Can University Students be Holy?

By Artur Suski, S.J.

Credit: http://www.focusequip.org

Yes! Of course they can!

It was not too long ago that I myself was a university student. Returning to the campus as a campus minister has given me a different perspective, especially on the challenges that university students face if they want to live out their Catholic faith. We university chaplains are quite concerned for the faith life of our students, yet there is only so much that we can do; it is really in the hands of the students to take up their own cross daily, and by daily cross I mean the day in and day out demands that a faith life has on us. What I would like to do here is to briefly outline a couple of challenges that students face today, and to provide some simple “tools” that students can apply on a daily basis to nurture their faith. Note that it is quite appropriate to substitute “student” with any other role, as non-students may find these suggestions helpful.

A Day in the Life of A Jesuit

By Eric Hanna, S.J.

www.jesuits.ca

My friends and family know that I am a Jesuit, that I study, that I live a life of prayer and dedication to God. Yet the exact nature of this life is something of a mystery. So I have decided to give the account of a typical day in my life as a Jesuit.

No Jesuit I know has ever done just one thing his whole life. Our work is always growing and changing, as we ourselves do. We are many things to many people. We are teachers, both in high schools and universities. We are pastors of parishes. We are researchers in almost any field you could name, from theology to physics to ecology. We are coordinators of programs that provide aid to the poor, homeless, refugees, and different kinds of people who are marginalized. We are spiritual counsellors and retreats directors. And when we are in formation, as I am, we are mostly students.