Dear Newman Connection students,
May the Lord give you His peace! I come with a word of peace and prayers for each of you who labor in the vineyard of the Lord. In the words of St. Francis, “while you are proclaiming peace with your lips, be careful to have it even more fully in your heart.” The Lord has put each of you in a unique position to minister to your fellow students at your respective universities, and you can only preach what you first have in your own heart. While I was a college student in Washington DC some years ago, a non-Christian friend of mine started to ask me questions about my Catholic faith. I had never formally proclaimed the Gospel message to her, but she saw my Christian life in the way that I lived. She knew that I had a daily prayer life, including daily Mass on campus; that there were certain things that I wouldn’t take part in because of my faith; and that I showed love and respect to others without prejudice. After the disaster of 9/11 hit, she noticed the great peace that I had which others in the area did not, and it was that witness of my life, which opened her heart to hearing the Gospel message. This was my open door to telling her about the peace, which surpasses all understanding – the peace that Jesus alone can give and the great love that He has for her.
When we encounter Jesus personally in our lives, through prayer, in loving conversation with God, then peace enters into our hearts. It is a peace not based on the circumstances of life, but solely on knowing that there is a God who knows you and loves you unconditionally to the point of dying for you. Your peers have a longing in their hearts for that love and peace which only Christ can give them, and the Lord has put you in this place to be a witness of His peace and a light of His love on your college campus. Go to God daily in prayer: through the Mass, the Rosary, the reading of Sacred Scripture and heart to heart conversation with Him. This will give you the strength to live your faith to the full and to take up your cross daily and follow after Christ (cf. Luke 9:23).
Know that your Sisters remember you in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament.
May the Lord Jesus draw you deep within His Sacred Heart and reveal to you more of His infinite Love and Mercy for you, may His Holy Spirit empower you to proclaim that Jesus is Lord and may our Blessed Mother always keep you under her mantle of love!
Sincerely in Christ,
The Disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ in Prayer Town, Texas
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