St. Dunstan’s campus received some much-needed rain today, which kept us from getting out in the yard to cut timbers, but also gave us a good excuse to stay inside and prepare the red-oak pegs that will lock everything together when we raise the frame for our first dormitory in two weeks.
The building’s foundation is in, the first floor’s timbers in place, the deck secured for raising. I’ve included a few recent pictures below.
Part of what makes our school unique is the combination of liberal arts and trades education. Our faculty are practicing a way of life now, before we have students in our midst, that we anticipate sharing with the young men who will join our ranks before long. We build together because we care about the place in which these boys will be educated, and want the structures to be strong, thoughtfully constructed, and lasting. We build together because the work ties us more closely to one another and teaches us how much we depend upon our friends’ gifts and strength. And we build together because Christian wisdom, the goal of Classical education, requires before all else a patient attentiveness to Creation, a receptive inner-eye that is cultivated and fostered by the practice of working with real things.
“In the virtue of prudence,” writes philosopher and theologian Josef Pieper, “the ring of active life is closed and rounded to its genuine fulfillment: out of the experience of reality the person works towards reality, thus realizing himself in decision and action.” Wisdom, according to Pieper, involves two halves: the knowledge of reality, and the realization of The Good. The first comes through contemplation and careful attentiveness, and the second comes from working out in action what the human soul has perceived while at rest, holding the truth in view and desiring to see the truth carried out in the world.
As we prepare to equip our young men for both a life of rich contemplation and a life of joyful action, we continue to give thanks for the many friends who work with us, donate to the school, and volunteer their gifts to bring our vision to life here in Nelson County. If you’re free April 26th, come join us here for raising day. Email if you plan to attend.
