‘I can’t think of something more hopeful’
By Reagan Scott
for the Register
As a home away from home for students at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the St. Thomas Aquinas Newman Center isn’t just there for those who are practicing Catholics.
With 95 students going through OCIA (the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults), the Newman Center is living out its mission to “forge college students into saints, fully alive in Christ.”
Father Alec Sasse, currently serving in his fifth year as assistant pastor for the Newman Center, said he has seen the OCIA program grow exponentially since he’s been there.
“The first class when I got here was 32 I believe, and we were thrilled by that,” he said. “Last year it was 41, and this year we’re nearing triple digits.”
Father Sasse said that while there are things that the Newman Center is trying to do to make their OCIA program more attractive and draw more people into the Church, he said that first and foremost, the growth of the program is a sign that the Holy Spirit is working on UNL’s campus in remarkable ways.
The students who make up this year’s OCIA class are athletes, members of the fraternity and sorority system, and even students who walk into the lobby of the Newman Center and say they’ve been watching YouTube videos about the Church and would like to become Catholic.
“There isn’t a particular place on campus that students are coming from,” Father Sasse said. “It’s everywhere, which is really encouraging for us, that our ministry is reaching all of the corners of campus.”
However, Father Sasse and Father Ryan Kaup, pastor of the Newman Center, said the most common group they have seen show an interest in the faith are the friends and roommates of current Newman Center students; those whose friends invited them to Mass, or engaged in conversations about Catholicism.
“It’s our students who are living out the faith on campus and are inviting people into that more than anything,” Father Kaup said.
In addition to their 95 students, Father Kaup has also seen a movement of people being interested in Catholicism in the city of Lincoln, and said the Newman Center helped 10-20 non-students who showed an interest in OCIA connect with parishes in the city.
As more and more young people find themselves dealing with mental health struggles, Father Sasse said, he believes there is a real correlation between the increase in students attending OCIA, and the skyrocketing number of people struggling with anxiety and depression.
When he came to the Newman Center, in the middle of the Covid pandemic, he saw students flock to the Newman Center, hungry for human and divine connection.
“College students are increasingly feeling more isolated, alone and feeling like their life is meaningless,” Father Sasse said. “Every year the statistics grow higher and higher, and because of that, their souls are crying out in longing for something and it’s making them more open to actually receiving what Jesus has to offer them through the Catholic Church.”
Father Kaup quoted a talk by Msgr. James Shea, the president of the University of Mary in Bismarck, N.D., saying ‘we live in a society where everything is permitted and nothing is forgiven, but the Catholic Church offers a place where not everything is permitted, but everything is forgiven.’
Father Kaup said he thinks students are trying to find somewhere firm to plant their feet when everything in the world is so in flux, and the Church offers what they’re looking for: a safe parameter, where mercy is at the center.
“There’s something in their hearts that is desiring stability and safety and truth,” he said. “And they find something like the Catholic Church, which they may have preconceived notions about, but then they begin to encounter a place that’s uniquely different, it’s stable, there is objective truth, there is silence.”
Father Sasse has also seen a trend of students finding their way to the Catholic faith from other Protestant denominations, and said they are finding solace in the constant and objective truth that the Church is teaching with boldness – in a culture that is increasingly relativistic.
“In a lot of the churches and communities these students are coming from, their doctrine or theology can be a little wishy-washy,” he said. “…And so when they get to the Catholic Church and the Church says, ‘Here’s our teaching, it’s been this way for 2,000 years,’ there’s something that allows their hearts to settle into that. It’s comforting. It’s safe for them.”
Editor's Note: see also ‘Walk With One’ now — and later, too by Bishop James Conley
The Newman Center changed two things in its approach to OCIA this year. First, Father Kaup and Father Sasse alternate teaching every class. Second, they added small groups, led by more than 20 Catholic students – some cradle Catholics and some converts to the faith – who serve as table leaders for those going through the class.
From a logistical perspective, Father Kaup said, the addition of the small groups allows the Newman Center to ensure that no one gets lost in the crowd. But they serve a more important function in giving students a support system as they learn more about the Catholic faith, and ensures that they’ll have community as they enter the Church.
