Ave Maria Living.com
Ave Maria, Florida – the town with a Catholic heart.©™ Stories & information for residents & visitors.Archive for Why I Love Ave Maria
Meet the Forero Family
Veronica and Luis (“Lucho”) were both born and raised in Colombia. Lucho Forero is an electrical engineer with an M.B.A. and a degree in Marketing. In 2000, he accepted a job in telecommunications. The firm was based in the D.C. area, but his job was in an office in Miami. Meanwhile, Veronica was in Colombia earning a degree in clinical psychology. On business trips to Colombia in 2003, through a common friend, Lucho and Veronica first met. Lucho began spending more and more time in Colombia, falling in love with this beautiful and strong woman who was also a woman of deep faith. 
It wasn’t long before the two were married, and in spite of the sorrow they felt in moving away from their families, they decided to settle in Miami where Lucho worked. They found a strong community of like-minded families in Key Biscayne. As the years passed by, their family began to grow. First Micaela arrived, followed by Candelaria, and then a year later, Lucia. Three beautiful little girls, with lush brown hair and bright brown eyes that shine with joy and innocence.
By 2011, the Foreros had made many friends in Key Biscayne, and their lives were filled with parties and playdates. But Micaela was now four, approaching five, and her parents began to think seriously about school options for her. Along the way, they had become interested in a parenting philosophy called “Attachment Parenting”—essentially, allowing the child to be as close to the parents as often as they wanted. It’s a “pure formula of finding the love,” Lucho explains, in any situation. Along those lines, Veronica were open to homeschooling Micaela, but they didn’t have a strong homeschooling community around them. They also felt drawn towards a school in the classical liberal arts tradition, but once again, nothing in their area fell into that category. So they did some research.
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Meet the McQuades
If you drive through Coquina and spot a house with a single-car garage and ten bicycles in the driveway, you know you have found the McQuades.
If you venture inside on a typical day, you will find seven McQuade children scattered throughout the home playing, reading, or working on their homeschool lessons. Among them, two young men from Immokalee homeschool as well.
Another son, Hadyn McQuade, passes through between classes at Ave Maria University to give a violin lesson. Two more adult children pop in on occasion when they take a hiatus from their work or study to come visit.
If you’re really lucky, there may be a litter of Goldendoodle puppies to play with! The McQuades breed their family dogs and car e for the puppies until they are ready to be sent to loving homes. The lifestyle of this family of 12 may seem a bit over whelming to some, but the McQuades wouldn’t have it any other way. Their adventurous and fun-loving journey began at Ole Miss where Mike and Jenn McQuade met. The two fell in love and got married.
The McQuades have moved 19 times as a family. In the early years of their marriage, Mr. McQuade was in the United States Air Force. He flew F-16s all over the world. In fact, they were living in Korea when their first child came into the world… 16 weeks early!
It was the Fourth of July weekend and the McQuades were spending time with some military families at the beach in Korea when Mrs. McQuade suddenly became ill. She developed a very high fever and had to be rushed to the hospital while her husband and friends packed her body with ice. The hospital was five hours away.
When she got there, her water broke. She was only 24 weeks pregnant. She had an emergency C-section and a man at the hospital, who was not even a doctor, fashioned a mask small enough for their new baby out of materials he found in the kitchen. Thanks to him, baby Rylan was Read the rest of this entry »
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The Dix Family: Dixes Never Quit!
For those of us who are newer to Ave Maria, it is hard to imagine the town without Maple Ridge, Publix, or the Oratory, but the Dix family knows the town before those things quite well. When they moved to Ave in 2007, the Oratory was just a skeleton of what it is now and the vast majority of the current residential areas were inhabited by wildlife alone.
The patriarch of the Dix family, Daniel, was present for the groundbreaking procession as a couple hundred folks walked in prayer through the tomato fields and Ave Maria became a town. Daniel and Monica were also the first to sign a commitment to open a business in Ave Maria — that business was The Bean of Ave Maria.
Standing outside of Sunday Mass, Monica Dix, wife and mother of five, shares that their offertory envelope is number 27 — those envelopes were handed out to residents star ting with number one — another fact proving their status as one of the original families in Ave.
