Christ in College

College.  It's the most important 4, well maybe ...ok 6 years of your life. You come in at the ripe young age of 18 and hopefully you leave by the time you are 30 with a degree in hand.  And hopefully you can actually find a job with said degree.  Having these goals are great.  As Americans we all strive to live that American dream. We want to have a great job, start a family, and make enough money so that the golf course becomes your second home when you hit the age of 70.  But what about your faith?  What goals do you have to sustain and build your relationship with Christ and his Church?  These questions should be just as important, if not more important than the major you end up choosing.  Well today, I am going to give you some tips for making the faith your own when you leave the nest.

The first step is choosing the right school.  There are all kinds of schools around; teaching schools, nursing schools, tech schools and all of them have great qualities.  But the Christian culture of the school needs to factored in as well. Is there a church on campus?  What about a Newman Center?  Is there at least a good Catholic community around?  If the answers to these questions are yes, then go for it!  For me, having these types of things on my campus was huge in my coming back to the faith.  Without the Newman Center at the greatest college in the world (the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in case you were wondering) along with the greatest people in the world, I may have never found my way back to the faith.  So do yourself a favor and ask yourself those questions before you decide on a school.

OK so you chose to go to a school with all of these things.  Great, now what???  USE THEM!  Colleges do not have Newman Centers and Catholic churches on campus so they can sit empty.  Get your butt over there and pray.  "But Josh, you don't understand.  I have 3 tests this week and 4 papers and 19 projects.  How am I going to find time to get a holy hour in?"  I lived the college life.  Unless you are triple majoring in Chemistry, Biology, and Physics, you are not that busy.  The college schedule always allows for free time.  It's up to you as to how you are going to spend that free time.  You can party.  You can watch TV.  You can hang out with friends.  But what about building your relationship with Jesus?  All he wants is some time with you.  Go hang out with Jesus.  Do your homework in the chapel.  Whatever you have to do to get even 30 minutes with Jesus, do it!  Because as St. Josemaria Escriva so famously says, "When you approach the tabernacle, remember that he has been waiting for you for twenty centuries." The least you can do is give him some of your time.

"Alright Josh, so I picked a nice Catholic college and I'm praying and going to mass and doing all of those things.  What's next?"  What's next?  Go spread the good news!  The Catholic faith is an absolute gift from God and by holding it in for yourself, all you are doing is being selfish and doing a disservice to others.  There are literally tens and hundreds of thousands of college students on campuses all over the country that are thirsting for truth.  Go give it to them!  Now, you can't go beat someone over the head with a Bible or start condemning them for their sins.  Just go love them.  It's really that simple.  Go live your life with someone else and the love of Christ that is radiating through you will rub off on them.  I guarantee it.  It may be a little scary to go out and evangelize (I know.  I know.  Catholics hate the E-word).  This is why the community of Catholic students that I mentioned earlier is so very important.  You are going to meet people in college that are not Catholic.  It's inevitable.  Your task is to bring them in.  They will probably be reluctant to go to mass or a Bible study right off the bat, but bring them to a movie night or a dance, or anything else that is being held.  The relationship with that particular person is far more important than the "rules" at the start.  Love them like people loved me in college and who knows, maybe they end up becoming a FOCUS missionary...

College is hard.  You have homework.  You have tests. You may have a job.  It is a lot to juggle when you start those 4, 5, or 6 years. But if there is one piece of advice that I can give you, it is that you should truly consider making the faith your own.  Find people that are going to help you get the ball rolling.  If you still haven't decided on a school, look for ones that are FOCUS campuses.  Those schools have teams of four or more people that have the job of helping you find your faith.  And when you find the faith, don't hold it in.  Share it with others and God will fill you up more abundantly than you ever imagined. 

Peace and love,
Josh