Catholic Campus Ministry Newsletter

CENTENNIAL 1924 2024

“God has created me to do Him some definite service.” - St. John Henry Newman

F r . Tom Yeh l , Y . A . Chap l a i n chap l a i n@c a t ho l i chok i e . o r g Ch r i s H i t z e l be r ge r D i r e c t o r o f Campu s M i n i s t r y d i r e c t o r@c a t ho l i chok i e . o r g

A Community Grounded in God

The Catholic Campus Ministry played a huge role in the discernment of my vocation! It was like a home away from home. I remember my time at college as a period of striving to figure out my identity and mission. “Who am I?” There are so many ways to answer that question: a Hokie (what does that even mean?)... a business major (who switched majors three times). But the Newman community kept me grounded — I’m a Catholic. And that helped me answer the next question: “What is my mission?” I was reminded that I’m part of a bigger story — the one God is writing. I have a unique role to play beyond what I could have ever envisioned for myself. My advice to college students or young adults who may be exploring God’s call for their lives is to remember that God knows you better than you know yourself. It took me a while to really surrender to God and say, “I’ll go wherever you lead me. Help me to want what you want.” I was becoming disillusioned, almost in denial that I wasn’t finding my heart’s deepest desire in my studies. Much to my chagrin, in almost every business class, we were reminded that “the business exists in order to maximize stockholder wealth.” Meanwhile, I was still trying to answer the more fundamental question: “Why do I exist!?” Finally, at a loss, I started to pray for guidance, and I noticed something interesting. When I tried to envision a career in business, there was hardly an ounce of desire in my heart. But when I began to envision a vocation as a priest, to my great astonishment, a spark of desire was ignited within. I sensed that God was calling me not to maximize the monetary wealth in stockholders’ bank accounts, but the spiritual wealth in the hearts of his people.

Fr. Chris Masla class of 2013, pastor of Christ the King and St. John the Evangelist

There’s an expression I’ve become fond of: “We go to God together.” Newman, for me, is a community oriented toward God in prayer and worship — a community that generously shares what God has given to us with others. As a priest I want to keep us oriented “God-ward” through reverent liturgy, increased opportunities for confession and Eucharistic adoration, and simply being present where I see good fruits, such as Family-first Friday gatherings.

“Mountains...become the symbol of the ascent of the human person to the Creator.” — St. John Paul II