When they moved to Ave, they were a family of five, with the youngest two girls not having been born yet. Now, they are a family of seven with one dog, Bob Lee Swagger . The Dix girls are: Isabella Ray, “Bella,” 13; Gianna Carolina, “Gigi,” 10; Josephina Maria, “Josie,” 9; Gabriella Lucia, “Gabby,” 5; and Rosa Emiliana, 2. Daniel and Monica had very specific plans for their girls’ names. Firstly, all of their names have Italian roots, and most also honor a family member or patron saint. But secondly, Monica said, “we wanted to be sure their names could work if they wanted to be diplomats or rock stars.”
While unsure if the future has either of those two careers in store for any of the girls, their current interests are certainly varied, including track and field, martial arts, reading, sailing, fencing, book-writing, video game playing, and coding, to name a few.
While their schedules haven’t always been full with the multitude of activities they are now, Daniel and Monica are no strangers to long days and packed schedules. The two met while Monica was studying ceramics and sculpture at Carnegie Mellon University and Daniel was finishing up his degree in art history while working as an art conservator at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, PA. They fell in love and Daniel proposed while on a seven-week bike trip together in Europe.
Monica, who was a cradle Catholic, although not practicing her faith at the time, wanted to get married in the Catholic Church. This was a bit of a problem for Daniel, who was a practicing Christian, but had no real allegiance to any particular denomination at the time. His problem came with the vow to raise his future children in the Catholic faith. Daniel took this vow very seriously. After discussing it with his own family and because it was something that Monica felt strongly about, the two were married in the Catholic Church.
Before they got married though,shortly after their engagement, Daniel left Pittsburgh to put his journalism degree to use by taking a job in management at a daily newspaper in his hometown of Wooster , OH. Monica wasn’t thrilled about the idea of moving to Wooster, so she stayed in Pennsylvania believing it might be easier to find work somewhere she was already comfortable.
It didn’t take her long to realize that she needed to be where Daniel was, “I was like, ‘what am I doing? I’m ruining this relationship I’m supposed to be in’ — Daniel proposed! This isn’t just dating anymore’ — I had made a commitment to Dan. And ultimately,
Guadalupe Gardens: A Love Story
There is a little-known place on the outskirts of San Marcos, Nicaragua. It is rustic and simple; poorly funded, it remains largely unfinished. But, if you ever get the chance to see it for yourself, you will come to know of its wonderful beauty.
It is lovingly tended to and is an incredibly peaceful place that is conducive to prayerful meditation. It is clear that the grottos and stone work were done with a talented hand and inspired soul. You are sure to get the sense that the hands of the Divine are at work here. This place is Guadalupe Gardens — a missionary formation center of the new evangelization — and equally as beautiful as it are the man behind the mission and his new bride.
Paul Rush, an Ave Maria College [now known as Ave Maria University] graduate, has dedicated more than a decade of his life to this place. Paul’s story is a radical and inspiring one. It started 16 years ago with a conversion of hear t that compelled him to leave his home in Delaware, his family and everything he knew behind. He desired to give everything he had to Christ and follow His call. One day, he just started walking. All he had were a few personal belongings and his faith. He walked until he reached the state of Michigan — Ann Arbor, to be exact. Every time he tried to continue on his journey, he found a roadblock that kept him from leaving town. It was there that he discovered Ave Maria University. He began to understand God’s call to attend the university there, so he did.
During his time at Ave Maria University, he had the opportunity to study abroad at the Nicaragua campus. He enjoyed the people and the culture so much that he decided to stay for a second semester. After returning to the states and
A magical tour: Ave Maria Flyover
Where talented neighbors create awesome videos of the town they love: Ave Maria, Florida – the town with a Catholic heart.™© This video was created by Justin Wurzburg.
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Pics from Around Town
And what a beautiful town it is.
Sorry we haven’t been able to post so much lately. We have been super busy showing homes and writing new contracts! Both new construction and some resales. It’s been beautiful weather(a little on the hot side) but I won’t complain too much. We have been having awesome sunsets! Hope you can come visit us! There is a home football game for both Donahue Catholic on Friday night and Ave Maria University on Saturday. Should be a great weekend of football!
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Icons of Christ: extolling the deep meaning of every mother’s suffering
Catherine Pakaluk is our neighbor, friend, and a professor at Ave Maria University. She is a mother, and this week that is the focus of her column:
…But I think we should talk more about the negatives. Not to be dour, of course, but to help people understand the fundamental meaning of the Christian vocation, a message that is central to Mulieris Dignitatem and the Second Vatican Council. You just can’t advance these majestic teachings on a cartoon image of the pregnant woman that sweeps away hardships. People do not want to escape from sufferings. They want to know that their sufferings have meaning…
This is my favorite line from the column: “And just like pregnancy—Christianity seems to make sense and be cool for a while at the beginning, right up to the point when you realize, and you always do, that running the race to the finish calls for laying down your life.”
