“ Our sanctification is not only found in how we respond to a big call some years down the road. It is found in how we respond to what He brings to us today, in every moment.”.
This is just one of the statements that struck me when reflecting on Paige’s responses to my questions. Let me tell you a little about her before we dive in.
My friend Paige is a junior Communication Sciences and Disorders major at The Pennsylvania State University. She is originally from Glen Rock, New Jersey and her saint friend is Blessed Solanus Casey. Paige likes to go running, loves her family, and lights up a room with her smile. :)
There tends to be a common misconception about our generation: that we do not care about our Faith. Paige summed it up wonderfully through the lens of her own story.
"Many people think that young people in the church just don’t care. While it may seem that way with young adults not attending Mass, or practicing their faith in any capacity, there is a hole in the hearts of young people, and we don’t know how to fill it, so we look to other things. Until I was directly told of the goodness of the Lord, I myself fell into that same category. It’s not that I didn’t care, it’s that I didn’t know. No one ever told me. What is so important today is that we raise young people in the Church to know who the Lord is, how much He loves us individually, and the graces He offers us everyday, if only we turn to Him. Often we are told of the rules of our faith, why not start by sharing the beautiful freedom that comes from following Christ?"
"It’s not that I didn’t care, it’s that I didn’t know. No one ever told me."
I wondered then what made her choose to live out a Catholic life in college?
"My own conviction to live as a devoted Catholic came through the small tastes of Heaven I would receive on earth. I knew the suffering and hurt that the world had to offer, but I also knew of the beauty and goodness that only come from the Lord. In recognizing Christ’s true presence in the Eucharist, and His sacrifice that is offered at every Mass, He graced me with knowing that it was for me. And it is all for me. Loving friends and family, nature and beautiful sunsets, beautiful flowers, the Holy Eucharist...all these things created for me, personally, drew my heart in. My desire to know, love, serve, and live completely for God, grew. I knew that if these things of the earth were only a taste of what the Lord has for me in Heaven, and He has created for me a sure way to get there, then why would I live in a way that would deny myself of that?"
"Loving friends and family, nature and beautiful sunsets, beautiful flowers, the Holy Eucharist...all these things created for me, personally, drew my heart in".
I admire Paige’s thirst for heaven. Her ability to see God’s beauty in the little and big things and know that His creation is her is amazing. In fact, God’s creation is for us all! Not only is His creation for us, but He calls us all to holiness. To be saints! When I asked Paige about her thoughts on it, this is what she said.
This call to holiness can often seem like a very lofty one. However, in reality, I know that the Lord isn’t asking me to make a big sacrifice, toss my nets, leave my family and sell everything I have in one moment (at least not right now). But what He asks is that I humbly admit to my littleness, rely totally on Him, and love the person in front of me. This could be my sister, my roommate, my coworker, my classmate, the person I don’t like very much, the bus driver, etc. We are all given the same call, and it is present, it is reality, He won’t wait, He calls us now to holiness. Our sanctification is not only found in how we respond to a big call some years down the road. It is found in how we respond to what He brings to us today, in every moment.
"But what He asks is that I humbly admit to my littleness, rely totally on Him, and love the person in front of me".
Can I get an “Amen”?! For me, this takes so much pressure off the need to perform and need to prove mentality. Constantly striving to so "big things" can add stress and pressure when that may not be what God is asking us.
Paige's response reminds me of St. Therese of Liseux and her “Little Way”. St. Therese said,
“I am too small to climb the rough stairway of perfection. I searched, then, in the Scriptures for some sign of this elevator, the object of my desires, and I read these words coming from the mouth of Eternal Wisdom: “Whoever is a LITTLE ONE, let him come to me.” And so I succeeded. I felt I had found what I was looking for…. The elevator which must raise me to heaven is Your arms, O Jesus! And for this I had no need to grow up, but rather I had to remain little and become this more and more"(quote pulled from the Blue Army).
And who was more humble then our Blessed Mother Mary? She maintained humility even though she was carrying the savior of the universe, Jesus Christ. Her Fiat, her “Yes”, provoked her Magnificat. There Mother Mary says, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my savior”( Luke 1: 46-47)? I wondered if Paige’s daily “yes” had her resulting in similar experiences in her own life.
“It wasn’t until recently that I could hear Our Lady’s words ring true in my own heart. To me, the words of Mary’s Magnificat, declare a pure and complete reliance on the Lord. She is humbly acknowledging that we are nothing without the greatness of the Lord. That everything that we have or do is because of God.
My own journey of reliance on God has been just that, a journey. Certainly not smooth sailing, and often ebbing and flowing. This past year though, the Lord graced me with a deep realization of my littleness. That I have nothing, and that's ok, because He gives everything I will ever need. Acknowledging this brings a great peace into my heart knowing that I am a child who is taken care of. This allows me to proclaim the greatness of the Lord, and rejoice because I have a Savior who knows, loves, and provides”.
Especially in times likes these when everything is uncertain, reliance on God is so needed. I asked Paige if she had any thoughts for you and she said this beautiful response.
“Being young and in love (with the Lord) is hard. It's not what most people do. But don’t give up. Be not afraid. He is seeking you and pursuing you more than you know, and He wants you to be a Saint more than you even want it. You just have to let Him. Thank Him in all things. Seek Him in all things. Rely on Him like a child would their father. He won’t let you down”.
Your sister,
Paige
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