College students encouraged to choose a life of holiness

Archbishop Joseph W. Tobin leads a prayer service during the National Catholic Collegiate Conference in Indianapolis on Nov. 23. (Photo by John Shaughnessy)

By John Shaughnessy

The college student’s question to Archbishop Joseph W. Tobin came from the heart—and a place of uncertainty.

During a question-and-answer session with the archbishop at the National Catholic Collegiate Conference (NCCC) in Indianapolis on Nov. 21-23, the student seemed to be struggling with his choices in life, asking, “What can we do to know what God wants for us?”

The archbishop nodded, thought about the question and started his answer by encouraging the young man to embrace “a life where you can choose holiness.”

Elaborating, the archbishop advised, “Now holiness is not walking around sad. It’s really a life in holiness. There are a lot of offers that are given to young people today that aren’t worth risking your life for. Really, when you make your choice in life, you’re taking the most precious thing you have and betting on it. You’re saying this is the way I think I will flourish as a man or a woman.

“There are a lot of propositions that if you think it through, they’re not worth it. That phrase, ‘Whoever has the most toys when they die wins.’ No.

“I think it’s really important to talk about it with someone who cares about you and wants to help you find your way. If they care about you, they’ll be respectful and not try to steer you in a direction you’re not really called to. Think about what would make you holy, what would help you belong, what’s worth risking your life for.”

The archbishop’s advice flowed from a talk he had given earlier to the 400 college students from across the country who attended the conference.

Given the assignment of speaking about “Vocations Flowing from the Eucharist,” the archbishop focused on the Gospel of John, and the “unique understanding of vocations” it provides. He referred to a point in John’s Gospel where two disciples follow Jesus, and Jesus turns and asks, “What are you looking for?” (Jn 1:38)

“That’s the dynamic of vocation I’d like to consider with you today because it appeals to the person who is searching,” the archbishop said on Nov. 23. “Jesus asks you and me, ‘What are you looking for? What do you think you need? What do you want to be? What will make you happy and whole and help you to flourish?’ ”

As people consider those questions, the archbishop stressed that they follow the example of Christ on Holy Thursday and Good Friday.

“On the night he was betrayed, when his life was doomed to failure—by most people’s standards—Jesus took bread, broke it, gave it to his disciples and said, ‘This is my body, which is given up for you’ (Lk 22:19).

“Jesus is not a hopeless victim. He chooses. And he gives the sign of the broken bread—the sign of his broken body—for you. He made the supreme gesture of liberty—giving his life away. ‘This is my life, and I give it to you. I give it to my father, and I give it to my brothers and sisters, for the mission of the Church.’ ”

Making that connection between vocation and the Eucharist, God wants us to follow that same spirit of living our lives for others, the archbishop said.

“Whatever particular vocation we ultimately say yes to in this life, we say yes in order that God may live in us and send us out, broken and poured out, for the life of the world,” he said. “We say, ‘Amen, yes, this is the body of Christ. But yes, I am the body of Christ.’ My call is to help others understand what it means that God lives in our world.”

That combination of searching and understanding marked the three days of NCCC for many of the participants. Conference organizers said “this event was created for young adults as a mile marker along the journey from an adolescent to an adult experience of the Catholic faith.”

“It’s helped me reignite my faith,” said Isidro Avila, a 20-year-old college sophomore from the Diocese of Laredo, Texas. “I’ve never been to one of these conferences before, so I wanted to see what it’s all about.

“More than anything, it’s been the liturgy that has reignited my faith. And it’s been great to be able to share it with everyone here. Even though we’re from all different places, it’s the fellowship of being together.”

Elizabeth Burns traveled from the University of South Carolina to attend the conference.

“I went to the National Catholic Youth Conference when I was in high school,” said Burns, a member of the Diocese of Charleston, S.C. “This is a different experience. In high school, the focus is on getting people pumped up—on fire for God. Now, the focus is on keeping on fire.”

Burns said it was difficult to take two days off from her college classes, but it was worth it.

“I did it because God is the most important part of my life.” †