College Night

In early March, the seminary community hosted over 200 students from our university apostolates. It was an opportunity to pray together, enjoy some pizza, and to share the wonderful journey that is a life with God.

When I look back upon what God has done in my life, the simple phrase “thank you Lord” often comes to my lips. It’s not simply because I’m here in Rome to study or because of my call to the priesthood, though those are certainly important. Instead, I am grateful because he’s constantly been at work in my life, especially when I’m not aware of it. Faith was a vital part of my childhood—I was completely enamored with the Mass and being at church. I will never forget my 1st grade CCD teacher, who brought my entire class into the church one day, pointed at the tabernacle, and said, “Did you know that Jesus is in there? Jesus is in there.” For a 1st grader, this was a completely foreign concept, but I wanted to know what that meant!

Through my teenage years and into college, I started to forget about that big question. Other things occupied my mind—school and my major, career choices, relationships, and so many other things that began to take the place of Christ in my life. At a certain point I felt I had outgrown my need for God. Looking back now, that’s just as absurd as someone saying they outgrew their need for food, water, or air. I didn’t realize just

Through the work of the local campus ministry, I encountered Christ again through the Sacraments, the study of the Word, and through the witness of other Catholics. Most especially in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, I found the home that I had been seeking all of my life. Through spending time with the Lord in those quiet moments of adoration, I rediscovered that great mystery I learned in my heart as a little child: “Jesus is in there.” Little did I know that I would eventually be called to serve at the altar to bring that very presence of Jesus in the Eucharist to others as a Catholic priest. It’s amazing to see how God used a simple question from a six-year-old boy and turned it into the center of my life.