Christina McKnight's Witness--13 April 2014

            Hi everyone. For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Christina McKnight and I am a sophomore Actuarial Science major.

            Well friends, Holy week begins as of today. The end of Lent is upon us, and soon we will all be able to eat ice cream and watch television and do whatever it is that we used to do before Ash Wednesday. Holy Week also means that we will be reading the Passion (aka the longest Gospel that you will ever hear at mass) twice this week. Twice will you have to stand for an extended period of time to hear the story of the crucifixion. Twice you will probably zone in and out of consciousness as the Passion is read because you have heard the passion twice a year for at least 18 years, totaling to at least 36 times in mass alone.

            This is the attitude I usually have when it comes to the Passion during mass, but after taking some time to reflect on the Passion, I found that this was a great time to reflect on my Lenten experience. The different people that interact with Jesus really jumped out to me; three people in particular when presented with a chance to grow with Jesus respond in completely different ways. After reading it a few times, I mentally created a Buzzfeed Quiz: “Which figure are you from the Lord’s Passion?”

            The first person that stands out to me is Simon of Cyrene. Here is a dude who’s just going about his merry way, when all of a sudden these soldiers tell him to help Jesus carry his cross. It’s a guy that he’s never even met before, he looks a little worse for wear, and he’s obviously very weak so he won’t be much help in carrying the cross at all. But despite all of those factors he says yes to help this stranger carry his cross. Did I say yes to Jesus in this regard? Did I take up my own cross with my Lenten sacrifice to stand in solidarity with Jesus? I would say that while I was very gung-ho at the beginning of Lent of giving up desserts and journaling every day, I would be lying if I said that I didn’t sneak a dessert every once in a while and that I didn’t skip a day of journaling my prayers. I can’t quite say that I’m a Simon of Cyrene.

            Perhaps I’m a Judas. Judas has been hanging out with Jesus and traveling with him all over the Middle East for years. Despite all of the time they’ve spent together, he deliberately turns Jesus in to the authorities for a few pieces of silver. His act of betrayal eventually drove him to kill himself in regret of what he has done. I know I haven’t been the best with my Lenten resolution this year, but I wouldn’t say that my actions are worthy of being compared to Judas (at least a hope not).

            No. Not Simon, nor Judas. Then who? There is one last person who plays a significant role in the Passion: Peter. Peter clearly desires so badly to be in the company of Jesus. Listen to him as he talks to Jesus, “Surely it is not I who will betray you?” The idea that he would betray Jesus, one if his best friends, is absurd. Yet when the time comes for him to declare his ties to Jesus, he denies it. Not once, but three times. When Peter realizes that he acted just as Jesus had predicted, he weeps in sadness. I would have to say that I can relate with Peter’s plight. At the beginning of this Lent and every Lent I have the intention of carrying out my resolution for the whole 40 days, but this year I would have to say that I was probably not the most dedicated person to my cause. Like Peter I have missed out on a chance to grow closer to God.

            However I don’t think I’m a completely lost cause. Like Peter I realize that I have missed out on a chance to say “Yes” to God. But like Peter I will do my best to improve and to be ready to say “Yes” the next time I get a chance. Friends, Lent is a time of year where we are supposed to slow down and turn inward to deepen our relationship with God. However, we aren’t limited to only 40 days a year to deepen our prayer lives and grow closer to God. No, we are invited to this opportunity 24/7, 365 days a year. As much as I would like to live exactly as God wants me to, sometimes I just fall short. That is the beauty and the sadness of the Lenten season. God loves us so much, that he died to save us from all of our sings. I’ve heard somewhere, “When Jesus is on the cross with his arms outstretched, he seems to be saying ‘This is how much I love you,’” and I’ve always liked that imagery. So friends, even though the Lenten season is almost at an end, let us continue to pray and grow closer to God. Thank you all, and I hope I’ve given you all p-LENT-y to think about J

           

            

Maggie DiRenzo's Witness, 6 April 2014

Hi. I’m Maggie Di Renzo. I’m a Junior Pharmacy Major and a member of the leadership team with the BCC.

I’m not gonna lie. I have been dreading this moment for the last 2 weeks, maybe even the whole semester. Let’s just say the whole year. I tried to hide and hope I would slip through, but alas here I am. So here we go:

When I first looked at the readings several ideas jumped out at me, but the over-arching theme of all 3 readings is really what struck me the most. The purpose of life. Now before you go and role your eyes, and think to yourself, “Self, there is no way she found the purpose of life just from reading today’s scripture.” Think again. From what I have gathered, our purpose here in this life is to make it to heaven and take as many people along the way with us. I mean the road to get there is rocky and bumpy, but overall it is just one “simple” task. 

