Jesus Goes to College
It’s that time of year again: Dorm move-in season. This academic year, the technology and dorm accessories students are bringing to campus seem to be in the over-the-top category, as this blog post chronicles.
Sure, a huge flat-screen TV will make you popular, the laptop with help you get your papers done, a fancy cell phone can connect you to family and friends, and that iPad or e-reader can keep you from lugging books across the quad. (That’s not to say that the latest gadgets can’t keep you plugged in to the faith, as we detailed in our recent feature “iCatholic.” You can even send/receive faith-filled text messages.)
The point is that those aren’t the most important must-have students can bring to college: Jesus is.
“When you’re away at school, you won’t be able to discuss every concern with your best friend or parents, but Jesus is always there, ready for a heart-to-heart, available to hear about your new adventures, that hard course, your budding hopes and dreams — and everything in between,” I wrote in “Keeping Catholic at College,” part of the Register’s 2009-10 Catholic Identity College Guide. (Stay tuned for this year’s guide in the Sept. 12 issue, already in print in the fall issue of our sister publication, Faith & Family magazine.
Christ is needed more than ever on campus, given so many recent academic- and religious-freedom violations (see “Fired for Teaching the Truth” and “Educational & Professional McCarthyism”).
Be the students who bring Jesus there, witnessing with your words and actions. (You can even share your story in a short film and win a trip to World Youth Day in Madrid! See contest information.)
How are you bringing Christ to your campus?
Amy Smith Amy Smith is a Register senior editor who edits features for the “Culture of Life” section. Fueled by prayer and coffee, she enjoys writing about everything from Jane Austen to saints for the Register. She is the author of The Plans God Has for You: Hopeful Lessons for Young Women (Emmaus Road Publishing). Her writing has also appeared in various other Catholic publications. She has a master’s degree in journalism and a B.A. in English.
