Welcome to the spring 2009, edition of the Newman News. Newman Catholic Campus Ministry has many facets, like a precious stone that gleams from many different viewing angles. From the Liturgies we celebrate on or near each of our campuses; to the wonderful catechetical opportunities we offer for growth in faith; to the myriad opportunities for service (locally, nationally and internationally); to the personal touch, the one-to-one conversations between campus minister and student, we are constantly looking for ways to help our wonderful young women and men draw closer to Christ and His Church.

Our theme for this issue deals with the spiritual growth of our students through the various retreat and spiritual direction opportunities that we offer for the members of the seven campuses we serve in Northeast Ohio. A part of the story is told by our campus ministers, who write about the various options available; and a part is reserved for our students, who describe how participation in these programs and processes has affected their lives.

Over the past several years, a number of campus ministers, here and around the country, have noted what they believe to be a renewed sense of spiritual hunger among many of the students we seek to serve. Sometimes that hunger is evidenced by the significant crowds we are seeing at weekend and special liturgies, or by the interest of students to reach out in more intentional ways to the homeless, the hungry and the marginalized. However, the increasing number of Newman students involved in these program activities is only a part of the story. An equally significant indicator of spiritual hunger and growth can be seen in the way that students are responding in ever greater numbers to an expanding array of retreat and spiritual direction opportunities. They are realizing that, in addition to actively engaging the world around them in order to grow in faith, they must also take quiet time in order to nurture the “spirit within”.

One way this nurturing can be done is by meeting with a trained spiritual director who can engage the individual in conversation and lead her/him in an exploration of Sacred Scripture as well as introducing the student to various prayer and meditation techniques. The pages that follow feature some “snapshots” (literally and figuratively) of various opportunities for spiritual growth which we offer through Newman Catholic Campus Ministry. Several of them include just the type of reflective process I have described here:

• The “Catch the Spirit” Retreat,
• The 8-Day Ignatian Silent Retreat,
• Busy Student Retreats, and
• Ongoing Individual Spiritual Direction.

The Newman Foundation of Northern Ohio has been our constant and faithful partner in these efforts, contributing thousands of dollars each year to help underwrite the costs for the many spiritual growth opportunities we offer. Without their support, both spiritually and financially, as well as the support of people like you, these programs would cease to exist.

Stroll through these pages with us to meet the campus ministers who will explain some details of the various programs, and students who share some of their experiences of conversion and growth. Read about how their lives have been changed forever — for the better — as they are preparing for and assuming roles as campus ministry student leaders today and parish leaders of the future, wherever their faith journeys lead them.

In the realm of campus ministry, there is nothing more exciting or more fulfilling than companioning young adults as they reach the point where they begin to realize how much they are loved by God, how much they have been given in the form of talent and opportunity, and how many exciting ways there are for them to use their gifts and talents to build the reign of God on earth.

As campus ministers, these are the moments we live for— these are the moments we die for — giving of ourselves each day in order that others might grow closer to Christ. Come and see how the Spirit of God is at work in the lives of our students and beyond. Here, in their own words, they will tell you that, once you have felt the embrace of the living God, there is no turning back. Who would even want to?

Bill Mi!er is the Diocese of Cleveland Director of Newman Catholic Campus Ministry

To read the rest of the Spring 2009 Newman News, please click here.