IMAGE: CNS photo/Chaz Muth
By Carol Zimmermann
WASHINGTON (CNS) — When Isaiah Burroughs, a 20-year-old
student at The Catholic University of America in Washington, gets an idea in his head, he follows
through with it pretty much immediately.
When he
was praying in the university chapel during a freshman retreat last year, Burroughs,
who was raised Baptist, said he realized becoming Catholic was something
“I really wanted to do and I had to do.”
The
next day he talked to a priest on campus about joining the Rite of Christian
Initiation of Adults and the next Easter he was confirmed — a day he said he
“couldn’t stop smiling.” He’d had a countdown on his phone for a month
leading up to it.
Burroughs
didn’t leave the RCIA program behind after he finished it, but instead came
back the next year to help as one of its volunteers.
Anthony
Carona, a seminarian at Theological College, who helps lead Catholic
University’s RCIA program, said Burroughs “encapsulates the evangelical
nature of the church” because he was drawn to the church by “evangelical
methods” — through friends and campus ministry — and is giving back by now
helping others who want to take this step.
Carona was not at all surprised to find out Burroughs was selected to be one of the
delegates the Archdiocese of Washington is sending to the “Convocation of
Catholic Leaders: The Joy of the Gospel in America” July 1-4 in Orlando,
Florida.
The
convocation, sponsored by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, is an invitation-only
event meant to give the 3,000 participants expected to attend a better understanding of
what it means to be missionary disciples in today’s world through workshop
presentations, keynote addresses and prayer.
“It’s
such an honor to be invited … I’m really excited about it,” Burroughs told
Catholic News Service May 2 in a break between his final exams and during a
time he said he was drinking a lot of coffee and making sure he set aside enough
time to pray.
Although
he is a new Catholic, Burroughs fits the bill of a convocation delegate because
as he put it: “I’m really passionate about evangelization and being able
to discuss efforts with people from across the country.”
He also
hopes to come away from the gathering with new ideas about how to bring people
into the church and to help the university and the archdiocese rebuild the
church.
The
idea of evangelizing, which might seem daunting to some Catholics, makes
perfect sense to Burroughs, who views it as having “authentic
friendships” with people — sitting with them, figuring out “where
they are in their faith journey and walking with them to bring them closer to
Christ.”
That
connection is key, he said, noting that people will listen more to someone they
are close to and who cares about them.
He also
thinks the church can learn more about evangelizing by taking cues from young
people. “I feel like my generation thinks more outside the box,” he
said. “We see the world in a different light.”
His
quick advice for the Catholic Church’s evangelization efforts? “Make people
feel welcome. Young people always want to feel welcome.”
Burroughs,
from Fort Washington, Maryland, was just finishing up his sophomore year when
he spoke with CNS. Originally working toward a degree in politics, he is now a
theology major, but he thinks the two could work hand in hand.
When
asked if he sees himself as a politician or a theologian, he said he hoped to
combine the two by promoting faith in politics, but he’s also open to “wherever
God’s calling me.”
His two
years in college have already given him a large dose of politics. During his
freshman year, he noticed the local seat with Washington’s Advisory
Neighborhood Commission had been vacant for five years. Not surprisingly, he
decided to run for the spot and after winning he became one of the youngest
public officials in the District of Columbia — adding monthly meetings to his
already full schedule.
The
summer before his sophomore year he was selected to be a page at the 2016
Republican National Convention in Cleveland where he helped behind the scenes
and got to meet plenty of political leaders.
Whatever
his next step will be, Burroughs is convinced it needs to be rooted in prayer.
Right
now, he said, whenever he prays he just wants to grow more in his faith —
“to read a saint biography or watch a Bishop Barron video,” referring to YouTube
commentaries on faith and culture by Auxiliary Bishop Robert E. Barron
of Los Angeles.
“I
feel God is calling me to do more than I could in politics,” he said, but he’s
also convinced it won’t happen automatically “if you don’t have that
strong faith life.”
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Contributing to this story was Chaz Muth.
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Follow
Zimmermann on Twitter: @carolmaczim.
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