Newspaper Page Text
The Southern Cross, Page 4
Thursday, June 15, 2000
Summer and the college family
celebrating the transitions
the summer find that their child has grown up.
By Jane Hall
or parents of college-bound young adults
summer can be a frantic time. Finding hous
ing, deciding on meal plans, and setting a budget
are stressful. Trying to figure out how to get all
the student will need to the school can be a
nightmare. After the joy and excitement of
acceptance letters and high school graduation,
summer can become a time filled with logistical
concerns, such as student loan paperwork. The
reality of the budget busting extras can fill a
house with tension.
For first-year students it is a summer spent say
ing goodbye and getting ready for the freedom
and responsibilities ahead. It can be exciting, sad,
fearful and joyful all at the same time. For stu
dents who are moving into dorms or apartments
it is a chance to be truly responsible for them
selves. They will have to learn to deal with day
to day issues like balancing a checkbook, doing
laundry and balancing friends and study. Getting
to class on time and finding their way around a
campus can be challenging at first. They will
meet students, staff and faculty with different
religions, different values, and different beliefs
about what constitutes a good time. An astute
first year student compared it to being in a wash
ing machine on the spin cycle. So much changes
so quickly that it is hard to decide what to do
next. It can be difficult to juggle all the new
experiences and still be faithful to their values.
Parents of college students returning home for
They begin the delicate dance of providing free
dom for the young adult who is used to setting
their own rules and keeping the family running
smoothly. It is hard when you haven’t been a
part of the day to day life of the student to meld
them back into the family for the summer.
Young adults returning from college often feel
their parents try to treat them like high school
students. They have to work at communicating
their responsibility and independence while
being an active, productive part of the family. It
is hard for them to give up some of their free
dom to fit within the family structure. It can be a
time of pain and frustration as the family works
to develop this new relationship. However, the
discussions and compromises of this time can
lead to a deeper and richer view of family and
can strengthen the bonds between family mem
bers. The process of redefining roles can help
both parents and young adults to gain a deeper
respect for each other.
This is a critical time in the life of the family
and the student. One of the important areas of
growth at this time is the young adults personal
appropriation of the faith. Most college students
move from the Catholicism of their family,
which was enforced by family rules, to a
Catholicism based on a personal relationship
with God and church. This new faith life
responds to their situation and needs rather than
to family concerns. This can be a tough process
in which young adults question the very struc
tures and ideals that brought them to this point
in life. It can be a cause of panic and pain as
families suddenly face the questions that their
student has grappled with throughout the year.
Parents, family members, clergy, campus minis
ters or friends who listen to the student and hon
estly share their own faith and struggles, can
become important resources for the formation of
this new faith perspective. The simple act of
openly discussing issues and doubts can provide
the assistance young adults need to continue to
mature in faith. We must try be available to sup
port their searching and to help them discover
the great wealth of answers contained in scrip
ture and the tradition of our faith. Young adults
may be surprised to find that the questions they
face have been answered by others including
some of the greatest thinkers and saints.
These four or more years of college are a time
when young adults examine and test their values
and religious beliefs. Friends and professors ask
hard questions or laugh openly at faith, religion,
Catholicism or morality.
In the midst of this the Church reaches out to be
a place of prayer, education and personal develop
ment. Our diocese and the church as a whole have
committed resources and personnel to be a pres
ence to these students. Currently Macon, Savan
nah, Statesboro, and Valdosta have active campus
ministries to support young adults in this critical
(Continued on page 11)
Saint who? Saint Anthony, of course
By Ticki Lloyd
aint who? Saint Anthony, of
course. The saint who had bet
ter find me a brain so I won’t have
to keep imploring him to find my
eyeglasses, keys and other every
day articles.
I’ve always been impressed by
the rapidity in which Saint
Anthony recovers lost articles, and
more importantly, lost souls.
Recently, he found two diamond
rings a friend of mine thought she
lost forever. After looking all over
her house, she had given up hope.
We decided to pray to Saint
Anthony, and in three hours after
searching, the rings were found in
the same spot she had checked sev
eral times. I remember my friend
saying, with tears in her eyes, “I
just can’t believe it.” I replied,
“Believe it. Saint Anthony per
forms miracles all the time.”
The most interesting “finding” of
Saint Anthony’s was the day a lady
in a nursing home I visit misplaced
her dentures. We invoked Saint
Anthony’s help. In less than ten
minutes, we found the dentures un
der her bed just in time for lunch.
Finding articles and mending bro
ken marriages and broken people
are not the only measures Saint
Anthony uses to appease us. He
also helps us find our way to holi
ness and heaven.
We have a beautiful statue of
Saint Anthony of Padua (1195-
1211) in our church, which was
recovered from the “old” Saint
Francis Xavier Church. Almost
every morning after Mass, I stop to
speak to him. He smiles at me. He
talks to me. Well, I don’t actually
hear his voice. I feel it in my heart.
I believe all Christians believe in
the power of intercessory prayer for
one another. But Catholics also send
their prayers to the saints in heaven.
If our family and our friends on
earth can pray for us, how much
more can the saints in God’s pres
ence pray for us?
The child Jesus in the arms of
Saint Anthony is not just a symbol
of his intimacy with Christ. It tells
us a story of this saint at prayer in a
mystical experience. Saint Anthony
holding the Christ Child is probably
what most of us know about him.
When we look at Jesus in the arms
of Saint Anthony, we might be
prone to believe we are included in
the personal experience Saint An
thony had with Jesus. We might
even wonder if this intimacy can be
ours. It really can.
Saint Anthony was a voracious
reader. His hunger for truth was fed
by words. His enthusiasm for the al
phabet was affirmed by Saint
Francis of Assisi, his mentor in all
things. Everywhere, even in the con
stellations, Saint Anthony found
messages corresponding to the Word
of God. Five words are the sum and
substance of his message and his
prayer life: prayer, praise, counsel,
encouragement and confession. If
Saint Anthony were alive today, he
would balance his prayer life with
his reading
Preaching on the Gospel story of
the Good Shepherd, Saint Anthony
wrote, “Preaching should be
straightforward, so that the preach
er does not belie by his actions the
truths that his words assert; for the
speaker’s authority is lost when
what he says is not supported by
what he does.”
Saint Anthony testified that con
sistency of thought, word and deed
is a mark of the Christian. The good
deed demonstrates that God’s grace
is active in our lives. What we hold
in our heart shows in our hand.
Some think that if Saint Anthony
were living today, he would sound
the themes of the most recent
Council, the one called by Pope
John XXIII. Both Saint Anthony
and Pope John XXIII, were
inspired to love the church as an
instrument of salvation always in
need of renewal.
Saint Anthony died on the Tues
day after Pentecost, the birthday of
the Church. It is almost as though
he lived and died according to the
liturgical year in 1231. Between
Ascension and Pentecost, Saint
Anthony retired to Camposampiero
where he spent hours in a tree
house praying. Although he
deserves the title, “Doctor of the
Church,” he would feel just as hon
ored to be known as a preacher and
a teacher. The preservation of his
tongue, now honored as a holy relic
in Padua, makes a marked link to
his gift of words.
As we celebrate the anniiversary
of his death, let us be reminded to
love the Word of God in keeping
with the Gospel. And let us ask
ourselves if we are drawing closer
to Jesus and the saint who held
Jesus in his arms.
Ticki Lloyd is a member of
Saint Francis Xavier Parish,
Brunswick