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How God shared the Gospel with me through the Catechism of the Catholic Church
God loves you. I’ve seen the same phrase posted in youth group classrooms and spoken in a variety of ways. But it was in prayer with the Catechism that God shared the Gospel with me once again. His love story for the world, for you, for me. The beginning of the Catechism of the Catholic Church describes man’s search for God. This is not simply a religious pursuit but a need to satisfy the human heart. At the end of a rough day, when you feel alone or afraid, who do you turn to? At the end of a good day, when adventures and the people you love remind you…
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For Narnia
I like to believe everyone has a “Narnia.” It’s been described to me as the place you never want to leave. The moment you want to hold onto. The friends you never want to say goodbye to. For me, it’s the place away from home where I’ve experienced the Lord or that has helped to form me in some way. Mine is my college town and the neighboring city. April 30th, 2021. The night before commencement. I watched my professors congratulate my class on Zoom, drove to a park to walk with my friends, and met up with others at a bonfire. I talked with a missionary about the future,…
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Don’t you trust Me?
This is a talk I gave to high school students during Young Life club. Something you should know about me is that I’m a 6 on the enneagram. A 6 is the Loyalist, which on the positive side means I’m a dedicated friend but on the negative side says I’m afraid of everything. Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about the future and who I want to be. The things that excite me about the future such as meeting new people and living in a new place also scare me. But a couple months ago I was praying about where I wanted to be in the future. I was praying…
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God The Father Looks for You: The Prodigal Son and East of Eden
If you’ve ever prayed Lectio Divina, you know how it feels when a verse stands out to you. This has happened to me multiple times with scripture before, but never in fictional reading. Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son was on my mind, after hearing it two days in a row with the Bible studies I lead and attend. In this scene, Adam and his father Cyrus are walking, when they come upon a place where Adam would hide when he was punished by his father or felt bad. They stare at the hole near the stump and his father says he knew about the hiding place all along. “Adam…
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Universal: SEEK21
Part of me was disappointed to know I wouldn’t get to see St. Louis, Missouri this year. We’d miss out on the plane rides, hotel rooms, running around a conference center, and watching thousands of priests process down the aisle to celebrate mass with thousands of college students and missionaries. My hope is that we will be able to gather by the masses to celebrate Christ and His Church again soon. But there was a new joy that rose whenever I imagined SEEK21 on campus. The barrier to entry had never been lower. I realized my desire for others to experience Christ through this conference was stronger than my own…
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Catholics on Instagram: A Church established over 2000 years ago is represented in the digital age
It’s 7:50 in the morning when I step into the Basilica of St. Adalbert. I settle into a pew behind the elderly regulars who frequent daily mass with me. Knees pressing into the cushioned kneeler and resting my elbows on the top of the pew’s wooden back, I stare at the large white crucifix behind the altar. On either side, statues of Mary and angels gaze upon Jesus on the cross. Windows line the walls, portraying the life of Jesus and the saints through stained glass. The truth, beauty, and goodness encountered here invites an internal transformation of heart and mind. Yet, on my computer hours later, photographs and videos…
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Truth, Beauty, & Goodness: Fall 2020
Most of my time this semester was spent in one of two places, in my apartment or in a church. The semester may have looked different, but my experiences were still life-giving and memorable. The Lord works in mysterious and good ways. A FOCUS Fervorino over the summer taught me about the transcendentals of truth, beauty, and goodness, which are qualities of God that we perceive in His creation. I believe I experienced parts of these during the semester. I learned more about the truth of who Jesus is, the beauty of the sacraments and the Church, and goodness of life with those we love. Starting the day with daily…
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33 Days to Morning Glory by Michael E. Gaitley
“If we really love God, if we truly long to work for his kingdom, then we should find the quickest and easiest way to become saints, and thereby return to him. Now the quickest and easiest way to do this…is through the Marian Consecration.” – Michael E. Gaitley on St. Maximilian Kolbe’s desire to be an instrument for Mary Grey links wrapped around people’s ankles and wrists, or medals clinked from their necklaces. What did these chains mean? Why were they so popular? Walking through the airport back to our gate, a FOCUS missionary explained it to me. The Marian Consecration. Catholicism’s reverence to Mary had been a mystery to…
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A Letter about Mission on Campus
Dear Jesus, The final round. With every new year and apartment address, You have worked in ways I could not have imagined. Here I am, days before the beginning of many “lasts.” But I’m not ready to dwell on the “lasts” of senior year. Not yet. I just want to continue to say yes to the opportunities You provide. Help me to be content in the here and now, taking each day as it comes. If COVID-19 taught us anything, it’s that nothing is certain. We live in a chaotic and broken world, where unknowns and question marks line the road ahead. But in the anxiety that may come with…
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Our Stories: Resources for Catholic Women
I love hearing other people’s stories. There’s a moment when their passion for whatever subject they’re on takes over, where you can hear the lift in their voice and see the light in their eyes. You can tell that something has changed them for the better. God works in mysterious ways. I love trying to connect the dots as our lives move forward, as we take new opportunities or as past obstacles are overcome, in order to see where God has worked in our hearts. As I hear other people’s stories and think about where our paths intersect, it’s overwhelmingly beautiful to recognize all the ways God has been leading…