This past Sunday on Divine Mercy Sunday, the Benedictine College community embarked on a 20-day mission to ask for Mary’s intercession in funding 20 million for the proposed medical school. Students gathered at Mary’s grotto to pray a rosary with President Minnis to kick off the mission.
This mission invites students to pray a rosary every day for 20 days with the intention of getting funding for the next step of the osteopathic medical school accreditation, as it is needed by the beginning of May. As Benedictine College has done countless times before, it again entrusts itself into the arms of Mary, trusting that through her intercession, the money will be raised for the medical school by the end of this month.
A senior student, who wishes to remain anonymous, is the one who came up with the idea for this mission. He explains the idea behind it sharing,
“The idea came over me this last winter as I was driving back from a job interview, thinking about the future of America. I had this overwhelming feeling that the next American leaders, the ones like Washington, Lincoln, and JFK, will be coming from a small school in Kansas, and that the Medical School is a huge step for that to come to fruition. I had a feeling that I needed to do something, but I wasn’t sure what I needed to do. As I prayed, I was convicted of inviting people to start praying rosaries for the cause, but I wasn’t really sure how to make that happen.
Then over Easter break, it hit me. 20 Days, 20 Rosaries, $20 Million. We start on Divine Mercy Sunday and then pray a rosary every day until May 1st (the day the school needs to complete the fundraising for the Medical School Project or else it would have to be dropped). This was not something I actually wanted to do as I knew it would push me way outside my comfort zone but I was so convicted that I just HAD to do it or I would have been saying no to the invitation from Our Lady which had been put on my heart.”
What started as just a drive home from an interview, began a pursuit to be proponent of change in America through inviting others to pray the rosary for a huge and life changing mission- a medical school that will form students to care for every person with dignity and send them out into hospitals all across the country, transforming culture in America one doctor at a time.
He strongly believes in this mission and wants others to participate as he believes “it is an opportunity to witness the power of prayer firsthand.” He says how 1 rosary is worth much more than just $20 million but “this is an opportunity to come together as a community and put our faith into Our Lady’s hands.”
In addition, he explains how many college students like him cannot financially support this mission at the time, but they can support it through prayer, which he says is “much more powerful.”
There is no doubt in his mind that Mary will intercede and that the money will be raised. This is a beautiful way for students to pour into Benedictine College and give back. All students are invited to join in on praying a rosary every day until May 1, where President Minnis will again gather at the grotto with students to pray the rosary and crown Mary.
This senior’s inspiring witness to listening to the promptings of the Holy Spirit is just one example of how Benedictine College is transforming culture in America.
