A few weeks ago, my fellow House of Brigid members and I were given the amazing opportunity to travel to Rome and see Pope Leo XIV declare Saint John Henry Newman a Doctor of the Church. In October, Pope Leo announced that Saint John Henry Newman would become a Doctor of the Church. The office was buzzing. We were planning a celebration for his feast day and making arrangements for special Newman readings at Mass and our Taizé-style service. Teaghan, Remy, Sarah, and I joked about traveling to Rome for the declaration, but didn’t think it was a possibility due to logistics (our visas, money, days off, etc). The next week, Katherine and Father Gary came into our office and said, “Rome?”, and House of Brigid was ecstatic.
I am lucky enough to have already traveled to Rome in 2020. I traveled with my high school’s music department, and we were able to see many things while we were there. I look back on that first trip to Rome and can appreciate the great privilege I had to travel there at such a young age, but I do not think I fully understood the impact it should have had on my faith. I spent that trip feeling embarrassed about my parents, my choir dress, and just general worry about taking Instagram pictures and fitting in with my peers; these are pretty normal concerns for a teenager.
Going back to Rome allowed me a second chance to give attention to the things I missed before. Since that first trip, I have already undergone many changes in my spiritual life. I have struggled with my faith in college when there was no pressure from school or family to maintain it. I had a lot of guilt about struggling to keep and grow my relationship with the church, but I understand that it is normal to feel that way. Many people struggle to maintain their faith and that it is a journey. In my short time here in the program, I have already learned new ways to enrich my faith. There is so much more to personal prayer and living faith than just going to Mass.
This trip to Rome helped me realize the growth that can happen over the course of a few years or months. My time in Ireland so far has offered me the space to grow and understand my faith and community in ways I never knew.
