Committing to the Holy One

The Scripture passages proclaimed for the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time are very special for me:  They were proclaimed at the first Mass I ever attended at St. Teresa of Avila Roman Catholic Student Center at Valparaiso University, on Sunday, August 23, 2009.

After the heartbreak of moving away from my beloved, longtime home for the first time, I was truly invigorated by what I experienced at St. Teresa's during that one hour at 11 AM Mass.  I saw a community that was truly alive in living out faith and demonstrated the Roman Catholic Church to be a force for good in the world.

Indeed, being part of the St. Teresa's community would have a transformative effect on my life, bringing me alive in faith like never before, even as it was reminiscent of the ways in which I was brought alive in faith during my middle school years, culminating in my Confirmation in 2005.

Attending Mass at St. Teresa's for the first time was like a secondary Confirmation, confirming that even in a new environment, I would continue to practice my faith.  But it also confirmed that my faith was so strong, I would never consider not attending Mass and putting faith into action in other ways.

In the same spirit as the reading from Joshua, the community of St. Teresa's was committing itself to serve the Lord by serving college students like me.  They sacrificed themselves in supporting me, like St. Paul says Christ did for His Church, which is represented in marriage.  And aware of how God was at work in my life, I made that commitment, too.  Like St. Peter tells Christ, I turn to God, even in difficult times, because He has the words of Everlasting Life, and I truly believe He is the Holy One of God, a belief which was strengthened during my time at St. Teresa's.  And I delight to put it in action by teaching RE, which makes me eager to start a new year, ministering to a new group of students.

Dan and Ann Ruggaber truly embodied that spirit of support that St. Teresa's demonstrated in the way they showed their love for me, the kind of spiritual nourishment that God grants us, in the same spirit as He offers us the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist, just as if I was their own son.  Truly the commitment they made 50 years ago has come to be a blessing for so many.  And that's why I was so delighted to be part of their Golden Wedding Anniversary celebration last weekend, even offering them a tribute. 

I am posing with Dan and Ann Ruggaber at their Golden Wedding Anniversary celebration on August 18, 2018.  One of the guests took this photo--someone who I believe was a relative.

The relationship we share continues strong because of the wonderful way our bonds were forged within the context of church community.  They, along with the rest of the St. Teresa's community, has truly brought me alive.  That's why I celebrate August 23 every year, that I may continue to rejoice in the gift of faith.

With the three-year cycle in the readings, we've come back to Cycle A for Sunday, August 26, 2018, and these readings that I heard 9 years ago at that first St. Teresa's Mass, and I rejoice in continuing to commit myself to the Lord along with all His people.