​Dear Newman Community,
 
Welcome back to returning and new students, faculty & staff! It’s in the air– the excitement and energy of a new semester at NMSU & DACC. Campus Ministry is kicking off the new year in our typical Newman style with Mass, time in community, and food! This Sunday, August 20th at 7pm we venture out from the church to campus for Mass on the Grass followed by a watermelon social. As the week goes on we begin our weekly gatherings of Mass on Campus, Tuesdays at 12:10pm at the NMSU Spiritual Center, and Midweek Mass & Dinner, Wednesdays at 5:30pm at Newman.
 
Sal often jokes that instead of St. Albert the Great Newman Center perhaps our parish should be called Our Lady of the Perpetual Meal. It’s a corny joke (sorry Sal!) but rooted in truth. Everything we do in campus ministry comes from this foundation of gathering for meals. More than just about feeding our bodies we gather to also feed our minds, hearts, and spirits, growing in relationship with God and one another. As with the Eucharistic table, everyone is welcome to this table fellowship, so please help us share the invitation to campus ministry with any returning or new students you know!
 
Peace,
Mona 

Blessing of Classrooms
 
God, our Teacher and Guide,
Your wisdom is greater
than our minds can comprehend,
yet you give us the ability
to learn and seek truth.
We give you thanks
for our classrooms.
Make them places
where students & teachers
search for your knowledge;
Make it a shelter where young people discover the best of themselves; Make it a home where all
​can grow together in wisdom.
 
-Adapted from The Work of Your Hands by Diana Macalintal

Dear Newman Community, 

​Greetings from Boston! I am feeling so grateful as I write to you from the campus of Boston College. I am here taking a professional development course so I can be renewed and continue to grow in my service to our wonderful community at the Newman Center. (Thank you to Fr. Alex and Sal who have been supportive in my taking time for this professional development). The course I am taking is titled "All Shall Be Well" and is focused on cultivating a theology of joy that leads to human flourishing. It has been incredible. We are reading about and discussing questions like: What brings true Christian joy? How is gratitude connected to joy? How can we learn to intentionally respond rather than simply react to the circumstances in life? What is God's vision for a human fully alive?
​
I am looking forward to sharing more about the experience when I return home. I suspect that, as with most profound learning experiences, it will seep into all that I do and am, especially my ministry with you all. In the mean time, I invite you to take a few minutes to reflect on one of my favorite quotes from one of my class readings, Pope Francis's The Joy of the Gospel.

Joyful blessings, 
Mona