#catholicprobs

So this past Saturday, I had to choose between two wonderful and joyous events to attend which only show how Catholic I really have become.

What were those two events? I'll tell you in a second but first I need to give a back story.

Many of us come to a point in our lives when we stop and think "whoa...look how far I've come." Saturday, or rather the day I realized I had to choose which event to go to on Saturday, was one of those days for me.

Three years ago I entered college with my faith on, what I considered, the "right track". I was already attending mass daily and had an attraction to the faith, but beyond that, I wasn't much different than the rest. Or was I?...

Here at St. Mary's, I found a community of Catholic college kids living their faith and having the time of their lives while doing it. I encountered a religious community that stressed prayer and balance. And most importantly, I encountered Jesus Christ in a more personal way.

Now, flash forward three years and imagine the subtle increase of prayer, knowledge, and love for the faith that has grown in me. (Check out my Who I Am blog page for an example). My closest friends are other Catholics also striving to grow in their faith and discover their Vocation (the path in life the Lord has created them for and called them to). Which brings me to the dilemma...

Katie Crandall, a now alumni of Texas A&M, and I met in the spring semester of my freshman year when she was my SI leader for Geography of Planet Earth. We then culminated our friendship in groups at St. Mary's (those led by the Apostles of the Interior Life in particular). Our friendship took us on many adventures including a whirlwind of a weekend pilgrimage to Hanceville, Alabama to see the Shrine of the Blessed Sacrament and a week living together one summer eating ice cream, pizza, and watching documentaries that convinced us of the existence of Mermaids (I am not kidding, check it out here!)

Katie, Karen, and I in front of the Shrine of the Blessed Sacrament

Only days before her entrance

Katie graduated in May of 2014 and spent the summer touring the States to visit all of her friends and family. She did this in anticipation of Saturday which was to be a day that would change her life forever. You see, Saturday Katie Crandall, my dear dear friend, entered a religious community as a first year postulant. This beautiful and young religious community (founded in the 1990s I believe) is The Sisters of Life, and they are located mostly in the North England area and Canada. Katie's convent is in the Bronx of New York City and upon entrance one cannot use any social media or modern forms of communication. The only means of communication Katie can use to speak with relatives and friends who don't live nearby is letter writing. And as beautiful as this is, it understandably caused Katie some stress which she relieved by visiting everyone she could before hand.
Katie invited me to come with her to New York to attend her entrance mass and see her off and I had every intention of going before I met...

Tatum McWhirter, an alumni of Benedictine College born and raised in Hastings, Nebraska (home to none other than Kool-aid itself) and I met this past summer in Rome. She was my welcoming committee and showed me around all of the must see sites both in my first few days and when I returned to Rome on an excursion with La Scuola di Dante Alighieri in Camerino. Tatum instantly captured my heart with her genuine smile and simplicity. Upon meeting her one gets the beautiful impression that with Tatum what you see is what you get. She possesses no hidden agendas or two-faced tendencies. Tatum is transparent in all good aspects of the word. Now I say this rather confidently after only having known her for a few months but I trust that my perception is correct.
Although I first met Tatum this summer in Rome, I must confess that I have known of her for quite some time now. You see, Tatum is/was in formation with the Apostles of the Interior Life (the religious community that live and minister here at St. Mary's). Therefore her name and face were familiar to me before my summer adventure.

Tatum and I in Rome after a night watching seminarians perform a comedy at the Roman Seminary

Tatum returned to the States at the beginning of August to make her own trip to see family and friends. She too was preparing for a life changing event but not one that would cut her off from the outside world but rather one that would tie her to it in a way that she hadn't previously known. Saturday September 6, 2014 Tatum McWhirter became a Bride of Christ and vowed herself to Him in poverty, chastity, and obedience according to the Rule of Life of the Apostles of the Interior Life. She therefore became a missionary of the New Evangelization and pledged her life to the Lord through the ministry of the formation of souls.

What does this all mean?
It means that I had to pick between the entrance of one of my closest friends into a religious community knowing that my time to see her after would be limited and the wedding of a new friend of mine who was becoming a full member of the religious community responsible for my own formation and one that I hold very dear to my heart. Talk about "#catholicprobs"! I assure you that this was not an easy choice but in the end my inner peace confirmed that I had made the right one.

Eccola! The blushing bride on her wedding day!