Dear Reader,
Thank you for picking up your fourth issue of The Brownson Record! In 2021, amidst the early creation of this journal, we cherished the thought of launching our publication on December 8th in celebration of the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. Now, a full year later, I could not be happier to fulfill that beginning wish.
In this issue, Mary Lawler invites us to share in her journey to the Holy Land while reflecting on what it truly means for us to say that God is omnipresent. John Singleton weaves an intricate narrative of how our beloved Grotto is the singularity from which the very soul of our university flows and by which spiritual transformation is made possible. Personal meditations on the nature of community and how its formation is providential are offered by Emma Smith. An analysis of how philosophy and the physical sciences can responsibly work together to contribute to questions about the ethics of abortion is provided by Quinn Gerney. McKenna Snow helps us to rethink whether contemporary architectural trends actually contribute to human flourishing. Finally, Gian Gonzalez honors the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception with a contemplation of Mary as the model of holiness.
As we come to the end of the semester, final papers and exams looming on the horizon, burnout slowly creeping in, we need now more than ever the gifts of preparation and hope that accompany the Advent season. For now, let us carry on, remembering like Mary on the road to Bethlehem, what newborn life awaits us at the end of our wayfaring.
I am indebted to Mary Lawler, McKenna Snow, and Jack Daly for their tireless editorial dedication. A great deal of gratitude is owed to seminarian Michael Pray for his beautiful photography of our mountain home. The Intercollegiate Studies Institute, Chronicle Press, and all our contributors are dearly appreciated for their indispensable support. Thank you all for another wonderful semester of The Brownson Record.
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel!
Sincerely,
Gavin Hamrick, Editor-in-Chief
