"No, I don't."
"You gotta get one. Wanna go out this weekend?"
"I don't drink."
"Oh. Why?"
Ever had this conversation before? This happened to me earlier today with a guy in one of my classes.
I also read an article on EWTN about Pope Francis encouraging university students to be counter-cultural and to stand firm in Christian values almost right before I walked into that classroom.
What a synchronicity!
We, as Catholic university students, are given the opportunity daily to pick up our cross and follow Christ. I'm not 21. I don't go out and get drunk. And this is seen as odd. But, by the very meaning of our Baptism, we are separated from the rest of the world and called to be Christ to others. And this means being different. By definition, being Catholic will necessarily separate you from what the media says or popular opinion believes you should do.
There are two ways to be Catholic in college. You can ignore Christ's gentle desire for you to follow Him… tell Him you're busy… you just want to party for now - you'll get around to having faith later.
Or, you can intentionally strive to be counter-cultural and pursue sainthood.
Saint Thérèse said, "You cannot be half a saint; you must be a whole saint or no saint at all."
And obviously, this isn't the easier path. Devoting your life to Christ is definitely not easy. Anyone could tell you that. Christ Himself told us that the world would hate you for following Him!
I could've easily said, "Ya, let's go to the bars this weekend." I could have easily given in to societal norms instead of clinging to my values. But, what I've found as I continue my college career is that virtue and holding on to morality keeps us grounded. There is joy in holding on to what you believe and not giving in to what seems to be "what everyone else is doing."
It is possible to live your Catholic faith in college. Oh, and I know it isn't easy. But it is still so crucial. Especially as we are reminded of our task on Earth during Advent.
Advent is a time of waiting. Waiting for the Lord to come to us as we prepare to celebrate His birth, as well as the Lord waiting for us to come and turn to Him. I love Advent. It is such a time of reflection on who we are, who we are becoming, and how we are living our lives for Christ. And the preparation is beautiful.
As a college student, the journey is not undoubtedly hard. The journey requires fighting the good fight. Fighting on and keeping our hearts up and knowing that the battle has already been won. And we aren't doing it alone! We have the Holy Spirit! God is here with us! How glorious. Without the reassurance that God's got this all figured out, I don't know where I would be. Advent requires us to stay alert - we don't know when God will come again. And when He does, we better be ready. That doesn't mean put off our faith until we've had our fun. That doesn't mean ignore Christ until it is convenient for us. It means using every second to glorify our God in everything we do. Stay awake. Stay alert. Defend the faith. Stand up for virtue.
God's got this.
Live with Joy.
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