The Power of Invitation

By Will Eichel

Coming into college I had two goals: To stay close to my Catholic faith, and to excel on the Ohio State Men’s Volleyball team. Quickly into my first semester, however, I found that the athletic culture was characterized by a ‘work hard, play hard’ mentality. During the week, practice and academics were intense, and on the weekend, partying was just as intense. Though I tried to resist that lifestyle, it seemed to be more and more forced upon me.

This presented a huge conflict against the morals and values that I was raised with at home, and I began to question if playing volleyball was the right fit for me. A few weeks into the second semester of freshman year, I was invited to SPO’s Fan into Flame retreat. I really did not want to go; I thought I had nothing to gain from it. Still, with the persistence of one of the SPO guys, five phone calls later, I decided to do it.

With no real expectation for the weekend, I packed my bags, hit the road, and made it to the retreat that Friday night. Everything was pretty standard stuff until Saturday afternoon when we had Eucharistic Adoration. It was then that God broke into my life and changed it forever. I experienced a true, authentic peace that I had never felt before, and I was immediately hungry for more!

After I left the retreat I dove into the SPO community, and the more I surrendered my life and my plans, the more I felt alive and closer to Christ. This transformational community supported me the rest of my freshman year. During my sophomore year, I lived with six other SPO guys who all wanted to pursue their faith. That was a year of incredible growth. Junior year, I moved into an official SPO Men’s Household off campus.

Although I didn't continue playing volleyball, the Lord blessed me with an amazing Catholic community. Coming into OSU, I had no idea that I was going to be filled with so much joy, friendship, and growth in my Catholic faith.