“Behold, I make all things new”. I want to talk with
you about this tonight in two senses.
The first sense is that Christ makes all things new for us
communally. He is taking us to a new
level. It is unbelievable. We are on the verge on a capital campaign in
which we will have to raise millions of dollars. The centerpiece of the campaign will be a new
Catholic center. We are about to begin
discussions with a Church on campus that would be a perfect Catholic
center! It’s a big property in a highly
visible location. We will be asking students to help a good amount with the
campaign; it will take a lot of work from all of us! But, if God wills this, then He will provide. We have been pursuing this for a long time, and
just recently some doors have opened. We
believe that God is opening these doors for us, and will continue to do
so. This will all be for His glory, not
ours, as we hear about in tonight’s Gospel.
So, last Tuesday, we had a big crowd at Tuesday
dinner (Chick Fil A will do that!), and filmed the first part of the video for
the capital campaign. It was a
blast! Then, we went into discussion
after dinner. Usually, we get 20-30
students for the discussions, sometimes more.
Last week, 50 students packed the place to listen to our panelists. Four of our men are applying to seminary, so
we asked them to tell their stories. The
scene in the discussion was like something out of the Gospel:
standing-room-only, people hanging on the every word of each speaker, laughing,
crying, etc. For most of the students
there, these are first men they have known to enter seminary. It was just an incredible night…the greatest
night at the Newman Center in my four years.
Someone asked me later that night, ‘what was that tonight?’ I replied, “that
was the Holy Spirit”.
The second sense in which Christ makes all things
new for us is personally. One of our young
ladies came to talk to me the day after the Tuesday discussion. She said that she connected with one of the
guys who spoke about being an intellectual and knowing about God and the
Church, but didn’t know Christ. Things
turned around in his faith life when he came to know Christ. She said that’s where she is at; she knows
about Christ, but she doesn’t know Him.
I told her that’s my specialty; I’m not an intellectual, but I can help
you to know Christ. When we come to know
Him, …..wow, everything does become new.
I remember when I first came to know Christ; I was a
junior in college. It was the happiest
time in my life. Last Tuesday was
incredible, especially for me as a priest.
But, the happiest time I’ve ever known was at 21. I remember talking with my buddy in a Church
parking lot and just being blown away about how awesome it is to know
Christ. I had gone after many other
sources of happiness…many “buzzes”. The
buzz Christ gave me was new. It
lasted! I call it the “eternal buzz”. It was new and different. It was joy!
Joy lasts, pleasure doesn’t. It
was peace. It was healing. My father had died four years ago, and Christ
began to heal that wound. I wasn’t look
for it, but it came nonetheless. It was
all so new. It was happiness!
We had “Theology on Tap” the other night (for 21 and
over). On the heels of last week’s
Healing Mass, we talked about miracles and healing. It was another fruitful discussion that
people really enjoyed over a couple of beers.
Two students came up to me after the talk and asked to meet about healing. Each one of us has wounds; Christ can heal
them. He can make us new!
Finally, the common denominator with each of the
four men is love for the Eucharist.
Their relationship with Christ took off when they spent more time with
Him in daily Mass or in Adoration. When
we get to know Christ, especially in the Eucharist, we are made new. May we be open to centering our lives on
Christ so that we will experience what He says in our own loves, “Behold, I
make all things new!” 
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