The Compass Center

by Kate White

Ever been on an alternative break or religious conference? Drop everything and go if you ever have the opportunity. Honestly, Spring Break in Panama City Beach with Cru was exactly what I needed. Before last week—I had no idea what my life was missing.
I doubted my decision to go: I want to go home. I don’t want to pay. I have too much homework. What if I feel uncomfortable? All of those lies were shattered within the first hour. Big Break built life-long friendships, kindled my faith, refreshed my mind and gave me purpose in a week’s time. Talk about mind-blowing!
Our first session celebrated God like never before: flashing lights, dub step, dancing and all. The speakers were witty and inspirational. Their messages tugged at my heart: we’re all hurting inside, yearning for a greater purpose. Flashing red light, Aha! Moment. WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE?!(Yeah, I had a lot of those moments in PCB)
We’re yearning for more because this world can’t satisfy our needs. Only a relationship with God can heal that void that we’ve all tried to fill. Once we place our trust in Him, life will be enhanced in ways we’ve never imagined. And guess what? Everyone’s invited to the party.
That’s where evangelism *shudder* comes into play. That word has a very negative connotation, but hear me out. The key to sharing your faith is not in spewing out bible verses. It’s listening. After all, you’re sharing the good news because you care about where that person will spend eternity. You genuinely must care about the other person’s life. Then if they’re willing, you can share how God has enhanced yours. It may be uncomfortable but that person’s eternity with God is worth it.
If nothing else, you’ve gained a better perspective and appreciation for different beliefs. We’re all trying to find meaning in our lives. After Spring Break, I’m feeling a lot better knowing that God’s got it all under control.
1 Timothy 4:12-16 ESV

by Kate White

To those of you who don’t know me: Hi! My name is Kate and I’m the intern at the CFV this semester. In the short month and a half that I’ve been here I’ve had so many positive experiences at the CFV. If you haven’t already, I truly encourage you to take a trip over to the CFV. Take a leap of faith and go to Big Questions, relax with meditation and yoga, or share your spiritual journey with us. If nothing else, you can say that you tried something new and made a few friends. I understand; I was skeptical at first too.

Let me tell you my story and show you how the CFV has impacted my Butler experience.

Last year no one at the CFV knew me. I attended the open house as a freshman and lurked through the Blue House, unsure of the inviting religious aura. It would be another year until I returned to the Blue House to find myself sitting across from the Director, Judy Cebula.
My freshman year was rough to say the least. It was a difficult transition leaving home, making new friends, and growing into my new identity. One question kept eating away at me, “What’s my purpose?” I know, I know. As an 18-year-old, most are concerned with who am I dating, what parties am I going to next and will I have time to go home to have mom do my laundry. Somehow I felt like I needed to have my life figured out.
I spoke with my friends, family, mentors and elders from my church. One night I was challenged with another big question “How will your life serve God?” Being the planner that I am, I jumped on the computer and investigated internships for religious organizations. What luck would have it, the Center for Faith and Vocation offers a number of religiously affiliated internships, another bonus –they’re paid.
That Fall I returned to the Blue House to have my first meeting with Judy. I nervously over prepared for what I perceived to be a pseudo-interview. I sat down and slowly the business formalities fell away. I gradually divulged my life journey to a complete stranger. The tangible calmness of the Blue House and Judy’s kind understanding allowed me to feel at home—something I hadn’t felt in a long time.
After that things started to fall into place. This semester I started my internship and the Center for Faith and Vocation. Every day I go to the Blue House and I feel a sense of calm contemplation and many of my worries fall away. As students, we have so many daily pressures and stresses. At the Blue House I’m reminded that there’s a much higher purpose than what we do every day. We each have to discover our vocations. The Blue House is here to help and cultivate that personal awareness. My time at the CFV has provided me with a richer, more comprehensive college experience that extends beyond my academic needs. I hope that you would also give it a chance and see what the CFV can offer you.

by Laura Micklich on Friday February 3, 2012

While one of my faults is that I can sometimes be impatient, this past Wednesday’s experience helped me grow.

Sitting in morning prayer, I had a difficult time concentrating. I leafed through my prayer book and couldn’t help but sigh at how long the psalms were. All I could think about was how much I wanted to accomplish in the office that morning, and prayer just felt like an impediment to my productivity. I felt that I owed it to the staff to get as much done as I could, as one of the members had been out sick the previous day.

Then, amidst this inner battle, I read a line that made me realize that my “work” isn’t just the tasks I preform in the office. It’s something greater than that. It’s something that St. Benedict taught…duh. It’s “Ora et Labora,” and what it means is that you do God’s work not only through your physical labor, but through your prayer and contemplation as well. All I needed was this simple reminder of what I believe about service in the first place: that what I do for others is ultimately connected to my spirituality. Each day the sisters pray, “Thy will be done,” which is exactly what they are doing by working in the community AND by praying for the members of that community, and all humanity. Prayer is work (and sometimes we feel that way!) and I feel it is one of my responsibilities.

 

by Kate Newman on February 1, 2012

My first impression of university president Jim Danko as he addressed the sophomore class shocked me: This guy was nervous. The president! Nervous! He fiddled with his microphone, searched the audience for his wife, very similarly to all of the things I do when I give a speech in class and feel more like vomiting and running from the room than actually speaking.

According to Pres. Danko, I should probably have that feeling more often. This speech is well-timed for much of the sophomore class, a time that is so often referred to as a “slump” that it is cliché (and where there’s smoke, there’s fire with those sort of things. Love is blind! Reach for the stars! Go with your gut!)

I’ve found that the best way to pull myself out of a slump is to do something that gives me that first-day-of-class-introduction-speech-in-a-foreign-language wave of nausea.  Whether it’s trying hot peppers on pizza (I never looked back after that one) or diving into a new relationship (or in some cases out of an old one), the things that seem terrifying usually turn out pretty wonderfully.  Or not. But that’s part of the fun, isn’t it?

As a kid, I was as much in love with piles of mud and pill bugs as any other squirt on the playground, but my adventurous streak was more or less suffocated by my desire to be “the good one” for my recently divorced parents (and, I’ll admit, occasionally to see my little brother in trouble—sorry Mike!). I didn’t like mushrooms, didn’t ride roller coasters, didn’t publish my poetry under my own name in the school literary magazine.

I was a chicken, and my life got pretty boring. NO MORE! I now put mushrooms in, on, or around most things I eat. I rode TWO roller coasters this summer with moderate success (thank God for Dramamine). I’m still a little shy about sharing my poetry, but hey—my name’s on this blog, isn’t it?