Final Moreau Integration Peggy Hnatusko Moreau First Year Experience April 29, 2022 Maximizing My Formation at Notre Dame My mission in life is to perfect the virtue of love. As John says in his Gospel, “God is love.” We all have a duty in life to know, love, and serve God, which is why love is the greatest virtue. I would like to perfect love for myself, others, and God by the time I leave this Earth. To perfect love for myself, I must grow in perfect mortification. I must maximize my self-discipline, giving me control over every thought and action. This would allow me to perfectly respect the great body that God has gifted me. To perfect love for others, I must be genuinely kind and charitable. This means not only appearing to care about someone, but actually caring about the woes of his or her life. This means giving all my time in service to others, and not indulging in myself. To perfect love for God, I need to show how grateful I am for his generosity. I need to spend time revering him everyday, and thanking him for the grace he gives me to go on. I also need to lead others toward heaven and spread the Good News of his mercy. By following these steps of growing in perfect love, I will become a soldier for Christ, and I will be able to die with eternal peace (“My Mission Statement” by - Moreau FYE Week Thirteen). My first year at Notre Dame has been very life-changing. I was serious about my religion before coming to college, but the faith formation at Notre Dame has truly helped me see clearly. When I interviewed my high school friend Teddy, he said that I “desired above all to be a good Catholic because it is my reasoning behind most all things I do and believe” (“Discernment https://docs.google.com/document/d/1A8RdxqWrVI0TBcOQZTsQ672nE73dY5NGsR6E9NlyOrQ/edit https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yZ7hqvx-u4EuW2nlK-fRbWFiurQm1mZv_KpoeeiN4So/edit Conversation Activity” by University of Notre Dame - Moreau FYE Week Five). This is still my mentality through college, but many experiences have helped me in this journey. I have met very virtuous friends at the Windmoor Opus Dei Center, and they have introduced me to many other clubs and groups of people that have shaped my time here. The sad reality of college, and life altogether, is that our time here goes very fast. In the words of Sister Aletheia, “My life is going to end, and I have a limited amount of time” (“Meet the Nun Who Wants You to Remember You Will Die” by Ruth Graham - Moreau FYE Week Three). Fr. Pete gave a talk to my hall that reminisces this same message. He said that Notre Dame is meant to be left, and he compared it to Jesus and the disciples. Jesus, in his brief time on Earth, taught the disciples what they should do, and he sent them out to spread the Good News. During my short time here at Notre Dame, I need to engage myself in the academic and spiritual formation so that I can share it with whatever community I am a part of later in life. Father Theodore Hesburgh said, "Whatever you value, be committed to it and let nothing distract you from this goal. The uncommitted life, like Plato’s unexamined life, is not worth living" (“Hesburgh” by Jerry Barca and Christine O'Malley - Moreau FYE Week Two). It is my goal to fully perfect the virtue of love so that I can be ready after I leave college. I think one of the most important ways that I have to grow in love is by growing in empathy. During my first semester, I had a hard time finding the right friends, and I was pretty disappointed with how my college experience was going. However, my faith allowed me to accept all suffering with an open heart and offer it up to God. As Dr. Jihoon Kim said, “Now, I have experienced, you know, many incidents where God will answer my prayers and give me strength when I was going through a really difficult time” (“5 Minutes” by Aria Swar - Moreau FYE Week Six). Like Dr. Kim, I respond pretty well to suffering, and I would say that I have https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yZ7hqvx-u4EuW2nlK-fRbWFiurQm1mZv_KpoeeiN4So/edit https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/14/us/memento-mori-nun.html https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/14/us/memento-mori-nun.html https://notredame.