Sam Couper

If my nephew thought his first Confession was cool, imagine how you will feel after your next confession. God’s mercy is such a gift. I pray you take the time to make a good Confession this Lent.

I am extremely pleased to announce St. Paul Catholic Center at Indiana University has reached our Capital Campaign goal of $5,000,000. Praise be to God for providing such a blessing! Thank you so much for your support in making this renovation possible! Even though we have reached our goal, we are continuing to raise money for the campaign, as the construction estimates from two years ago have changed. Additional gifts will allow us to maximize the impact of this renovation. Hoosiercatholic.org

The past 6 months: - Record numbers of IU students at Mass, in Bible studies, & becoming Catholic - The Heisman Trophy winner was an active member of the parish, deepened his faith, & shared it with the world - Fr. Ben & I were up close for a national championship run In terms of ministry, I cannot imagine it being much better. Yet, I have struggled greatly with discouragement. In particular, I have been bombarded with memories of my past sins & my innumerable shortcomings. "If they only knew the real you..." has been a terrible refrain. Embarrassed and ashamed as I would be if everything in my past was made public, this is not who I am. As St. John Paul II said, "“We are not the sum of our weaknesses and failures, we are the sum of the Father's love for us and our real capacity to become the image of His Son Jesus.” As a dear priest friend once told me, "When you are challenged, criticized, or discouraged remember: Because I have sinned, I deserve some of this. But always remember next: "Because I am loved and forgiven by Jesus and choose to follow his commandments, I have received infinitely more from His love and mercy."

Psalm 121 has been on my heart all day, so now I’m sharing it with you. One of the great gifts of the priesthood & religious life is living a life completely immersed in the Psalms: I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord,who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved,he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all evil;he will keep your life. The Lord will keepyour going out and your coming infrom this time forth and for evermore.

A brother priest pulled me aside at the Seek Conference: “That photo with Mendoza was a great witness to the importance of sharing our lives with our people. We pour into them & meet them where they are. They share their lives with us. We don’t know what we will encounter, but we go together in faith. And now, we can say, walking together with someone may eventually include the Heisman Trophy.” This was a much needed moment of clarity for me after the whirlwind of the last 2 weeks. Thank God for his blessings, but, more than that, thank God for giving us the strength to love our people, walk with them in everything, and share with them in times of glory and need.

The picture says it all. 🌹

Rose Bowl Champs. Go Hoosiers!

Just finished my 10th fall on the IU campus. Our ministry has grown dramatically. From 50 students in Bible studies to 500; from 400 to more than 1000 students attend Sunday Mass; from 12 to 120 Becoming Catholic, God has produced an abundance in Bloomington. A number of other factors exist, but the keys to our success are things most parishes and campus ministries can do with limited resources and creativity: - Reverent liturgy with orthodox homilies - A clear vision for discipleship & a path of formation - Lots of Adoration & Confession - Easy accessibility to priests - Focus on relationships Invest in outreach, community, & beauty, God will do the rest.

The Holy Mass is such a gift. Last night, as I gave thanks at the end of the day, I was struck by how much of a gift the Mass is and how everything good in my life is in some way attributable to the blessings of the Mass. My parents met at Mass so I guess this was inevitable.

Our IU students paused the Newman Center Christmas party to watch the Heisman announcement. Congratulations, Fernando! What a special night also for our Catholic students when the guy they know from and see every week at Mass wins the Heisman.

B1G Champs!

Please pray for one of our Newman Center students who was involved in a terrible accident while riding his bike.

Fernando Mendoza backs up his talk on TV by giving glory to God at Sunday Mass. I have wrestled with sharing this because he shows up out of love for God, not human praise. But I share because i hope his witness inspires others to go to Mass.

100+ IU Catholic students attended our fall Awakening retreat this past weekend. On Saturday afternoon, their break time coincided with the end of the game. Instead of a nap, they prayed a Hail Mary then watched the end of the game. Go Hoosiers!

Celebrating my father’s 70th birthday weekend with my siblings and in-laws in Utah. Family is such a blessing. It was my first church, where faith & love were instilled & many values & lessons taught.

Rarely, nowadays, do people come up to me in airports to talk. The other day, in the Salt Lake City airport, I was not 20 yards from walking off a plane before I was approached for Confession and a very moving and needed spiritual conversation. God is good!