Forever Notre Dame

Getting ready to graduate can be stressful – it’s a big transition from college to the “real world”, figuring out jobs, grad school, where we’re living and who we’re living with all while finishing classes – it can be a lot. Without a doubt, Notre Dame has prepared us well for the real world – we’ve seen thousands of people go before and be successful, and so while we may be sad that our time at Our Lady’s University is coming to a close, there is nothing to fear. As we work to ensure that our plans for next year are lined up, we also need to remember to work on our faith as we enter into new stages of our lives.

After talking to graduates from the Class of 2013, here are some tips on engaging in your faith post-college as well as some general tips:

• Find something regular you’re interested in – whether it be a Bible Study, Young Adult Volleyball or a service group – and try to go every time they meet. Seeing people consistently really helps build friendships and it’s a great way to find a community after college!
  
•  Don’t underestimate how important relationships are. Don’t be afraid to pass up a higher salary or a better opportunity in order to live closer to family or friends. And remember that money is merely a means to an end and never an end in itself.
• Living a good faith life is all about will. If you want to live a good moral and faith filled life you have to act like you want to. It takes far more time and effort to attend mass, pray or discuss morality/theology in the real world and to keep a good faith life requires putting in extra effort. You have to make a habit of wanting a good faith life and moral compass.
•  Don’t worry about having a long term plan. Most people still have no idea what they want to do with their life even after college. If you ever feel frustrated or overwhelmed, it’s okay to vent to God about it – He’s always listening!
• Go Parish shopping! Different parishes have different styles and different cultures. It’s okay if you don’t feel at home in the first parish you go to; it doesn’t mean you’re a bad Catholic, try a different one!
• Go to mass every Sunday even if you’re tired, hung over, or don’t feel like you’re getting anything out of it. Mass will help create the cornerstone for your faith.
• Once you do find a parish you like, remember to register! This generally involves just stopping by the parish house and filling out your address but it’s a good way to be more connected to the community and know when different events are going on.

 The Notre Dame Alumni Association also has some great tools available for us to use. You can sign up for the daily email here which sends the Gospel reading, a Reflection, Prayer and Saint of the day to your email Monday – Friday at 5am EST. To find times for Mass, Reconciliation and Adoration in parishes around you, check out masstimes.org. Make sure to connect with your local Alumni Club for help finding a parish. Also check out faith.nd.edu for other events and activities to get involved with and stay connected to the ND community. 

Around Campus: Getting to Know Fr. Lies!

Fr. Bill Lies is currently serving as the VP for Mission Engagement and Church Affairs at Notre Dame and a priest in residence at Alumni Hall. I have the had the great opportunity to get to know Fr. Lies during my past three years here at Notre Dame and am constantly inspired by his dedication to the Lord and to Notre Dame as well as his obvious love for his family, particularly his strikingly handsome, identical twin brother.

What is your favorite thing about Notre Dame?:

The Alma Mater at the end of the football games.  Indeed, the Alma Mater at the end of anything.  It’s really not about football, it’s about the way our community embraces each other in moments like that.  It’s not just a nice tradition; it touches the heart of who we are.

photo from: www. nd.edu

How did you come to your current position?

I was the Executive Director at the Center for Social Concerns and Fr. John [Jenkins] was thinking about ways in which we might be more intentional about reaching out to the U.S. Church, and not just the bishops but Catholic Charities, Catholic Relief Services and a zillion other organizations and ways in which we could more effectively support the Church in this country and beyond through scholarship and service. Through numerous conversations with other people and myself, Father John created this Office of Mission Engagement and Church Affairs. Notre Dame is a robustly Catholic place, so many of these things were already going on.  The hope is that they will be brought together in a more official, integrated ways through this office.

What is one of your favorite memories at Notre Dame?

I have a brother, Jim, who was at Notre Dame for some years; he’s a Holy Cross priest as well. He’s an identical twin… (and strikingly handsome I might add). He first came here for graduate school, and it’s how I came to know Notre Dame and Holy Cross in the first place. Many years later, when I was looking at religious life, Holy Cross became one of the obvious options, which we had both talked about; he joined as well a couple years after me. Jim is now the VP for Mission at Stonehill College doing essentially the same thing that I’m doing here, which is almost impossible for us to believe.  One of the great graces in my life is that Jim and I are both brothers in life as well as in Holy Cross. Regarding the funniest moments here at Notre Dame, they mostly revolve around Jim and I being confused for one another… and the examples through the years are endless.   For instance, when he comes for a visit to Corby Hall, our priests and brothers residence on campus, they put an envelope with his name on it on a board in the front entry. The second that envelope goes up on that board, several Holy Cross guys at Corby will call me Jim the next time they see me. And I just set them straight and tell them that he’s not coming for another couple days.

