A Litany of Lessons Learned - by 410 alum Andrea Brunal

Litany of Lessons

Hey guys! My name is Andrea and I was a junior in 410 three years ago. I honestly believe this class changed my life. Not in a huge miracle moment, but slowly over the course of that year. Now I know it was Jesus easing me into the crazy ride I’ve been on since then, and it has been a beautiful ride with Him. A ride that has given me chills, that has taught me to trust, and that has made me laugh. A ride full of ups and downs, twists and turns. A ride that is powered by the purest form of love and is secured to rails of the Church. It’s better than any theme park roller coaster I’ve ever ridden!
Today I want to give everyone some advice. I asked some of my friends for input and combined their answers with mine to make sure you got feedback about a variety of topics. So here are 12 things we wish we had known when we were in your shoes!

1.  God loves you WAY more than you could ever comprehend, so try to open your heart to him.
Have you ever felt that “Jesus high” after a retreat? Or maybe you got into hardcore prayer mode and you felt His presence? I’d like to picture those situations as the times we finally decide to stop being stubborn and pay attention to Christ. Because the devil will try to tell you He doesn’t love you or you aren’t worthy of His love, or you’re too messed up to receive his love. Meanwhile, God is trying SO hard to tell you how valuable you are to Him. Yes, you. With your brokenness, faults, and failures. He meets you where you are and loves you unconditionally. It’s hard to believe it sometimes, but I urge you; try to really open your heart to Him, it can be a very powerful experience.

2.  Adoration is one of the best things in this world. 
When I was in this class I had never heard of adoration, so don’t worry if that’s you! Ask Eric and Kathleen about it, but trust me when I say it’s very powerful. It’s my favorite form of prayer because He is right there, visible to you. Fun fact: I can relate a lot to Thomas the Apostle because I sometimes need to see Christ to believe He’s there. I know some of you may struggle with this too, and that’s okay. I highly recommend you try adoration out!

3.  Finding your favorite praying style is very important. 
As I said in the previous point, I love adoration. But I also know that God speaks very clearly to me through Praise and Worship music, and that spending time outdoors enjoying his creation recharges me. I know that the best time I can have breakdowns or rejoice in successes is alone during car rides, where I can talk to him out loud without people thinking I’m crazy (except for people at lights, I’ve gotten some laughs out of the looks people give me sometimes). So my suggestion is to try a different ways to pray. Get out of your comfort zone, because that new prayer style could end up being your favorite.

4.  Catholicism is much more than going to mass and this class. 
This is a huge one that I could write an entire post on, but basically this is something you learn a tiny bit about in this class. I say a tiny bit not to discredit Eric and Katie, but to indicate just how much being Catholic entails. Whether you’re on the fence about Catholicism or you’re positive this is the truth, don’t let the depth of it scare you. Take it slowly and at a pace you can handle. Learn about the Church’s stances on popular topics of the day and pray for understanding of the Church teachings. Go be a servant of Christ and help the helpless. Pray more, for yourself and for others. Ask those questions you’re ashamed or scared to ask. This is a perfect time to build your knowledge and practice true discipleship.

5. God has a way of taking your plans and shifting them in ways you would have never expected. Trust Him. 
Some of you may already have experienced this, and you know exactly what I’m talking about. You go to Christ in prayer, and you say something along the lines of “God, this is what I want. I want this and this to happen at this time and in this way.” Does this plan ever line up with what He has in store? For me, very rarely. The funny thing is, it always blows my mind when I finally realize what He was doing. Months after I say that flawed, impatient prayer I finally take the time to look back and realize God answered that prayer in His own time and manner. Even though this is something very difficult to understand (even for me), try to trust Him more. He has a plan for all of us and He will reveal it in His most beautiful manner (even if it’s totally unexpected). Pray about it, get pumped for it, and let go of your desire to control everything because it’s impossible to do that!

6.  Your faith is a great way to make very good friends that not only will enjoy life with you but also keep you accountable. 
Your faith journey will not be easy, but God also doesn’t make you trudge through it alone. I’ve found that making friends that share your faith is absolutely amazing. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve thanked God for the people around me because they make sure I’m always working to pursue Christ. I see Christ so clearly in these people that it blows my mind sometimes. So try talking to someone else in this class that you maybe haven’t talked to before. If not, in the future (especially in college) try joining a group at the church, because there’s a good chance you’ll meet some of your best friends there.  However, don’t forget to be this kind of friend to others. Don’t be afraid to ask them what you can pray for in their lives, or urge them to deepen their faith. We are called to be disciples, and this includes our friendships!

7.  Some days are tough, but those are the days you have to make even more of an effort to work at your faith- even if you don’t feel like it. 
This one pretty much explains itself but there will be days along your journey that make you wonder if your prayers have a point. There will be days when taking time out of your schedule for Christ is really hard. Things will happen that may cause you to feel frustration or anger at Christ. These are the days when the effort is key. And don’t forget to use your support system to help you through the tough time!

