Faith life at Cardinal Gibbons is central to the school and teachers — but is it central to students as well?
A survey posted on The Gibbons Globe’s Instagram showed that only 50 percent of students attend Mass every Sunday.
Our leader in faith life at Gibbons is Fr. Luke Rawicki, who provides many opportunities for students to experience spiritual life, including daily Mass, weekly confession, and adoration, as well as Bible study and small-group faith experiences.
He joined us for a Q&A on faith life on all these topics.
So, how is spiritual life at Gibbons – growing or shrinking?
“I definitely think it’s (spiritual life ) growing. Signs of that are Mass attendance growing, the Encounter Bible study growing, and these new Fire Flex small groups that are meeting during flex periods. So there’s literally a group right now meeting for that—85 signed up. So I think that is a sign that more and more students are interested in finding what works for them and their schedule to grow in their faith.”
Spiritual life is the main thing that sets us apart from a regular private school — but do many students really participate in spiritual life?
“I think it’s so important not to be caught up in numbers and thinking, oh man, if only we had a hundred people here today, or if only more people came. And so I don’t want to let myself go down that path, because it’s important to realize, okay, the 20 or 30 or 50 people that are here, that’s amazing. That high schoolers are taking time out of their day to wake up earlier or stay after school to pray and go to Mass. So I think that’s really important. And I say no also because I would still always love to see our faith community growing and growing and growing.”
High school is a time when many students find themselves and make decisions about college and what they want to do with their lives. What next steps can current students take?
“Educators and students need to take ownership of their faith and ask themselves, OK, how can I contribute wherever I’m involved — here at Gibbons or in my community outside of Gibbons? And so we’ve been talking about different ways to do that. How do we get athletes to reach out to their teammates?”
Students at Gibbons have a lot on their minds — from sports, school, and friends to faith. How can they prioritize faith when it may be hard with other things on your mind?
“I would say a winning combination for growing your faith is three things: personal prayer—so that could be daily Mass, but you’re praying, finding time each day to pray; community—so that’s what Encounter and other activities kind of provide, having people around you to hold you accountable; and, third, doing some kind of outreach or service. That combination will set fire to your heart.”
