Ms. Casey O’Donnell grew up in Lansdale, PA and spent most of her childhood either out of doors, or watching The Sound of Music on repeat. She recalls her first distinct moment of encounter with Truth in her senior year high school theology class, learning the profound wisdom of John Paul II’s Theology of the Body. This encounter, which she describes as an experience of familiarity, as if the words had some resonance in her own heart, eventually changed the course of her life. She went on to study in the Humanities department at Villanova, where she found mentors who helped her put words to the song in her heart, the one that had been present since she was a child and was drawn out by that encounter with TOB. She also majored in Theology and minored in English while at Villanova. During undergrad, Ms. O’Donnell was involved in Fiat, the Catholic women’s group at Nova, and Liturgical Council, as well as serving in many other organizations and committees. She also had the opportunity to intern at the Theology of the Body Institute during her junior year.

Her undergraduate studies in the Humanities were primarily theology and literature focused, and she developed a deep love for the works of C.S. Lewis. During undergrad, she also had the opportunity to study at Blackfriars, Oxford, for several months, where she attended tutorials in Theology, Scripture, and Shakespeare under the guidance of the Dominicans there.

The focus of Ms. O’Donnell’s thought, which developed during undergrad and during her time at Blackfriars, is on the sacramentality of the world and the human body and the role of beauty. She believes it is so important to consider these things, being that beauty (and the body has been twisted and manipulated by our culture. She is fascinated by the way the Creator speaks to us–more accurately sings to us–in and through the created world, which is nothing less than a transposition of the eternal love song of Heaven. It is a song we are called to participate in, as John Paul II says, through living out love rightly–through living out the language of the body, which is the language of love and self-gift.

After undergrad, Ms. O’Donnell went on to complete her M.A. in Education at Villanova, for which she completed her student teaching requirement at Martin Saints. She is thrilled to have found MSC, and to have the opportunity to participate in the wondrous exploration and discovery of the Good, True, and Beautiful that is going on at MSC.