My Catholic Education

Looking back on my high school experience, I’d like to reflect on two gifts my Catholic education has blessed me with. Firstly, it has given me a way of life in faith – one that is drastically different from that of the world. And secondly, it has equipped me with the path and the steps to live this way of faith if I choose to. 

While attending my small Catholic high school, I took much for granted. Mass was a part of each day at school. On game days, our chaplain would bless our team before we stepped out onto the field to play. Religion classes appeared in my course schedule each year. We were assigned mentors every year who cared for both  the body and soul. I could go on and on. But when you’re a teenager as I was, all of these little things seemed ordinary. I did not know anything different. They were just part of my monotonous day to day schedule that turned into weeks, months, final amounting in a grand total of  seven years. Little did I know, all of these factors were choices that the school made to form us into young women of faith. My school was not just a place to study and pursue academic excellence, it was a place to pursue excellence in all areas of life.

Although I was not fully aware at the time, attending my Catholic school allowed me to enjoy the graces of daily communion, constantly reminding me to rely on the strength of God not only in sports but in general, it encouraged me to think deeply about my faith and my life, it gave me a place I could go to ask for help and seek advice. If they had not been given to me, I probably would not have looked for these things on my own or understood how transformative they were. Not only did my education present me with these life practices, but it also gave me examples of these faithful practices in action. I saw remarkable faith and joy in my teachers and in older friends. I was surrounded by people  who really believed in God and saw the goodness in living a life of faith. 

Now that I no longer attend my small, Catholic school, I can understand more of the reasoning behind these choices. College life constantly demands choices. As a freshman making these decisions on my own for the first time, there is nothing I am more grateful for than my faith. It has given me the foundations from which to approach every decision, from friendships to time management, with immense grace. My faith guides my choices. It guides me to ask whether each choice I make is one that is bringing me closer to God or not. And my Catholic education has given me the tools and practices to implement that faith in times of stress. The practice of daily Mass is something that I have consciously kept up because I have already seen the ways it transforms me into a person filled with more peace and love. The reality of my dependence on God is something I remind myself of every day before I begin to study. The ability to think deeply in and about life helps me remember to love even on the gloomiest of days. My mentors throughout these past years have given me the perspective, validation, and wisdom- without which I do not know what I would do. My Catholic education has given me all these beautiful gifts and has formed me into the woman I am today. And I could not be more grateful for it.

Featured image courtesy of Melanie Graham via Patch