'Heroic Love'

Tom Costello

Sandyston parishioner promotes chastity, respect for life as speaker with Culture Project International

SANDYSTON  Tom Costello of St. Thomas the Apostle Parish here admits that he did not know about — much less practice — the “heroic love” of chastity as a teen in high school. It took a few more years for this Branchville native to understand fully the Church’s teaching about living a life of “sexual integrity,” while studying at a renowned Catholic university. Back then, the young man’s faith deepened dramatically, leading him to change the direction of his life and decide to live out a life of chastity.

Two years after having been graduated from Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio, the 23-year-old Costello finds himself promoting the virtues of chastity and respect for life as a speaker in a new faith-based initiative, which reaches out to young people across the U.S., The Culture Project International. In the fall, he starts his second year as part of this enthusiastic mission group, which seeks to restore the culture of the nation — which continues to be bombarded with corrosive messages that support abortion and sexual promiscuity — by becoming “fully alive” through the experience of virtue in its lively presentations.

“We look to the intercession of St. John Paul II as he said, ‘The future is in your hearts and your hands. God is entrusting to you the task, at once difficult and uplifting, of working with him in the building of the civilization of love,’ ” said Costello, who left his position last year as a middle-school math and physical education teacher at Immaculate Conception Regional School, Franklin, to join the group. “Although I knew my gifts and talents would lead me to a profession where I would be reaching out to youth of our culture, I could have never imagined that this passion would have led me to where I am today.”

Costello and a staff of 29 other young-adult missionaries crisscross the U.S., giving presentations on chastity and respect for life in Catholic parishes, schools and youth events. They present 45- to 90-minute talks to middle school students through young adults from their headquarters in the Philadelphia area to Los Angeles. They have not yet spoken in the Paterson Diocese, despite having received a few requests, Costello said.

In its presentations, speakers of the two-year-old Culture Project weave together Church teaching, Scripture, science, sociology and powerful stories with personal witness. So far, they have made 670 presentations to about 20,000 people, including many older adults, Costello said.

“Members of our team make a commitment of at least one year of their life to enter into a program in which they themselves live and pray in community, receive formation and also are sent out on mission nationally and internationally,” the Culture Project states on its web site, restoreculture.com.

In their talk on “Sexual Integrity,” missionaries speak on the virtue of chastity — the living out of “God’s fulfillment of love, marriage and family for our lives,” he said.

“By remaining chaste, we are saying ‘yes’ to love and refuse to use people,” said Costello, noting that the “Sexual Integrity” talk — presented separately to young men and young women — explores teachings from John Paul’s “Theology of the Body.”

After the talk, missionaries talk to the girls about modesty, because “they are made in God’ image,” and to the boys about “positive dating goals,” such as giving a “simple kiss” and “getting to know the family of the girl,” said Costello, who gives a witness talk about his journey to his life of chastity.

In their talk on the “Dignity of the Human Person,” the speakers give a “holistic view of human life from conception to death.” They illustrate the wonder of life by showing 4-D images of babies in the womb. These co-ed talks include stories of people, who sacrifice for others in promoting respect for life, he said.

“We are all created by love for love. We are all called to respect life,” Costello said.

Anchoring Costello’s latest ministry has been his strong Catholic upbringing. His father, Thomas, serves as principal of Pope John XXIII Regional High School, Sparta, while his mother, Cindy, home-schooled him and his four siblings and speaks on spirituality throughout the Paterson Diocese. They took their family to St. Thomas for weekly Mass and other religious services, Costello said.

The course of Costello’s life changed while attending Franciscan University, where he engaged in efforts to evangelize, praying the rosary and attending weekly Mass and participating in “The Lord’s Day” on Saturdays, praying and reflecting on Scripture, Costello said.

“I found a community of friends, faculty and friars, who were striving for holiness. Their example inspired me to strive for holiness in my own life. I grew in my faith. That led to mission work,” said Costello, who earned a bachelor’s degree in math and education from Franciscan University in 2013, before teaching for a year at Immaculate Conception.

Last year, Costello joined the Culture Project, which witnesses the faith in other ways, including praying outside abortion clinics, posting monthly blog entries by staffers and hosting youth and young adult evenings at parishes in the Philadelphia area. They also work on their own spiritual lives through Mass, prayer and other faith activities. Last month, a few members appeared on an episode of EWTN’s “Life on the Rock” to publicize the ministry. This group expects to get involved in the World Meeting of Families 2015 with Pope Francis in September, Costello said.

“Tom cares about kids. His ministry enables him to impart Christian values, which are so important for young people today with so many distractions,” said Debbie Sowden, an Immaculate Conception language arts teacher, who worked with Costello and has given financial support to his ministry. “Tom is delivering the message to young people that it [support for abortion and sexual promiscuity in the wider society] doesn’t have to be their ‘normal.’ They can be chaste and wait for the right person,” she said.

This summer, Costello has been raising funds to cover his salary for the coming year as a missioner with the Culture Project International. Readers can donate at the initiative’s web site or reach him at [email protected].