People Watching

Patriot Dining Hall

A classic pastime, that I myself enjoy, is people watching. I could sit for hours in my school’s dining hall just watching people to see how many people I see and know or just to see all the faces. It is always intriguing seeing everyone’s expressions, styles, and friendship. I love the light and easy feeling of just saying hello and having passing conversations, but it blows my mind to think beyond the here and now. To think of each person in light of eternity invokes a completely different feel. Each person that walks by is a soul that will live forever. The soul will either receive eternal rewards or eternal punishment. It is so easy to forget, or simply think that we have time to think about the future and prepare ourselves. But in all honesty we do not know how long we will live.

There is a traditional Latin saying in the Catholic Church often used by monks or other religious: Memento Mori, which means “remember your death”. While morbid and a bit off putting, it certainly gets you to think for a moment of the stark truth we will all face one day: we are going to die.

Now when we get to that realization that we are going to die there are just two options. We can either think that death is the end, or we can believe that there is eternal life. Either option forces you to think whether you are living your life to the fullest. If death is the end, is there any meaning or purpose to life? If there is eternal life, are we actually living in a way that we would be granted paradise?

For me, this week has been a real wake up call to recognize whether I believe what I say I believe. I want to stake my life on each claim I profess in Church, in the Creed, and all the Truths I have to to accept. I recognize it as the only thing that truly matters, and I so wholeheartedly want to help each person I see to know and live the Truth. When I reflect on the time I spend just people watching or having meaningless conversations, I begin to wonder what it could have been if I allowed myself to be oriented always to the good. I want my time to be well spent and I ultimately want each person I see, as I people watch, to be forever a soul resting in peace.

Evangelizing through Friendship

Are you willing to ask yourself how many friends you have? But seriously how many REAL friends do you have? Many of us have a great discrepancy of our number of real friends to our number of Facebook friends or Instagram followers. It seems we may have fewer friends than ever before. There is a real friend crisis in this virtual world and reality.

Because of this realization, it is important to recognize that there are many others just like you who struggle with friendship. It is not an easy thing as it takes time, openness, and vulnerability. Everytime you invest in someone, they could walk away with even more of you, leaving you hurt and broken, but you could also grow much deeper. Friends are also equals and can call each other to greater things which can be challenging.

Jesus set an incredible example in His lifetime. He had the opportunity to speak to masses of people, perform miracles, and convert the world, but He chose to have 12 friends to hangout with Him. From those 12, He particularly spent time with 3: Peter, James, and John. Jesus modeled friendship for us by this. He built the Church on friendship and told them to go and do the same, so if we are going to make an impact on the world, an easy way to do this is through friendship. Much joy comes from good friendships, and I have been blessed to have experienced it myself.  

Now you might be wondering how do you get to have friends that will do that. First, start with prayer. Ask God to give you good, faithful friends. Second continue (or start) doing things that you enjoy and that you would want to find friends in whether that be sport, music, or whatever interests you. Third, start hanging out with people you feel drawn to, and be yourself. If you have a meal together and you typically pray beforehand, don’t be afraid to do that in front of them! If you are corky, punny, or just a little odd, let that come through. Allow yourself to enjoy the excitement of friendship and be at peace when it goes through “dry periods” or awkward moments. Those moments are needed. Finally, thank God for the friends He has put in Your life. Whether you recognize it or not God already is working in your life and is desiring you to have great and holy friendships.

A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter; he who finds one finds a treasure.
A faithful friend is beyond price, no sum can balance his worth. Sirach 6:14-15

My original and greatest friend, my sister.

My faithful friends at college.

My great friends who showed me the way in college.

Forget Mediocrity and Choose Greatness

Joel Osteen

          When was the last time you set a new standard for your faith life? How about when was the last time you added in something new or even gave a thought to the state of your spiritual life? Often times we all fall into a slump, just like everything else in our lives. We get into a routine and become complacent. We settle for mediocrity and do not realize what we are missing out on.

            But, that is exactly the opposite of what the saints did and do. They persevered even in the most difficult times. Difficult times does not necessarily mean persecutions and martyrdom but can very easily mean spiritual dryness where there seems to be no feeling or reason to go on or daily struggles. It is then in those moments that the saints lifted their heads and saw the beam of light piercing through the darkness and the haze.

That is precisely why this time, the start of a new academic year, the beginning of a new time in the Church, and the beginning of our future starts now. This points to the importance of being mindful of the situations that can remind us of the need to change. Whether it is a particularly difficult time, a retreat, a simple encounter, or a subtle quiet feeling, we have to appreciate the moment for what it is worth. God is always calling us to Himself. Our relationship with God is not like our social media life. It isn’t something to just scroll past nor is it for show. We can’t pretend when we go to Mass and act like we can hide behind the pious appearance of praying, like hiding behind a computer screen. Our faith life must be authentic. Our interior life must be reflected in our actions and vice versa.

            Take a look at the most important relationships in your life and think about how much they have progressed in the past month, year, or ten years. Shouldn’t our relationship with God progress too? How will you change that today?

I leave you with two quotes. One to forewarn you and the other to inspire you.

“So, because you are lukewarm-neither hot nor cold-I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” Revelation (3:16)

“Start being brave about everything. Drive out darkness and spread light. Don’t look at your weaknesses. Realize instead that in Christ crucified you can do everything” ~St. Catherine of Siena

Choose which one you will become.

Becoming Missionaries of Charity

Philip K, Flickr

What a gift faith is! This past Wednesday was the feast of Mother Teresa. She is an inspiring witness and example for so many people. Her influence spreads beyond those in the Catholic Church and that is because she lived a life that many of us aspire for. Ultimately we all see her work as something that is/was needed and vital for the good of society. Mother Teresa, or “Mamma T”, is much loved which is attractive because she lived as Christ for others.

I found I jumped on the bandwagon of loving her years ago, but then I experienced a phase of not appreciating her as much because “everyone else liked her”. She was too “mainstream” for me. But on Wednesday I was given the chance to remember why the Church honors her and why I appreciate her. She did the little things of loving others well which changed the world. She knew herself and her relationship with God as paramount which overflowed into her actions.

Everyone wants to have a part in the world, whether they want to be like Mother Teresa or something else, we all desire to have a role, especially college students like me trying to figure out our lives. We want to find our vocation so that we can have our place to make a difference. However, it has to start within first, and that is what Mother Teresa knew and promoted. She doubled her time in prayer during her busy days because she knew if any good were to come of her day, it was going to come from Christ. 

While bigger issues need to be addressed, such as the scandal in the Church, we first need to see within ourselves our own faults and how we can support and change the world and the Church by our personal actions. We cannot be complacent with the injustices and evils we experience. It is a call to ignite our faith and live it the way we are supposed to individually so that it can flourish in the world. Our faith is not something we just label ourselves with, it must be lived out. It must be rooted in daily prayer, and fueled by the sacraments. So too, in times of darkness and despair, the light is found and shown through these faithful acts our remaining in Christ. 

To strive for holiness like the great witnesses we all admire is our mission, our mission of charity. 

St. Teresa of Calcutta, pray for us.