+JMJ+
I have survived!
Well...I have survived my first week, who is to say how the rest will go.
In all seriousness though, it has a great week. Since my sophomore year of college I knew I did not want to go into a career involving my major (although my double major has helped me out immensely here!), but it was too late to switch plans of study and still graduate on time, not to mention I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life.
As I was sitting in my theology class on the first day of school I realized this really is what I want to be doing. This is what the Lord has called me to.
While at the University of Kentucky I was always annoyed when people said real life started after college because my line of thinking then, and still is now, is that we are always living 'real life'. Our lives are no more important post college than they are while in our undergraduate studies, BUT life does feel different.
Deciding to study in Rome was one of the first major life decisions that was not already assumed. I always assumed I would go to college, but throughout my senior year I realized the time after college was my opportunity to figure out what God really wanted to do with my life. This is not to say that God wasn't using my life while I was at UK, he did in many ways, but there was always some sort of restriction because I was a full time undergraduate student. Although I have chosen to continue my academic career, it is based off of discernment and the opportunity to really do anything post-graduation.
With all of that being said, as I went from class to class at Santa Croce this week, I felt so at peace knowing that this is exactly where God wants me right now.
Yes, having all of my classes in Italian is a tad bit overwhelming and adjusting to a new style European style of teaching and lecture is challenging, but in the midst that I know this is where I am supposed to be right now.
Along with classes getting off to a good start, I am also beginning to feel more settled in Rome. I have a group of friends that I am so thankful for, I know my way around the city (especially where adoration is and what Mass times are) more than I did a month ago, and my apartment is finally put together!
Even though I still feel like a 'poser adult' I am starting to appreciate the beauty of life after college. Time keeps marching on in a forward direction at a very rapid pace, so I might as well join the parade and enjoy the adventure.
Saturday, October 12, 2013
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Blessings
+JMJ+
This week was supposed to be a calm and relaxing week off before classes, a time for organization, preparation, and recuperation.
Notice I said it was supposed to be my calm and relaxing week off.
Although this week was quite the opposite of what I had originally intended, the past four days have been filled with innumerable blessings. The diaconate ordinations took place this morning and a friend from the United States, Samantha, came in for them. One of her Totus Tuus teammates was being ordained and she made the trek to Rome to support him during this huge time in his life!
The beautiful thing about friends coming to town, aside from the obvious joy and comfort friends bring, is the fact that everyone hangs out as much as possible because the time spent together is limited. The seminarians also had more 'free time' because ordinations are a festive time in the Catholic world!
I was able to hang out with my Totus Tuus community in Rome and that means we prayed together on a regular basis and talked about the awesomeness of the Lord. If you can imagine, this was really good for my soul.
I am inspired by my friends, and this in itself is a huge blessing.
The friends I have made here (and also my friends in the States) are genuinely holy people that are striving to grow in virtue and love for the Lord. Being around them makes me want to be a better person and develop a deeper relationship with Jesus. This has been made especially clear today at the diaconate ordinations. Although I did not know any of the men personally, I do know men who will be ordained in the next few years (and one in just 30 days!!!!) and listening to and seeing these men lay down their lives in service of the Church made two things very evident:
I am so very blessed to have the relationship with the Lord that I do and we are not simply living for this world.
There is a funny thing about ordinations, they would make no sense without believing in the message of Christ. Men promising to live a celibate and obedient life would be utter nonsense if there was nothing more to life than this world. The Mass this morning put the finite world into a supernatural perspective. I was just in awe over the fact that while here on earth, we are living for more than just the temporal present, we are living for life everlasting, and we are living and working for God's kingdom here on earth.
With this in mind, I also realized how blessed I am to have this life view and this relationship with the Lord at such a young age. How am I so fortunate to feel so filled with purpose and love and feel fulfilled in who I am as a daughter of God? All of this comes down to one thing.
Love.
Yes, Love.
The Lord's love is beyond all imagining and I feel so fulfilled in who I am and in what I do on a day to day basis because I understand that I am loved. Regardless of who I am, what my accomplishments or lack there of are, I am loved in the light of eternity and that is mind blowing.
All of this was just very clear today. I have known for my whole life that I am loved by the Lord, and I have had times of seeing the present in the view of eternity, but there is something about being in St. Peter's at an ordination that just drives the point home.
This week was not what I had originally planned and I am currently very tired, but I would not trade the blessings I have received this week for anything.
This week was supposed to be a calm and relaxing week off before classes, a time for organization, preparation, and recuperation.
Notice I said it was supposed to be my calm and relaxing week off.
Although this week was quite the opposite of what I had originally intended, the past four days have been filled with innumerable blessings. The diaconate ordinations took place this morning and a friend from the United States, Samantha, came in for them. One of her Totus Tuus teammates was being ordained and she made the trek to Rome to support him during this huge time in his life!
The beautiful thing about friends coming to town, aside from the obvious joy and comfort friends bring, is the fact that everyone hangs out as much as possible because the time spent together is limited. The seminarians also had more 'free time' because ordinations are a festive time in the Catholic world!
I was able to hang out with my Totus Tuus community in Rome and that means we prayed together on a regular basis and talked about the awesomeness of the Lord. If you can imagine, this was really good for my soul.
I am inspired by my friends, and this in itself is a huge blessing.
The friends I have made here (and also my friends in the States) are genuinely holy people that are striving to grow in virtue and love for the Lord. Being around them makes me want to be a better person and develop a deeper relationship with Jesus. This has been made especially clear today at the diaconate ordinations. Although I did not know any of the men personally, I do know men who will be ordained in the next few years (and one in just 30 days!!!!) and listening to and seeing these men lay down their lives in service of the Church made two things very evident:
I am so very blessed to have the relationship with the Lord that I do and we are not simply living for this world.
There is a funny thing about ordinations, they would make no sense without believing in the message of Christ. Men promising to live a celibate and obedient life would be utter nonsense if there was nothing more to life than this world. The Mass this morning put the finite world into a supernatural perspective. I was just in awe over the fact that while here on earth, we are living for more than just the temporal present, we are living for life everlasting, and we are living and working for God's kingdom here on earth.
With this in mind, I also realized how blessed I am to have this life view and this relationship with the Lord at such a young age. How am I so fortunate to feel so filled with purpose and love and feel fulfilled in who I am as a daughter of God? All of this comes down to one thing.
Love.
Yes, Love.
The Lord's love is beyond all imagining and I feel so fulfilled in who I am and in what I do on a day to day basis because I understand that I am loved. Regardless of who I am, what my accomplishments or lack there of are, I am loved in the light of eternity and that is mind blowing.
All of this was just very clear today. I have known for my whole life that I am loved by the Lord, and I have had times of seeing the present in the view of eternity, but there is something about being in St. Peter's at an ordination that just drives the point home.
This week was not what I had originally planned and I am currently very tired, but I would not trade the blessings I have received this week for anything.
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