One thing that I thought was going to be easy going to a small, Catholic college was living out my faith. My faith wasn’t the strongest in high school so I was excited to attend a university that was known for their strong faith. As I got to college freshman year and started to settle in, I soon realized how hard it had become to truly live out my faith. At the time, just going to mass on Sunday seemed like enough. I occasionally prayed and read my bible but that was the extent of my faith life. Here I was thinking I was going to college to strength my faith and grow a personal relationship with Christ, yet nothing changed. It wasn’t until I joined a bible study group freshman year and really invested myself in my campus’s faith group that I understood what it meant to live out my faith. I had chose to surround myself with people my age who were so passionate about their faith and who emulated what it meant to be followers of Christ. These people inspired me to not be ashamed of my faith or the person God created me to be yet, rather pushed me to be proud of who I am. I also started to find my own, personal prayer life which consisted of adoration in the chapel, jamming to praise and worship music, and diving deep into the theology books I needed to read for class. These were simple ways that allowed me to build a deeper relationship with Christ which in return, helped me to live out my faith.
It’s so easy to fall into a routine at college of waking up, going to class, hanging with friends, sports, homework, parties, etc. It’s a routine that I fell into and still continue to fall into. Being a follower of Christ is not easy, Jesus never said it was going to be a piece of cake living out your faith. In fact, I find it to be harder to do so in college especially when there are so many people around you who have different beliefs. But it’s so important to remember that Jesus lived out his faith even though people hated him and ultimately crucified him. He’s a great example of someone who was authentically himself and at the end of every day, he knew God was on his side. The same God that was there for Jesus is there for us and all he asks is that we come to know him and help others do so too. This is why we are called to live out our faith and there is no better time then now. Especially if you are in college, I encourage you to bring the gospel to all the college students that desperately need to hear of the truth and love that comes from knowing God. Start small, pray everyday, ask God for the strength to go out and preach of his good news. Find a community that is going to lift you up to know God better and be there to support you through it all. Surround yourself with friends who pray not only with you but for you. For it is through starting small, that God will use you in big ways to transform the lives of those around you.
“Don’t shine so that others can see you. Shine so that through you, others can see HIM.” C.S. Lewis