FOCUS Conference Draws 3,000 College Students

By Claudia Cangilla McAdam

“Go, and set the world on fire!”  These words of St. Ignatius of Loyola comprised the theme of the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) 2008 National Conference and 10^th Anniversary Celebration held January 2-6 in Grapevine, Texas.  Colorado-based FOCUS has a presence of more than 150 missionaries ministering to thousands of students on 33 campuses in 18 states.

 During Christmas break when one might imagine students spending their time sleeping, seeing family and friends, or earning money, more than 3,000 young people traveled from all around the country to experience a week encountering Jesus Christ.

 Noted author and public speaker Jeff Cavins kicked off the conference as keynote speaker.  “I believe that God has placed in our hearts a sense of mission,” he told the students and their missionary leaders. “He has created us to work with Him.  He has created us to demonstrate his glory and reflect with our daily lives his wisdom, his beauty, his power.”

Former Pentecostal charismatic minister, Alex Jones, who is now a deacon in the Catholic Church, energized the crowd.  “Evangelization is a call to the Gospel,” he said.  “You must be committed to the work of the Lord with everything you have—not piecemeal, not halfway, not half-hearted, not mediocre, but with your whole heart, with your whole being, you’re committed to the work of Jesus Christ—that’s what the Holy Spirit is calling for from the faithful.”

Mother Assumpta Long, one of the founders of the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, referred to the current cultural war on the sanctity of life.  “We are encountering the enemies of truth and goodness,” she told the gathering of young people.  “We need you desperately!”

Conference attendees came from over 200 campuses across the United States, and there were student representatives from Canada and Australia as well.  In addition, approximately 100 priests and a number of bishops participated, including Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M., Cap. of the Archdiocese of Denver, who celebrated one of the Masses.

Students had the opportunity to take part in Eucharistic adoration, to avail themselves of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and to attend daily Mass as well as numerous faith-building break-out sessions.

“At one point in my life, I was an atheist, then an agnostic, then a Protestant before finding the Catholic Church,” said University of Vermont freshman Matt Wajda.  I came into this conference skeptical and wondering where I stood in my faith. It has been a truly inspiring conference for me.  It is going to help me be a better Christian Catholic person.”

All-star baseball player and captain of the Kansas City Royals, Mike Sweeney, captivated the crowd with his personal story of what he termed, “my journey with Jesus.”  His revelation of his ups and downs in his faith life gave the students an insight into living the Catholic life in the public spotlight.  At a difficult period in his personal and professional life, a picture of a bicycle-built-for-two proved inspirational to the young athlete.

“I realized that I’d placed myself in the front seat, and I had been trying to do the steering,” he said.  He committed to putting himself in back, doing the peddling, and “to put Jesus Christ on the front seat of the bike.”

“The ‘C’ on my jersey means more than ‘captain.’  It stands for being Catholic,” he said.  “I give you that honor—to wear a ‘C’ on your jersey, and to wear it proudly!”

A bold and powerful witness to the Gospel, Fr. Benedict Groeschel, C.F.R. appealed to the students with his brutal honesty.  “You’ve been exposed to the apostasy, the betrayal of many Catholic colleges,” he told them.  “And the media is out to get the Catholic Church.”

“You are a part of a providential movement in the Catholic faith,” he told them.  While he expressed a hope for a religious revival at the hands of today’s youth, he warned them of the possibility of persecution.  “Know your stuff.  Turn on your brains.  Start with the Catechism of the Catholic Church.  We need to have informed Catholics.  Know the New Testament, especially the holy Gospels.  Learn to pray.  Be devoted to Christ in his silent presence at Eucharistic Adoration.”

Fr. Benedict’s message hit home with University of Colorado junior Lindsey Lyle.  “The fire in his spirit encouraged us to want to be the change,” she said.  “This conference has given us the tools we need to do that.”

“You are an anointed generation,” said FOCUS president and founder Curtis Martin.  “You were made for a very specific purpose.  You were made for greatness.”

“If you are what you should be, you will set the world on fire,” Mother Assumpta said.  “You are our hope.  Young people will change the culture.”

The fact that 3,000 students spent a week during Christmas break learning what it means to do just that proves that they are already changing the culture.  For more information about FOCUS, visit www.focusonline.org.