Coming from 12 years of Catholic (or any religious) school and being launched head-first into your first experience with public education can be a bit of a culture shock. For the first time in (almost) your whole life, you are not surrounded by a sea of plaid and tucked in shirts, and the number of people you interact with that share your values and belief system has drastically decreased. The number of people who want to debate with you and tell you you're wrong, your beliefs are dumb, or completely write you off as a "Jesus freak" has increased. Keeping up with your faith now requires your intentional outside efforts because you are no longer under any obligation to go to religion class or attend weekly/monthly/daily mass.
On Questioning:
I know I often find myself considering not going to mass, but I also really don't want to fade away from my faith in college. As we are introduced to new ideas, people, theories, and experiences, our belief system is often challenged. We start to wonder what it's all about. That is okay. It's a lot of new information, and getting into debates with those who believe differently can truly make us question our faith and what we believe. Some days being all-in with your faith will feel impossible. God wants us to question ourselves and decide what we believe and how to defend our faith, but He also wants us to find comfort in knowing He is always alongside us. Even the days when we feel we are falling out of practice, there is a guiding hand that will bring us through it. He will meet us where we are in life. Even if we fall away for a while on accident.
On Effort:
Once you get to college and realize no one is telling you when to pray, when to go to mass, or instructing you in your faith, you might feel sort of alone. No one around you is going to have the answers, so you have to make a conscious effort to go spend the hour at church rather than studying, going out, or sleeping. You have to remind yourself to pray more often, take more time to reconnect. If you are struggling, contact someone from your church, do some research, find what gives you a reason to keep trying, keep growing. God wants us to make a conscious effort to be with Him. He notices our attempts, our shortcomings, our failures, and He graciously wants us to keep trying. You may find you feel closest to God in other ways. However you feel His love is the most important. (Journaling Bibles are a popular way for people to grow in their faith right now!)
On respecting other religions:
One of the most important things to have in college is an open mind. Other faiths will conflict with yours. Discuss them, debate them, research them, but most importantly: respect them. Respect those who don't believe in any sort of established faith. Remind others not to judge or discriminate based on beliefs, and embrace that other people have their own ideas and systems that they rely on as well. Let the light of your faith be the reason you can be open-minded and accepting.
On the campus preachers:
A side note to all students who see these preachers- the ones who yell, curse your actions, and demand you repent: they are not true ambassadors of any faith. Anyone who is truly faithful in any religion will tell you that the way they act is not what we are about. Seeing these preachers makes me want to remind everyone I see that this person is not carrying out a true representation of any of our values. These people can sometimes make you feel ashamed, but they should serve as a reminder that God does not want us to shy away from our faith and the truth of what we know.
On Trusting God:
With all the things that happen to us in college, we sometimes feel like God isn't there. In my experience, one of the hardest things about remaining faithful in college is remembering that God is guiding me, even in moments of pain. It can be so hard to remember that everything that is happening is going to shape you and that sometimes God uses rough times to teach us, show us what He is doing with our lives. It can be difficult to give all your anxieties, worries, problems, and sins over to God, but that is exactly what He wants us to do. He wants us to cast our cares over to Him so that He can fully enter our lives and show us the bigger picture. It's the letting go that scares us.
On remaining faithful:
Even in times of trouble, stress, questioning, or failure, trusting in God is all we can really do. He knows this life can be difficult. It is so important to remember that He is molding us to be able to weather any storm and become the people we are meant to become. It will be hard sometimes, but while we all figure it out, take some deep breaths, continue in your faith, and rely on God for unfailing help.
Everything you face in life is either a blessing or a lesson. Sometimes both. These trying times will honestly make you stronger in your faith.
Just keep going.