“The statistics are that across the United States, over 50 percent of people who join the Church will not be attending Mass a year later, so this is one of our attempts to try to combat that.” Father Sasse said. “If these students have community, if they have genuine love and support from people, it’s more likely that they’re going to stick with it.”
Ashwin Mannur, a junior at UNL, plans to enter the Church this year. He said coming to OCIA and being immediately welcomed by his table leaders eased some of his trepidation when he showed up for the first time.
“I immediately felt all that fear ease away really, really quickly, and it was really nice to know, ‘I’m welcome here, no matter what happens,’” he said.
The addition of small group leaders is also equipping a new generation of young people for parish life, teaching them how to be involved in OCIA and walk people into the Church. When they graduate from the university, they’ll be equipped to do the same in the parishes that they join.
The OCIA classes are held weekly, for 90 minutes. When Father Kaup and Father Sasse have finished teaching for the first hour, the last 30 minutes of class are dedicated to things like guest speakers – people from around the city of Lincoln who are converts or experts in particular fields, open Q&A sessions, and teaching the students how to pray with scripture.
Should anyone ever miss a class, the Newman Center’s app has all the materials and recordings from class, in addition to other resources like homilies, guided prayers and Bible studies.
Each semester the Newman Center also celebrates a teaching Mass, open to all students. This year, Father Sasse celebrated the Mass while Father Kaup explained all of the parts of the Mass. Father Sasse said they had a full church.
As Lent approaches, the Newman community is looking forward to an April retreat for the students who will be entering the Church, and this year’s Easter Vigil Mass.
Father Sasse said, “The whole Newman Center community looks forward to the Easter Vigil every year with incredible anticipation because it is the most beautiful liturgy in the United States, it’s unbelievable.”
This year’s vigil will look a little different, though. Father Kaup said the Newman Center will likely issue tickets for the Mass, to ensure there is enough seating for the students entering the Church, their sponsors, families and other students on campus. However, the Mass will be live-streamed.
As with anything, with more students this year have come more costs. The Newman Center works to make sure every student in OCIA is equipped with the materials they need: a Bible, a copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, a rosary and materials for their weekly classes.
“We always need the support of the greater community to continue to evangelize college students and OCIA is no different,” Father Kaup said.
Anyone interested in giving to the Newman Center can do so at huskercatholic.com/give and can request that funds be specifically earmarked for OCIA.
In addition to funds, Father Kaup requested prayers for the students as well, and said that for some, the transition isn’t an easy one.
“I’m just really encouraged by the bravery of all these young people willing to investigate Catholicism, because a lot of them are giving up a lot to enter the Church,” he said.
Father Sasse said he and Father Kaup are big believers in looking to where the Holy Spirit is working in the Church and following Him there, and that it’s clear the Lord is abundantly blessing the work that is happening at the Newman Center as a result.
“It’s the Year of Hope and I can’t think of something that’s more hopeful than 100 college students joining the Church,” he said. “It’s amazing.”
SNR photos | Natalie Bender
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Student story: Libby Wilkins, table leader
Junior, Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication
From Ainsworth, Neb.
Junior Libby Wilkins was in the eighth grade when her older brother converted to Catholicism, which was a surprise for her family. Having grown up in an evangelical Christian household, she’d had personal encounters with Jesus, but this event made her wonder what her brother saw in the Church.
By the time Wilkins got to college, her brother had gotten married, and she saw the beautiful way he and his wife were living out their vocation. Wilkins had known her sister-in-law, a practicing Catholic, before she married her brother, and had been struck by her faith.
Wilkins said, “She was the first interaction that I had with somebody who was Catholic and truly on fire for Christ, and that was when I was really young. She was 15 years old and living out her Catholic faith so well. I couldn’t wrap my mind around someone so deeply loving the Lord and being Catholic, because I believed a lot of lies about the Church.”
Wilkins’ freshman year roommate was also Catholic, and she said seeing the roommate live out her faith, in addition to her brother and sister-in-law, gave her a desire to learn more about what Catholics actually believed.