When things get rough or I lose focus in my life I try to remember where we are all headed. Yes we have to make it through school and yes we have to get a job and yes we have to accomplish other tasks throughout our life but when things go askew just ask yourself once again, “does this glorify the Lord with my spirit or does this please the flesh?” In the first reading, the lord promised to place his spirit within us so we may live whole fulfilling lives that glorify the Lord.  So have no fear, it is in there somewhere helping you make the right decision. You just have to listen and feel as difficult as that may be at times.

Jumping to the second reading, it gets kinda mushy with all the words having a deeper meaning. You just hear: Alive, dead, sin, spirit, flesh and then flesh again and I’m not a fan of that word so I get kinda grossed out. But the meaning behind all of this is so beautiful and rich in symbolism. You may be physically alive but does that mean you are alive in spirit? And who just wants to be a blob of humanity? God reminds us that through his spirit that he places within us, we can be alive with him but (there’s always a but) we have to die to ourselves, our earthly ways, and our physical bodies in order to better our spiritual bodies. In the gospel, we hear the story of Lazarus raising from the dead. When Jesus gives a little lesson about the different type of dying: flesh vs. spiritual, Thomas, maybe a little naively, get excited and says, “Let us also go to die with him.”

I know when I hear this I think, “ok great idea, but how are we actually going to do that. The science part of me wants to know the process and exactly how we are supposed to accomplish this?” That’s when I realize there isn’t a process or a step by step lab manual. It also reminds me, I am by far not the expert in this field as I feel like we are all striving to better. But I simply remind myself what the ultimate goal of this life is: It is to get to heaven and take as many people along the way with us. So hold we each other accountable, we try our very best and follow what we hear the spirit saying to us in our conscience.

When I fall, I am lucky enough to be reminded often by someone that we are not perfect and never will be perfect so we will fall to our human ways every so often, but that isn’t a reason to give up or use it as an excuse to keep doing what we know is wrong. It also means that we shouldn’t beat ourselves up when we fall. Just brush yourself off and keep on truckin.

So in the words of Thomas from the gospel, “Let us also go to die with him.” 

Erin McHugh's Witness--30 March 2014

In today’s Gospel Jesus the light on the world takes away the man’s blindness. While I know that none of us here today as physical blind I believe that Jesus takes away are own “blindness” toward the world and gives us light. By taking away this “blindness” we are able to see the world and others through the eyes of God and then be that light for others. I know for me it was not until I read the readings for today that I realized that I have been “blind” to many people and social issues happening in the world around me and it wasn’t until God “healed” me that I could see them.

All of my life I have always been doing service in my community to help those in need. In middle school I tutored and played with the kids at a child care center for underprivileged families who couldn’t afford childcare. At Christmas time my family would adopt a refugee family and welcome them to the US providing them with some simple basic needs. Then in high school I went on multiple mission trips to Appalachia to do home repair for the families who couldn’t afford. While I have always enjoyed doing all this service it hasn’t until a came to college or really even this year that I found my true calling and passion for service. I hate to admit this but I feel like before this year I had did service out of pity, feeling bad that I had so much and kind of looked down on them. When in reality just because they did not have a nice house or clothes didn’t mean they were any less worthy of love and happiness than me.

 Now that God has opened my eyes to their love I find so much more joy in serving the needs of my community than I ever have before. I do not see this people for their wrinkly old clothes, or run down houses now I see them as children of God with the light of Christ dwelling inside of each of them. Today I can say that because of the light I received from Christ I now have a strong passion for service and heart for the poor. I no longer look down on the people I serve, but rather see through as any of person who deserves just as much in live as I do. Service to me is no longer something I feel like I have to do it is now something love doing and feel called to do for the rest of my life.

I have especially found this joy every 1st Saturday of the month when I get to go volunteer at the food pantry. It brings me great happiness to open the doors of the food pantry and let everyone in to provide the basic need of food. I love working the front desk and welcoming each of them as they come in. I especially enjoy it when I recognize one of them from the previous month and then strike up a conservation seeing how they had been. These people are full of so much joy and grateful hearts towards everything that is contagious. Whenever I leave the food pantry or any service project of that matter, I feel so blessed and hope that my heart doesn’t explode from all the happiness and joy that I had just received. Service to me is a two-way street that touches the hearts and lives of everyone involved forever.