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=10159379-7eca-4549-8581-ab9500c9ecd9 https://grottonetwork.com/make-an-impact/transform/why-does-god-allow-suffering/ never seriously suffered. Because of this I struggle to truly relate to people who are suffering, and I feel like I am lacking in empathy. In the Constitution of Holy Cross, it says, “Our concern for the dignity of every human being as God’s cherished child directs our care to victims of every injury: prejudice, famine, warfare, ignorance, infidelity, abuse, natural calamity…” (“Constitutions of the Congregation of Holy Cross” by Basil Moreau - Moreau FYE Week Twelve). I do truly love and care about all of these people, and I hope to better relate to them. As Pope Francis himself said, “Let us help each other, all together, to remember that the other is not a statistic or a number” (“Why the only future worth building includes everyone” by TED - Moreau FYE Week Seven). We have a duty to help every single person, which is why it is so important to grow in empathy and love. In the article about accompaniment, Fr. Gustavo Gutiérrez said, “Solidarity with the poor means not to try to be the voice of the voiceless. This is NOT the goal. The goal should be that those who have no voice today will have a voice and will be heard” (“Teaching Accompaniment: A Learning Journey Together” by Steve Reifenberg - Moreau FYE Week Nine). This further emphasizes the point that every single person has dignity and deserves to be heard. It is a goal of mine to try to help as many people as possible, especially because I have been blessed by being in such a formative place like Notre Dame. To do this, I need to grow in empathy Saint Josemaria Escriva, founder of Opus Dei, wrote in his book “The Way” about mortification, which is how we can truly detach ourselves from bodily pleasures. I think that this is the best way to grow in empathy. By making self-sacrifices, I can offer suffering up to God and then be more empathetic to people who are suffering. In Pico Iyer’s article about the importance of taking breaks, especially from technology, Kevin Kelly says, “I continue to keep the cornucopia of technology at arm’s length so that I can more easily remember who I am” https://holycrosscongregation.org/holy-cross-resources/constitutions/2-mission/ https://www.ted.com/talks/his_holiness_pope_francis_why_the_only_future_worth_building_includes_everyone/transcript https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hZbSdVImfn2hZDqMrdL96dZCNOtHuf6C-lg3sH-Rs30/edit (“Why We Need to Slow Down Our Lives” by Pico Iyer - Moreau FYE Week One). I think detachment from technology is an excellent example of mortification, and it is a great way to willingly offer suffering to God. As I grow in love for others, I want to address what I think is the biggest problem in our society: “the rise of secularism plaguing the young generations'' (“7 Clues To Help You Get Started With the Career Development Process” by Muerelo Center for Career Development - Moreau FYE Week Four). I feel like so many people my age are getting drawn away from religion by tantalizing secular influences. Even among Catholics, I think many people are not taking their faiths seriously. Eitan Hersh talked about the current state of politics in America, but I think it also relates to religion. He said, “It makes you feel connected to something without doing anything yourself. It makes me feel I am part of this emotional high or I am part of this sad point, this low point even though I'm not doing anything. I'm just following it” (“Passion Isn’t Enough” by Hidden Brain Media - Moreau FYE Week Eleven). I feel like many people are going through the motions of being Catholic, but they struggle to truly believe. In Jacob Walsh’ article about living his Catholic faith, he wrote that a priest said to him “You can’t convince yourself God loves you, but you can ask Him to show you” (“Growing Up Gay and Catholic” by Jacob Walsh - Moreau FYE Week Ten). With all of the love God has shown me, I would love to help others see God in their own lives, and I think this would drastically help people in their faith journeys. To live out my mission statement in the next three years at Notre Dame, I need to grow in empathy and love. I can then use these virtues when I leave Notre Dame to be a disciple in my new community. As I wrote in my first Integration, “We should devote our lives entirely to Christ. We should help others on their journey to heaven, and lead others to live the same life of https://ideas.ted.com/why-we-need-a-secular-sabbath/ https://nd.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0NyUlYVK9JdsUrs https://nd.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0NyUlYVK9JdsUrs https://hiddenbrain.org/podcast/passion-isnt-enough/ https://hiddenbrain.org/podcast/passion-isnt-enough/ https://grottonetwork.com/keep-the-faith/community/reflective-narrative-about-being-gay-and-catholic/ service” (“A Life Well-Lived is a Life in Christ” by - Moreau FYE Week Eight). This is my goal for my whole life, but I can start by living this out in college. My first year has been very fantastic in my religious formation, and I hope to continue to grow and also make an impact in this community at Notre Dame. https://docs.google.com/document/d/17U_dVnzsgnBZyzyegkJ74GqwEVRX5e4y7VxaTEJXd3M/edit