As she started to seek out Catholic resources, Wilkins was also busy working to become a national officer for FFA (Future Farmers of America). She was in Lucas Oil Stadium at the organization’s national convention when she found out that she hadn’t been selected. Instead, she had a spiritual experience.
“I so clearly felt the Lord say, ‘Now is the time to go see what the Catholic Church is actually about.’ Which I think is so beautiful because the National Eucharistic Congress was held in Lucas Oil Stadium months later,” she said.
Wilkins said she knew something was different about the Catholic Church, and as she continued to learn more, she became more convinced of the Church’s teachings, even though she wasn’t quite ready.
“It was an internal struggle,” she said. “I was thinking, ‘I fear that the Catholics are right, and I really don’t want it to be that way.’”
During January of her sophomore year, after attending a SEEK conference, Wilkins clearly heard the Lord say to her, “It’s time to come home.” She signed up for OCIA, caught up on the classes she had missed, and entered the Church at Easter last year.
Now, serving as a table group leader for this year’s OCIA class, Wilkins is looking to expand her own knowledge of the faith, and help students find their place within the Church.
She said, “It can be daunting to come to the Newman Center if you’re not Catholic, so if I can break that barrier and help incorporate people into the community of the Newman Center, I want to do that. It’s been a really beautiful way to pray and offer sacrifice for the people who are entering the Church, just that they would be filled with so many graces.”
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Student story: Jace Ruth, table leader
Senior, Computer Science
From Highlands Ranch, Colo.
Senior Jace Ruth was baptized Congregationalist, attended a Lutheran elementary school and then a non-denominational Christian middle and high school. As a result, he described his faith coming into college as “ABC” - anything but Catholic.
While his parents made sure he had a Christian education growing up, Ruth said, “I never really put my knowledge into practice. You wouldn’t know I was Christian by my actions.”
As he began his college career Ruth said that on the outside, he had everything that he thought would make him happy, but after hitting a low during his freshman year, he decided to join a fraternity his sophomore year. A feeling of repentance came over him in March that year.
Ruth felt convicted that he had to decide whether he was going to believe in God and make a change in his life, or not believe in God and continue to live the way he had been living.
“I came to the conclusion that God is real and that Christianity is true. I just knew that deep down inside,” he said.
As he began exploring different denominations, Ruth said they didn’t feel true, but he didn’t know why. It wasn’t until his junior year when he sat at a table with seven other Catholics at a fraternity dinner and started to question them about their beliefs that something started to change.
“I was presenting my view of their ‘heretical’ beliefs and I got killed,” Ruth laughed. “I realized in that moment that I really didn’t know anything about Catholicism.”
One of his tablemates that night, Kaiden Bedient, invited Ruth to OCIA at the Newman Center and he said that as he attended week by week, it felt like the water was getting warmer, but he did find himself taking a step back to better determine where God was calling him.
Ruth had a profound moment when, during a school break, he realized that a storage area where he had retreated to pray the rosary housed items that had belonged to his grandpa and great aunt, who were Catholic.
He said, “Every Catholic relic I could have had was in that room where I prayed the rosary, and in that moment I was like, ‘I get it, God.’ I took a leap and got confirmed, and it’s the best decision I’ve ever made in my life.”
Now, Ruth is involved in the Newman Center’s discipleship program, started a Bible study in his honors computer science program, the Raikes School, and said yes to being a table leader for this year’s OCIA class.
He said, “We don’t want people to feel pressured to become Catholic, it’s really about creating an outlet for them to ask questions. Being able to build those relationships in a smaller group is everything. It’s been really cool to hear their stories and walk with these individuals as they journey to the Church.”
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Student story: Ariel Ammentorp
Junior, Biological Systems Engineering, with an emphasis in Biomedical Engineering
From Camas, Wash.
The youngest of three siblings, Ariel Ammentorp grew up attending Mass, but she said the process was a weekly fight for her mom, who did everything she could to get her kids up early every Sunday and get to their church 30 minutes away.
Ammentorp was baptized Catholic, and received her first confession and Communion. She loved the community that her church offered, but she found herself going through the motions when it came to practicing her faith.