While I’m no where near perfect and still often find myself looking down on others or focusing on their physical appearances. I simply pray to God asking for His grace to allow me to see everything through His eyes. I’m thankful for the experiences God has given me and his love and forgiveness when I do judge others So I hope that each of you can look at the world and others through God’s eyes, and to live as children of light because you never know what miracle God will perform in your life.

Emma Sprague's Witness, Ash Wednesday

Good Afternoon, my name is Emma Sprague, I am a Junior in the Physician Assistant program, and am currently the President of the BCC. Well, I hope that everyone here took an extra three hours on Facebook, ate a dozen extra cookies, and said one massive prayer last night...because today marks the beginning of a very long journey. Many of us are anxiously wondering how it is we are supposed to live 40, yes I did say 40, days without some material thing, that we believe we simply cannot live without. However, while we sit here debating on what it is we are going to give up, and how exactly we are going to remain sane, don't you think there is a bigger picture to our Lenten "sacrifice"? How often is it a common discussion about what we are giving up, and a secret desire to be applauded for our ability to abstain from the item during Lent. However, this is the exact opposite of what we hear in today's Gospel. Jesus says to his disciples: “Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them." Jesus challenges his disciples, to give alms, pray and fast in secret. And today, this is the same challenge that I give to all of us. As I have gotten older, I have noticed a personal shift in my actions during Lent. As a young child, I would give up the typical things: junk food, fighting with my brother, watching TV, etc. However, since coming to college, I have noticed a dwindling amount of junk food in my possession due to having a low income, my brother is obviously not around to argue with, and finding time to watch TV comes in dead last when scheduling my days. Noting all of this, I decided my Freshman year, and have done so every year since, to give up a small amount of time each day to sit in silence. No phone, no internet, no school work, no talking...just simply listening to what God wants me to hear. After the silence is over, I say a prayer of thanksgiving, reconciliation, and petitions. Through doing this, I have noticed a sense of enjoyment instead of stress, and peace instead of anxiety, throughout the Lenten season. This sense of enjoyment and peace comes from building and strengthening my relationship with the Lord each day, as He walks by my side each day during this 40 day journey to Easter. Instead of focusing on what others are observing and thinking about our actions during this Lenten season, let us instead focus on what our God is thinking. Let us grow in our faith and in our relationship, through listening to what God is trying to tell us. Let us give alms, pray, and fast in secret, for the Lord will truly repay us in secret.

Matt Blandford's Witness, 2 March 2014

So I’ve gone almost three years here in the BCC, and up until now I have managed to escape giving the witness for Mass. I say “escape” because it has very much been a conscious avoidance of the subject whenever it gets brought up or whenever Kaitlyn would send out the emails asking for people to volunteer. It wasn’t until Emma directly emailed me asking me to write one that I finally decided, “Well, I guess it’s about time I stop hiding.” So here I am. For those who know how outspoken I am, it may come as a surprise that I would be so hesitant to give witness. The truth is that my faith is an aspect of my life that I have had a rather up-and-down relationship with for quite some time now. Growing up as the son of a religion teacher and eventual permanent deacon, let me tell you—I know most Church teachings and history like the back of my hand. Yet when it came to actually making my faith personal—actually making it mine—I falter. A lot. Part of it is due to a pride that makes it difficult for me to admit when I struggle. Part of it is due to an overly logic-based mind that gets too wrapped up in the facts and uses that as validation that, yeah, I’ve totally got a handle on this whole Catholic thing. Part of it is embarrassment being around all these wonderful people on Leadership Team who seem to have their faith so much more personally-built than I do. But the biggest part of it is that in my mind, I simply don’t have time. Ah, yes: time. How it eludes me. Between 4 straight semesters of 20 official credit hours (but often a couple more than that), a slew of organizations and other responsibilities, and, oh yeah, I should probably save time for my girlfriends and friends, it adds up to very little free time whatsoever. Unfortunately, what tends to get cast aside the most is my spiritual relationship with God. We always hear the prayers about relying on God (I know in high school I heard the prayer about “I had so much to accomplish/ That I had to take time to pray” at least 50 times), yet for me at least, this always felt nearly impossible. Even when I had down time, my mind was always running through 5 different things at once so I couldn’t concentrate on prayer even when I tried. Amid all the stress and worries of the world, I felt—and often still feel—a slave to my own commitments. Yet as Jesus pointed out in today’s Gospel, that’s not what God wants. Jesus uses the example of serving God and serving money, but it’s not just money He wants to warn us about—it’s everything. Money, high grades, popularity, relationships, hobbies, organizations—they all can be our masters. Now, that’s not to say that we shouldn’t do those things; very few of us are called to stay in our room and do nothing but pray 24/7. But amid all of the running around today, we need to take that time to stop, take a deep breath, and give God a wazzup. The first time I realized that I was struggling to make my faith personal and not an obligation was the summer after freshman year of high school. I was at ND Vision, a weeklong retreat at Notre Dame, and over the week, I had started to realize how little time I was devoting to God in my life. When it came for Reconciliation, I started with the usual list that I’m sure every priest hears. Then I paused, and before I knew it, a rush of words flew out of my mouth of how I had no idea what to do, but I had just suddenly realized that my faith wasn’t where I should be. It was the first and only time I have ever cried during Reconciliation. When I finished, I looked up embarrassed, to see the priest softly smiling. I’ll never forget what he said to me. He said, “Never forget: God wants to talk to you. And He’s ready to sit down and talk whenever you’re ready.” It was so simple, but it was exactly true, and exactly what I needed. I wish that I could say that since that moment, I’ve changed it around and now pray every day and am a model Catholic, but that’s just not true. I can honestly admit that if it wasn’t for the choir, I would probably barely be participating in my faith above the bare minimum, and I certainly wouldn’t be on Leadership Team. What I do know, however, is this: no matter what, no matter how often I forget or how lazy I become, no matter how much I feel that I just don’t have time and that it’s too late to turn things around, I know that God’s waiting. He doesn’t want to be just our master; He wants to be our friend.