This Madonna and Child shows them pausing during the flight into Egypt – see Caravaggio’s original painting for the full scene. This painting is by Cornelius Sullivan, a member of the Ave Maria community.
That’s what every mom MUST do while pregnant and usually does after the child is born. That is what is so compellingly beautiful about every mom. That is why motherhood is the best icon of Christ – and that is precisely why motherhood is rejected by so many. According to Catherine, maybe talking about it more will help more women understand the meaning of that suffering instead of simply dreading it.
Thank you to all the mothers in Ave Maria. Thank you for your witness – for being icons.
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When you buy that priest his beer on Monday…
Once again, it’s “international buy a priest a beer day” on Monday. Perhaps you will both enjoy the beer more if you show this blessing to him so he can bless it’s sweetness and mirth before you both imbibe (and toast to Our Lady’s birthday).
Mission accomplished! I love my priests. Thank you, Father McTeigue, for giving all you have to His people. Father enjoyed a Pilsner Urquell after blessing it and my Angry Orchard cider in latin.
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Philosophers on a Mountain Top
These two are among the men who call Ave Maria home. It will be interesting to hear more about their escapade over a bourbon or some wine. Let us pray they came back refreshed and ready to inspire their students and contribute to the Academy.
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Did somebody say Harvard and Ave Maria are equivalent?
The thing about Ave Maria is that it is still new, and therefore it makes sense that people aren’t quite sure what to make of it (i.e. the community, which consists of both town and university). This blog is an exercise in trying to help people have information so they can know what to make of it. And so is this article by professor Michael Pakaluk, which explains how some of the best things that can happen are happening here:
… So, simply with respect to what was found to be best at Harvard, it seems we can conclude that Harvard and Ave Maria are equivalent (or better, if London Pride at the Queen Mary Pub is better than tea). … It would be absurd to claim that Ave Maria has everything that Harvard has. For instance, we do not have the noise, pollution, and crime which are found in a city. We do not have any dirty piles and pools of slush to trudge through in March. …
Of course Michael’s keen wit is worth reading. Go click – it’s short and funny (and he makes some great points). And the quote from A Man for All Seasons is precious.
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Our neighbor Novak’s deft reply to New York Times’ attempt to pit Pope Francis against Pope Saint John Paul II
Queerly, the New York Times seems to be advocating that papal pronouncements ought to influence culture and public policy, and in that vein has posed this question and then published five responses:
Jesus drove money changers out of the Temple, calling them “a den of thieves.” Of the profit-centric world view, Pope Francis warned, “We can no longer trust in the unseen forces and the invisible hand of the market,” to provide economic justice. Others call Christianity and capitalism inextricable. Is contemporary capitalism compatible with Christian values?
Novak presents shirt reading “Centisimus Annus” to Pope Saint John Paul II – click to see it and other photos at Novak’s website
Interestingly, that setup by the Times ignores how Pope Saint John Paul II described capitalism in the magisterial encyclical Centisumus Annus:
… an economic system which recognizes the fundamental and positive role of business, the market, private property and the resulting responsibility for the means of production, as well as free human creativity in the economic sector … circumscribed within a strong juridical framework which places it at the service of human freedom in its totality.
But Michael Novak did not let the Times get away with that omission (or the Times’ lame attempt to pit Pope Francis against his canonized predecessor John Paul); Novak’s is one of the five published responses, and it begins with the saint’s definition and discusses why capitalism is the most moral of the economic systems. It is worth reading.
Unashamed: May we always be a town that stands with Robbie George
This past week at the annual National Catholic Prayer Breakfast legal and political philosopher Robert George gave an address that will likely be remembered for decades. Closer to home, it will likely remind many of us why we have chosen to be faithful, and in particular to be part of the Ave Maria Project.
The question each of us today must face is this: Am I ashamed of the Gospel? And that question opens others: Am I prepared to pay the price that will be demanded if I refuse to be ashamed, if, in other words, I am prepared to give public witness to the massively politically incorrect truths of the Gospel, truths that the mandarins of an elite culture shaped by the dogmas of expressive individualism and megeneration liberalism do not wish to hear spoken? Or, put more simply, am I willing, or am I, in the end, unwilling, to take up my cross and follow Christ?
