Challenging yourself at Nichols means growing all of who you are - mind, body and soul. For many students, this means becoming involved with organizations of faith, exploring their beliefs and taking time for moments of contemplation.

A message from the Chaplain

My favorite writer, the Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai, writes about learning the Ten Commandments from his father, going through them one by one. At the end, his father says,

I would like to add two more commandments: the Eleventh Commandment, “Thou shalt not change,” and the Twelfth Commandment, “Thou shalt change. You will change.”
This is the nature of our efforts at the spiritual life here at Nichols.

The only constant is change. That’s certainly true of college life, including one’s attitudes and approach to God, religion and spirituality. Yet for all the new experiences, there is a core whose essence is always intact. Different traditions call this by different names: atman, the soul, the inner light. This essential “you” swims in a sea of change, a life of constant waves where it can be easy to be swamped or overwhelmed. And that sea, those waves, are also you— and your life.

At Nichols chaplaincy, we welcome all the different sides of you, the changing and the constant. If you are looking to live out and deepen the faith tradition you’ve always cherished, there are opportunities to do just that. Religious services and events are available on-campus and off, as well as Catholic Campus Ministry, Campus Ambassadors for Christ and other student clubs.

If you are seeking, chaplaincy offers chances to follow that Twelfth Commandment, from programs that encourage creative doubt and constructive bubble-bursting to the meditative stillness of our Quiet Luncheons. Often those extra Commandments are at work at the same time, and that’s fine with us. After all, the most important word in those commandments is not “change” or “not,” but rather “thou”- “you.”

Every faith tradition in the world maintains that we human beings are the image and likeness of God or a living part of God’s own self. Our mission at Nichols chaplaincy is to help you to be able to say just that, about yourself and your fellow man and woman. Perhaps by doing so together, we may bring the Hill that much closer to a place and a way of living that is sustaining and sweet, for body and soul, for your personal center and your life with others here at Nichols.

It is chaplaincy’s hope that your changing, changeless, sacred path might sometime lead to our door. My office is in lower Davis Hall, #1. Please stop by or contact me anytime. Image of God, it would be my honor.

Peace,
Wayne-Daniel Berard
Director of Spiritual Life
Chaplain of the College


Spiritual Organizations

Catholic Campus Ministry
Campus Ambassadors for Christ

Questions about spiritual life at Nichols? Contact Wayne-Daniel Berard, Chaplain, at Wayne-Daniel.Berard@nichols.edu or 508-213-2121.