And so it begins...

In reality, all moments have extreme signifiance. In fact, if we considered the ramifications of each given moment then we might start to think more before we acted. But this is not the point I would I like to talk about. There millions and millions people in the U.S. that consider this time of year as the beginning of their year. Yes, school is starting in many places all over the country. Some schools start tomorrow and they will be the first of many that will commence during the next several weeks.

It is a great time of year! I love watching the high school football practices and seeing them get ready for the Friday Night lights. Seeing the cross country team run mile after mile in prep for the first big meet. And who can forget all the back to school prices at the stores around town...you gotta love the sells! But the moment that I would like to pause and ponder over is the moment of that many young Catholic missionaries are going to campuses all throughout the country.

They are spending time praying and strategizing with their teams asking the Lord Jesus to send his angels to the campus and prepare it for their coming. They are calling upon the Holy Spirit and asking that He move the hearts of many college students this year, especially in the next weeks. Most college students find their friends, join their clubs, and get in a routine within the first 6 weeks of campus. And FOCUS missionaries will be a part of many college students lives this year.

In our day, we have forgotten our story. We are part of the greatest story ever told. It is a glorious, tragic, and uplifting. There are heroes and villians and life and death! We will laugh at certain points in this story and cry at other points. This story is the story of our race and our relationship with our Creator, God. People say, "yeah, but don't a lot of college student not bel'eve in God." That may be true, but it does not stop Him from existing. And not only existing but truly living!

There was a great conversation I had with a young man at UW-Madison last year. I was on the campus mall in front of the Union. We were passing out holy cards of the image of Divine Mercy. It was then that a young man came up to me and said, "I see what you are doing!" I thought to myself, "He sees that I am passing out holy cards and that I desire him to know God's love and mercy and embrace it whole-heartly." But he did not see what I was doing. He begun to raise he voice at me and repeat over and over, "Your book is 2000 years old! your book is 2000 years old." I asked him what he meant and if he wanted to talk about it. But the more I approached him and tried to have a conversation, the faster he walked. I let him go. But the Holy Spirit brought him back to me. I saw him 20 minutes later on the street and I approached him and we started to talk about what he studied and what he thought we were doing out front of the union passing out holy cards. Finally, he asked me if I ever doubted. I said yes! but I continued, "Yes, I doubt, but I don't think one who believes can escape doubt and at the same time, I am not sure if a doubter can escape belief." If you are a one who doubts then one day you will wake up and start to doubt your doubts. The real adventure is belief. He accepted this critique well and we exchanged info and went along our ways. We never did see each other again, but I pray that a seed was planted in this young man's heart.

There are going to be thousands of these stories this year all over of the country because of the radical availability of missionaries on university campuses. It is a wonderful time of year and I am proud to serve these great men and women who serve on the frontlines of the New Evangelization. Tomorrow I begin my travels for the year with a trip to the Minnesota. Who knows the conversations to come in the next year or the people I will meet. I entrust the future to our Lord Jesus and pray to live firmly in the present giving Him all I have.