Review of Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) Conference

A cloud of incense wafted down the aisle as the bishops, priests, and seminarians approached the altar of God. Just one in a massive crowd, however, I could not smell the familiar scent. Mass initiated the first full day that I and 13,000 other college students would spend from January 3-7 at the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) Conference, SEEK2017” held in San Antonio, Texas. During that first Mass and throughout the entirety of the conference, the reverence and joy exemplified by the other college students truly amazed me. Though other students of varying backgrounds, interests, and geographic locations surrounded me, I experienced incredible unity through our common faith and love for the Catholic Church.

FOCUS began in 1998 when Curtis Martin, along with two missionaries, sought to address the need for a Catholic presence in the lives of university students who were beginning to shape their own lives. Since then, FOCUS has guided tens of thousands of college students to discover the love of Jesus Christ through a multiplicity of ways, such as the sacraments, Bible studies, and fellowship. FOCUS currently provides missionaries to over 120 college campuses and offers FOCUS Digital Campus to campuses without FOCUS missionaries.

Every two years, FOCUS presents a five-day national conference for college students, in which world-renowned Catholic speakers present talks on relevant topics that express the beauty of the Catholic faith, the attractiveness of truth, and the joyful nature of being a follower of Christ.

At SEEK2017, we began the day with adoration, followed by Mass. Each day, over two hundred priests processed down the aisle before Mass, and I stood in awe with my peers as I experienced the Church community in a new manner. Because of SEEK, I now recognize that thousands upon thousands of my own peers share a passion for their Catholic faith and desire to know Christ personally, as an intimate friend.

Michaela Reyes, a freshman from Welsh Family Hall, told the Rover, “SEEK was an amazing opportunity to ‘wake up’ in my faith. The inspiring stories and time for reflection with 13,000 other undergraduates refreshed my desire to deepen my life.” Peter Rymsza, a sophomore in Sorin Hall, added, “Being in the same room with 13,000 college kids all pumped up about the same Catholic faith made me feel the fact that I am part of something that extends much farther than I can fathom.” A fire of joy lit the conference, and the joy was contagious.

Each day, a talk for women and a separate talk for men followed Mass. Lisa Cotter, Crystalina Evert, and Leah Darrow spoke to the women, emphasizing a woman’s inherent dignity and beauty as a daughter of God and the respect associated with that dignity. The men’s talks had a different focus. Kevin Angell, a freshman from Duncan Hall, told the Rover, “The main theme of the men’s talk was how to live out your God-given roles as a man. While culture pressures men into a hugely distorted role, full of sin and vice, we are reminded that we are each called to be men of God, not of this world.” (Editor’s Note: Kevin Angell is a writer for and Webmaster of the Irish Rover).

The remainder of the time was dedicated to lunch, two breakout sessions covering a range of topics, dinner, and a keynote address. Thursday night held time for Adoration and Confession. All the speakers spoke to us as college students, who live in the world but who desire not to be of the world. They presented the Catholic faith as attractive and beautiful, something that would enable us to live to our full potential as human beings and something that would fulfill us in a world of fleeting pleasures.

Attending SEEK was truly transformative and provided the spark and joy to live my life as a daughter of God and to share my experience with others. It was a call to action, reminiscent of Saint Catherine of Siena who said, “Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.” Kevin Angell agreed, telling the Rover, “[SEEK has helped] equip me with tools to continually… [pursue] holiness. It is easy to slip into spiritual complacency or to start to regress, and SEEK helped provide ways to keep growing each day.”

While Notre Dame does not have FOCUS, students who attended SEEK2017 are actively working to bring FOCUS Digital Campus to Notre Dame. Patrick Koehr, a junior from Fisher Hall, is learning how to lead a FOCUS Bible study and how to effectively bring the love of Christ to others. He told the Rover, “My hope coming from SEEK … is that I can start to show that FOCUS’s method works in a different and complimentary [sic] way to Campus Ministry and that working together, they can reach and change the most souls on campus to strive to be saints.”

For more information about the Fellowship of Catholic University Students, please visit www.focus.org.

Please visit www.seek2017.com for additional conference details.

Siena Mantooth is a sophomore chemical engineering student hailing from McGlinn Hall. She recently returned from the March for Life, where she snuck in a quick visit to her Virginia home and stole many hugs from her five-month-old brother. She expresses her deepest gratitude to the Center for Ethics and Culture for sponsoring her to attend SEEK2017. Contact her at smantoot@nd.edu