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.