Brother, Father, Scholar, Teacher

Tonight I met a modern Renaissance man.  His name was Father Elijah.  Although he occupies many roles – Benedictine monk, Catholic priest, seasoned scholar, world traveler, and traveling teacher – above all else, he is a passionate human being.  I could tell as soon as I met Father Elijah that he was a man who would stop at nothing to accomplish God’s goals for him here on Earth. 

I was introduced to Father Elijah by my incredible roommate and friend, Jacob Maestri, who actually had the Father as a teacher back at Subiaco Academy in Arkansas.  Father Elijah is here in Rome finishing up his doctorate degree, teaching other seminarians, and honing his language skills (Aramaic, Coptic, Greek, Italian, Spanish, French, German – you name it, he probably knows it!).  We met at a quaint restaurant close to our apartment here in Trastevere and had an excellent meal of pasta and Tiramisu for dinner. 

I was absolutely humbled to hear about Father Elijah’s life and mission, and my only wish is that we would have had more time together!  It’s possible that I’ve never met someone bursting with as much personality as the Father had – someone so alive!  Over the course of the evening, Father Elijah asked Jacob and myself all about the courses we are taking here in Rome, as well as about our long-term academic plans.  He offered tips and advice at every turn of the conversation.  When he learned I was an English major, he recommended I visit the Keats/Shelley Museum House here in Rome – which I will most definitely be doing!  But it was Father Elijah’s charisma that was so inspiring to me.

I would like to imagine that the Renaissance masters – I’m talking Michelangelo, Caravaggio, and Bramante here – had that same charismatic persona.  Devotion is hard.  It’s hard enough for me to try to devote myself to learning a second language, let alone trying to learn a third, fourth, fifth or sixth!  To be devoted to learning about the diversity of the world, and to immersing yourself in it, and to sharing your knowledge with other people is TO BE a Renaissance thinker.

            The word ‘Renaissance’ simply means ‘Rebirth’.  Whether that’s a rebirth of interest in the classical studies, fine arts, or individual worth is really BESIDE THE POINT in my opinion.  The Renaissance is about a rebirth of PASSION.  In many ways, as my Brit Lit professor Dr. Joshua Smith would tell you, a desire to remember the past was present all throughout the ‘Dark Ages’.  After all, how would Renaissance scholars have had access to classical texts and ideas if they weren’t passed down by medieval monks who deemed them important enough to copy.  I would argue, then, that what makes the Renaissance the RENAISSANCE is simply passion.



            Sure, medieval monks must have had some passion and A LOT of devotion to copy down pages and pages of classical texts, but copying isn’t truly passionate, it’s not truly original.  Renaissance thinkers were original.  They learned all about the classics, but not so that they could copy them down, but instead so that they could build FROM them.  And build they did. 



            So why is Father Elijah a modern Renaissance man?  Because he builds off of his knowledge from the past, fueled by a passion to always learn more.  One of the most interesting parts of our conversation together had to do with academic examinations.  Father Elijah told Jacob and myself that most of his tests consist of ten minute oral exams in which he is held responsible, in just a few very short questions, for all of the material he learned in the entire previous semester.   This is really a very potent method of testing if you think about it.  On a three hour written exam, you might survive having written an erroneous paragraph or two, but a ten minute oral exam?  There’s almost no room for error.  You either know the information, or you don’t.



            I think this method of testing is a great way to gauge not just knowledge, but passion – and therefore Renaissance spirit.  In an oral exam, you have to figure that the subtleties of voice inflection, hand gestures, and other non-verbal forms of communication must come into play at some point.  And what isn’t said is perhaps just as important as what is said.  Passion speaks louder than words, perhaps. 



            What Father Elijah did tell me at dinner this evening was to not order a cappuccino in Italy after 10:30 in the morning, to always stand near a baby in the crowd when trying to greet the Pope, and to be confident when traveling the world that language skills are not always necessary, but WILL come with time.  What he did not tell me is that HE is a humble, yet charismatic and inspiring modern Renaissance figure.  But he is. And he has inspired me to seek out for myself something that I am truly passionate about.  Passion was present in Renaissance times, it was present in Antiquity, and it is alive and well today.  It is simply up to us to go and seek it out.



Thank you Father Elijah, and thank you Jacob, for such an inspiring evening,



Brock