Can you talk a little about your calling to the priesthood?

I graduated from undergrad, spent a year as a lay volunteer with the Dominicans in Chicago, then I worked for two years. I was contemplating the seminary and priesthood. One day, in the middle of time in Chicago, someone asked me, “What are you going to do?” And I responded that maybe I would be a priest, unless I fell in love and got married.  Well, I thought to myself later, am I just going to let my whole life happen to me? If someone like me, who loves the Lord, doesn’t think seriously about ways to serve Him, then who will? From there, it was a relatively easy choice to choose religious life with Holy Cross. It helps too that I come from a long line of religious people by the way.  In my mom’s family, the first is a Franciscan sister, the next is a priest, the next a Christian Brother.  In fact, it was so much a part of our life and family culture, I used to joke that this wasn’t such a hard choice… I thought everyone was doing it!

Do you have any advice to students discerning their future?

Be open and prayerful. As I look back at different times when these questions weighed heavy, I sense that with a certain openness and prayer, grace always filled the spaces of doubt and the Lord ultimately led my discernment. And get someone to talk with, like a spiritual director or confidant, who can walk with you along the way.  

RCIA: Welcome to the Church!

With Easter right around the corner, we are about to celebrate the end of this year’s Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) program on campus. This is a program through which Christians of various denominations receive the sacraments to become full members of the Catholic Church. . I had the privilege of talking with two Notre Dame members of the Elect who will receive the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and the Eucharist at Saturday’s Easter Vigil Mass in the Basilica. Both of their perspectives on joining the Catholic Church were beautiful to hear, and excerpts from their interviews are as follows.

Sean Yuan is a junior Business major at Notre Dame:

Q. Why did you decide to participate in the RCIA program?

Sean: I wanted that sense of peace and to participate in this wonderful community. I decided that the Catholic faith provides me with a lifestyle that teaches me to become who I was meant to be. It's a comforting thought, but not a comfortable lifestyle by any means. In fact, I think being Catholic in this world is one of the toughest decisions to make. But without being intentional, I feel that my life wouldn't have any direction.

Q. Can you walk me through your RCIA experience?

Sean: I was a bit nervous at first, because I didn't really know what I was getting into. However, I learned that I don't have to figure out everything to become Catholic. My faith journey has taught me that it's all about building a loving relationship with God, and as time goes on, God will slowly reveal to me more and more when I'm ready for it. Meanwhile, I'll do my best to keep reading and learning from my friends.

Q. What are you most looking forward to upon entering the Catholic Church?

Sean: First Communion, hands down (or up, in reverence). We're all just hungry, imperfect children, and God promises to keep us nourished in this lifetime until we may finally join him after death. Wow. I could never deserve this, but God gives freely anyway. That's some serious love.

Q. What advice do you have for someone considering joining the RCIA program?

Sean:  If any readers are at all interested in getting confirmed, or know someone who might, please contact Campus Ministry.They're seriously the happiest, most qualified people for this. It's thanks to their tireless efforts and the Holy Spirit that I made it this far. If you're a Catholic and wondering if you can help, consider applying to be someone's sponsor. It's a really rewarding experience.

Faith Spady is a Sophomore Architect Major.

Q. Can you walk me through your RCIA experience?

Faith: I remember being at the first couple meetings and wondering “Why on earth are these people so happy?” There really is a sense that everyone is sharing each other’s joy and triumphs as well as their pain.

