Are You Up To The Challenge?

One of my favorite parts of being the Chaplain at Raider Catholic, the Catholic Campus Ministry at Texas Tech University, was working with the senior students. For the most part, they are ready to move on and begin the next part of their life. Some go on to graduate school, but most entered the workforce. A few stayed in town, some went back to their hometown, and others to new cities altogether. For some, the transition was easy, but for most, it was difficult.

At the campus ministry, especially one like ours at Raider Catholic, there were four priests available to them, some event or activity pretty much every day of the week, Mass and the sacraments readily available, and a homily tailored to them. This is rarely the case outside of a campus ministry setting.

To help with the transition we took part in the ESTEEM program sponsored by the Leadership Roundtable, but also began a one-day conference/retreat called Onward. A component of both of these was inviting recent graduates to talk about their experience of going from a campus ministry setting to a “regular” parish setting. One of these students told their encounter of moving to a new city and trying to find a parish.

His closest parish was good and he enjoyed it, but it was a large parish and he felt lost among all the people, he went there for a couple of months, and as he tried to get involved in the different ministries, he was put on waiting lists or was on a rotation that only allowed him to help out every other month. During one particular week, he couldn’t make his normal Mass time so he went to another parish. At this parish, he was greeted just like at his parish. The lady who greeted him was older and asked him some questions about where he was from. And as they got to talking, he learned that the parish was in need of volunteers for several ministries. He did join that parish, but that’s not where his story ended.

He talked about jumping into being a reader at Mass and starting a young adult group. But he stopped himself and said, “I don’t want to make this sound like it was easy, it was a challenge for sure.” As this young man talked he emphasized many times that you have to know that following Jesus will be a challenge.

If you’re reading this then you probably know that religious life will be a challenge. Perhaps the challenges of the vows of poverty, chastity, or obedience come to mind. Perhaps the thought of being far away from what is familiar. The media isn’t particularly kind to the Church right now, so perhaps it’s not the right time. Maybe its the thought that you’re being called to a place, a monastery, an order, a diocese that hasn’t had many vocations recently and you don’t know if you and your small group of newcomers are the right ones to enter right now. Could it be that the Lord is calling you to join one of these communities?

The recent grad ended his story by saying that a few times he considered going back to his previous parish because things would have been easier, but then he quickly said, “I didn’t want to be bored, I wanted to take on a challenge.”

The great saints, the heroes of our faith, are those who accept the challenge that God presents them. Religious life is not a call made at random or a deal or negotiation with Jesus Christ, but an invitation from our Lord to serve him and his people unconditionally. And it will be a challenge. Yes, it will be joyful, and fulfilling, and rewarding. But also a challenge. Pope Benedict XVI reminds us: “The world offers you comfort, but you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness.”