Capstone Integration
A Mission from Moreau
Formulating a mission statement is one of the best ways to evaluate where we are at and where we are headed. The Moreau course has introduced many important ideas that first year college students must grapple with as they leave the familiarness of home. The mission statement I formulated this semester takes into account these issues, and I believe it accurately and completely describes how I want to orient my life going forward.
My mission in life is to become exactly who God has made me to be. I want to live every moment in gratitude for the beautiful life He gave to me so that He can use me to show others His love. I believe that He has made me to love Him, and that He loves every person on earth more than we could ever imagine. Because of this, I know that he wants what is best for me, even when it hurts and when it does not bring me worldly success. I hope that complaints, despair, discouragement, pride, and selfishness slowly fade from my character, and they are replaced with humility, joy, gratefulness, and trust in God’s will. By the end of my life, I want the world to be a better place than it was before, so I can leave this life with no regrets. I hope that all the people I knew and loved will be better off for having me in their lives, but that I would not know it. I want the highest good in my life to be the knowledge that God loves me and that I am doing His will, so that nothing else matters. Even if I somehow disappoint my family and friends and I seem to have failed miserably in my work, but I know that I followed Him, then I will be satisfied.
I think it’s so true that “All the unhappiness of men…arises from one simple fact: that they cannot sit quietly in their chamber” (Why we need to slow down our lives | (ted.com) by Pico Iyer -- Moreau FYE Week 1). I’ve realized that I need to work for an ideal that will satisfy my desires and not anyone else’s expectations. The outside world can be a distraction from my goals, so it is necessary to constantly reflect on who I am and how I am living my life. Otherwise, I might get swept away in work that isn’t fulfilling. It is also important to realize that “The only time your vocation is settled is when you are settled (six feet under that is!).” ("Three Key Questions" (adapted from Fr. Michael Himes): SP22-FYS-10102-20 Moreau First Year Experience (nd.edu) -- Moreau FYE Week 3). The journey inward is even more crucial than the journey outward, and I must remain open to pursuing this aspect of my mission for my entire life.
On the other hand, my interior attentiveness must not turn into selfishness or an obsession with my own success (Navigating Your Career Journey - Moreau First Year Experience Course | Undergraduate Career Services | University of Notre Dame – Moreau FYE Week 4). An important part of my mission is cultivating what I’ve been given in order to impart it to others, which is a huge emphasis at Notre Dame as well (Mission | University of Notre Dame (nd.edu) - Moreau Week 13). One place I found inspiration was a comment about a Domer Dozen honoree, Katarina Goitz, which said that “Her grace was like a burning flame. She passed it along to everyone she met, and her kindness and gentleness inspired those she touched to spread it further.” (2021 - Domer Dozen (nd.edu), Katarina Goitz ’16 ’18 – Moreau FYE Week 2). I hope that I’ll be able to “focus on what [I] can do for others or what [I] can do already instead of what [I] cannot do” (Why Does God Allow Suffering? - Grotto Network -- Moreau FYE Week 6), and to value others’ perspectives and advice, especially those who have been put in my life to help my towards my mission (Moreau FYE_Week Five_Discernment Conversation Activity_SP22 - Google Docs – Moreau FYE Week 5).
The ultimate purpose of all these goals is to make this world a better place. By reflecting within and serving without, I hope to no longer be “saddled by the burden of…persistent judgements…ceaseless withholding…constant exclusion”, but instead find myself “in a new, expansive location, in a place of endless acceptance and infinite love…into God’s own “jurisdiction.”” (Tattoos on the Heart - Chapter 8_ Jurisdiction (1).pdf by Fr. Greg Boyle, SJ -- Moreau FYE Week 7). I totally agree that “It’s our duty to be informed” (Passion Isn't Enough | Hidden Brain Media – Moreau FYE Week 11), because self-knowledge and understanding the needs of those around us lays the foundation for movement forward. Dean G. Marcus Cole includes a quote by Martin Luther King in his statement on injustice: “I am convinced that men hate each other because they fear each other. They fear each other because they don’t know each other, and they don’t know each other because they don’t communicate with each other, and they don’t communicate with each other because they are separated from each other.” (Dean G. Marcus Cole: 'I am George Floyd. Except, I can breathe. And I can do something.' | News | The Law School | University of Notre Dame - Moreau Week 12). I hope my mission will propel me to connect with others and appreciate their own stories as much as my own path.
The final aspect of my mission involves God, who I believe has put these desires in my heart because I’m supposed to pursue them with all that I am. Just as Jacob Walsh expressed “You can’t convince yourself God loves you, but you can ask Him to show you.” (Reflective Narrative About Being Gay and Catholic - Grotto Network by Jacob Walsh - Moreau FYE Week 10), I’m not sure how I’ll be able to achieve what he wants me too, but I know that if I ask him for the grace then He will give me what I need.
To conclude, I hope that this mission will make me a better person, change the world, and help me to find all that I am looking for. Sometimes it can seem that “As children we had great and amazing dreams, but slowly they are stifled as we get older. The dreams begin to seem improbable. Worse, it feels arrogant to think that we can or should have big dreams. Our dreams have been dulled and deferred. At the same time, we are afraid to give them up entirely for what are we without our dreams? Those dreams are still there waiting…” (Teaching Accompaniment- A Learning Journey Together, Steve Reifenberg, January 25, 2021.docx - Google Docs - Moreau FYE Week 9). I hope that my mission will keep inspiring me to keep these dreams alive, so by the end I can be happy knowing that mine was truly a life well-lived.