Check out my post in Catholic women’s blog, Catholic Sistas.
Stories and thoughts from the heart of a missionary.
To ponder: to consider something deeply and thoroughly; to meditate.
Whatever happened to pondering, anyway?
Now, we do a whole lot of thinking, planning, worrying, doing, procrastinating, scurrying and relaxing. Even our quiet time (if we happen to get some in our day!) is filled with racing thoughts about what has happened, what could or should be happening and what’s going to happen later. We, especially as women, can drive ourselves absolutely crazy with THOUGHTS.
On campus, we ask our student leaders to join us for a morning Holy Hour everyday. There are some shared prayers, but most of the time is spent in silence with the Lord. He is present right before us, and for a brief time, He has us all to Himself. To teach us, to talk to us, to love us. Taking this time everyday to meditate with our Lord has made a huge difference in my spiritual life, and I know for our students, it changed lives.
How much difference would it make in your life?
I just love the Blessed Mother. She’s so ready to give her abundant special graces when her children ask her. And one thing she’s particularly good at as Scripture tells us (Luke 2:19) is pondering the goodness of the Lord, the great things He has done, how much He loves.
Let us ask our Queen to help us ponder. Let’s take a moment to walk away from shopping, wrapping, cooking, stressing. Let go of the Martha in you and embrace the Mary (Luke 10:38-42). Let us dote on the new born babe, whom we hold in our arms and show to the world. Let us ponder.
In fact, here’s a poem from G.K. Chesterton to help:
The Christ-child lay on Mary’s lap,
His hair was like a light.
(O weary, weary were the world,
But here is all aright.)
The Christ-child lay on Mary’s breast
His hair was like a star.
(O stern and cunning are the kings,
But here the true hearts are.)
The Christ-child lay on Mary’s heart,
His hair was like a fire.
(O weary, weary is the world,
But here the world’s desire.)
The Christ-child stood on Mary’s knee,
His hair was like a crown,
And all the flowers looked up at Him,
And all the stars looked down
It’s that best time of the year again! Halloween is over, the weather is nicer, people are happier, football season is heightened and the world was graced with many beautiful people.
Here are some of my favorite things to do this month!
1. Pray for the souls in purgatory.
2. Wear jackets and boots.
3. Watch college football (especially the Huskers).
4. Celebrate my friends who were born in November.
5. Celebrate America (Veteran’s Day, Thanksgiving, etc.).
Enjoy the month! Even if you weren’t born this month, you gotta admit…it’s pretty good.
FOCUS news: Going to Interview Weekend in Denver this weekend to interview potential FOCUS staff. Say a prayer for them and for safe travels. Can’t wait to see the mountains!
Hey, y’all. Last week, I did an interview with Mike Young, the founder of a Web site called catholiccollegestudent.com. He has interviewed a lot of other missionaries (including my teammate Jimmy) and young adults who are committed to their faith.
Here’s the link to my interview.
Peace.
FOCUS asked me to write “A Day in the Life of a Missionary” for recruitment purposes this year. You’ll find what I wrote below. Enjoy!
“Jesus, I offer to you my prayers, works, joys and sufferings of this day. I offer myself to you every day of my life and every moment of every day…” Yes, every moment. Even this one when I make the seemingly impossible decision to leave my comfortable bed after a late night of hanging out with students. What appeared to be a slow start to my 9 p.m. Bible study the night before turned into great discussion, a couple hours of questions and me not getting home until Midnight. As I get ready for the day, I think about how excited the girls were to get answers and how happy I was to give them, so I guess a little less sleep is totally worth it.
Once I’m ready, I’m (rushing) out the door to walk to the Catholic center for our team Holy Hour at 8 a.m. I’m happy to see some students joining us as I prepare myself for prayer. There’s so much on my mind, like the girls I still haven’t met with, my teammates I need to check-in with and all the other things I have to do today. I give them all to my mother Mary to hold on to while I open my Bible to Philippians. I read and remember with St. Paul to never stop pressing on to the goal Christ has called my team and me to here on campus. I reflect on the challenges and obstacles that have seemed to get in our way, and I ask the Lord to show me His hand and blessings in all of it.
The hour goes by before I know it! Upstairs in the office, I spend 30 minutes answering some email and sorting out my schedule for the day. It’s not my favorite time spent, but I remind myself it’s necessary for the apostolate and even this work can be sanctifying.