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Being named after Saint John Paul the Great (a town where it’s common, and 1 young John Paul who is attending the canonization)
On the eve of Divine Mercy Sunday when Pope John Paul II will officially enter the canon of saints of Christ’s Church, many families in the town of Ave Maria are also planning a feast day for their sons – or their Sister! It is fitting that a town where one of the streets is named “Pope John Paul II Boulevard” – a town whose founding was inspired by that pope’s “new evangelization” – has so many boys and young men named after that extraordinary man.
His papacy saw a rise in the popularity of the name “John Paul” for newborns in the USA as shown in this graphic, with spikes in popularity based on events in his life:
How many newborns were named “John Paul” in the USA each year?
Of course not everyone bearing the name received it as a newborn boy. Sister John Paul, OP, who teaches in Ave Maria at Donahue Catholic, received the name when she entered Religious life.
“I received the name John Paul as my religious name the day I received the holy habit of St. Dominic, August 5, 2001. ‘John Paul II, we love you!'” – window at the Mother House of the Dominican Sisters of Mary Mother of the Eucharist
Among the estimated dozen John Paul’s in Ave Maria, several have provided photographs, below.
John Paul Raiger
John Paul Klucik
John Paul Tamisiea
John Paul Moore, who made his First Holy Communion today.
John Paul Moore – born second – was blessed while in the womb with his twin sister Rhodora by John Paul II. And while the parents had no idea they were having twins, the Pope knew because he gave them two extra rosaries (instead of one extra) for the baby!
One lucky Ave Maria boy bearing the name is having the trip of a lifetime with his mother – they traveled to Rome to attend tomorrow’s canonization ceremony! John Paul Allan’s friends and neighbors have been able to follow his special pilgrimage via Facebook. Mrs. Allan owns a Catholic gift and book store and home school supply store called By Way of the Family that she named after a phrase from Saint Pope John Paul”s apostolic exhortation Familiaris Consortio: “The future of humanity passes by way of the family.”
John Paul Allan and his mother Chelsea with the Vatican in background on their canonization pilgrimage in Rome.
Pope John Paul II canonization banner over the entrance to St. Peter’s Basilica with John Paul Allan standing under it at St. Peter’s Basilica.
John Paul Allan praying at the tomb of Pope John Paul II the day before his canonization.
John Paul Allan praying at the tomb of Pope John XXIII the day before his canonization.
John Paul Allan and his mom Chelsea sent this image showing where they are standing in line at 3:00 AM on the eve of John Paul II’s canonization.
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Pontificate of Hope (that continues to inspire our town)
This reflection (below), penned by Cistercian Father Edmund Waldstein after St. John Paul was beatified in 2011, highlights what many Catholics of my generation found in his Petrine ministry: hope. That hope in the nature of who we are as creatures of a Creator will continue to fuel the flame that is the Gospel. That hope is precisely why the Ave Maria projects were founded.
We can look forward with hope to the writing and teaching of theologian Pater Edmund, and of his theologian parents Michael and Susan here in Ave Maria, who have done much already to spread this good news that is St. John Paul’s theology – especially his Theology of the Body.
My confrere Pater Johannes Paul and I went to Rome with a group of pilgrims for the beatification of Pope John Paul II. It was tremendously moving and all that sort of thing, but the trip was also kind of exhausting and so I actually fell asleep during the sermon at the Beatification Mass. Reading the sermon when I got back, I was struck by the following passage, in which Pope Benedict gives a remarkably pithy summary of the center of his predecessor’s teaching:
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Throwback Thursday: Joseph Pearce on Ave Maria
In 2011 writer Joseph Pearce wrote a wonderful reflection about being a resident of Ave Maria and a longtime member of the AMU faculty. He is now on the faculty at the Thomas More College of Liberal Arts.
Here is the link: World is eccentric; Ave Maria is different because it’s not
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Ave Maria: home is where the orange blossoms grow
[Update: scroll to the end.]
This time of year, Ave Maria smells heavenly.
Thick waves of perfume waft along sidewalks and onto front porches.
This beautiful breeze flows from the acres of orange groves in blossom – row upon row of snowy flowering trees that surround Ave Maria.
