look up the CL guys. They have a HUGE community in DC and they're very helpful, especially when it comes to looking for housing and jobs. Especially jobs. Congratulations and good luck!
I hope you enjoy Washington. Come visit us at the Shrine of the Sacred Heart, 16th and Park Rd., NW any Sunday.
Thanks for all the tips and well-wishing, it's invaluable!
Perhaps one of the religious houses in the area could accommodate a lay student. You may also wish to check the bulletin boards at Catholic U. Perhaps the university would let you see their list of off campus housing sites if you just strolled in and didn't mention that you were enrolled across the street. Also, consider calling parishes in the areas you'd like to live. The secretary or priest might just have a contact for you.
Thomas, great to know you'll be in the area. I definitely want to meet you and introduce you to others. I think DC would be the perfect fit for you. There is so much going on here and being close to the National Shrine, you run into a lot of prominent catholic figures. No doubt,good for interviews. :)
PhilOnochie@Gmail.com
Good luck in the next phase of your academic life, Thomas!
Never been to DC myself-but I have seen the website of the Dominican House of Studies....seriously cool!
Ah, to be young......I'm just a 52-year-old single Catholic woman, not knowing what to do with my life...and I guess I never will....
Just one warning: I was talking tonight to a student of Dominican House, and he stated that while they are good at dogmatic and moral theology, he is disappointed with their biblical studies, which are not orthodox. Overall, he said that Dominican House is not overtly orthodox like Christendom is but not overtly liberal. He said he would help you choose good orthodox professors. I'll send you an email.
You might also check with the folks at the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center...seems right up your alley! (And just up the block, to boot!)
Drop me a line, I'm living in DC now and I have a ton of good Catholic friends here, from TAC, Christendom and even a few Ave folks and a few of them go to CUA. I would be willing to send out an email to a few guys that would get out pretty good. These guys got me a good cheap place for the summer with some good guys.
A quick question; if you have an MA in Theology, why are you doing an STB and not starting with an STL program? Funding?
As I understand these things, most STL programs require an STB (or equivalent coursework) for admission.
If you looked at the program at the Dominican House, they would take you into the STL with the MA; but then it indicates that, depending upon one's background, one might need up to 1 1/2 years of extra work.
At CUA the requirment is this:
"Possession of the S.T.B. degree from an ecclesiastical university or faculty or an M.A. in theology or a M.Div. with course work that is equivalent to that required for the S.T.B. at Catholic University. Such course work must have been completed with a minimum G.P.A. of 3.0" But CUA is also very bad for funding, so it might not help if you need it.
So it's why I asked. Dominican House has some good people there; I am friends with some who are studying there or who have taught there, as is to be expected with my work at CUA.
But you might want to see if you can get into the STL program if you want.
I believe Henry's correct. I have spent a lot of time at DHS because of friends among faculty and students there and at the John Paul II Institute, as well as vocation retreats. I was told that I could enter directly into the STL program upon the completion of my MA in theology at Saint Louis. You may want to look into that, Thomas, just to be sure you won't be spending more time then you have to on your degree(s).
Gabe,
The scripture program at DHS is quite good despite the small number of instructors. Fr. Joseph Alobaidi is a phenomenal Old Testament scholar. I once heard him lecture on the Jewish and Hellenistic influence on St. Paul and was blown away. I sat in on Jody Lewis' New Testament course a few times one semester while she was at the JPII Institute. She is truly remarkable in her work on the Johannie tradition. And good old Fr. Ryan is very good, especially because he provides his students with a strong foundation in the Catholic tradition of biblical hermeneutics, covering everyone from Pope Leo XIII to Pope Pius XII and from Henri de Lubac to Ignace de la Potterie. Whatever may be your friends' idiosyncratic hang-ups, the DHS faculty in biblical studies is a very solid and orthodox bunch. I suspect your friend may not have a very good gauge for "orthodoxy."
Enjoy DC. I graduated from CUA in '06 and loved my four years there. The Dominicans are a great bunch both personally and in terms of 'orthodoxy' in my experience. The Brookland area of Washington is a vibrant center of Catholic life.
On a less pious note, check out Ben's Chili Bowl one of the great DC greasy spoons.
Now *there's* a tip worth its weight in fried greasy golden goodness. :)
Food.
Mexican: Cactus Cantina. NOT Tortilla Coast.
Thai: Tortilla Coast is only good for one thing: it is next to Talay Thai on Capitol Hill. It's nice to sit outdoors in nice weather, which is, well, October.
Whole Foods: Metro, take the Red Line to Tenleytown, or one could bike down Rhode Island Avenue to the Logan Circle Whole Foods
Giant Foods: Paradoxically, the exteriorly sketchy Giant at Queens' Chapel and Chillum is the nicest in the area, with fresh produce etc. and friendly cashiers.
Emergencies: Odd little organic market on 12th and Quincy. Reasonable prices on beer.
Chinese Food: take the Red Line to Chinatown. Don't eat Chinese food from anywhere on 12th Street in Brookland, or from that dodgy place at Taylor and Hawaii.
Korean: Woomi off of Georgia Ave in Wheaton. Buffet (includes sushi) weekday noontime.
Italian: Maggianos on a date, Buca di Beppo with a gang--sit at the Pope's table.
Fun: DHS is a great place to study but is socially low-low-key. Get in early with the new kids at JPII. They will be having all kinds of parties and playing soccer maybe and going to lectures and things. They can be theologically insular, particularly first semester--Schindlerians. But they are nice.
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