Dear Franciscan Freshmen,

At one point, I was a freshmen. Four years ago I walked into St. Thomas More Hall ready to take on what everyone described would be the “best years of my life.” They all assured me that college would be the time in my life where I would meet my lifelong friends, forge lifelong habits, and truly find myself.

In short, I was terrified.

I quickly realized I was not like a lot of these other students. I did not grow up going to daily mass, or even Sunday mass for that matter. With a late high school conversion under my belt, and a desire for the truth stuffed somewhere in my heart, I felt caught between the crossroads of Heaven, and the familiar struggle of sin I couldn’t seem to break free from.

But before my heart could be formed, it needed to be healed.

It is no secret; Franciscan University of Steubenville is a very special place. The Friars live a stone-throw away from our dorms, there are Eucharistic chapels in every residence hall, as well as dedicated professors who strive to communicate the truths of our faith in all that they do and teach. Heck, they even invite us over for dinner, let us into their personal lives, and move our cars for us when we accidentally park in illegal parking spots! It really does not get much better than this.

But that doesn’t make it easy.

What I did not realize at the time, which only now four years later has resonated so deeply in my heart, is that the pull between truth and sin is entirely separate from the fact that God loves and desires me, no matter what. My sin hurts him, probably even more than it hurts me, but when you sin it doesn’t mean God cuts you off, it means you cut yourself off.

Woah.

So when you turn away from sin, and turn towards Jesus, He can begin to heal you from the wounds of your sin.

But there is a temptation. A temptation I see very prominently on this campus. A temptation to do, rather than to be. You see, God does not love me more because I study Theology over Nursing, or because I would rather attend a Charismatic Mass than a Latin Mass.

This is because we are not human do-ers, but rather human beings who were created in His image and likeness. No matter what we do He will still love us just the same.

That’s right. God would love me even if I did not go to Franciscan University of Steubenville.

Here is a bit of free, unsolicited wisdom: Jesus does not love you more because you go to Franciscan University, and coming to this University is a gift and a privilege, but not a fix-all. This campus is comprised of sinners striving for sainthood – but we are still sinners.

And I am also not sorry if this is coming to you as a shock. Only recently did I realize that I had thought Franciscan would be the answer to all my problems, that by simply coming to this University, Jesus would fix all my problems, like a magic potion.

The truth is, coming to Franciscan is only one step in God’s master plan for the healing of your heart. Throughout these next four years you will meet people who will literally change your life, who will show you the face of God and give you a taste of heaven when all you can seem to taste is the dirt in your mouth from falling on your face again and again. You will call them your friends, but what they will really be will be brothers, sisters, and spiritual mothers and fathers. Jesus will show you the meaning of love and sacrifice as you prepare to give up everything the secular world tells you is worth your time.

So take a deep breath, and prepare yourself. God called you here, to this holy, Catholic Disneyland for a reason. Do not deprive yourself of the growth and healing the Lord wants to do in you throughout these next four years by pretending you are something that you are not.

And remember, God’s love is not contingent on what you can do. God is perfect, and chose to love you when he sent his only son to die for your sins, the sins that you and I still commit everyday.

So enjoy these next four years. Scoop ice cream with the Friars, praise the Lord every Tuesday night at praise and worship, take a Scott Hahn class just to say you did, and form habits that will carry you to heaven.

“But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.” – Deuteronomy 4:29