Simple Interaction Andrea Molinar

Faith on Campus One Simple Interaction...

Andrea Molinar

Christianity is thriving at Sacramento State University, its influence far reaching despite it being a public institution.

The bells of the Catholic Church nearby can be heard throughout campus and there are multiple Christian sororities/fraternities and clubs. They offer students a chance to make friends with similar values while growing in their faith as they get to know God and the Bible better. The Newman Center is one of these and gives students a place to go to Mass on Sundays as well as holy days of obligation and other special days like Ash Wednesday. Those, however, are held on campus.

The first Ash Wednesday that I attended on campus was more of a coincidence than anything else. One of my classes had been canceled and so when my roommate asked if I wanted to go to Mass with her instead, I agreed. We walked from our apartment to the Sac State Union where many students had gathered to attend the short Mass.

When we all walked out of the Union afterwards, we did so rather boldly with our ashes for everyone on campus to see. At first, I didn’t mind the odd looks I received as I walked, but when I separated from my roommate and the other students, I became incredibly selfconscious about having so many eyes glued to my forehead. But I continued, remembering that 1 Timothy 1:7 says, For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and selfdiscipline.

When I arrived at my classroom, the stares followed me there as well; I was the only person in the room with ashes on their forehead. Eventually one of my classmates, who I’d seen staring at me and whispering with someone else out of the corner of my eye, stood up and I immediately knew she was about to approach me. I quickly went over how I would explain the ashes to her and prepared my friendliest smile as she tapped on my shoulder. I looked up just as she asked, “Did you go to Mass at the Union today? Do you know when the next one is going to be at?” I was surprised, it was the best kind of surprise, and I felt my smile become more genuine. I told her the time. I felt much more confident after one simple interaction and had no issue meeting anyone else's eye for the rest of the day. I realized that I really had nothing to be embarrassed about, especially if I chose to believe that most of the people staring at me were just wondering about where they could go to Mass too.

Andrea Molinar is a senior at Sacramento State majoring in Journalism. She’s an active member of the Catholic Newman Center and participates in a non-denominational Bible study with her fellow students. Her future includes working in publishing and is an aspiring novelist.