Campus Ministries Attends SEEK23

Karl Yabut, Campus Minister, Western Deanery College Campuses

“Jesus is calling you the light of the world. He is asking you to let your light shine before others. … Are you ready for it?”

St. John Paul II, To The Young People at Kiel Center 1999

Can you imagine how it must’ve felt to be in that convention center in 1999 with the Vicar of Christ asking you if you’re ready to step up to the plate? What is so cool to me is that a SAINT was in that same room as all of us in attendance. Asking the same age group if they were ready to be the light to others.

In 2019, I attended the SEEK19 conference in Indianapolis, IN with 18 friends from ULM (NLU to most of you) and I was just overwhelmed in joy and amazement that Our Lord called every person that week -all 17,000 of us- to encounter Him deeper in the sacraments, in prayer, in community, and to have full surrender. In 2022, SEEK22 was virtual so I hosted a watch party that weekend for undergraduate and professional students in our Diocese to encounter Christ in their local communities. This was a great event that came with many fruits for campus ministry, but I knew that encountering the mystical body of Christ in a greater scale would make such a lasting impact in their lives.

“SEEK23 was such an inspiring and spiritually rejuvenating experience. Being at a conference with 17,000 other Catholic college students and young adults was really awesome. Being able to converse with many other people from all around the world, all with different stories, but all with one thing in common.. God… Most importantly, I enjoyed hanging out with my ministry family. We laughed together, cried together, and we grew closer as a community.”

- Connor Fisk, Centenary College ‘26

So in January 2023, 14 students from across the diocese went to St. Louis, MO to attend SEEK23 and nothing has changed. I was filled with the same sense of overwhelming

“SEEK23 Convinced me of the most integral truth of Catholicism: the non circumstantial, radical, never ending love of the Father for me. It also showed me how we integrate this love into our daily lives to spread the gospel to others.”

- Seth Guidry, ULM College of Pharmacy ‘26

joy to be surrounded by so many others journeying in the faith and still amazed that Our Lord called every person that week, all 17,000 of them to encounter Him deeper in prayer, community, and to have full surrender. Maybe I’m biased because I want this incoming generation of young people to experience the joy I’ve experienced from attending, but from these testimonies featured here I think it’s clear the students shared that same joy.

“SEEK23 was such a spiritually filling experience! At SEEK, my faith life found nourishment and growth through the speakers, conversations, and people I was surrounded by! Christ met me and opened my eyes to see Him more deeply in everyone and in everything”

- Jessica West, LSUS ‘24

The beauty of SEEK23 is that invitation to attend is only the beginning, for what happens after for college students to live a life on mission, unafraid, to make life-long Catholic missionary disciples of Jesus Christ is the deeper call. It’s so easy for us to see Lent as a dreadful time of less– how about we think of it as a call. I hope these testimonies inspire you to answer the call to encounter Christ MORE in the midst of our sufferings, in the midst of silence, in

“SEEK was a faith deepening, spiritually fulfilling, and eye-opening experience for me. It taught me the importance of Christ’s love in my life, but also the importance of a surrounding holy community who is desiring the same things as me. I would love for all Catholic college students to be able to undergo the change of heart that I went through!”

- Mackenzie Olinger, Centenary College ‘25

the midst of service, in the midst of joy, and in the midst of the community that God called us to be in during this upcoming Lenten season. Thank you for your continuous support for Campus Ministry in this diocese, pray for this ministry and the lives these students encounter on their campus.

“From someone that is converting to Catholicism, it was emotionally and spiritually overwhelming to see so many people my age practicing their faith. SEEK provided me with information and connections to strengthen my relationship with God and I will be forever grateful.”

- Katelyn Schneider, LSUS ‘24

Father

Robert

Spitzer,

S.J.,

Ph.D.: Leading Scholar On Faith And Science Presents At The Cathedral Of St. John Berchmans

BY CHERYL H. WHITE, PH.D.

ON JANUARY 14-15, 2023, the Cathedral of St. John Berchmans in Shreveport hosted Father Robert Spitzer, S.J., Ph.D., a leading international scholar on the topic of faith-science dialogues. Father Spitzer is the host of a popular EWTN program, “Father Spitzer’s Universe,” and is President of The Magis Center, dedicated to ongoing initiatives to “turn the rising tide of unbelief in our culture through contemporary, rational, and science-based evidence.” The talks were both held in the Cathedral and drew a total crowd of approximately 450 people.

On Saturday, January 14, Father Spitzer gave a presentation covering the topic of “Science at the Doorstep of the Holy Eucharist,” which examined all of the scientific information regarding three Eucharistic miracles that have been thoroughly investigated under Vatican supervision. The findings related to the bleeding Eucharistic hosts of Buenos Aires, Argentina,Tixtla, Mexico, and Sokolka, Poland conclusively reveal authentic cardiac tissue and AB blood typing. The theological implications of Jesus’ Real Presence in the Eucharist is profound and compelling, adding an empirical basis for what Catholics believe about the Eucharist.

On Sunday, January 15, the presentation of “Science at the Doorstep of Mary” offered insights related to the study of the Tilma of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Father Spitzer gave an overview of the history of the miraculous image, as well as the scientific findings regarding the image itself – its complete lack of natural deterioration, its complexity, and the testing which has proven that the eyes of the image of Our Lady have observable depth of field and the dimension of actual human eyes.

A Jesuit priest, Father Spitzer holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy and is the former president of Gonzaga University. His primary work of the past several years has been devoted to educational methods that focus on science as a way of illuminating faith. This has resulted in projects as diverse as understanding the created cosmos and exploring the image formation process of the Shroud of Turin, among other related topics.