Hillsdale bids ‘Grotto’ family farewell

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Hillsdale bids ‘Grotto’ family farewell
Tim, Peri Rose, Marina, and Bruce Force pose in front of the Grotto | Courtesy Force Family

The first floor of Tim and Peri Rose Force’s home is made for guests. The shelves, lined with spiritual books, are easy to reach and hang above comfy couches. Mugs sit beside a kettle brewing hot water, waiting for company.

Their home, called the Grotto, is a haven for Hillsdale students to spend time in its Eucharistic adoration chapel or enjoy Catholic Society’s community and events. This will be the couple’s last year serving as directors of college ministry and as guardians of the Blessed Sacrament for St. Anthony’s Catholic Church. 

“They want to help us in any way they can,” said sophomore Gretchen Birzer, a Catholic Society outreach board member. “They really do put every effort in to make sure that we are growing. They’re loving and provide such a beautiful home for us.” 

Tim and Peri Rose have been pillars of Hillsdale’s Catholic community since 2017, when they graduated from Hillsdale and moved down Union Street from the Suites to the Grotto.

“It can be sort of hard to know, ‘What exactly does giving first fruits back to the Lord mean?’” Tim said. “But how about in the most literal sense? Whatever is first, give to him.” 

Tim said he hopes this has made him a more generous person. 

“It might become less obvious moving forward what our first fruits are,” Tim said. “But it was so obvious in this case. How about our youth; how about our first year out of college; how about this energy that we have? Why not give that?” 

Before attending Hillsdale, Tim and Peri Rose both grew up in Colorado Springs and attended the same school, kindergarten through twelfth grade. 

“Most of our favorite teachers were Hillsdale grads, and so that was a really compelling reason to come to Hillsdale,” Peri Rose said.

They began dating their sophomore year of high school and later married after their junior year of college. Their daughter Marina was born in October 2017, and their second child, Bruce, was born in October 2019.

Both studied English, but Peri Rose minored in classical education and Tim in Latin and economics. 

Tim dove into involvement with Catholic Society and became president as a junior, splitting the leadership team into an executive and outreach board. He also helped the club begin to emphasize daily prayer opportunities. 

“I kind of stopped doing my homework,” Tim said, laughing. 

Tim was raised Catholic, while Peri Rose converted to Catholicism in 2017. She struggled with her faith and became “essentially agnostic” her sophomore year of college, until she began attending Mass with Tim and friends toward the end of the year. 

“Finally, there was just this moment,” Peri Rose said. “There were lots of little things along the way, but finally we were at Tim’s aunt’s house for spring break. She’s not Catholic, and he was explaining the communion of saints to her.” 

As she listened to him, Peri Rose said, she thought of how amazing and perfect his description was. “Go Tim!” she thought. 

“And then I was like, ‘Oh, shoot. I believe that,’” Peri Rose said. “I started looking back and taking inventory of my interior life. And I was like, ‘Oh no … I believe a lot of this stuff.’”

After discerning heavily for months, she told Tim about her plan to convert on the way to one of his club soccer games. Because of Peri Rose’s conversion and their marriage, she said she felt their senior year was radically different than everyone else’s. 

Once they graduated and moved into the Grotto, they began to experience a multitude of graces from living with a Eucharistic adoration chapel just downstairs.

“Every time you walk past the chapel door, you’re confronted with your poverty,” Tim said. 

Thursdays have always been Tim’s favorite day. He takes time off from his job in construction to grocery shop with his family for Convivium, a weekly event that includes a home-cooked meal, prayer, and a guest speaker.

“I watch people come here who I have so much respect for in the way they live their prayer life,” Tim said.

They’re spiritually nourished by the community of students and love to watch the freshman grow into seniors.

“It’s amazing,” Peri Rose said. “All the good things, all the gold that was in you when you were a freshman is still there but polished now.”

However, their life also lacks privacy, Peri Rose said. As an introverted, postpartum mother, she considered leaving after their first year.

“It’s super fun,” Peri Rose said. “But our social life is forced on us, so that’s really hard for me sometimes.” 

Balancing being ministers at the Grotto and the parents of young children is both difficult and fulfilling, Tim said. At some point, the two roles begin to conflict with each other, and one needs to be prioritized. 

That’s why this year will be their last at the Grotto. They plan to move back to Colorado Springs, where both of their families live. 

By opening their home, the Forces continue to impact students in their generous hospitality.

“As a Catholic, the Grotto has provided such a beautiful community for me,” Birzer said. “It’s so amazing to have the Blessed Sacrament available to us, and they support us in our faith so much by providing everything that they do.”

Junior and outreach board member Brandt Siegfried said the Grotto is a refuge. 

“Having access to family on a regular basis is a game changer,” Siegfried said. “Even though to have the most conducive environment for learning we need to be individuals, you cannot replace the role of family.”

Tim said time given to our Lord is always given back to us a much more refined and beautiful thing.

“It’s just amazing to experience the smiles and tears that come in the front door,” Tim said. “There’s a lot of ordinary graces, but they’re all due to our Lord’s presence here. People wouldn’t be crossing our threshold in any other way.”