The good folks at Our Lady of Wisdom Church and Catholic Student Center (the Ragin' Cajun Catholics at UL) posted this thought-provoking piece:
The summer is drawing to a close, which means 20 million students will be heading off to colleges and universities throughout the nation to begin a new school year.
Between purchasing textbooks, attending classes, and getting ready for the first football game of the season, Catholic students have a great opportunity to get involved in Catholic campus ministry.
Today, thanks to groups like FOCUS and The Newman Connection which are committed to promoting the New Evangelization on college campuses, Catholic campus ministry is thriving in the United States.
An effective and fruitful campus ministry can have a profound impact on the lives of large numbers of college students, but that impact depends a great deal on the generosity of financial benefactors.
If you’ve never thought about the importance of Catholic campus ministry and the need to support it financially, here is a list of Seven Reasons to Support Catholic College Campus Ministry:
1. College campuses are mission territory. We are all aware of the temptation and sin that are pervasive at universities today. Christianity and morality are often rejected. Catholic campus ministry provides a light in the darkness and gives students the chance to come to know and accept the love of Jesus and to be part of a vibrant Catholic community. We are often asked to support oversees missions, but let’s not forget that there is mission territory right in our own town.
2. Students can’t fund it by themselves. Between student loans and living expenses college students cannot provide the financial support to sustain a campus ministry, much less enable it to grow. College campus ministry depends on the generosity of benefactors and alumni in order to provide programming, retreats, outreach, pizza – and all of the other ministries that help to make an impact in the lives of college students.
3. You can help to keep college students Catholic. 70-80 percent of Catholic students will abandon the practice of their faith once they leave college. Getting involved in Catholic campus ministry while they are in college is the best safeguard for preventing them from losing their faith, but more importantly for them growing in and sustaining their faith even after they leave college.
4. You can help to create future Catholic leaders in parish and society. Catholic campus ministry is not just about having a place to hang out and eat free pizza- it is about forming life long disciples of Jesus Christ. Catholic campus ministry forms future leaders that will hopefully go out and not only get involved in their own parishes but have a positive impact on society as they become leaders in their local community.
5. It promotes vocations and faith-filled marriages. Catholic campus ministry can be a powerful tool for helping young men and women discern vocations to the priesthood and religious life. So many priests and religious today attribute their vocation to their involvement in campus ministry when they were at college. For those who will enter into the Sacrament of Marriage, college campus ministry encourages Christ-centered relationships and often provides a great place for future spouses to meet.
6. You love your alma mater. Like most alumni, we are proud of our school’s successes both in academics and athletics. We proudly wear our school’s colors and are passionate about giving back to the institution that gave so much to us. Supporting the Catholic campus ministry at your alma mater is a great way to support the university because students who get involved in campus ministry have a much better chance at succeeding in their education.
7. You love the next generation of Catholics. Supporting Catholic campus ministry tells this generation of Catholics that you love them. Knowledge of Jesus Christ and involvement in this Church is the greatest good we could want for someone else because it shows we care about their souls.
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Catholic college campus ministry depends on your generosity for its continued success. For those who do support it, thank you so much and please tell others what a blessing it is for you to help change the lives and form the faith of the next generation of Catholics! And for everyone else, please consider helping to form the next generation of Catholic leaders in our nation!
You can read the entire article here.
You, too, can help to shape the next generation of Catholic leaders! Please click here to find out how you can partner with Catholic Campus Ministry at Ole Miss to reach students for Christ on the mission field that is the campus of Ole Miss.
