This week, we hope you join us Wednesday night for dinner at 6:30pm.  Our after-dinner program will be led by Alex Cassell and will discuss our Catholic beliefs about the papacy.  A perfect topic for this interregnum period in our Church.  Our Wednesday dinners are always home-cooked and always free, so please come if you can and bring a friend!

Ever wondered what life behind the monastery walls is like?  This Saturday join other students from Catholic Campus Ministry on a day trip to visit the Trappist Monastery in Conyers, GA.  Holy Spirit Monastery was founded in 1944 and is the first native-born Trappist foundation in the United States.  We will have a chance to meet some of the 36 monks in residence there, pray with them, tour the abbey grounds, visit the Monastic Heritage Center (a museum of monastic life), see their famous Bonsai Gardens, and more!  You can discover more about Holy Spirit Monastery on their web site.

Those planning to attend should meet at the Catholic Student Center before 9am.  We plan on leaving at 9:00 sharp, and returning to campus sometime between 9 and 10 that evening.  If you plan on going, please RSVP via our Facebook event so we can get an idea of how many to expect.  There is no charge, other than to chip in for gas and whatever you might want to eat on the road (there is a cafe and gift shop at the Abbey).  How many chances in life do you get to meet a Bonsai Master Monk?  

Next week, in addition to our regular schedule of activities, we have been invited to participate in a Coffee House Theology night hosted by the Methodist Campus Ministry.  Our students and theirs are meeting this week to plan the particulars.  It will be held at 7:00pm on Thursday, March 14, at The Point coffee house (right across the street from the Cullowhee Post Office).  There will be live music and discussions about various faith & theological issues.  It's a great opportunity to share with those from other Christian traditions and learn not only about some of our differences, but more importantly what we have in common.  We hope you can attend.

It has been said that you should pray for 20 minutes every day, unless you don't have time.  Then you should pray for one hour a day!  Lent is a time when we, as Catholics, especially devote ourselves to prayer.  In addition to your regular prayer life, remember that we have a Rosary group that meets at the Fountain in the center of campus each Monday at 5pm, and Adoration in our chapel every Thursday from 6-7pm.  Also, our chapel is open each day for anyone who wants to come by for a few quiet moments of prayer time before Our Lord.

Have a blessed Lent, and try to stay dry these next few days!

Pax Christi,

Matt

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