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As we adjust to our new semester, we’re gifted a time of fresh starts and of new beginnings. Summer is fading away, and the hopes and anxieties of the year stretch out ahead of us. Some of us have a clear image of what it is we want for our future, and some of us are still trying to figure that out. The great thing is, whether you know your future or you don’t, we all get to figure out our path in the midst of community.
You and I are afforded hundreds of choices every day. Sometimes those decisions are small, insignificant. But other times, they hold big consequences - consequences that affect not just my future, but my present. And those bigger decisions that pop up in our life, especially if they’re unforeseen, oftentimes paralyze us with fear or anxiety.
We’re really only given two options here: we can make a rash decision based on impulse, or we can take breath, quiet our heart, and begin the journey of processing it.
If you take the first option, your decision will be made immediately. You can put it behind you, move on, and hope for the best. If you take the second option, your decision will be more drawn out. You’ll think about it a lot, worry about it, make lists of pros and cons. And even when you do finally make your choice, you still might have residual fear over whether or not it was the right choice.
When we find ourselves at such a crossroads, it is good that we are here. Because regardless of the fact that we are adults and we get to make adult decisions, we find ourselves in a place where we don’t ever have to make those decisions all on our own.
College is a great time to figure out who you are, and who you want to be. But it is also a time of constant change and transition, and that can be hard. Whether this is your first year on campus or your fourth, the choices that you are given never end, they just change. And in those moments, whether they be big or small, you are not alone. You have hundreds of fellow students attempting to figure it out, too. You have professors who do, earnestly, care about your well-being and the future you are attempting to build. You have a community of people who might not know all the answers, but is filled with people who will help you discover exactly what it is you are looking for. Lean into this reality. Ask questions, dig deep, and allow yourself the grace to explore the journey that you are on. And when the choices seem to be burdensome, or you think you need a little help, don’t feel that you need to figure it all out on your own. Ask, and you will receive. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened for you.
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Every May, we experience a flurry of emotions. May brings with it a sense of finality. Another school year has come and gone, and with it, a whole journey of new experiences and changes and friendships and love. Some of those experiences have been great, others maybe not so much. And each May, we close this one chapter and prepare to open the next.
Some of us are graduating, others are preparing for internships and summer jobs. We move back home, we move in with friends, we pack up our dorms and move into whatever comes next.
The closing of this chapter can be a difficult one, even if it is filled with excitement. This is perhaps most especially seen in those who are saying goodbye to St. Ambrose and the relationships they’ve built along the way. Because saying goodbye can be hard, and stepping into a new chapter without all the familiarity you’ve built can be hard, too.
Back in 2019, the bishop asked me to move from my first parish to become pastor of a new one. While I knew this day would eventually come, it didn’t make it any easier. Saying goodbye to my home and the people who had helped make it my home hit harder than I thought it would. I remember emailing the bishop late one night and sharing that, after all this, I didn’t think I wanted to leave. I didn’t want to say goodbye. He called me, we talked about it - about how goodbyes are hard and sad, but we also talked about how goodbyes can be the avenues for new grace and new life and, perhaps most importantly, new love. The last thing he said to me that night was, “Such is the life of a priest. And it is a good life.”
It is a good life. Life is good. And while goodbyes and new chapters can be difficult and daunting, there is new life and new grace and new love that exists in each chapter of our journey.
Whatever this May brings you, know of my continued prayers - prayers as you prepare for your final exams, prayers for your goodbyes, and prayers for whatever adventure is on your horizon.
Have a question about a program or event going on in Campus Ministry? Got an idea for something you'd like to see happen? EMAIL US at ministry@sau.edu.
