by Fr. Ryan Kaup
In June, at age 35, I moved back to college at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL).
When I moved to UNL this time, instead of wearing a Blink 182 T-shirt and ill-fitting jeans like I did at 18, I donned a Roman collar. Instead of a damp dorm room in Smith Hall, my accommodations are a comfortable rectory (big upgrade). And instead of a soul searching for meaning, I’ve arrived with a heart burning with a mission to find the lost souls on campus.
Taking over as the pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church and Newman Center at UNL has been a humbling experience, filled with anticipation. It’s not lost on me that I have big shoes to fill. Father Robert Matya, the former pastor, has completed 25 years of irreplaceable work here. He helped to create a culture within these walls, through which countless souls have encountered Christ.
To take over as pastor fills me with awe at God’s power and providence, because I was one of those souls. I was the lost 18-year-old looking for purpose and direction in life, who stumbled into the Newman Center and found everything that my heart longed for – community, love, and a new way to live. Here I found the abundant life that Jesus speaks about. Now, this place that is so dear to my heart is entrusted to my care.
In my very short time here, I’ve already seen lives being changed – people coming back to the sacraments after years of being away, young couples entering into marriage with their lives centered on God, and new friendships blossoming, which will challenge each party to strive for heaven. All this and the school year hasn’t even begun! As a priest friend of mine often asks, “Who gets to live like this?! It’s just too good.”
As students start to move in, the energy around here is electric. The incredible Newman Center staff is finalizing calendars and outreach plans and we are ready to welcome the droves of students – new and old – to campus. As we do so, please pray for us. Pray for our mission here on campus. Pray for the students that we will encounter. Pray for our FOCUS missionaries and Newman Institute teachers. Pray for Father Alec Sasse, Father Caleb La Rue, and myself, that we can be faithful shepherds and conduits of God’s mercy and love.
Our theme this year is “Only the Lover Sings.” It’s a quote from one of St. Augustine’s sermons and it is a phrase that has come up in my personal prayer, again and again, over the past six months. There is a song that rings in the depths of each of our hearts from the very moment of our creation. Jesus, as the Perfect Lover, sings a tune in perfect harmony with that innermost song. Indeed, He is its composer.
There are also the songs of the world – songs that are loud and enticing and draw us away from the True Song. And yet, when we pause in silence and are attentive to our hearts, we recognize that their attractiveness gives way to a dissonance. We aren’t made for the songs of the world. We are made for the Lover’s song, and we are called to respond with our own voice – singing in harmony with Him throughout our lives, to co-create something beautiful. Through our preaching and programming this year at the Newman Center, we hope that our students will hear the Lover sing the song of their deepest desires and find the abundant life.
In our diocese, the Newman Center is a primary place where new vocations are born – young women say yes to being Jesus’ spouse, young men enter the seminary, and young couples meet and commit their lives to each other. What happens here has ripple effects for generations to come. I know many of you were affected by the ministry here during your own time in college, and I thank you for your spiritual and financial support that make our work possible.
Pray for our ministry. Only the Lover sings.
