C.S. Lewis
Dear Friends:
I’m not sure that many students,
teachers and participants in college life think that they are on a search for
God, but Doctor Lewis, that old Oxford don, certainly thought so. As the very
new Catholic chaplain at Connecticut College, I’d like to invite you to that search.
First, the good news: God lurks around every corner. The discovery can leap out
at you in a piece of literature or in history read rightly; in the workings of
a single cell or in the story of the unimaginably vast universe; in loneliness,
friendship, and reaching beyond ourselves.
So our search involves quite a bit
of stretching, welcoming, and quite a lot of watching and listening. More good
news: No one takes the journey alone. We are so accustomed to thinking small,
but God knows better. God does whisper in our pleasures. God does speak as we
apply our consciences to great issues on the personal scale and the global
scale. So perhaps our first step in the search to find God is to learn to be
still.
For us Catholics, Sunday Mass is
a big part, an essential part of the
search for God. Think of it as the still point in a world that is turning very
fast. This year Mass will be in Harkness Chapel on Sunday evenings at 7. By
coming—and coming back—on Sundays, we make contact with the mystery of God in
Christ and renew the search. We also gradually form ourselves into a community
of welcome.
During the year there will be plenty of opportunities both to build
that community and to deepen the search. It may help you; I hope it does: I
plan to be available for conversations about life and faith and our search. For
now, you can reach me by calling the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life
number. In short order, I should establish some regular office hours.
It is a delight for me to join
the Connecticut College Catholic Community. It definitely expands my search to
connect it to yours. I look forward to seeing you on Sunday evenings. So let us
begin!
Yours Truly,
Father Bob Washabaugh
(860) 439-2452 – Office of
Religious and Spiritual Life/Harkness Chapel
(860) 447-1431 – St. Mary Star of the Sea
Church