Student Witness: Mary Allgier

Hello, I’m Mary Allgier. I’m a senior Electronic Journalism and Spanish Double major, Strat Comm minor. The first two readings today talk a lot about trust. If you trust in God, you too shall live. Trusting God. I asked myself if I trusted God, and of course at first I thought, “Of course I trust God completely!” Then I really thought about it. I’ve always been Captain Anxiety. I know I’ll find a job and make a life for myself after I graduate. I trust with prayer and work, I’ll get to where God wants me to be. But I’m a very “in the now” person. I have a busy life between a full time internship and school stuff… and I’m training for a half marathon in between. I always want to know what I’m doing next and feel lost when I don’t know the next step. If you’re a senior, or even a junior thinking about next year or graduating early, you can probably relate. All your friends are getting job offers, you’re scared that maybe you didn’t pick the right career, and while you’re thinking “Job, job, job,” your relatives want to know when you plan on getting married! And all this time I keep trying to remember, “Trust God. Trust God.” I found a great quote online as I was writing this. It was from a blog called Tipsy Dad… but I liked it. “I've come to realize that trusting in God means you have to trust Him even in the impossible situations…You cannot trust when you're comfortable. It is only when we are uncomfortable, when you are in impossible situations that we can really truly demonstrate our trust in God. It is only then when we can truly let go and let God...and when we do, how awesome is the peace that follows. I realized that if I truly trust God, my senior fears are kind of silly. They’re small things I’ll (hopefully) laugh about in a year or two. So I’m going to listen to the tipsy dad: let go and let God.

An Unexpected Lesson

An unexpected lesson
By Alison Oen, BCC Leadership Team

The school year had ended but apparently God still wanted to teach me a lesson.

It was the first day in the middle of my doing my hours for IPPE-Introduction to Pharmacy Practice Experience when I heard a voice I recognized. I was the voice of Valerie, a fellow peer in my pharmacy class. Little did I know that she worked part time at this Walgreens store. My first impression upon meeting her last fall was highly judgmental. I had immediately written Valerie off as someone who I would never be able to connect with, to learn from or to work with. I had felt that our personalities were too different. I admit I was panicked when I heard her voice and my stomach sank. I was worried my experience was going to turn into a disaster but it turned out better with her. Valerie was so nice to me. I could ask her a question without her judging me or telling me I should know that by now. She stood at one of the cash registers with me and explained how to look up certain medications, how to find out if a patient’s medication was ready, how to enter a new prescription into the system, and even how to enter a new patient profile. She is one of the most upbeat and energetic people I know, a lot of people would call her “perky” but I like her enthusiasm and it has made the long hours more bearable. I will definitely miss her enthusiasm when she starts her own IPPE hours at another store this coming week. I guess the old saying is true “never judge a book by its cover.” I believe God tried to teach me a lesson on judging others before I even know them. I hope that I can continue to learn more from her and work more with her in the coming school years we have together at Butler.