Fearless Adventuring
I hate goodbyes. That is all. It seems like all I’ve done since the beginning of college is grow in love for people and places, only to say goodbye to them. Yes, I know that is how life works. I know this is only the beginning of a lifetime of an abundance of goodbyes. But it seems like the goodbyes keep getting harder and harder…
“Fog and mist bless the Lord.” -something that’s not actually in the Canticle of Daniel
At the beginning of Spring Break, the Catholic Studies program at Mary College at ASU went on an immersion retreat. The weekend was centered around encountering beauty in nature, other people, and the Lord. We stayed in Flagstaff in a beautiful cabin and traveled from there to visit the Grand Canyon and Sedona. Honestly, the Grand Canyon has never been a bucket list item for me, but the fact that I am living in Arizona for a semester gave me a new excitement to see the big hole in the earth—the idea of going on retreat there made it even better….
I think it is very ironic that the grand, secular celebration that is Valentine’s Day is held on the feast of a martyr—someone who performed the greatest act of love by dying for his Beloved. If the Lord loves us more than anyone else on this earth can, and if we can reciprocate this love in our broken, human way, our belief in this incredibly beautiful relationship and this unfathomable love should lead us to be martyrs. Maybe we won’t be beheaded, or roasted on a grille, or crucified, but in what ways are we being called to die to self and sacrifice our desires for the Lord?…