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Sunset – last night in Ave Maria
Who remembers the sky-blue pink crayon in the big green and yellow Crayola box (with the sharpener on the back)?
Photo by Linda, an Ave Maria resident.
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We are AVE MARIA
My neighbors and I are wonderfully created fallen people hoping in the promises of Christ our Redeemer, Who came to dwell in our midst after the angel said “Hail Mary, full of grace!”
Sometimes we look a lot like the cast of not-so-pleasant characters in this leaf from an ancient book of hours. Yet we carry on, trusting in God’s grace – the same grace that filled Mary and that she wants us to know.
That’s who lives here in Ave Maria – and I wouldn’t want it any other way.
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Just How Much We Love Ave
When I first saw the rendering of Ave Maria town and the Oratory I thought that this is a place we would like to live. The town to be was just in the talking stages along with a new Catholic University. With each meeting that was held and with every new rendering, for both the university and town, I just knew that we had to live there someday. I was familiar with the farmlands east of Naples because we’ve lived in Naples since 1979. I had always said “who would want to live so far from Naples?” Back in 1979, certainly it wasn’t us.
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Top Twelve Reasons I Love Living in Ave Maria – One for Every Month of the Year.
1) Orange blossoms in April. The scent fills Ave Town with a heavenly perfume that makes me want to go outside and just breathe.
2) When I tell people my address on Annunciation Circle in Ave Maria they ask me how I managed to get such a Catholic address. I tell them it’s no coincidence.
3) Daily Mass in Ave Maria is said at four times per day during the school year (daily for the K-12 students and 3 times for the college students and residents) and as the college students make their way across campus to daily Mass I’m often asked by tourists if the students are required to attend daily Mass since so many of them are seen headed that way at Mass time, and of course the answer is, “No. They go because they want to.”
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Giving Our Children The Best That Life Can Offer
photo courtesy of http://www.AveHerald.com
What called us to Ave Maria may not be what keeps us here or it may be a combination thereof. We were attracted to the Catholic values and practices of the community. It is our desire as parents to give our children what we find to be the best that life can offer and that is the Truth of the Catholic Church. It is in our minds and hearts the surest way to live a loving and peaceful life for ourselves and for others. After living here two and a half years we realize of course that we did not move to Heaven, but we did become part of a community that strives to go in that direction, and it is a wonderful experience to do that together, that is as Church.
For an example, it is heartwarming to go to Mass on Sunday and see all the families and all the children in these families. It matters not who we are or what we do in the community. In the end, when day is done, what seems to matter most is that we love each other in our families first and then bring this love to the world outside of our families. It is living as a Domestic Church. It is living as the Jesus, Mary and Joseph lived in Nazareth and believe in the outcome that God our Father has planned for all of us.
Contributed by Richard & Suzanne Dionne
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A genuinely Catholic university: faculty, students & curriculum
I can say with Adam, “I was there at the beginning”. Though it wasn’t the Garden of Eden, it was nevertheless full of glimpses of glory. I have wonderful memories from my seven years at Ave Maria.
Of course, the most essential thing is that it is a genuinely Catholic university… [break] …I can sing my Nunc Dimittis with confidence that the torch of vibrant faith is being passed on to the next generation.
Contributed by Fr. Joseph Fessio, S.J.
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World is eccentric; Ave Maria is different because it’s not
There’s something very special about Ave Maria and the people who live here. It’s a community centred on Christ. How many other towns o
r neighbourhoods in the United States or, for that matter, anywhere else in the modern world, could claim to have Christ as the central focus? Ave Maria is, therefore, very different as well as very special. For some people, no doubt, the difference is the problem. Such people, wishing to conform to what Evelyn Waugh described so aptly as “our deplorable epoch”, will not want to visit Ave Maria, let alone live here. So be it…
Contributed by Joseph Pearce
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What Matters Most in the Human Adventure
We moved from a military post near Regensburg, Germany, to Ave Maria in 2007 confident that the environment would help us to be constantly mindful of what matters most in the human adventure… [break] …This consciousness and unity became very tangible during a watershed event in August of 2010. The eldest of our seven children, Alex, died in a car accident in town at the age of 19, about three weeks before he would begin classes at AMU. In the midst of this otherwise senseless tragedy the community united to live and witness and taste “the appalling strangeness of the mercy of God.”…
Contributed by Robb & Laurie Klucik
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