CUA on Tap Hosts Maggie Craig
Courtesy of Instagram @maggie_craig_ministries_
By Catherine O’Grady
Campus Ministry’s CUA on Tap hosted Maggie Craig, a popular Catholic speaker, to talk to students on “Finding Joy: Bridging your Desires with God’s,” last Thursday night in the filled Pryzbyla Great Rooms. Students were eager to hear what Craig had to say about living an authentic Catholic life. Prior to her talk, attendees enjoyed Panda Express and listened to Take Note and Washingtones perform, two of three a cappella groups on campus.
Craig began speaking at parishes, schools, and youth groups around the country after she graduated from Franciscan University of Steubenville with M.A. in Theology and a B.A. in Catechetics in 2014.
She began the event by telling the audience a story about her time at a summer camp a couple years ago where she was encouraged to jump off a cliff over a waterfall. Craig related the joy she felt jumping off the cliff to the happiness attainable through a relationship with Christ. She then begged the question where faith comes in and discussed how living a faithful life leads to happiness.
“The good Lord created us to be happy in this life and in the next,” was the Mother Angelica quote Craig used as the foundation of her speech. Mother Angelica is a popular sister responsible for the creation of Eternal Word Television Network. .
Craig argued that happiness and being faithful to the Lord are united, and that true happiness comes from relationship with the Lord. The ultimate goal is heaven and being faithful will not only get you to heaven but also lead you to a life of happiness.
“Everything in this life that is true and good and beautiful belongs to God and he wants you to participate in it,” said Craig. She encouraged the audience to go to concerts, read books, and listen to podcasts if they are good. Living a life faithful to the Lord doesn’t have to be miserable but is an invitation into what is good and leads to God, according to Craig.
“My biggest take away from her talk was that we are all pursuing joy, said Lindsay Tufts, the student minister in charge of organizing this event. “We often find ourselves turning to earthy things in search of that joy and making God second when true joy is only found hand in hand with God & His love for us.”
After the conclusion of her talk, Craig answered some questions from the audience.
Craig shared deeply personal and relatable stories to encourage students to dive into their relationship with the Lord.
“I was so pleased with the event,” said Tufts. “It was a lot of time and hard work and to see it all come together with the help of Maggie, my ministry community, and the CUA student body was so beautiful! The Lord was so present there. I hope everyone who came left the event with a heart full of God’s radiant love for us!”