Because the process for getting confirmed took two years in her diocese in Washington, and she was a busy, three-sport athlete, Ammentorp said receiving the sacrament wasn’t at the top of her priority list, especially when Covid hit. She fell away from the habit of Mass and started attending a non-denominational youth group with friends, which allowed her to continue to walk with God.
When Ammentorp arrived at Nebraska as a track and field athlete, she was terrified of trying to find a new church, not wanting to go or sit alone.
“I was so desperate to be invited to go to church,” she said.
It was during Ammentorp’s sophomore year that she met students from Varsity Catholic, an outreach of FOCUS (the Fellowship of Catholic University Students) for student athletes. With Lent starting that week, they extended an invitation for her to attend Ash Wednesday Mass, which she decided that she would attend at the last minute.
She said, “I walked into the church and I had this feeling of coming home. I sat alone, but I didn’t feel alone. I just felt so surrounded and loved, and for the first time in my life I started consistently going to Mass, and I was excited to go.”
As the spring went on, Ammentorp found herself wondering if the Newman Center offered Confirmation classes, so that she could finally receive the sacrament. This led Ammentorp to sign up for OCIA last fall.
Now, OCIA is something that Ammentorp looks forward to every Wednesday, and she enjoys learning something new every week.
“As I’ve gone through these classes, I’ve been so happy and excited because I’m finally doing it for me, not because I should do it, but because I want to do it. I want to have that connection with God. It’s been an amazing experience. Father Kaup and Father Sasse do an amazing job of connecting with the college kids and making it interesting,” she said.
Ammentorp is now a member of a Bible study and Varsity Catholic and even attended SEEK in Salt Lake City at the start of the year, which she said was one of the coolest things she’s ever experienced. For her, the Newman Center has become a place where she can experience the sense of community that she enjoyed so much growing up.
She said, “It’s community and being around people and coming together to worship God, it’s what the Church is supposed to be.”
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Student story: Ashwin Mannur
Junior, Economics and Finance
From Schaumburg, Ill.
Junior Ashwin Mannur, a second-generation American, grew up going to Lutheran church services with his mom on occasion. He was familiar with the Gospels and who Jesus was, but he didn’t have a firm grasp of Christianity.
“It wasn’t until I got to college that I began to explore that more,” he said. “In my first semester of college I had a really deep desire to know what Christianity was… so I explored a little bit, but it kind of fell to the wayside.”
During his second semester of college, Mannur joined a fraternity where two of the men he met also had a desire to dive into their faith. They started attending a non-denominational Church, but as he began to explore Christianity more, he felt that there was something missing and he couldn’t explore as deeply as he wanted to.
It was last semester when he roomed with Drew Donovan, a cradle Catholic also from Illinois, that Mannur really got to learn more about Catholicism.
He said, “Hearing him talk about the richness of the Catholic faith, how rooted it is in scripture and tradition, and the fact that it’s stood for 2,000 years really spoke to me.”
It was a few more weeks before Mannur would go to OCIA for the first time, but he found that as he attended more classes and learned about the Eucharistic, Mary and the Sacraments, everything started to make a lot more sense.
“I felt like I was home for the first time,” he said. “Going to daily Mass and sitting in Adoration helped me to understand that this is what I had been missing all along.”
Despite some initial resistance, after about two months of OCIA, Mannur felt that the Church was where he was meant to be, and is looking forward to joining the Church at Easter.
“The biggest thing for me was just seeing how people who I knew were Catholic were living out the faith every single day, and that spoke to me more than anything. There was a joy they had that I felt like was missing,” he said.
While Mannur is eager to receive the Eucharist, and will be baptized and confirmed this year, he said that the event that he has been praying about is his first confession.
“Being able to show my contrition in the confessional is something that I really want to experience, and to receive God’s mercy fully in my heart,” he said.
As he nears that time, Mannur is grateful for the influence that Father Sasse and Father Kaup have had at the Newman Center, and said they’re an incredible resource for people who are converting to Catholicism, or thinking about it.
“They are truly, in my opinion, some of the best people who could be doing that,” he said. “The Newman Center would not be what it is without them, and it shows every day both in OCIA and through their engagement with the students.”
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