ST. MARY’S NEWSLETTER / spring 2019 / 2
photo (offertory) & cover photo (St. Mary’s new courtyard) by CASSIE STRICKER ‘19
LETTER from Fr. Brian St. Mary’s is continuing to grow, and that growth is continuing to place a challenge on us. How do we give the increasing number of students access to a personal encounter with Jesus? Being a large campus ministry can make it more challenging for some people to get connected and involved. Simply providing more programs is not always the answer either - discipleship requires meaningful relationship and community to thrive. Organizations that provide a small group encounter at St. Mary’s (John 15, Aggie Awakening, FOCUS Bible studies) quickly fill to capacity. The initiative of Home Groups, small groups led by trained students, is a way of providing more on-ramps for students to engage in their faith and to be immersed in meaningful community. However, to have successful groups there must be good chemistry within the groups and strong leaders who are willing to invest in the participants. So, in the coming year, we plan to invest more of our resources into forming these small group leaders. When we ask students to take on leadership roles, and when we are intentional in guiding and mentoring them to do it well, we find that they have a greater integration of faith and capacity to lead. We are also beginning to develop a curriculum of formation for our discipleship cycle of Connect, Grow, Serve, Share, and Worship. This curriculum will be available in multiple forms, including through Home Groups. We aim to answer the question: What do we hope every college student will receive while they are here, regardless of when they get involved? Please continue to pray for our students and the staff who have been entrusted to form them, and know of our prayers for you. In Christ,
Fr. Brian McMaster ‘95, Pastor
CONTENTS:
4. Praying on the Hilltop 6. The Future of the Church 8. 10 Steps to Fostering Vocations 10. Catholic Ring Dunk 12. Adoration Was Super Weird 14. Sustaining the Mission
PRAYING on the hilltop
“Shout it, go on and scream it from the mountains, go on and tell it to the masses, that he is God.” The band All Sons and Daughters challenges us with those lyrics to be not afraid of proclaiming our faith. Students like Emelie Gulde ‘22 gather every Tuesday in prayer to do just that. The Divine Mercy Chaplet (DMC) was given to St. Faustina just 84 years ago with promises of mercy at death and unimaginable graces for those who pray it. Using Rosary beads, faithful students of A&M recite the words of St. Faustina, not on a mountain, but a hill, to witness to the beauty of the prayer. Emelie shared why this St. Mary’s prayer group, DMC on the Hill, is so important to her: “St. Faustina, pray for us. I grew up praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet with friends and family, along with singing it at youth retreats. Thanks to DMC on the Hill, I can continue praying the Chaplet with close friends here at St. Mary’s!
Students that want to bring an instrument can play together, and generally we have 20-30 people that gather. Each Tuesday we meet at 10:30 pm near Hullabaloo Hall
on campus (Wednesday on the nights of Silver Taps) and we sing the Chaplet together, opening with prayer intentions. It’s accessible for students living on campus and a relaxing way to tie up a long day with prayer. The location and time of night make for a quasi-rush hour on campus, and I often see students returning from Breakaway (a non-denominational prayer service held in Reed Arena) or leaving their rooms for late-night activities. My comfort zone certainly stretched the first few weeks I went, questioning looks being a common occurrence. I have been asked about it and other people have been approached as well, making it an easy way to spread the love of our faith! Public prayer is something that I hadn’t really experienced before DMC on the Hill and I am very thankful for the witness that we have been able to bring. It’s become extremely important to me because I get to share a beautiful part of my faith that many nonCatholics don’t know about. Accessible for students living on campus and a relaxing way to tie up a long day, it’s an amazing way to evangelize and maintain an active role on campus. I hope to see you there soon!”
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lettering by MADISON MOSELEY ‘17 // photo by CASSIE STRICKER ‘19
THE FUTURE
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photos by CASSIE STRICKER ‘19
of the CHURCH At age seventeen, young men and women are exceptionally vulnerable to the lies of this world, but something incredible is also happening. Men about to be ordained reported that, on average, they first heard a call to priesthood at the age of seventeen. However, almost all of those men went to college before entering into priestly formation. So what are we as a Church doing to foster their call during those vulnerable years? Catholic campus ministry is not just a nice addition; it is essential in ensuring that our young men and women do not ignore a religious call once enrolled in college. We, at St. Mary’s, hope you are involved with a college campus ministry somewhere, if not with ours. Br. Bernardo Ross ’15 is in his fourth year with the Legionaries of Christ, with six years until his final vows. When asked if he considered a religious vocation before coming to St. Mary’s, he said, “Yes, the thought of the vocation had come up a few years earlier. However, until I encountered the young, passionate, and joy filled examples [at St. Mary’s], I was pushing away this call as I perceived it to be undesirable.” He continued to explain how important it was to have the college campus ministry of St. Mary’s:
“The happy, healthy, and holy Catholic atmosphere found at St. Mary’s not only helped me discover God’s call to the priesthood, but it was also an essential part of my conversion back to the faith my freshman year. An experience of Christ through friendship with an Aggie Catholic sparked my conversion... [At St. Mary’s] I found it normal to be a good Catholic, and the plurality of visiting religious gave us the universal feel of the Catholic Church. Other important gifts at this time were the openness to all possible vocations and the necessary spiritual direction provided by the visiting religious to guide us along the way. With complete certainty and heartfelt gratitude, I can say that I would not be a religious in formation for the priesthood today without St. Mary’s Catholic Center.” Please see the graphic on the next page for the ways our ministry fosters religious and priestly vocations. These steps have been developed and initiated by former leaders and staff members of St. Mary’s.
