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Rev. Peter McCormick, C.S.C., assistant vice president for Campus Ministry in the Division of Student Affairs, has been at the university since 2006. From assistant rector of Dillon Hall to rector of Keough Hall to director of Campus Ministry, Fr. Pete’s popularity amongst the Notre Dame student body is recognizable. This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

What do you think is the most important thing for a priest or spiritual leader to offer in today’s world?

I think that a priest, first and foremost, is a person of prayer. A priest should recognize the personal relationship that they are called to have with Jesus. Anything that I bring to people must be the love that Jesus Christ has for the world, so that’s what I hope to be able to do. First, I’ve got to be praying. I’ve got to be reflecting upon how it is that God loves me, and how, then, from that posture of utter humility and gratitude for what I’ve received, I then go out and bring that good news to other people. Then I use the gifts and talents that I’ve been given to do it. I point that out, because, if not, the danger of the priesthood, or any kind of religious minister, is that they just become a nice person doing nice things in the world. It affords me, then, the chance to say, “Okay, how did Jesus genuinely encounter me?” but, then, “How is it that he called His disciples? How is it that he expressed mercy and forgiveness and challenge in the world?” To be able to mirror that, in some way, is a real privilege.

What are your hopes and goals for the next chapter of your ministry here?

My number one goal is to grow in trust in God’s plan for me. When you’re in college, you think, once you get to 25, I’ll stop asking these questions — and that couldn’t be farther from the truth. You’re going to ask those questions at 35 and at 45 and at 55, but the invitation is always an invitation to trust, an invitation to believe that the God who is the giver of all good things will continue to be faithful and that God won’t somehow, at some point, just pull the carpet out and say, “Ha! Gotcha! Got you all the way to this point, now I’m going to leave you abandoned.” So, for me, it really is just to trust and to be faithful. Then, to do what I’m being asked to do at this precise moment, and not get too far out ahead or not get too caught up in the past.

What advice would you give to someone who’s struggling with their faith, or facing a challenging moment in their life?

The fact that you’re grappling with something is not bad. In fact, it’s an invitation to greater wisdom. Sometimes, when we have this question that we can’t answer, we can despair — especially when it comes to faith because we often feel like we need to have blind trust all the time. Yet, that’s just not how this plays out. In my mind, when we’re wrestling with a question, we have to be open to the wisdom figures that are around us to accompany us in meaningful ways. So what I would say is, don’t look at these questions or these challenges as obstacles, or the end of the road. It’s an opportunity for the Lord, and, in His generosity, to raise up figures that can accompany — not give the answer — but accompany, in the midst of the question.

What has been the most surprising or rewarding part of your own journey at Notre Dame, both personally and spiritually?

What’s most rewarding about this whole thing is, and will always be, the relationships that have come as a result. For someone to trust another person with something that is precious cargo, is an absolute gift. I think we spend a lot of our time talking about things that perhaps are a little bit safer: how the Notre Dame football team is going to do or what the weather’s like. But when you’re able to be in a precious space where someone’s talking about something that’s real, there’s never a moment where you think, “This is an inconvenience to me. I really wish I was doing something else.” Those moments are absolute gifts, and I think, as I’ve grown as a priest, I’ve learned to appreciate how special they are and how to really treat that as a sacred conversation. There’s a famous sports line that says, “You pay me to practice. But I’ll do the games for free.” I can translate this: you pay me to do emails. You pay me to go to meetings. But I’ll have the one-on-one pastoral conversations for free. It doesn’t particularly matter. There’s something that’s so beautiful about that that I just really am truly grateful for, and will always be.