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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.
