A Letter about Mission on Campus
Dear Jesus,
The final round. With every new year and apartment address, You have worked in ways I could not have imagined. Here I am, days before the beginning of many “lasts.”
But I’m not ready to dwell on the “lasts” of senior year. Not yet. I just want to continue to say yes to the opportunities You provide. Help me to be content in the here and now, taking each day as it comes.
If COVID-19 taught us anything, it’s that nothing is certain. We live in a chaotic and broken world, where unknowns and question marks line the road ahead. But in the anxiety that may come with returning to campus during a pandemic, comes an opportunity for trust. You are the only constant. All-knowing and all-powerful. Pull us close and remind us to lean into Your truth this year.
Besides trust, boldness and intentionality are two words that continue to come to mind when I reflect on how I desire to share You with new and old friends. More importantly, to help others realize they are Your sons and daughters.
On a recent retreat, our FOCUS missionaries taught us about the Gospel, Divine Intimacy, and being bold in sharing You with others. In learning about the Gospel through the story of the woman at the well, the woman encounters You and allows You to transform her heart, just as You want to do with our own hearts. Committing to encountering You leads into Divine Intimacy, such as striving to meet You daily at mass and in prayer. Finally, we are called to be bold through sharing our own testimonies.
Lord, I pray for boldness and intentionality this year.
Boldness in seeking to encounter You. Intentionality through listening to Your response.
Boldness in living out our Catholic faith. Intentionality by growing closer to You through daily prayer, mass, scripture, and spiritual reading, remembering that no one can give of themselves if they have not received.
Boldness in sharing how You have changed my life. Intentionality through conversations with others.
Even with these goals in mind, we cannot do everything. You have also called us to rest. When stress arises, call us back to You and to lay our burdens at Your feet. Remind us that You are at work in everyone’s life at a different pace.
We were not made to walk through life alone. Thank You for community. For the friends who have turned into family. Connecting with those we trust through intentional conversation is a gift. The laughter that erupts with old friends eases the world’s tension. Pure joy is experienced in each reunion.
George Weigel wrote, “‘Mission territory’ is all around us, and you enter mission territory every day – in your home, in your neighborhood, in your school; in your life as a consumer and a citizen. It’s all mission territory.”
Let the mission continue.
Love,
Rachel