As I chat with my teammate Jimmy, one of our student disciples, Jessica bounces into the office for our weekly discipleship/coffee date. I’m so glad to see her for several reasons: we haven’t talked in a couple of days, I love her a lot and I could really use some coffee. We have a lot to talk about, including questions from her Bible study girls and a story about a non-believer friend. Over the past couple of months, I’ve watched in amazement the Holy Spirit develop in her more and more a heart for the lost and for evangelization. Once again, the time flies by, and we both have somewhere to be.
I run across campus to make the Campus Minister meeting hosted by a Christian unity group on campus. I love being a Catholic witness to my protestant counterparts on campus. Plus, their sincerity in following Jesus and zeal for souls inspires me and gives me a little extra push.
It’s almost Noon and time for my favorite, most necessary part of the day: Mass! Not only do I get to see a lot of students, but I receive what I need to sustain life in Christ and to share Him with others. As my heart and mind begin to take a rest and prepare, I notice Kaci from my Freshmen Bible study who I’ve never seen at Daily Mass. “Talk to her afterwards,” I tell myself. She’s been really talkative lately and asking a lot of questions in study. I know that if Jesus is at the center of her life, she has a lot of potential to be a great student leader. I offer my Mass for her and all of the women in my Bible studies as we stand to begin our worship.
After grabbing lunch with some students at a dining hall, I decide to take a walk around campus before a meeting at 2 p.m. I pass by a food stand and see my other disciple, Paige, eating. I join her at a table with a couple of tough looking guys, one with a shiny, familiar object hanging from his neck. I’ve been meaning to take Paige out on campus to evangelize, and, well, now is as good a time as any…
“Hey. I like your necklace. What is that?”
“Oh…thanks! It’s a cross. I’ve had it for 10 years.”
“Wow! That’s awesome. So, are you Catholic?”
“Yeah. Well, by birth, but not by practice.”
“Oh, I see. Why is that?”
Now, don’t get too excited. It doesn’t get much farther than learning that his family stopped going to Mass when they moved here from Venezuela before everyone had to leave for class. But I do get his name and pray that I might run into him again. As scary as that can be sometimes, striking up conversation with new people is always fun.
I spend the rest of the afternoon working on my newsletter and making calls to a few mission partners. Because I’m serving at a campus that has FOCUS for the first time this year, I have a lot of news, joys and prayer requests to share with them. Sometimes I feel like I’m all alone on the “front lines” and can’t possibly be an effective missionary, but in reality, I’m with all those who support me financially and through prayer.
I have some free time, so I walk home to make dinner. Making sure I take a little down time every day is a challenge, but I know these moments are essential and will keep me from getting burnt out. It’s close to 8 p.m., so I walk back to the Catholic center for Adoration and Exposition. It’s the only hour of exposition offered at our center, so it’s a treat for me that I never want to miss. Plus, the students who host the night are so musically talented; it’s especially great to hear them praise the Lord with their voices.
After Adoration, it’s “I feel like I haven’t seen you in weeks!”, “You have Bible studies? How can I get involved in that?” and my personal favorite, “Hey Lauren, do you think we could get coffee sometime? There’s something I want to talk to you about.” I whip out my calendar and make meetings with lots of girls for the week to come. It’s times like these I can’t believe this is my life: sharing love and life.
I finish the night getting a drink and hanging out with a few young adults and Jimmy who I, unfortunately, haven’t seen much all day. We share a few stories from the day, but mostly just enjoy our time with friends.
As a crawl (more like fall) into my bed, a million thoughts run through my mind: the great things that happened today, the great or not-so-great things that could happen tomorrow and why is it again that I’m living this crazy, fun, beautiful and sometimes sleep-deprived life? And then I remember. These aren’t just college students, they’re God’s people. It’s not me doing good, it’s God. It’s not our ministry, it’s His, and in His mercy, I am a part of it here and now. My heart and mind finally rest as the words of night prayer echo, “…that awake we may keep watch with Christ and asleep rest in His peace.”
So…I never finished the DC list, but oh well. It was a great trip.
Meanwhile, it’s been a whirlwind of a month so far down here at UT-Austin. In very short…
Parish talk at St. William in Round Rock. Moving in. Lots of fundraising appointments. Helping Jimmy move in. Meeting students. Setting up our office at the University Catholic Center. Mass announcements and Bible study sign ups. Car accident (yes, another one. yes, another total loss. we’re ok, but the devil really hates us). Student leaders retreat. School starts. More Mass announcements. Visit from our regional directors, Sam and Sean. Bible studies. Welcome Retreat. Football. Breathe.
Insert lots of prayer and quality time with awesome students in between and you got yourself a pretty crazy, fruitful Fall outreach. More to come and many great stories to anticipate!