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FORMING APOSTLES FOR THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD
10 STEPS to fostering vocations
Visibility
Road Trips
Everyone looks up to somebody, and, by giving students the opportunity to interact with countless joyful consecrated men and women, students can find a role model for this beautiful vocation.
“Nun Runs” and “Seminary Sprints” literally take young people to the places they could eventually discern studying and living at.
Climate
Parish Support
By publicly praying for vocations and actively inviting students to consider priesthood or religious life, our young people see the value and importance placed on their vocation.
“Teenagers and young adults need positive role models in the Church…Those adults who work with youth do not even necessarily have to be recruiting for vocations explicitly because their love for the Church and their vibrant humanity will attract people to vocations in the Church. I think explicit recruitment is important, but it’s not the only thing they need. They need constant, healthy, joyful examples in regular everyday ministry.” (2003, Bishop Mike Sis, former Pastor of St. Mary’s)
Meaningful Sacrifice
Impactful Retreats
Love for the Church
“Over and over again, St. Mary’s reminded me and invited me to consider that it was only in following and imitating Christ that I would discover the full meaning of life. This invitation was complemented through the regular sacramental life which St. Mary’s provided.” (William Rooney ’13, seminarian in the Diocese of Austin with priestly ordination around June 2020).
Providing young people with exciting and relatable opportunities to learn about our faith allows them to reflect on the desires God has placed in their hearts.
“Through the priests and the sisters at St. Mary’s I received many tools of discernment, as well as guidance in forming a habit of daily prayer. In becoming faithful to prayer I came to know God the Father better and myself through His eyes. This helped me to love him, to trust him, and to respond to him and the invitation he was offering me!” (Kevin Kolker ’15, in formation with the Diocese of Dallas)
Student Leadership
Spiritual Direction
Discernment Groups
“I was in charge of St. Mary’s Youth Retreat Team while a student and the people I got to work with strengthened my faith and helped me identify what being a Catholic meant to me. It gave me a foundation that I have found extremely useful in my own formation.” (Xavier Benavides, SJ ’94, 2 years until ordination with the Society of Jesus)
Young people need a confidant for their innermost desires and struggles. This director can then guide them in discernment.
“…I have been thinking about our Blessed Mother and her beautiful response to the angel: ‘Behold the handmaid of the Lord, may it be done to me according to thy word.’ I do not know if the Lord is calling me to religious life, but to be able to be in community and taught by women who have boldly responded in the ways our Blessed Mother did was inspiring and called me to a deeper ‘yes’ to Jesus.” (Anonymous student considering religious life)
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Dunking your Aggie ring in a pitcher. It’s a tradition, right? Not for everyone. Many students at St. Mary’s have adopted the Aggie Catholic tradition of dunking their ring in a different liquid - holy water! “I wanted to get my Aggie ring blessed because it is representative of my Aggie experience, which would have been drastically different without my Catholic faith. Blessings on objects are prayers that praise God for creating them and ask that the object be used for his glory. Getting my ring blessed was a way of praising God for all of his goodness in leading me to this point, and praying that I’ll be able to use all he’s given me throughout my time at A&M for his glory.” (Katie Mascari ‘20) Rewind over 20 years, and Fr. Brian McMaster, known only as Brian at the time, was a student at Texas A&M. It was Sunday of Aggie Awakening when he and his friend, Jennifer Pettibon ‘95, asked Fr. Mike Sis (now Bishop) to bless their rings. These two students felt that getting their rings blessed was a truer indication of the meaning behind them. Now fast forward several years to Fr. Brian returning to St. Mary’s as Associate Pastor. Remembering the feeling he had as a student, he created a small ceremony for ring blessings: “…Strengthen them in their commitment to the values symbolized by the five stars on its shield: development of mind, body, spiritual life, emotional poise, and integrity of character. Lead them and guide them along the path of holiness to which you call them.” Years after its creation, students like Ilolo Izu ’19 still bow their heads to these words as their rings begin to symbolize much more than 90 hours: “I’m a senior, first-generation Aggie from Arlington, Texas. I received my Aggie ring in September and I have never been happier. When I came to Texas A&M, I honestly was really weirded out by the amount of traditions, but they have become second nature in such a short time period. I love the university so much and I am blessed to be able to study and learn at such an amazing place. Having the ring blessed makes it mean that much more to me. I’ve always loved St. Mary’s since I was a little freshman, but now I feel like I’m always carrying a piece of the Church with me.” Pray for all our students as they strive to live out the values of the five gold stars that will forever be worn around their fingers.
