WASHINGTON (OSV News) — Why does God care about us and what does Jesus’ invitation to the rich young man in the Gospels to follow him mean for our lives? Thousands of students gathered in the nation’s capital on Jan. 3 and reflected on these questions in an evening of reflection and Eucharistic adoration at the Fellowship of Catholic University Students’ SEEK 2025 conference.
The second evening of the event, January 2-5, virtually brought together the approximately 17,000 attendees of FOCUS’ main SEEK conference (January 1-5) in Salt Lake City with the 3,000 attendees of the first-ever satellite site SEEK in Washington. Mgr. James P. Shea, president of the University of Mary, opened the evening with a lecture drawing on themes from English Catholic author JRR Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings,” marking what would have been Tolkien’s 133rd birthday . His talk was broadcast from Salt Lake City and was followed by a reflection on the rich young man in the Gospels from Sister Miriam James Heidland in Washington, broadcast to SEEK participants in Utah’s capital.
“Why does God care about us? Mgr. Shea asked attendees, calling it a “valid question” in our fallen world. He reflected on the depravity of the world and how many people “died because of our sins and transgressions.” He drew a comparison between humans and Tolkien’s orcs, ruled by dark, hidden sinful pleasures.
God “created the human race very good”, affirms Mgr. Shea said. He declared that God had impressed upon human beings “his own image and likeness” and that “it would be an affront to the honor of God if one of his creations were thus destroyed by the enemy.”
But Mgr. Shea said there was a dilemma: How could God inspire love and genuine faith in human beings “without a binding allegiance that would destroy the gift of freedom they had precisely because of his image in them “.
Thus, God would become one of us, he said. In doing so, the priest explained, God was “stealthily invading enemy territory,” coming quietly into our fallen world through the Virgin Mary “in the poverty of the stable, in the dusty darkness of the worker’s workshop “.
He cited the insight of St. Athanasius: “The Son of God became man so that we might become God. » The Catechism of the Catholic Church follows this quote with that of Saint Thomas Aquinas: “The only Son of God, wanting to make us participants in his divinity, assumed our nature, so that he, made man, could make men of the gods. .”
He read part of “The Ride of the Rohirrim” – a chapter from Tolkien’s “The Return of the King” – in which the army of Rohan sang for joy as they defeated the forces of darkness.
We honor God, Mgr. Shea emphasized that “we move from the allegiance of the usurper to the true king” and repent of our sins.
“Every time we repent,” he said, “there is joy in heaven. »
“The Son of God is one of us, and we are the joy set before him,” he concluded. “This is why God cares about us.”
Following Mgr. In Shea’s talk, Sister Miriam, a member of the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity, meditated on the story of the rich young man from the Gospel who asked Jesus, “What good deed should I do to have eternal life?
Jesus said to him: “If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments. » Then the young man said to Jesus: “All this I have kept. What am I still missing?
Sister Miriam pointed out how, in the Gospel of Mark account, after the young man said this, “Jesus looked at him and loved him.” In this exchange, she says, Jesus highlights the needs from which the young man suffers “out of a look of love.”
Jesus said to the young man: “One thing you lack: go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me. The young man leaves in mourning after Jesus’ invitation. Sister Miriam pointed out that many have the same response to Jesus. She said we “make assumptions about the invitations Jesus gives us and we leave sad.”
She noted that the rich young man in the story did not turn to Jesus and say, “I don’t know how to do this.” I don’t know how to give away my things, I don’t know what I would do without them. Can you please help me?
She challenged those gathered to evaluate “what stands in the way of deeper intimacy” with Jesus in their lives. The Lord meets our needs with “tremendous love” and understanding, she said, and we can call on Him to help us accept His invitations.
The evening ended for the students with an hour of Eucharistic adoration and confessions.
There were also prayer teams where students could pass on their prayer intentions to two of their peers who would join them in prayer.
Read more Colleges
Copyright © 2025 OSV News
Print
catholicreview
