College Edition The Word Among Us - Sample

SPECIAL COLLEGE EDITION SEPTEMBER 2021 WAU.ORG

DAILY MEDITATIONS FOR CATHOLICS

LET GOD SHARPEN YOUR VISION WISDOM AND CLARITY FOR A NEW SCHOOL YEAR

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VERSE TO MEMORIZE: “For the Lord gives wisdom, from his mouth come knowledge and

understanding; He has success in store for the upright, is

the shield of those who walk honestly.” —Proverbs 2:6-7

20/20 Vision for the New Year The Wisdom of Hindsight

by Fr. Mike Schmitz

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hat were your hopes, dreams, and fears in the fall of 2019? “College is going to be ______.”Likely, it was all upended. Looking back, no one could have predicted everything that happened in 2020.

People say, “hindsight is 20/20.”

But what is the point of looking back? It can help you see the important moments from the past, not with regret or condemnation, but with hope so that you can grow in wisdom.

In his Gospel, John describes the most important moment of his life, the moment he met Jesus (1:3539). This moment that changed the world, this moment that John never could have predicted, was so ingrained in his memory that he

even tells us the time: it was about four o’clock in the afternoon.

But what about 3:59 p.m.— the moment before the moment?

What was John doing then? He was looking for the Lord. John was a fisherman from Galilee, yet he was days away from his home, at the Jordan River with John the Baptist. While he was there, Jesus walked by. John couldn’t predict the moment his life would change, but he could control what he did in the moments before.

We might look at that and think John was lucky. But it wasn’t luck.

He actively made the decision in the moment before the moment to look for Jesus. It’s like something that happened when we took a group of youth to World Youth Day in

TAKE THE CHALLENGE:

Reflect: What is your vision from the Lord for the coming school year?

Toronto. One of the youth leaders got up really early and took some of the teens to try to get a spot right next to the street where Pope John Paul II would pass by. They stood there the whole day. At one point, the youth leader recognized one of the organizers and said hello. And then half an hour later, the organizer took him and four teens to sit right in front of the pope during his address!

You might think he was lucky. But he got to experience that moment because in the moments before, he put himself in a position for something incredible to happen.

We have learned from 2020 that we can’t predict or control our circumstances, other people, or viruses.

But we can choose what we’re doing in the moment before the moment.

So what are your plans, hopes, dreams, or fears for this fall? 20/20 hindsight tells you that you can never predict the important moments that are to come, but you can prepare in the moment before those moments.

You can look back and know yourself better and know God’s voice better. You can look back and learn so that you can look forward with wisdom and vision.

Adapted from a homily by Fr. Mike Schmitz, the director of youth ministry for the Diocese of Duluth and chaplain of the Newman Center at the University of Minnesota-Duluth.

Listen to his homilies as podcasts on bulldogcatholic.org. Used with permission.

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Don’t Just Survive, But Thrive God encouraged me in a time of sickness.

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By Sophia Franklin

emember January 2020?

Fast-forward to August, and my Like so many others, I had energy level was slowly improving— great plans for the year. until I came down with a fever and Then in February, I tested positive went to the emergency room. I found for mono, short for mononucleosis, a out I had mono again and felt overviral infection that can cause fatigue whelmed at the thought of having to that lasts for months. start my healing process all over again.

When I received the diagnosis, I I had to let go of what I had been cried at the thought of being tired for telling myself: this will be over soon; months. Then the pandemic hit, and everything will be back to normal. it seemed like many were going to Far from being back to normal, I join me in a season of sickness and was living my “new normal”—somerecovery. A strange and hard time thing I think we can all relate to. I cried for many of us! Yet as classes moved out to God, saying, Why do I still online, I was able to let my body rest have mono? He replied, Trust in me. without putting college on hold.

My honest response was Well, okay,  Turn to the back of the magazine for more on how to recognize Jesus.

S pecia l College Edit ion

Though I felt frustrated, I surrendered to the Lord. I gave him my desire for my body to heal.

fine. I’ll just sit here and wait until you heal me. People always say to have patience in God’s plan, so I’ll wait.

Though I felt frustrated, I surrendered to the Lord. I gave him my desire for my body to heal, along with my sense that my whole life was on hold. As I continued to share openly with God, again, he responded with challenging but helpful words: Don’t just survive this time, thrive in it. That’s when it hit me: God could work powerfully, even in a challenging time, if I would let him. He could use my sickness to bless me.

From that point forward, I changed my attitude. Instead of focusing on what I lacked, I thought about how I could thrive. Because my energy level

was low, the only thing I could really do was sit—so that’s what I did. Only now, I didn’t look at it as a hindrance, but an opportunity. I sat longer in prayer.

I sat at my computer and reached out to those who were far away. I invested in relationships, and in return, I gained and learned much from them.

I don’t know when I will be fully healed or when things will return to normal. But that doesn’t matter. Hindsight has taught me that the present moment is a gift from God, no matter what. And this time, I am going to thrive in it.

Sophia Franklin is a senior at Michigan State University and a member of University Christian Outreach: http://www.ucoweb.org.

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The next day John was there again with two of his disciples, 36and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God.” 37The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus. 38Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?”

39 He said to them, “Come, and you will see.”

So they went and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about four in the afternoon.

—John 1:35-39 35

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Behold, the Lamb of God Reflecting on John’s Encounter with the Lord

REFLECTION QUESTIONS 1. Verse 37 says that the apostle John “heard what [John the Baptist] said and followed Jesus.” Is there a time when you heard about the Lord—through the Scriptures, the words of a friend or family member or priest, a worship song or video—and it stuck with you? What was it about the words or the message that struck you?

2. Why do you think Jesus asks the disciples, “What are you looking for?” (John 1:38). What kind of conversation do you think he is trying to start and why?

3. Jesus says to the disciples, “Come, and you will see” (John 1:39). He didn’t tell them where he was going; he simply invited them to follow him. This meant they had to trust in the Lord. When have you experienced Jesus asking you to trust him? What compelled you to follow him? If you are struggling to trust Jesus, imagine him before you, as he was with the disciples, and talk to him. What does he say to reassure you?

4. Fr. Mike talks about the “moment before the moment” and how John prepared to meet the Lord. Take some time to ask Jesus what wisdom he gave you in 2020 to help you prepare for a “moment” in 2021.

5. Every person you pass, every friend or family member, is either going to have a “moment” or is currently walking through one. How might the Lord be inviting you to help point that person to him, as John the Baptist directed the disciples to Jesus?

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