“To evangelize means . . . to teach the art of living.” These words from Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger capture the heart of the Church’s mission in the modern world. In a 2000 address to catechists and religion teachers, the future Pope Benedict XVI outlined his vision of the “new evangelization”—first introduced by Pope St. John Paul II in 1983—calling for a renewed proclamation of the gospel in the third millennium. At its core, he argued, evangelization must respond to the most fundamental human question: How ought I to live? It is this question that the Catholic Church exists to answer—pointing to the person of Jesus Christ as the way, the truth, and the life.
And it is in this context that Ratzinger turns to the Gospel of St. Luke where Christ proclaims he has come to “bring good news to the poor” (Luke 4:18). But who are the poor? Ratzinger offers a profound insight: “The deepest poverty is the inability of joy.” Poverty, then, is not only material destitution; it is also the condition of those whose lives have been most emptied of meaning, hope, and direction.
How then can Catholic students on their campuses bear witness to the art of living?
By this measure, some of the poorest today may be the young—college students, in particular. Given this reality, the university has become one of the most critical fronts in the mission of the new evangelization. How then can Catholic students on their campuses bear witness to the art of living? From my four years of experience engaging with the intellectual and spiritual culture at Yale, I offer three guiding principles for proclaiming the good news today.
Live with conviction.
Each student must strive to live daily in imitation of Christ, earnestly rooted in the truth, goodness, and beauty of the Catholic faith. Every Sunday at Mass, we proclaim the Nicene Creed, beginning with the words “I believe.” But belief is not mere intellectual assent, it is a mode of life. Before you can go out and evangelize, you must first rightly order your own life. Like our Lord, you must spend some time in the desert before undertaking your public ministry. Pray unceasingly, seek the sacraments regularly, and diligently study Scripture and the teachings of the Church.
To live with conviction is also to be a witness, a martyr. We live in a postmodern age of skepticism, relativism, and deep spiritual confusion. Man is desperate for something stable—something True—to orient his life. Through your unwavering resolution, you must be the one to point others to the Unmoved Mover. Your faith will single you out on a secular campus. You will be watched, often silently.
Over my four years at Yale, I found that some of my secular friends would regularly look to me for a kind of implicit moral signal: “If he does this, and he’s that religious, then probably it’s okay—or at least not that bad.” Be mindful of the jokes you make, how much you drink, and what you say about others. The stakes are real. You are either a light or a scandal. If you want to evangelize, first live with conviction.
Second, build a community.
If we are to offer an alternative way of living to that of the world, we must do so together. In an increasingly atomized society—one in which students interact more digitally and less in-person than ever—the hunger for authentic connection is real. Building community is not easy; it may be tempting to try to evangelize all by yourself. But as St. Paul reminds us, “We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves” (Rom 14:7). No man is an island. To evangelize, you must rely on God—and on others.
Get involved in your Catholic campus ministry.
What does this mean in practice? Get involved in your Catholic campus ministry. Observe, participate, and gradually discern where you can contribute to and improve it, however small. You can also begin outside of formal campus ministry. For example, I made it a personal goal to invite and bring one person to Mass every week. That small practice was the first exposure to Catholicism for many and bore spiritual fruits that I could never have expected.
Community, too, means being visible to those whom we seek to evangelize. Our Lord did not hide himself from those who needed him most: He dined with sinners and tax collectors. If Christ did not insulate himself, neither should we. You must view your time on campus as an opportunity to be a fisher of men. This does not mean compromising your soul in bad company, but it does mean resisting the urge to retreat into spaces where you are “safe” and exclusively surrounded by other practicing Catholics. We are called to go out into the world with courage. Invite someone to pray with you, join a secular club, or host a party. If you want to evangelize, start building a community.
Third and finally, be charitable.
All things must be rooted in charity, for it is the greatest of all virtues (see 1 Cor 13:13). We must possess an authentic zeal for human souls. Hell is real—but so is heaven. You must sincerely desire that those you hope to evangelize may one day become saints and share in the beatific vision. As you go about your mission, people need to know you care about them, not as a “a soccer team in search of fans,” as the late Pope Francis once put it. And as Cardinal Ratzinger said in that 2000 address, “We do not want to increase the power and the spreading of our institutions, but . . . to serve for the good of the people.”
I found that seeking first to be a genuine friend—or at least treating others kindly—was far more effective than leading with doctrine. Others will learn about your Catholicism soon enough. But the first thing they’ll notice is its most important fruit: how you love.
Charity also requires patience—with others and with God. Do not expect instant conversions. Many students have serious and legitimate obstacles to faith. These should not be dismissed lightly; you must meet them with grace and accompaniment on their spiritual journey.
If the “deepest poverty is the inability of joy,” then the greatest wealth is its overflowing abundance. Joy is Christianity’s most compelling argument against the modern world. Christ has conquered sin and death; in him we are made anew. I am reminded of a Christian group at school that would hand out free hot chocolate to passersby on central campus every single week, rain or shine, unfailingly with smiles on their faces. Out of charity flows faith and hope. From those spring joy. And joy is infectious. If you want to evangelize, be charitable in all things.
Conviction, community, and charity—these are the pillars of the new evangelization of college campuses. They mark the path forward for any Catholic student seeking to bear witness in our time. If we live by them and place our trust in God, then, in the words of St. Paul, we “can do all things through him who strengthens [us]” (Phil 4:13).