Col 3:12-17 Peace, man

Thursday of the Twenty-Third Week in Ordinary Time

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By SOPHIE DRUFFNER

Brothers and sisters:
Put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved,
heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,
bearing with one another and forgiving one another,
if one has a grievance against another;
as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do.
And over all these put on love,
that is, the bond of perfection.
And let the peace of Christ control your hearts,
the peace into which you were also called in one Body.
And be thankful.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly,
as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another,
singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs
with gratitude in your hearts to God.
And whatever you do, in word or in deed,
do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through him.

I stared at my closet. The skirt that I was wearing didn’t seem to go with the top, and I didn’t know if the addition of my lavender tights was a good move or not. I was considering the light pink tights, but that color didn’t necessarily match the color on the top. Should I change tops?

The indecision that twelve years of Catholic school leaves you with is ridiculous. And with my fashion choices (which include every color of tight under the sun, crazy socks, and at least ten pairs of pants), getting dressed in the morning can be a struggle. Especially because after getting dressed, one has to run out the door, down four flights of stairs, and about a half mile to class. (Because of course, one is always late. Sorry, mum.)

But taped on my mirror now is something to look at when I’m making those tough clothing choices: a prayer from the University Catholic freshmen retreat I just went on. It’s about letting Christ mold you into the person he wants you to be, and it’s just gorgeous.

We received the prayer when sitting in small groups (about eight of us girls—and over twelve guys!!!! Can you believe it? More guys than girls at a Catholic retreat?!??) and talking about college life. Over the course of the retreat, we played amazing games, went to confession, and spent an hour with Jesus upstairs. To be able to kneel next to Catholic freshmen guys and girls who sing the prayers is such a blessing; I still can’t believe I did. As I sang the last hymn with the rest of the UCat freshmen, I couldn’t keep from smiling because with the amount of love for Christ in the chapel,  I could just picture Jesus, standing in the room, and holding his arms out in front of him for all of us to give him one long hug that would last forever.

College can be difficult. Sometimes floormates come back from parties drunk, sometimes my roommate and I annoy each other over small things, sometimes I lose my key (actually, a lot more than sometimes). This week, a yogurt parfait (with granola!) exploded over my bag, two of my lightbulbs burnt out and I still have no idea how to properly discard a lightbulb because of course I haven’t Googled it yet, I received a 75 on my math homework for a grand total of a 74 in the class, and it’s so hard to rewrite math proofs one hundred and one times before they finally click. But it’s all right. It really is. Because each time I leave and walk down the stairs, I can remember the sense of peace I felt kneeling in front of the Eucharist,singing with the rest of the UCat freshmen. Even though the orange stairs seem far removed from that beautiful chapel, the feeling comes back and I’m calm again. Because it’s going to be all right; God’s got my back. And I should be able to find a patron saint to help me out with the outfit situation.