God’s Light Invites the Journey

“The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”

— Frederick Buechner
Author, Presbyterian minister

During my sophomore year at Creighton University I was part of a living-learning community called the “Cortina Community.” It was named for Fr. Jon Cortina, SJ, a priest trained as an engineer, who worked in El Salvador with and for the poor. Our community focused on how to cultivate a life of faith that does justice by integrating academics, spirituality, service and community. Prior to this, my Catholic faith had been very important to me. But as I encountered this whole new world of the Ignatian charism in a more intentional way, my heart caught fire.

At Creighton, I was encouraged by the words of the former Superior General of the Society of Jesus, Fr. Peter Hans Kolvenbach, SJ, to engage the “gritty reality of this world” with my faith. Father Cortina’s challenge to become a liberation “whatever”—to be an agent of freedom and justice with whatever gifts I had—echoed in my heart. And Buechner’s invitation to see how God honors our deep desires to seek happiness, and to serve others in our vocation, helped open my imagination to what I might become in the future. During my time at Creighton, I began to enact all these things alongside others. We engaged in service, we reflected on our unique identities, and we opened our hearts to God.

Years later I found myself talking to a former high school theology student of mine. We talked about his hopes and desires for the future, and his preparing to apply to colleges. He was full of passion as he described outdoor adventures he had gone on.

He marveled at the natural world but also felt indignant about its destruction due to pollution and exploitation. The quote above from Frederick Buechner came to mind, and I shared it with him. I watched as his face brightened and he said, “Wow, Mr. Williams, that’s really good!” My heart filled with joy as I recognized in him what I had once felt stir in my own soul at Creighton, the feeling that inspired my widening vision of a meaningful, passionate life with God.

We pass on the gifts we receive. I was introduced to the Jesuit way of proceeding at Creighton, which sparked a desire that eventually led me to the Society of Jesus.

I encountered a God beyond my wildest dreams, a God who captured my heart with the call to a life of love that would fill my heart with what it most yearned for. And now I am able to pass on this same divine message of hope to young people. I hope that I can help them see that in a world fraught with division, distraction and despair, God’s light shines brightly to invite them to a life where their deep gladness and the world’s deep needs can be brought together in a meaningful and joyful journey with God.