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Ilolo ’19, Katie ’20, and fellow Aggies join Fr. Greg at the altar to offer their rings as professions of faith (top) - photo by STEPHEN KOCMOUD ‘19 // Laura Woodson ’19, Manny Moreno ’18, Emily Llamas ‘19 (bottom)
CATHOLIC ring dunk
ADORATION was super weird “Hi! This is my mom.” That statement may seem normal, but eyebrows raise when a student introduces their peer as “mom.” Around St. Mary’s though, this is as normal as the sign of the cross! Thousands of students have attended Aggie Awakening since 1983. Here, small families are formed in which table leaders are called mom and dad and members are called brothers and sisters. How beautiful it is to leave a retreat having a new family in Christ! In the Summer of 2016, Jessica Doak ’18 discovered this beauty for herself and ultimately chose to begin her conversion to the Catholic faith because of it: “I was raised in a Protestant home, so considering converting to Catholicism during my sophomore year was a big step, and kind of daunting. I knew a few people from St. Mary’s through Pro-Life Aggies on campus, and they often talked about Awakening and encouraged others to sign up. I ended up signing up for Awakening during the summer of 2016 because I wanted to know more about the Catholic community, and Awakening seemed like a low-pressure way to dip my feet in.” During Jessica’s sophomore year, she began realizing she was not happy with her “mushy” church. She felt like this church just wanted the parishioners to be comfortable so more people would join. However, Jessica was fascinated by understanding the logic behind a faith, and was disappointed in this church’s lack of it. So, she began
her search for a church that could back up their beliefs and challenge her more. Her Catholic friends were more than eager to answer questions about their faith and not-so-subtly encourage her to consider Catholicism. After attending Awakening, Jessica finally felt like she had a community at St. Mary’s and the talks exposed her to the basic teachings of the Church. However, she said, “Adoration was super weird…the Eucharist was a big thing that I had to decide…if it’s the real presence, then to not worship would be blasphemy, and if it’s not, then it would be idolatry.” It was in adoration that she realized she needed to dive deeper into these questions. After Awakening, a friend began attending daily Mass, so Jessica began tagging along to learn more. Soon, she realized she was welcome at St. Mary’s and appreciated the Catholic Church’s black-and-white teachings on topics like abortion. She said, “Having become part of a community during that summer Awakening, I didn’t feel as out of place when I started going to RCIA in the fall, and the whole experience really made St. Mary’s feel more like home to me.” Alongside an Awakening sister, a buddy from the Corps, and a friend from Pro-Life Aggies, Jessica was confirmed during St. Mary’s Easter vigil Mass in 2017.
DID YOU KNOW?
300 students attend each Aggie Awakening retreat and 143 people are finishing RCIA at St. Mary’s this fall/spring! Pray that our retreats will continue impacting students for generations to come!
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Jessica and her husband, Anthony ’18 (top left) - photo by CHRISTINE MCDONALD // Jessica and her mother (top right) // Jessica’s confirmation at Easter vigil (bottom) - photo by DR. RANDALL LIGHT
Students celebrating the milestone achieved through our LFS members.
SUSTAINING the mission
As St. Mary’s grows both in physical size and in number of students, our Development team is eager to keep up with the ongoing ministry needs. Over the years, we have recognized that the Sunday offertory collections would not be able to support our annual needs. So, we started the Living Faith Society (LFS) in 1999 to allow Aggie Catholics from all over the world to partner with us through an online, recurring monthly gift. We are overjoyed and humbled to announce that our LFS members provide over $100,000 each month. Remarkably, 60% of the gifts we receive each month are $50 or less! Our students showed their appreciation to the 1300 Living Faith Society members by writing notes:
“You are so sweet for giving me...the opportunity of being able to fulfill my sacraments. It’s crazy to think that just a year ago I was an atheist and now I want to accept God fully and completely! Thank you for giving me this opportunity!” “You are so sweet for giving me...a home. Plain and simple, St. Mary’s is a home when I really need one. Thank you for giving me a place to encounter Jesus and receive my identity as a beloved daughter of God.” Because of the reliable support that we receive through the Living Faith Society, we can more effectively budget and minister to students to the fullest extent. Could you help us reach the milestone of having 1,500 members this year? To join, please use the enclosed envelope or visit aggiecatholic.org/donate.
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student-led Home Groups were formed this year. years of Aggie ring blessings. Aggie men were ordained to the priesthood during the 2018 summer season for 3 different diocese and 2 religious communities! Aggie Catholic vocations are everywhere! students are on the waitlist for pastoral counseling at all times. Aggie Catholics have committed to serving next year with FOCUS (so far) - the largest ever commitment from any campus!
REACHING NEW HEIGHTS
We are joyfully awaiting the opening of the St. John Paul II addition to the student center this fall (progress pictured above). We are truly grateful for the families who have financially supported this project, which will provide much needed meeting and event space for our ministry.
The New Church Campaign is nearing the working goal of $20 million, thanks to the generosity of over 800 families and individuals. To date, the campaign has received $16.2 million in cash and pledges. Please contact Frank Shannon or Lizett Hawkins at 979-846-5717 for more information.