Students are not too busy to find time for God

by Sue Torgersen, CSJ

"This is a wonderful opportunity for a retreat experience in the midst of the busyness of everyday life," said Sydelle McCabe, the Catholic Campus minister at Minnesota State University at Mankato. Sydelle was speaking of the 4th annual St. Thomas More Newman Center Busy Person’s Retreat. As a result of this experience she has seen newer students become more excited and open about their faith. Usually when we think of a retreat our picture is one of going away, perhaps to a secluded place, to have the time to think about what God’s work in our lives, and to spend time in prayer. The point of the Busy Person’s Retreat is that we can contemplate God’s action and take time for prayer without leaving our everyday life behind.

The Busy Person’s Retreat takes place right on campus in the midst of the fast pace of each student’s schedule. Retreatants commit themselves to a period of personal prayer each of the 4 days of retreat, and have an opportunity to meet with a spiritual director for an hour on any or all of the retreat days. This year’s retreat began on Sunday evening, March 4, with Eucharist, dinner, orientation and sign-up for the spiritual direction sessions. In addition there was communal evening prayer at 9:00, at the Newman Center. The retreat closed with Mass and dinner at 4:30 on Thursday, March 8.

According to Sydelle, it is most challenging to explain to students just how beneficial the opportunity for spiritual direction really is. "No matter what you say to describe what a hour of spiritual direction can be like, it’s hard for students to feel assured that it’s something they would want to do. It’s really kind of scary." Some, however, are willing to take a chance. They find that the hour flies by because they have found a safe place to talk about things they have really wanted to talk about for a long time. In this conversation they often find peace in the discovery of just how close God has been in their struggles, challenges, and joys. "Once students experience a spiritual direction session, they want to encourage their friends to take the same chance they did. That’s how the success of this retreat grows!"

Many of the spiritual directors for the Busy Person’s Retreat are religious community vocation directors who offer their time. The women and men chosen by their communities for vocation ministry make a valuable contribution to the life of the whole church. They serve the needs of the wider church without limiting their gifts to the immediate concerns of their community’s vocation ministry. Vocation directors bring the experience of assisting people through their life direction questions to the setting of spiritual direction with MSU students. "We are able to conduct a wide variety of programs here at the campus. It is important that as church we touch the lives of as many students as we can" reports Sydelle, who appreciates the generosity offered by vocation directors and other ministers who took time from their busy lives of service to be a part of the Busy Person’s Retreat.

Sue Torgersen, CSJ is Director of the Office of Continuing Education for Clergy for the Diocese of New Ulm.