Have I come to know, love, and serve God above all else?

Until a few years ago, this was a question I thought I could answer. In my mind’s eye, being a “good Catholic” meant things such as following the 10 Commandments, going to church on Sunday, helping out during Mass, reading the Bible, and trying to live as Christ did. And while all of these concepts are fundamentally true, I soon discovered that such things are 1) Easier said than done (I mean come on, keeping up with school, sports, extra-curriculars, AND reading the Bible?!) and 2) There is so much more elegance to Catholicism than we could ever imagine.

These discernments of my beliefs began to form when a friend and I explored Catholicism by closely examining the mysteries of the rosary each day throughout Lent. As we did so, my friend’s questions (and my astonishment) increased exponentially while my answers to his questions became scarcer as the days passed. I could not believe it; my friend was questioning everything that I had always seen as inherently true about my Catholic faith and in doing so was unknowingly forcing me to challenge my own beliefs. This was when I realized what had been missing in my spiritual journey—the courage to seek truth without fear. Up until then, I had always thought that challenging my faith was the same as doubting it. What I failed to grasp was that in refraining from asking my various questions, I was in fact, impeding the deepening of my faith and thus, placing an enormous distance between God and myself. Questioning is part of “going deeper still” in one’s faith. It is a method by which we may take a step closer to knowing, loving, and serving God on a much deeper level.

As a student minister serving on the Outreach committee, my hope is not only to find my own spiritual balance, but also to help you all grow in faith and experience God’s immense love.

“Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.” – St. Francis of Assisi