What Does the Holy Spirit Ask of this Generation?
In our days, Catholic culture seems to be in decline in our country. In 2022 the Pew Research Center predicted that, if present trends continue, Christianity would be a minority religion in the coming decades. While there are places where the culture of Catholic faith is particularly strong, this is not the case everywhere in our country. Though there are many trends in our current world that cause great concern, possibly even fear, God brought us to this moment, for these issues. In general, when faced with a great crisis of faith, the Catholic response is either: a certain “bunker” mentality that doubles-down on existing structures and methods, or true renewal. The former doesn’t really work out too well, and the latter is very difficult. True renewal is the only viable option when faced with a great crisis to the culture of faith. The path of renewal may discourage or cause anxiety in some. The Lord himself gives us the plan of renewal: to be wise and prudent stewards, taking from the old and the new, to give to each at the proper time.
The young people of today will face challenges and opportunities that we cannot fully appreciate. How are we preparing them to be mature Catholic leaders? What do they long for? How can we become prudent stewards, preparing and assisting the next generation to take their place in the Church? This is the work of student formation in Campus Ministry.
In this section, our Director of Campus Ministry, Fr. Cody Jorgensen, OP will share his reflections on the project of renewing campus ministry in our country, of helping the next generation to take their place as mature Catholics.
