Present to the Present Moment

Annie Leingang ’23

Over the summer, a priest told me in confession that I have a hungry heart. As I sat and tried to figure out what this meant, my mind went straight to my relationship with my parents. I have this routine where no matter how much my parents give me, I constantly ask for more – whether it’s more clothes, more money, or more freedom. But the hungry heart that Father talked to me about is different. He’s talking about fulfilling what my deepest heart really desires. In this world, we long for more and more, yet we remain unsatisfied. This infinite longing and desire for relationships and love in our hearts is a longing for the Holy Spirit.

On a retreat over the summer, someone gave me a letter and wrote a whole paragraph to thank me for being a vessel of God’s love. I had never heard this phrase before, and I didn’t think it had anything to do with the Spirit until I continued reading. She went on to explain how I show my love for Christ through my energy, my positive attitude, and my radiating joy. And then she called me a light. All of these things that make me the vessel of Christ that she observed, are qualities within. After reading that letter, I looked up the word vessel on Google. The most simple definition was this – “a cup, bowl, pitcher, or vase used for holding liquids or other contents.” The contents that we all hold in the vessel of our hearts aren’t materialistic things of this world like money or clothes. These contents consist of the overflowing love and hope of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit, the third member of the Trinity, keeps our hearts hungry for the Lord.

My religion class took a survey last week, and one question was about our prayer life and habits. My teacher shared that some people wrote down that they didn’t have enough time to pray or that they simply did not know how. You might think prayer is too big of a commitment or that it’s just not necessary for you, but I’m going to tell you exactly where you can start. Sit in silence. Put away the distractions, and just be. I personally love people and hate being alone. I literally get scared sometimes if I’m home by myself. But when I come to Jesus alone, I know I am not lonely. There’s a difference. If you just sit with your thoughts for ten minutes a day and invite Him into them, you will experience more peace.

During that same summer retreat, we had a choice to put away our phones or to keep them with us. We barely touched them throughout the day anyway, so I held on to mine for the first day. But the second day, I decided to turn it in just to see what would happen. Giving my phone up allowed me to be fully present for those last two days of retreat. I remember every moment of the rest of the retreat because I was not constantly distracted by keeping up with anything back at home. With distractions in our lives, we are always trying to do two or more things at once. But let me tell you, those two days of retreat felt like two weeks – and not in a bad way. I had all my friends around me, and most importantly, I was fully present in my time with God. And that’s all that Jesus really wants from us – to be fully present to Him.

We need to find a way to do this with our school year. We’ve all heard by now that “high school flies by too fast.” 8th graders, you’re new to the school. It might be scary, but take time for yourselves in this year of chaos because this is only the beginning for you. The rest is so exciting. Freshmen, you are getting used to things here. Instead of wishing you were older, reach back to welcome the 8th graders and help them. Show them the love and share with them the information that you received, or wish you had received, last year. Remember you were in their shoes not too long ago, so bring them into the community. Sophomores, now is a transitioning time for you. You’re right in between underclassmen and upperclassmen. Enjoy this time, and don’t rush through anything. Be content right where you are. Juniors, this is where time starts flying. Try not to get too ahead of yourselves, it’s only the beginning of your time as upperclassmen. Don’t let any stress, anxiety, or doubt about the future get in the way of growing closer with your class of sisters this year. And seniors, we need to be present and stick together this year. By taking time to appreciate each and every moment, we will remain peaceful with the Holy Spirit in our hearts, no matter how crazy our lives get. When we leave, do we really want to look back and say that the year flew by too fast? No. I want to look back and be content in knowing I was fully present with y’all in every moment of it. To all of us, Dominican, we need to pray together. Think about your class candle that your class coordinator brought forward at the start of Mass. Let us take the time out of our days to let the Holy Spirit reignite the flames within us so that we can bring the light of Christ to the world.