Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! This is a great time of the year both in the Church as well as society. In the Church we approach the end of a liturgical year with Christ the King Sunday. It serves as a reminder that in the end Christ will rule both heaven and earth, and peace shall reign upon us all. We also finish the Gospel of Mark for ordinary time and move on to the Gospel of Luke for next year. And then there is Thanksgiving! In the US it is a time of rich tradition where families come together to sharing their neighborhood memories and happenings of the past year, to see how all the kids are growing up, to give God praise and thanks for their family, and of course the food, and lots of it!
Only a few weeks remain for the completion of the Fall semester. I urge you to keep our UCC students in your prayers as they make a last push to complete their papers, projects, studies and exams. May Christ be with our students! Also, in preparation for Advent may I suggest going to the movies to see the Nativity. Several priests I know have seen a preview showing and strongly recommend it for adults.
Shalom,
It is exciting to have Patricia (Pat) Schmidt as our new Campus Minister at the UCC! Pat had prayed for the Lord’s will after having moved here from Florida a year ago and the Lord repeatedly prompted her and guided her to us. She is truly a holy woman with a life filled with the Holy Spirit, a great zeal for the Church, and joy to serve as our UCC Campus Minister. I hope all of you can meet her soon!
On a more somber note, the alumni of the 80’s and 90’s remember the great gift of the Kelly family to the UCC. As Campus Ministers from 1984 to 1996, John and Ann Kelly gave a great Catholic spirit to UTA to which hundreds of UCC’ers are deeply indebted. After a long bout with Alzheimer’s, John passed from this life to eternal life on October 7, 2006. John chose to make the world a better place, and he shall continue to inspire me even through death. Eternal rest grant to John Francis Kelly, O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul rest in peace. Amen.
Shalom,
Who do others say that you are? A saying goes as follows: “Tell me who your friends are and I’ll tell you who you are.” Maybe that is why so many were against Jesus as he broke many social taboos by hanging out with the tax collectors, the unclean, the foreigners and the outcasts. This month’s Gospel readings surround Chapter 8 of the Gospel of Mark at which point Jesus asks his disciples “Who do people say I am?” Look at how the majority of people got it all wrong about our Lord! Look at how many still have it all wrong about Jesus today!
How many people really know who you are? And how many people have it all, or at least partially, wrong? Those closest to Jesus got it right! We, therefore, must also be close to Christ to get it right! And if we want others to know who we are, we too must come closer as friends, as members of a family or a community. As the Alumni Association continues to build up, may we come closer together to truly discover the awesome character of one another and praise God for making us a holy family. May we all continue to shed the truth of Jesus Christ to the world as we are built up in Christ and by Christ.
Shalom,
Have you ever had a good friend tell you the truth that you found difficult to accept? Should we terminate our friendship simply because someone told us the truth that we found unbearable? I think not! In the month of August, the Sunday readings lead us into the truth that many find difficult to accept. Jesus said, “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.” (John 6:51- 58) This is the only instance in the Gospel readings where a group of Jesus’ disciples terminated their relationship with Him. Jesus does not appear surprised as he turns to his apostles and says “Do you also want to leave?” Even today, 2000 years later, we are called to respond as Peter did: “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” Yes, we are called to respond to our Lord’s truth. Sometimes, the teachings of Christ, as held by the Catholic Church, are hard to swallow, but where else would we turn? The fullness of life resides with Christ, who is the Truth. May you join in on spreading the Good News that is here in our newsletter, at the UCC, and the many happenings among the UCCAA.
In Christ’s name,
In the Sunday Gospel readings for July we find ourselves in Ch. 6 of Mark, in the midst of the 12 apostles who were first sent out by Christ to drive out demons and cure the sick, and then return to report to Him all that they had done and taught. The apostles returned very tired and exhausted, and even Jesus wanted to give them rest (Mk 6:31), but all too soon the crowds gathered and Jesus recognized that the people were like ‘sheep without a shepherd’ and he was moved with pity to help them. This message ends with the personal sacrifice that is often required to be a disciple of Christ. We think that we have done enough. We say to ourselves, ‘someone else can do it’ and with that attitude little gets accomplished. Hundreds of new Catholic students come to UTA with great hopes and dreams. Part of the UCCAA mission is to help welcome them into a Christ-centered environment so that they have the wisdom not to leave Christ, but rather to embrace Him all the more as their faith is strengthened through Himself, the Spirit and the UCC. Are you willing to sacrifice to the end for the benefit of the multitude?
Peace be with you! This month of June begins and ends with peace. “Peace be with you!” are the words that we hear in the Gospel for Pentecost to begin the month of June. The last Sunday in June concludes with Jesus calming the storms, bringing forth his peace in the midst of fear and chaos. Actually, Jesus ushers forth a blessing with His greeting of peace. When we greet a friend we typically say “Hi, how are you doin’?” or “What’s up (dawg)?” But wouldn’t it be so much more awesome to greet your friends with a blessing? That’s just what Jesus did! The peace that Jesus gave was the blessing of ‘shalom’. Shalom means health, peace, welfare, safety, tranquility, prosperity, harmony, and is the absence of strife. As a Christian, to say ‘shalom’ to someone, then, is to give them this mighty blessing of Christ’s peace!
So June is the month to embrace Christ’s peace. Go now, try it among the UCCAA and beyond! Greet one another with ‘shalom’ to deliver Christ’s blessing of peace. I hope that you receive this peace of Christ and cherish it for life.
