An invitation for college students: Keep the faith during this exciting time of life
Meagan Morrisey, left, the current director of the archdiocese’s young adult and college campus ministry, shares a moment of joy with students at Tulane University in New Orleans while she served there as a FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students) missionary from 2018-21. (Submitted photo)
By John Shaughnessy
As another college school year begins, first-year students especially have an intense desire to be welcomed, accepted and embraced by their peers as they begin this exciting and anxious turning point in their lives.
In her work with college students the past six years—and from her own college experience—Meagan Morrisey understands that desire for a feeling of belonging. At the same time, the director of the archdiocese’s young adult and college campus ministry has a poignant reminder for all college students.
“I think a really big question that people in that age group have relates to identity. Who am I? Who is God? And what does that mean for my life?” says Morrisey, a 2018 graduate of Auburn University in Alabama.
“A college campus is constantly trying to give you an identity or tell you that you can make your own identity. But your identity is not in your Greek house, in your grades or your major or your résumé. It’s not in your friend group, the organizations you join or the activities you’re choosing to pursue on the weekend. It’s really easy to fall into that. But really our deepest identity is in relationship to the Lord.
“When you put Jesus at the center of your life, it gives you your identity of who you are, as a beloved son or daughter of God. When that is rightly ordered and everything else flows from that, it’s not that you don’t have strife or tribulation in your life—you’re still going to have problems—but you have the security of knowing that’s what your identity is, this relationship with God. When I’ve been living out of that, that’s a time in my life when I’ve been most peaceful.”
Knowing the difference it makes, Morrisey hopes that college students will embrace a relationship with Christ as the foundation of their college experience. And she offers the following tips to help them deepen their faith.
‘Take that first step’
Morrisey advises that either before you arrive on campus or soon after you do, find the Catholic center or the Newman Center and register with the center so you are connected regarding e-mails, Mass times and other communications throughout the coming months.
‘Be bold’
“One thing I’ve seen that can be a real challenge for people is they’re really faithful in high school about going to Mass, and then they get to college and there’s a social hurdle. ‘If I go to Mass on Sunday, I have to go by myself.’ That’s a really hard thing to do,” Morrisey says. “It takes a lot of courage to show up by yourself. ‘Who am I going to talk to? Will people be nice? Will they be weird?’
“There’s a lot of social anxiety today. But just showing up goes a long way. Be bold. If you can find other people who are willing to go to Mass with you, that goes a long way. And just take that first step to whatever [the Catholic center or Newman Center] is offering, whether it’s a welcome Mass or a dinner after Mass. Stay for the dinner. Everybody is going to feel a little awkward about it, but that’s how you meet people. Be willing to put yourself out there a little bit.”
Find an accountability partner
“Having an accountability partner can be helpful. ‘OK, me and Susie are both going to IU [Indiana University], and we both said we want to go to Mass on Sunday when we get there.’ Find someone so you can hold each other accountable to doing that. Hopefully, strength in numbers goes a long way.”
Join a Bible study group
“One thing I’d absolutely recommend is joining a Bible study right away,” Morrisey says. “I started attending my first Bible study my first year of college. There’s something about getting with a small group of people every week and building relationships. On a college campus, something that’s really challenging is that people aren’t even talking to each other. And if they are, it’s very superficial.
“You’re on your phone. Everybody else is on their phone. Nobody talks to each other. Bible study is a welcome alternative to that. People are actually talking about what’s going on in their lives. You can ask hard questions and talk about what’s real—about your roommate situation, how you really miss home. There are so many things you encounter as a college freshman, and it’s really important to have other people, who aren’t your parents, to process those things with.
“Outside of that social and conversation component, a Bible study is transformational. You are reading Scripture, the word of God. And when we read the word of God, Jesus is present with us, and he’s transforming us and working through us. That is something I’ve seen happen over and over again—where the people who consistently come to Bible study are transformed by the word. And they are also transformed by the other people in the group that they are being vulnerable with and trusting.”
Try to avoid making this mistake
“One mistake I see college students make is this: ‘I can live a certain way these four years and when I graduate I’ll be mature and live my life the way I really want to,’ ” she says. “That works for some people, but the habits you make in college tend to stick with you a very long time. It’s a time when people are asking really big questions, deciding who to spend time with, what’s important to them, and deciding how they’re going to live their life.
“When you choose to make Jesus the center of that, it’s so much easier to continue to do that after you graduate—especially when you get in a habit of praying every day, going to Mass every week, and living a life that Jesus wants you to live.”
Strive for consistency, not perfection
“One thing that is really important is consistency. You have to keep showing up in relation to your faith. Nobody is expecting you to be a perfect person, or to always get it right or always make good decisions. But keep making a commitment to yourself and follow through. Make a commitment to go to Mass every Sunday even when you don’t want to go. Sign up for a Bible study and go every week, trusting that the Lord shows up when we show up.
“Have that relationship with the Lord and want to go deeper in that friendship.” †
