My time with House of Brigid has come to an end and I have so many emotions and feelings running through my head. I am blessed to have participated in this program to the full. In Wexford I experienced the warm hospitality of Clonard Church as they welcomed me like I was family. Every time I encountered a parishioner, whether it was at church or in town, I was greeted with love and joy. In Dublin and at the Notre Dame-Newman Centre I experienced similar love. I have friendships with parishioners who have become like family and have a deeper understanding of God’s grace in my life when I walk through the doors.
My House of Brigid communities have been such a blessing in my life as well. I’ve grown closer in my relationship with Jesus through learning to love them, even when it was hard to. I have formed life long friendships with the five lucky people who had to live and work and pray and do everything with me in Wexford and Dublin.
Over the past two years I have come to realize how much I love my family and how grateful I am for them. It might sound crazy that moving 5,000 miles away from them made me realize this, but it’s true. I have such wonderful parents and siblings. Though there was a time when I eventually had to choose to be Catholic for myself, my parents are the ones who instilled great values in me and created space so that I could have a relationship with God. My family and our home was and is filled with laughter and love.
To be candid, I am brought to tears most days lately. The tears are not because I am sad but because I am so, so overwhelmed by how loved I am by God. The other day was my 25th birthday. Because I am dramatic sometimes and wanted to do something that I wouldn’t do on a normal day, I went to Howth early, early in the morning to watch the sunrise. I read somewhere once that Saint John Paul II used to wake up early and pray in his private chapel. Once when he was asked, “Why do you get up so early?” he replied, “I like to watch the sun rise.” I’ve seen many sunsets but it is something else to watch the sun rise. It peaks over the horizon and moves so steadily. During the day I hardly give a notice that it is moving across the sky. It is there though, constantly. It allows for life to flourish on earth. It shows up every day. I don’t wonder if it will rise again the next. I don’t worry about it being behind the clouds or out of sight at night. So is God’s love for us.
God has looked out and cared for me so uniquely in the past two years, who am I to be afraid or wonder if He will continue to do the same?
“He will provide the way and the means, such as you could never have imagined. Leave it all to Him, let go of yourself, lose yourself on the cross, and you will find yourself entirely.” -Saint Catherine of Siena
