The year before entering college, 52 percent of university students reported attending church frequently, but by their junior year of college only 29 percent continued frequent church attendance.
In order to tackle this disinterest in the faith, Aurora Griffin has written 'How I Stayed Catholic at Harvard.â? The book is a compilation of her life experiences during her four years at the university.
AURORA GRIFFIN
'How I Stayed Catholic at Harvardâ?
'All of the best parts of my college experience came to me through my faith and never in spite of it. So I think, just as parents worry they're going to send their kids off and that their kids are going to lose their faith, or not be happy. Students have a different set of worries, which maybe it's 'Am I going to lose my faith,' but more likely it's if I live my faith, am I going to be happy?â?
The book explains how the first week of college Aurora began creating a close tight-knit group of friends she prayed and communed with every morning throughout her time at university. She realizes the majority do not choose to do this, especially when confronted with the party scene or simply an overwhelming workload, which is one reason why she feels this book is important.
AURORA GRIFFIN
'How I Stayed Catholic at Harvardâ?
'The very best advice I have for somebody who wants to keep their faith in college, whether they're facing the party culture or whether their just struggling to make time for Our Lord, the most important thing is getting to Mass. For people who want to grow in their faith and take that next step, the most important thing you can do is go to daily Mass.â?
Daily Mass, she says, equipped her for spiritual and intellectual conversations questioning the faith by fallen-away Catholics or those simply set in ways contrary to the faith. Through experiences in her near 200-page book, she encourages others who are experiencing these attacks, even if it is by professors or other students in the middle of a lecture.
AURORA GRIFFIN
'How I Stayed Catholic at Harvardâ?
'I think the bigger point is just to know that there is an answer. That Catholicism has a rich tradition of intellectual flourishing, and so every question has been asked, it has been answered at some point. It's a matter of finding it.â?
The author explains this book is not a combination of only positive experiences, but the 40 tips are shared through times where she fell and thus learned and grew stronger in her faith, so that she was not among the statistics of those who leave the faith in college.
MB
Carmel Communications
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