by Father Mitchel Zimmerman
After having spent 21 of the last 31 years of my life in Lawrence, I get asked a lot how I like Johnson County and St. Ann Parish in Prairie Village.
There’s a big difference, of course, between campus ministry and parish life. The parish has a diversity of ages. It also has a constant flow of people that the herky-jerky campus schedule lacks. The parish never really slows down.
At the parish, I also have to talk about something other than my favorite subject, the Jayhawks. Make no mistake, my passion for all things KU comes through, and St. Ann’s is flooded with crimson and blue.
Yet the Mizzou and K-State fans and the mosaic of college fans from every school under the sun is always present. It’s been a joy to learn new heroic stories of faith written in new contexts, fueled by our common pursuit of God alone as our proper end.
I never knew I wanted or needed friends from K-State, much less Mizzou. Yet when you pray with people, it’s amazing how the Catholic faith runs deeper and transcends these seemingly timeless rivalries.
What is deeper is our collective hunger for God, and the chance we have to do life together as Jesus taught us. I’ll always think Jayhawk Catholics are especially ferocious, all bias confessed. Yet some of the people I most treasure praying with are Wildcats and Tigers.
There is such a strong interest in the Catholic Church right now. It was such a fun mission to try to authentically connect Jayhawks to the Catholic Mass and tradition. What incredible vocation stories of holiness continue to be written at the intersection of the Catholic faith and the new exploration of meaning that takes place on a college campus.
I’ve found that this hunger for something more meaningful and life-giving is everywhere. It’s abusive to tell people to make up the meaning of life for themselves. It’s much more exciting to explore it together, in whatever context the Catholic mission puts us.
Being a Catholic priest only gets more exciting and challenging with each new context. What a glorious and incredible ride God has invited us all on together. The best is yet to be.
