Creating a Culture of Vocation on a Catholic Campus

Recently in our area of ministry at St. Norbert College two departments merged into one under a new name. As a new center we chose the name The Emmaus Center for Spiritual Life and Vocation because it exemplifies how we are called to accompany students into a transformative relationship with Christ. Our name is based in the Gospel of Luke 24:13-35 where we experience the encounter between two disciples and Jesus shortly after his passion and resurrection. As the account goes, the two disciples are on their way back from Jerusalem feeling disappointed, despondent, and in despair because they essentially have lost their faith. Doubt, discouragement, and fear have driven them from hope and trust in Jesus’ promise to fulfil exactly what he said would happen and what had been foretold by the prophets multiple times in scripture, namely “‘...he will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon; they will scourge him and kill him, and on the third day he will rise.’” (Luke 18: 32-33)

Like the disciples in this passage, it is sometimes easy for college students especially to get caught in doubt, to distrust the faith handed down to them, and to question whether or not God even exists. Often folks tell students, this will be the best four years of their life and the last chance to experience so much of what the world offers before they will have to settle down and become chained to a desk and lose their freedom. The college environment seems to present to students a freedom that they have rarely experienced in their high school years and probably will not be able to experience afterward...right?

In college campus ministry we face the angst caused by this question plus many of the challenges Dr. Christian Smith and the Pew Forum on Religion point out in regard to some of the characteristics of emerging adults/millennials that the general culture perpetuates concerning sexuality, morality, and the general distrust and dismissal of religious perspectives, yes, even on a Catholic campus. Students, in the wake of what Smith calls a “vulgar form of postmodernism,” can be left with the method of questioning everything and believing nothing. The challenge then for us in ministry is to walk alongside students during their time with us so they, like Cleopas and his companion on the road to Emmaus, may have their eyes opened and recognize Christ in the breaking of the bread and further to come to a greater understanding of where that relationship is leading them as they discern their vocation. (Luke 24: 30-31)

This brings me to a recent study by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA), “The Impact of College Experiences on Vocational Discernment.” As the study reports, the religious climate of college has a direct impact on the development of, as the study particularly explores, a culture which fosters vocations to religious life and the priesthood. Perhaps this is a bit anecdotal, but it seems that CARA is onto something with this study. As I look at the vocations to religious life and the priesthood, which have recently come from St. Norbert College, and there seems to be somewhat of a steady flow of graduates from the college or a number of those who started out with us and then transferred to another institution or seminary, the young men and women who are answering the call have experiences with our institution that support the findings of the study. Key among these findings are providing a healthy environment for students to see religious life modeled well, providing opportunities for adoration and Liturgy of the Hours as well as opportunities to actively and regularly participate in the Mass, and having solid mentors who are willing to appreciate and respect expressions of spirituality and faith which seem “outdated” or “nostalgic” to them but incredibly important and relevant to the students. Attending to students in these ways on the part of the ministry team, the faculty and staff of the college, the college administration, and the religious who work on the campus can provide an environment which allows students to explore more fully where and how God is calling them to serve the Church and the world.

The challenge often for students today is to find a home in the Church, a home where they feel they can truly explore the uniqueness and identity that has been handed to them from generations past and sometimes forgotten or locked away. They need strong mentors in their faith who may not always agree or understand where they are in their faith, but who are willing to listen, see, and explore where and how Christ is speaking to them. This, in turn, not only affects the student, but helps the mentor as well as the student to become emboldened by the Spirit to love and serve the Church. It is in these places, in these conversations and encounters that our eyes are truly opened and we see that we are walking along side Christ, called to participate in the breaking of the bread which invites us more fully into the communio that extends beyond simple gestures and civil discourse and into a deep and abiding love of Christ and the Church. When we enter into this communio, “[...]our hearts burn within us [...]” so we, like the early disciples, can set the world on fire with Christ’s love. (Luke 24:32)

(Article previously published in The Compass, Oct. 28, 2016)