Madison Bertucci, ’20
This past summer, I had the privilege of going on a mission trip to Atlanta with my CYO. It was an incredible experience, but one of my favorite parts was listening to the guest speakers. Something that really stuck with me from a talented speaker’s talk was the quote, “Your faith begins where your comfort zone ends.” Obviously if we have no faith in God we cannot have a relationship with Him at all, but the saints knew how to take their relationship with God to the next level. They were able to step out of their comfort zone and give everything to Him because of their infinite trust in His commands.
For example, take St. Catherine of Sienna, who convinced the Pope to leave Avignon, France and move back to Rome. I’m sure it was outside of St. Catherine’s comfort zone to not just confront the Pope, but tell him he was incorrect. Considering the time period, it was especially unacceptable because women were not supposed to state their opinions aloud. However, St. Catherine did it anyway. God asked something of her, and regardless of the earthly consequences she could have received, she obeyed Him whole-heartedly. She had that unconditional faith that sets the saints apart from the rest of us.
Now, I will share the story of a time I had trouble listening to God’s call. If you ask any of the other Student Preachers, they would tell you that being a Student Preacher is something they have dreamed about since 8th Grade. I, on the other hand, remember listening to the preachers give reflections and thinking, “Wow… I would hate to do that. Writing reflections must be so hard. I would be so scared.” Sophomore year was personally a difficult time for me, and I finally got myself to a point where I could let go of a huge part of my life. I prayed that God would give me a new purpose: something useful, something to leave my mark by. God surely does work in mysterious ways, and of course, the next day, Mrs. Cabes came into my religion class announcing Student Preacher applications.
God had obviously given me an answer, but I thought to myself, “Seriously, God? Come on!” I’m shy. I hate speaking in front of people. But, even though this was something I was totally against, I submitted an application anyway. The more I thought of it, the more I thought I would regret passing up a great opportunity. I had to sit back and trust that if this is where God wanted me to be, this is where I would be. If you haven’t noticed, I did get chosen, so I do believe that God put me here for a reason.
I did the thing that I didn’t want to do, but hopefully by that, I am able to spread God’s love to the whole school community. I still get nervous before prayer. Writing reflections is not always easy, but it is all worth it if God can speak through me to you, Dominican.
Lyrics from a song that we all love say, “Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders. Let me walk upon the waters, wherever You would call me. Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander, and my faith will be made stronger in the presence of my Savior.” I think these words sum up what it means to strive for sainthood. You must be in touch with the Holy Spirit, and let it strengthen your faith. So, surrender yourself, listen for God’s call, trust Him, and be willing to take a step outside of your comfort zone.