By Lia Scuderi
If he is not teaching you theology, he may be playing Halo, cooking a Chinese dinner, reconfiguring a computer, or reading a Tarzan novel. Mr. Thomas Mar, the new head of the theology department at St. Mary’s High School was born in Seattle, Washington, in a neighborhood that might be described as the perfect location for a technophile and book lover who is also the son of Chinese immigrants.
“I grew up within walking distance of Seattle’s Chinatown, Seattle University, and the first headquarters of Amazon.com,” says Mr. Mar.
Prior to moving to Arizona 17 years ago, Mr. Mar attended Stanford University, the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology, and the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota. He is married and has 6 children.
Though he loves philosophy and theology, he enjoys many hobbies outside of his teaching and intellectual endeavors. At the end of each week, “The first thing I do is dream about what I’m going to do with the weekend!” he says. “I see weekends like tiny summer breaks when I can be spontaneous and go wherever the Spirit leads.”
When it comes to technology, Mr. Mar likes to play video games -- specifically Halo -- and fix computers. He is currently teaching himself Linux, a software operating system.
He is also always on the lookout for YouTube videos and cookbooks that will help him further his Chinese cooking skills. Cooking for friends and family is one way he connects with his Chinese culture.
Although Mr. Mar’s first language is English, he says “my education and background provided me with a little Cantonese, French, German, Hebrew and Latin.” He adds, “I love Chinese mythology. I've collected a few books on the subject that I keep at home so my kids can read them.”
Though he loves philosophy and theology, he enjoys many hobbies outside of his teaching and intellectual endeavors. At the end of each week, “the first thing I do is dream about what I’m going to do with the weekend!” he says. “I see weekends like tiny summer breaks when I can be spontaneous and go wherever the Spirit leads.”
When it comes to technology, Mr. Mar likes to play video games -- specifically Halo – and fix computers. He is currently teaching himself Linux (a software operating system).
He is also always on the lookout for YouTube videos and cookbooks that will help him further his Chinese cooking skills. Cooking for friends and family is one way he connects with his Chinese culture.
Although Mr. Mar’s first language is English, he says “my education and background provided me with a little Cantonese, French, German, Hebrew and Latin.” He adds, “I love Chinese mythology. I've collected a few books on the subject that I keep at home so my kids can read them.”
As a child, Mr. Mar enjoyed reading Tarzan of the Apes and the rest of the Tarzan series by Edgar Rice Burroughs. These days, he has a great love for mystery novels, including such books as The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins and The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett.
If Mr. Mar could eat dinner with anyone, his first choice would be his parents, who passed away when he was in his twenties. He would love to cook some Chinese cuisine of his own for them. “I think they would be proud of the man I have become.”
Among other individuals whose company he would enjoy are former agnostics Jacques Maritain and his wife Raissa and their mentor Leon Bloy, as well as Aristotle. Of course, he is also fascinated with Plato. As exciting as such visits might be, Mr. Mar says, “I would be intimidated.”
When asked which fictional character he thinks he is most like, Mr. Mar says he resembles Dashiell Hammett’s Continental Op, a recurring character in many of Hammett's stories. Mr. Mar thinks of himself as being “a bit unassuming, but principled.” However, he most desires to be like Socrates. He particularly appreciates the analogy in which Socrates compares himself to a gadfly inciting the sleepy Athenian people to conversation and questioning. “I like the idea of being a troublemaker,” he says.
Mr. Mar dearly loves teaching high school. “I had great high school teachers who supported me, challenged me, and really introduced me to the adventure of learning. I owe a tremendous debt to them for showing me what good teaching looked like. I really enjoy teaching adults, but I keep coming back to high school. I like this time in young people’s lives. High school is when people really begin to discover themselves and start forming the values that will shape their decisions throughout their lives. I want to be a part of that.”
When asked about the direction in which he hopes to see the Theology Department move, he says, “I would like to see the Theology Department take up the charge of the New Evangelization. St. John Paul II wrote about the multiple ways in which we act as missionaries. On the one hand, missionaries bring Jesus to those who have never heard of him. On the other hand, missionaries revitalize the faithful by calling them to a new springtime in their relationship with the Lord. I want our St. Mary’s Theology Department to really take up this dual missionary mandate and share Jesus with those who have never encountered him and awaken in others a new love for our savior. I want our department to help students fall in love with Jesus like it’s the first time -- giddy, adoring, and passionate.”
Before Mr. Mar joined the St. Mary’s family, he taught theology at Brophy College Preparatory. When asked about his experiences working with both St. Mary’s and her red rival, he replies with a profound analogy. He compares the experiences to a ship, saying it is good to know that his fellow faculty and his students “are all on the same page, or in the same boat, so to speak. Our common goal of Heaven allows us to work together in achieving it, like sailors on a ship.”
Speaking with Mr. Mar, one may notice an exploratory spirit that illuminates his greatest joys working at St. Mary’s. He describes his new students as refreshing and class time as being filled with lively discussions. He has enjoyed basking in the freedom of exploration without having to reteach basic principles of the faith. He says the possibility of delving deeper is wonderfully refreshing.
When asked about any particular advice he would give to his seniors, he says, “Seek the truth wherever it might be found. Let there be three models in your life: Socrates, our Blessed Mother, and Jesus. Allow Socrates to teach you what it means to be a ‘gadfly’ who in his incessant buzzing for the truth can get the slumbering horse of our culture to wake up; allow Mary to show you her son and what it means to follow him; allow Jesus to transform you, make you new, and give you life as you have never had it before.”
He is very curious about where this year’s graduates will attend college. “There are a hundred ways to be holy,” he says. “I am curious what hundred ways my students will find to be holy.”