Shalom be with you!
Congratulations to all the new graduates of UTA! With great joy we especially congratulate our UCC graduates for their successes, both in the world of academics as well as the spiritual world with Christ. Now comes the time when that education in both worlds will really be put to the test! Our new UCCAA members depend on us now more than ever for prayer and support as they go forth in search of jobs. Although we might be blessed with a job in our own field of study, that does not mean we are permitted to cease praying for them. The first six months are times of huge adjustments. Remember the first time you said, “We weren’t taught that in school”, to your supervisor? Yes, now is the time for all of us to come together in prayer for spiritual support, to embrace our dependency on Christ, for He is the Vine and we are the branches. Whoever remains in Him will bear much fruit, but those who choose to separate themselves from Him can do nothing (cf John 15:5). May the Holy Spirit answer our constant prayers for one another and our attachment to Christ bear an abundant harvest that glorifies the Father. Enjoy the rest of this two-page newsletter and pray for those looking for jobs.
Happy Easter! Jesus is risen! Alleluia! Easter joy has come upon us all at the University Catholic Community. So many great things have happened here at the UCC this past month. Students came together in the Spirit of Christ on numerous occasions to make many activities successful this Spring such as the block party on April 1 and the Seder meal on Palm Sunday. So, yes, life at the UCC is alive as ever before! Moreover, many students came to the UCC to seek spiritual renewal and the sacrament of reconciliation during Lent and Holy Week. The Holy Spirit led so many young Catholics and Christians to return to our Lord’s Divine Mercy. Thanks be to God!
There are two huge events still to come this Spring. The annual UCC banquet is to be held on Saturday, May 6, to which all alumni are cordially invited. Also, for the end of the semester chill-out, there will be an afternoon and evening cook-out on Thursday, May 11. Come along and bring cheer, joy and support to the many exhausted UCC students.
Enjoy the rest of our newsletter and be filled with God’s Easter joy of the resurrection!
Hello to all near and far! The Holy Spirit and the great richness of the Church has provided us with a new season of Lent, a time for all Christians to recommit themselves to imitate Christ in all aspects of their lives. Embracing the spirit of 40 days of Lent can help us see more clearly the things of this world that are passing away, to discern the things in life that are truly important and to humble ourselves before our Lord. Lent helps us to understand the true meaning of love, the giving of total self in humility for the benefit of others.
All through February, we had set up a booth each Monday from 10 am to 2 pm in the University Center to advertise and let Catholic students know that a Catholic campus center is just down the street for their benefit. Because of our presence on campus we have had many inquiries and many new faces have come by to see the UCC. In March, we plan to set up our booth in front of the Central Library and in addition, to advertise several times in the Shorthorn to continue promoting the UCC. May your Lenten sacrifices of prayers, fasting, almsgiving and other virtues lead you into a stronger conviction to live your life for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Enjoy the rest of our newsletter and be filled with God’s blessings!
The peace of Christ be upon you,
Greetings UCC Alumni!
Happy New Year! I hope that your lives were grace filled during the Advent and Christmas season. As the new Campus Chaplain for UTA this academic year I must admit after my first semester of Chaplaincy, that campus ministry is very much different from daily parish life. Although I am a newly ordained priest, I miss the frequent weekend baptisms and marriages of parish life as well as being heavily involved with the life of so many families, yet campus ministry has many bright points of weekly activity too, such as Bible study, Mass and lunch on Wednesdays with the students, and lots of spiritual directioning. We have so very much to be thankful for here at the University Catholic Community (UCC). As campus minister, Eric Gray helped build a solid Catholic foundation in the past six years. Since July, Eric has moved into full time as the campus minister of UNT and TWU in Denton. Now our campus minister is Paul Combest, the director over campus ministry and young adults for the Diocese of Fort Worth.
Many of you are unaware of our new location. In the summer of 2004 the Diocese sold the UCC property that was on Lampe St., just south of Abram St. Our new location is at 1010 Benge Dr., one block south of Mitchell, between Cooper and Davis, two blocks in front of St. Maria Goretti. Half of our new UCC building is dedicated as the worship space and is a two-toned 40 by 50 foot open room that can easily seat 100 people. It’s off campus a bit, but I firmly believe that with a concerted effort, the UCC community will be able to promote itself a short distance off campus just as well as was done on campus. If you haven’t seen the new UCC building or our facilities, please feel free to drop in Monday through Friday, or come join the UCC in worship on Sundays at 5:30 pm.
I hope that this letter finds you in peace of mind and spirit. Christ is my all and I desire to bring our Lord to all whom I meet. I hope to have the opportunity to see you soon. Be filled with God’s blessings! Together we are building the body of Christ at the UCC for generations of Catholics to enjoy. Join us in this great endeavor that will bear fruit for eternity. The peace of Christ be upon you,
Next Meeting
Our next alumni meeting will be Friday, January 16, 2009 @ 7 p.m. - UCC.
Our Mission
The purpose of the University Catholic Community Alumni Association (UCCAA) is to promote a continuing sense of community based in the teachings of Jesus Christ and His Church among former member of the University Catholic Community (formerly the Newman Club). Also, the UCCAA actively tries to foster deeper concern among its member for the welfare of the University Catholic Community (UCC).
Contact
University Catholic Community
1010 Benge Dr.
Arlington, TX 76013
817.460.1155
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