8.  There will be times where you go to prayer and “do everything right” but you don’t have a huge Jesus moment or it feels like nothing changes. That doesn’t mean He isn’t there. 
Oftentimes we hear people give powerful testimonies about the epic moment they knew God was calling them, or a huge climax to their prayers, and we wonder if we need to have a moment like that too. Well, we don’t, and most of the time we won’t. This is totally okay. God works in different ways in different people, but the important part to remember is that God works constantly in our hearts. No matter how much it seems like you aren’t getting answers or He has taken a lunch break from your life, He is always there. In moments of spiritual desolation and loneliness, I suggest praying to Saint (Mother) Teresa of Calcutta. She’s a boss and she definitely can relate to the feeling of separation from Christ.

9.  Confession is one of the most beautiful sacraments you can receive. Telling your failures sucks, but so does having a broken relationship with happiness itself. 
Think about that. God is happiness. Every time we sin we take a step away from pure happiness. Luckily, God yearns to forgive us and pull us back into His embrace. You know that saying “forgive and forget”? Confession is the epitome of this statement. Jesus listens to us admit we messed up (which He already knows anyway) and tells us to do a penance as a way to start on a new path. Here’s an analogy for you. A toddler uses markers to draw on the walls even though a father has already set a rule that markers are only to be used on paper. The dad knows it was his toddler who wrote on the wall, but he patiently waits for the toddler to acknowledge the mistake. This is where it gets really beautiful, because instead of reprimanding or yelling at the toddler the father immediately tells his son it’s okay, paints over the wall, and loves the toddler even more for coming back to him. When we go to confession, God doesn’t get angry that we mess up. Instead, He wipes away our sins with His mercy and allows us to start over. It’s just like the story of the prodigal son. No matter how much we messed up, we are always welcomed home with open arms. Not only are we welcomed back, but we are celebrated. God throws a party for you in heaven every time you go to confession (no matter how many times you go, it’s the same party celebrated with the same joy as the first one)! So try getting out of your comfort zone. Go to confession because He is begging for you to come back to his loving embrace.

10.  Mass is SO COOL. 
When I really think about what mass is, it blows my mind. Every single Catholic is reading the same readings and following the same mass structure we are. It’s a beautiful way to depict what unity and family really mean. Add the fact that Jesus humbles himself, uses bread and wine to offer himself to and for us, and nourishes our spirit. Oh, and let’s not forget that the heavenly banquet that we get a small glimpse of at every mass is happening alongside our earthly celebration. So basically at mass we get to taste what heaven and complete unity with Christ is like. IT’S AMAZING!! I highly suggest that you think about that next time you go to mass, perhaps it will help mass take on a whole new meaning for you.

11.  Pray often and listen. 
I’ve touched on this one some in the other sections, but the part I want to emphasize is the listening part. Not surprisingly, this is the hardest part. How do we listen to God if he almost never speaks to us in a loud booming voice from the sky? I recently read another blog post that addressed this and I really liked how it was worded so I’m going to borrow from it: “The bible is rich and fatty and good for you and still the culture tells us the bible is like lettuce. It’s not flashy. It’s not proud. But it is the living, breathing word of God. If you want to hear him speak, it’s a whole book of him just talking to you.” Also in my recent experience, I’ve found that praise and worship music is often a very clear message from Christ, so maybe try listening to some of that. Mostly, allow Him to speak to you in scripture. You’ll be surprised how clearly He tells you what He’s doing in your life or what He wants you to do if you take the time to buckle down and really listen.

12.  Actually ask for Momma Mary and the Saints’ intercessions. Look up their stories and learn from their examples. 
I didn’t really understand this until last year. I knew Mary was pretty cool and I thought the saints were all crazy intense people who did heroic deeds to get a sort of “special spot” with Christ. I also thought they were too amazing to pray to, so I never really asked for their intercessions. Boy was I wrong… The saints have been through some of the exact same things we go through, and they’ve all sinned like we have. If anything, they should be some of the most relatable figures in the church. Oscar Wilde said it best, “Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future.” When you pick a confirmation saint, actually do some research into who the saints were and their stories. I promise you will find some fantastic stories! With regards to Mary, as Jesus’ mom she has a pretty special place in heaven. There’s a reason we call her the Queen of Heaven! Her deep love for her son is reflected in every prayer you send her way, as it gets perfected on its way to Christ. She knows exactly what it means to trust in God’s plan, and is all around a fantastic role model. I encourage you to ask for Mary’s and the saint’s intercession more often, because they can be part of your support group that can lead you to God.

I know I just threw a lot of information your way and it might take some time to process. That’s okay! I just got really excited to share this with y’all and I trust the Holy Spirit guided me to type something you needed to hear. To end, I want to emphasize that I am still learning about and developing my relationship with Christ. It’s one really long learning process and I don’t want you guys to think I have it all figured out because I’m still learning! I wish you all the best as you wrap up the first half of the school year, and Happy Thanksgiving! May God bless you all this holiday season!

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