Q. What are you most looking forward to upon entering the Catholic Church?

Faith: The Eucharist. It was one of the most powerful motivating factors throughout this process of discerning my faith, long before I ever even knew about RCIA. When I was very little, my dad used to take me to mass with him and he would take me up with him to receive communion. He had to explain to me after the mass that I couldn't partake in it because I wasn't a part of the church – growing up, the agreement between my parents on the issue had always been that I'd choose one day which Church I would belong to when I was older so I had not been baptized or received First Communion.The mass is supposed to be so much more, something that requires full and active participation. I could feel that as a young girl. If I say to anyone else that being denied a tiny little wafer was painful, they will look at me like I'm crazy. If I say it to a Catholic, they'll understand precisely what I mean. It’s rare to find a Catholic who hasn't slipped up at some point by not attending mass for a few weeks or not going to reconciliation. Many will say how hard it is, how painful when you start up again. Perhaps some of the pain is from the guilt of not coming, but mostly it’s the idea that when given the opportunity you denied yourself of the Eucharist, of Christ.

Q. What advice do you have for someone considering joining the RCIA program?

Faith: RCIA is not just to convert "pagans" or bring people back into the church. It is clearly illustrated in the definition of conversion which is supposed to be a turning towards God. That could be the initial big turn or a continued step in the right direction. It’s not supposed be like stepping out onto a straight paved road, where getting on is all you really have to do. There will be rocks and dips in the path, you will get tired and you will question yourself at times. Why did I get on this path? What am I supposed to do now? It looks disturbing up ahead, should I keep going? How can I? The little things are usually what refresh us enough to pursue the faith a bit longer.

Thanks so much to Faith and Sean for sharing your experience in the RCIA program! I am so excited for you both to be able to share in full communion with the Church this Saturday!

“May you cling to Wisdom, for She will protect you…and if you cherish her, she will keep you safe.” Book of Proverbs

Covering the Hard Issues: Gay Marriage

Gay marriage is perhaps the hardest teaching of the Church for our generation. It’s the topic no one wants to talk about because it always brings out very strong emotions and defending the Church's position is widely viewed as discriminatory. While I’ve always been vocal about my pro-life views, defending marriage is something I generally have not taken a stand on unless pressed about my beliefs. I’ve seen the fact that I defend traditional marriage drive a knife into friendships and stop others from progressing and yet I cannot pretend to change my beliefs.

In many conversations I’ve had with friends, they bring up the fact that they have friends, siblings, or other family members who are hurt because they wish their relationships and love to be recognized in marriage. I too have close gay friends who have struggled and have been hurt by this, but this should lead us to delve deeper into Catholic teaching rather than reject it outright. It is only through study and reflection along with much prayer that we can properly discuss the Catholic teaching on marriage and come to realize it’s based not on emotions, but on the ability of a man and woman to participate in creation. Consider that the Church does not officially recognize the relationship between two friends, which can be full of love, and so there must be another reason for recognizing marriage while not recognizing other relationships.

In order to understand the Church’s teaching on gay marriage, we must first understand its teaching on marriage. Marriage is one of the seven sacraments of the Church. It is important to note that it is not the wedding that is the sacrament but the marriage itself. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life, is by its nature ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring”. (Part 2, Sec. 2, Ch.3 Article 7). According to this definition, the outward sign of the sacrament of marriage, sex, must have a procreative aspect, which is not possible among two members of the same sex. This definition of marriage is stated in Genesis 2 and restated in Matthew 19: “Haven’t you read,” He replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore, what God has joined, let man not separate.” (Matthew 19:4-6). The design of marriage is seen in our complementary creation, a complementarity which places the possibility of procreation at the forefront of our relationship in a marriage and which cannot be disengaged from marriage.

It is important to note that the Church does not persecute homosexual people. Pope Francis’ remarks on this topic are perhaps most revealing, “If they accept the Lord and have goodwill, who am I to judge them? They shouldn’t be marginalized. The tendency [to homosexuality] is not the problem…they’re our brothers”. Rather than persecution, the Church calls homosexual people to live a life in holiness just as they call all men and women of the Catholic faith to live a life in holiness. Recently, great work has begun to consider more fully the Church’s teaching on homosexuality and especially the call to a deep friendship. I’d encourage anyone looking to find out more, to explore the writing on this website.

As Catholics living in an age in which gay marriage is the culturally accepted norm, we are called to engage this teaching through love and a prayerful heart. The Catholic Church considers defending the Truth as a duty of every Catholic, seen from the Apostles down through 2000 years of history. We as Catholics must do all we can to reason and learn why the Church teaches what it does and ultimately, have faith.