Since she was a young girl, Mary Yee was taught the Catholic faith. That knowledge came to life in a new way for the George Mason University senior as she joined more than 200 college peers and other Catholics earlier this month for two days of inspirational speakers, prayer and reflection at St. Mary of Sorrows Church in Fairfax.
“My faith is stronger than ever,” she said. “And now that I know I’m living in greater freedom I feel called to tell others that they too can be continually transformed by God’s abundant graces.”
Yee was part of SEEK, an annual event sponsored by the Fellowship of Catholic University Students, or FOCUS. This year’s event, titled “SEEK22: Seek and you will find,” included 22,000 participants who gathered around the nation and around the world Feb. 4-6. The sessions were a combination of in-person and virtual presentations that took place in both large, regional conferences as well as smaller groups at individual parishes.
According to FOCUS, in the Diocese of Arlington 15 small groups were registered for SEEK — more than any other diocese in the country. The diocesan Office of Faith Formation sponsored several of them. Ana Lisa Piñon, director of faith formation and evangelization programs, said more than 300 college students and Catholics of all ages participated. In addition to St. Mary of Sorrows, St. Agnes Church in Arlington and Sacred Heart Church in Winchester also hosted SEEK gatherings. St. John the Apostle Church in Leesburg will host SEEK22 March 26.
Among the speakers was Father Mike Schmitz, chaplain at the University of Minnesota-Duluth and host of the “Bible in a Year” podcast. He urged participants to “not let what Jesus did go to waste on you … Jesus didn’t just come to help people, He came to save lives. As Christians, that’s our call: to save lives.”
“People are worth saving,” he added. “If you’re a Christian, it’s not an option. If you’re a Christian, that’s your job. Do not let what Jesus did stop with you.”
Local faith leaders spoke glowingly about the conference’s impact.
“Having SEEK here at the parish was a wonderful experience,” said Father James S. Barkett, pastor of St. Mary of Sorrows, which hosted students from Maryland’s Towson and Mount St. Mary’s universities as well as from nearby GMU. “Having parishioners and college students all gathered together praying and talking about faith was amazing. Seeing the excitement about our Catholic faith was inspiring to me and many others.”
Tom Tauke, who teaches CCD at Church of the Nativity in Burke, attended the session at St. Mary of Sorrows along with his wife, Beverly. Both were moved by what they heard from the speakers and what they saw in the students. “They seemed like walking, dancing, occasionally joy-shouting billboards for (the) abundant life promised by Jesus and seized by these students with gusto,” Beverly said.
“SEEK22 was a terrific experience and helped build up a sense of community in the parish we’ve been trying to rebuild and restore since the (COVID-19) shutdown,” said Ted Spinelli, executive director of discipleship and evangelization at Sacred Heart of Jesus.
“This was my first time at SEEK and seeing how passionate other people are about Catholicism made me incredibly happy,” said GMU senior Aleena Fernandez. “I was able to become closer to God alongside my friends.”
“May all of our burning hearts set the world on fire,” said Jena Van, a junior at GMU.
Find out more
To find out which parishes will host an upcoming SEEK22 conference or to register for next year’s conference, go to seek.focus.org.
