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“God Sightings”

A morning reflection to open the new school year at Fenwick.

By Caroline Darrow ’21

From the COVID-19 pandemic to the fight for social equality in our nation, these last six months have been a time of turmoil. For some, this time has strengthened their faith as they have turned to God in these times of trouble. For others, this time has stressed their faith as they witness so many strong examples of the universal question: “How could bad things happen to good people?”  It is okay to have stress put on your faith.  However, as we have begun to come back into this school year as stronger, wiser, more conscientious people, we can now use one another to help find hope and strengthen our faith. 

What does it mean to find hope? I see hope as signs of God’s love and work in this world. Whether it be something as small as a friend’s laugh, to something as big as a loved one winning a battle with Covid-19. God has been working through these difficult times, through small moments, to show his love to all of us. We just need to seek out these signs of love or, as one of my good friends calls, them: “the God sightings.”

I challenge all of us to go into this school year with open minds and hearts and search out our God sightings. Bask in the small moments, and let them grow into a positive mindset. Enjoy the little things, like a sunrise over a clear sky, because no matter what happens this year, the sun will always rise. As American writer Robert Breault once said, “Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.”

I would like to close with a short prayer for all of us to Saint Jude, the patron saint of lost causes but also … of hope and prayer. 

St. Jude, pray for us …

Most holy Apostle, St. Jude, faithful servant and friend of Jesus, the Church honors and invokes you universally as the patron of hope. Please intercede on our behalf. Make use of that particular privilege given to you to bring hope, comfort and help where they are needed most. Come to our assistance in this great need that we may receive the consolation and help of heaven as we work with our challenges. We praise God with you and all the saints forever. We promise, blessed St. Jude, to be ever mindful of this great favor, to always honor you as our special and powerful patron, and to gratefully encourage devotion to you.

Amen.

V.: Saint Jude, Apostle of Hope
R.: Pray for us!

VIDEO: CLICK HERE for the full “Opening of School” morning prayer.

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Faith, Logic and St. Thomas Aquinas: the Great Dominican

“To say we have faith does not mean we automatically understand everything. It means we have the confidence to know God will help us understand.”

By Caroline Darrow ’21

Hello, my name is Caroline Darrow. Usually, I am the girl in the white gown sitting in the tiny chair next to Father, so you may not recognize me right now. But don’t worry I’ll be back there soon.

As I was trying to write this reflection for the Feast of Saint Thomas Aquinas, I wrote three different versions, but all of them felt like I was leading a kumbaya circle. So, I did the typical Fenwick procrastination, I did other homework instead.  Nevertheless, as I attempted to complete my pre calc homework while at the same time contemplating Aquinas, I realized it is very hard to think about faith and logic in the same instance. However, Aquinas’ own teachings can help with this conundrum.

“Logic can clarify faith, while faith can prevent mistakes of logic.”

Caroline Darrow (of Clarendon Hills/Notre Dame School)

One of Aquinas’ most influential teachings was his study of the relationship between faith and reason. Throughout time, there has been a struggle as how to combine knowledge gained from revelation with knowledge gained from the observation of the natural world around us. Aquinas viewed both of these as compatible with each other as they both had been created by God. Logic can clarify faith, while faith can prevent mistakes of logic. In other words, using our logic we are able to reason through and clarify teachings of faith in order to fully comprehend what God is trying to tell us.  Faith keeps our morals in check, while at the same time teaching us things we cannot observe through our senses, as we observe a society in which humans are susceptible to other worldly perspectives.

In addition to being a Preaching Team member, Ms. Darrow (far right) serves as an acolyte at Fenwick masses.

What does it truly mean to seek God in faith and reason? Each day, we pray before classes in which we never speak about God. You most likely won’t contemplate Catholic teachings while solving logarithms, but you will have times when you question aspects of your faith because to say we have faith does not mean we automatically understand everything, it means we have the confidence to know God will help us understand. To aid in understanding, we must combine both our faith and logic to come to the best conclusion. God has instilled faith and logic in our lives, and it is our job to find a way to follow Aquinas, embracing both ways to gain knowledge in order to follow the path God has sent us on.

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