Give thanks to the Lord for He is good. His steadfast love endures forever.
Let us pray for RAIN and for all those effected by the wildfires in Texas.
What a city, our nation’s capital! I’ve been around here before, but never for this long and certainly not to do any touristy things. To be fair, I didn’t really do too many touristy things this time either (hence why many on my list have to do with food…whoops), but I’ve had a lot of fun so far, and I’m a little bummed to be leaving tomorrow. Five days sure does fly by fast when you’re on vacation! Back to the grind this weekend with a parish talk, but before that, my humble, and sometimes child-like, opinion.
Best: That’s right, child-like. It’ll manifest in different ways, but in this instance, my parents would never let me ride the metro by myself (at least while they were paying to replenish my SmartTrip card). But I LOVE RIDING THE METRO. It’s a perfect time to people watch, smile at someone who looks like they’re having a rough day, participate in public transportation AND feel like you’re on a significantly less intense, but still totally fun, rollercoaster.
Worst: Waitstaff. Oh my goodness. We’ve gone out to eat almost every day since I’ve been here and have had only one friendly, attentive waiter. I tend to be more understanding with someone in a bad mood, but disgruntled waiters with no sense of humor seem to be a trend around here. Not cool.
Best: Friendship Heights. Classy metropolitan shopping at (somewhat) reasonable prices? Um, yes, please. My mom and I scored some great finds in this lovely D.C. neighborhood just a quick Metro ride (bonus!) from our Downtown apartment. Also, there’s a Whole Foods AND Anthropologie steps from one another. So, if you’re looking for slightly overpriced, yet irresitible food and clothing, that is your corner.
Worst: I thought I might escape the Texas heat at least for a couple of days during my stay; however, the East Coast also falls victim to the nationwide heat wave. It’s been unbelievably hot here, and it’s not made for pleasant walks around the city. I think we could have seen a lot more if we’d been brave enough (and hidrated enough) to venture into the unrelenting sun. Oh well. That’s just summer for ya.
That’s all for now! The rest of the list will be here soon (after all, I have one more day here!).
So long from the Capital City.
I’m heading to D.C. this weekend to visit my parents, and I am really excited.
I’ve been there once before, but was unable to really soak up historical, political and patriotic greatness. I also hear there’s some great shopping, but that’s secondary.
And obviously, the most important reason I’m making a trip to the East Coast is to visit my parents. It’s been weird being home for a couple of weeks without them there, and I definitely miss them. I’ll be there for five days (ish) and then will be back to give a parish talk in Round Rock, TX (more on that later).
Anything in DC that I must see?
…deep in the heart of Texas!
That’s right, everyone. I’m headed back to the Lone Star State to serve with FOCUS at the University of Texas-Austin.
Isn't it pretty?
I’ll be starting the year with another missionary, Jimmy Becker, who is a third year missionary from Des Moines. He’s served at the University of Wisconsin for the past two years with VarsityCatholic, a branch of FOCUS dedicated to reaching out to athletes. In January, we’ll be joined by Samantha Kelley, a first year missionary who is a soccer player at UCONN.
We are so excited to get started on campus in August. It’s such a large, influential college and if the Lord chooses to bless our efforts, it can be a big open door for the rest of Texas.
Personally, it’ll be touch to leave the MidWest and the opportunity to visit Nebraska frequently, but this is such a great chance to follow God with lots of trust. And don’t worry, friends. I might cheer for the Longhorns once in a while, but I’m a Husker at heart.
Peace.
Got any friends in Austin or want to learn how to help?
lgarcia@focusonline.org
512.514.3026
just rediscovered this poem by my favorite, e.e. cummings.
i am a little church(no great cathedral)
far from the splendor and squalor of hurrying cities -
i do not worry if briefer days grow briefest,
i am not sorry when sun and rain make april
my life is the life of the reaper and the sower;
my prayers are prayers of earth’s own clumsily striving
(finding and losing and laughing and crying)
children whose any sadness or joy is my grief or my gladness
around me surges a miracle of unceasing birth and glory and death and resurrection:
over my sleeping self float flaming symbols of hope,
and i wake to a perfect patience of mountains
i am a little church(far from the frantic world with its rapture and anguish)
at peace with nature -i do not worry if longer nights grow longest;
i am not sorry when silence becomes singing
winter by spring,i lift my diminutive spire to merciful Him
Whose only now is forever: standing erect in the deathless truth of His presence
(welcoming humbly His light and proudly His darkness)
