St. Robert Bellarmine Catholic Newman Center

Hannah Martin - IWU 2007

You don‘t know what you‘ve got 'til it‘s gone.

That phrase definitely applies to my life after St. Robert Bellarmine Catholic Newman Center. At New-man, I had adoration, confession, mass and Liturgy of the Hours everyday. There were special prayer nights, holy ways to hang out with friends, and retreats.

At any point in time, I could walk into Newman and start a passionate conversation with a friend about our spiritual lives and how good Jesus has been to us.

I don‘t have access to all of those things on a daily ba-sis now that I am out of college and working. And it‘s difficult not to slip into old habits. But at Newman, I learned about the peace that could be found at adora-tion and the honesty of confession and the grace re-ceived from being a witness. And so I now know that I need to keep that prayer and discipline in my life be-cause that is what completes me.

I do miss talking about my faith with my friends at the Center, but everything they have shared is still with me. It was the only place I wasn‘t afraid of being religious.

I‘m fairly certain that walking into Newman and going there everyday saved me from a life of sin and igno-rance of God‘s love. Even though I‘m not there any-more, I remember the peace and grace and hope that God gave me. And that is why I am still trying to be holy. That is why I still hope to be a religious sister and give myself completely to Him.

Newman is a safe haven where young, fragile faith can become deeply-rooted in a soul forever.

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