by Christine Cremer
FOCUS Team Director
UNL Newman Center
Two hundred students from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) traveled to St. Louis Jan. 2-6 for the annual FOCUS (the Fellowship of Catholic University Students) conference, SEEK.
They were alongside the missionary team at UNL: Victoria Fassett, director of campus ministry at the St. Thomas Aquinas Newman Center; pastor Father Robert Matya and assistant pastor Father Alec Sasse, and many other parishioners, priests, seminarians, religious, and ministry leaders from around Lincoln.
At this gathering, attendees, including nearly 19,000 other students and adults from around the country and the world, were given the opportunity to delve into the Truth, beauty and goodness of our Catholic faith through talks, prayer, and fellowship. Each day was filled with opportunities to be formed and equipped in the faith, all of which led to many encounters with God, particularly in Mass, adoration, and confession.
Since SEEK, students have returned to campus and started the spring semester with a greater zeal and renewed commitment to knowing Jesus and making Him known around campus and beyond. One student shared with me her desire to know Jesus in a deeper way: “Throughout the week, I heard so many talks and engaged in so many conversations that softened my heart,” she said. “Encountering Christ in the Eucharist, in confession, and in community helped me realize that He, and His plan for my life, will fulfill all my desires. I walked away from the week desiring to know the Lord more deeply, asking Him to more intimately reveal himself to me, to draw nearer to me.”
Another student described confession to be a pivotal part of her experience, explaining, “During confession, the priest asked me what Jesus said in the Gospel that day and I said he asked, ‘What are you looking for?’ and the priest said, ‘Yes, so what is it you’re looking for?’
“My penance was to sit with that question in prayer and respond to Jesus’ question. It was like a light bulb went off in my head. Every sin I was committing was to ‘fulfill’ some desire I was longing for in my heart. I was searching and searching, but those desires can only be found in Christ. It made me realize the reasons behind my sins and has helped me to be way more intentional in how I live my life day to day!
Confession was definitely one of the most impactful parts for me. When adoration came around that night, I was already freed of my sins and I could enjoy Jesus in adoration more than ever. It made adoration more peaceful for me and my prayer much stronger!”
The joy of the Gospel was palpable throughout the conference, and the missionary team is eager to continue to walk alongside the students at UNL to reach more souls for Christ. On behalf of the FOCUS team at UNL, thank you to everyone who made it possible to bring many souls to Jesus at SEEK and to those who continue to make encounters with Jesus possible, through your prayers and support.
