A little over a week ago, I walked across that well-worn stage in the Finnegan Fieldhouse, shook Fr. Sean's hand, flipped my tassel, and went from being student to alum. In the last few weeks, I've had a lot of time to reflect on my four years at Franciscan, and the more I reflect, the more I realize that it would take a lifetime to even begin to process the last four years.
So as I close this beloved chapter of my life, I just have one thing to say: thank you.
To all of my professors, thank you. Thank you for your commitment to being academically excellent and passionately Catholic. Thank you for witnessing to me at every moment, whether it be through your passion for the subject you teach or through your passion for the God you serve. Thank you for challenging me to always give my best, especially when I just wanted to procrastinate.
To my catechetics professors in particular, thank you. Thank you for taking so seriously your vocation to form us into the Church's next generation of catechists. Thank you for expecting and demanding so much from us. Thank you for setting the bar high, for not settling for mediocrity, for giving us the lessons here that would prepare us to persevere out there. Thank you for being the coolest people and for inspiring us. Thank you for forming us into the men and women of prayer that we need to be to serve God and His Church.
To my dear friars, thank you. Thank you for your spiritual fatherhood. Thank you for your teasing, your jokes, your witness. Thank you for taking your vows seriously. Thank you for bringing us the Sacraments. Thank you for all the times you said yes to spontaneous confessions, and thank you for all the times you said no and made us wait in line. It was good for us.
To my wonderful household, thank you. Thank you for teaching me what it means to be a woman of God. Thank you for challenging me to remain faithful to the covenant that I made to you. Thank you for teaching me how to live out our consecration. Thank you for being my sisters. Thank you for walking with me, for supporting me, for praying with and for me. Thank you for dance parties, praise and worship, physical touch, and movie charades.
To all of my spiritual mentors and moms, thank you. Thank you for listening to my rambling, my rants, my emotional outbursts. Thank you for challenging me in prayer, for supporting me in difficult times, for rejoicing with me in times of triumph. Thank you for helping me to realize the plan God has for my life and for helping me to become the woman He made me to be.
To my friends, thank you. Thank you for the laughter, the shenanigans, the love. Thank you for standing with me through the good and the bad. Thank you for challenging me when I became complacent. Thank you for bringing me down to earth when I got too lofty and crazy. Thank you for putting my needs before your own in so many instances. Thank you for teaching me how to laugh at myself. Thank you for showing me what authentic friendship looks like. Thank you for being the people that I will want to laugh, cry, and rejoice with for the rest of my life.
To my beloved Franciscan, thank you. Thank you for forming me and shaping me into the woman I am today. Thank you for inspiring in me a love for Christ that goes so deep that I will continue to carry it with me wherever I go. Thank you for teaching me to love His Church and inspiring me to spend my life to serve that Church. Thank you for four years of laughter, tears, joy, growth, late nights, studying in the library, praying in the port, Tuesday night praise and worship, Austria story swapping, household commitments, and so much more. I have been changed by you, Franciscan, and I'll forever cherish the memories of these four years that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.
Thank you, Franciscan. You will always be home. So until I come back to you, keep that big piece of my heart safe under the statue of St. Francis.
xo,
Catie
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