JESUS: CARPENTER & LIGHT

This Advent, the Diocese of Brooklyn offered a collegiate retreat which featured the theme: At the Name of Jesus. Students, faculty, and staff members shared their reflections on different names and titles of Jesus. One of these reflections is included below.

Last summer, I studied abroad in Spain and visited MANY churches. As a Catholic, it was a thrilling experience because not only was I learning about the architecture and history of these churches, but I felt like a fish in water. I was doing normal things as a Catholic, such as the sign of the cross at the entrance of the church, looking for holy water and even showing reverence when passing by the altar. One day, someone asked me: "Why are yo doing all of this?" Even when some churches had a dark history. I just responded: “It is my faith”. But then, I spent the rest of the day questioning my actions. I asked myself again: “Why?” After all, I was just there as a student and tourist, and I just felt completely weird.

As Christians, we sometimes find ourselves questioning our actions and faith when confronted with situations in our lives that make us feel as if we were weird from the rest of the world. Even questioning God and His plans for us when things do not go according to our expectations, which happens a lot! However, in times like these, I have learned we need to remind ourselves that we should already beware of how obstacles could make us tremble or feel not good enough for our faith or for God. When faced with these challenges, we should remember that because of our faith, it is common to sometimes feel as a fish out of water both for the fact that Jesus is constantly redesigning and shaping us to be closer to Him as the most experienced carpenter in every little thing we do, which then makes us not part of this world. When we feel lost or not fitting with the rest, look back to Jesus to redirect our attention and regain strength from Him. Looking at Him we will know what path to take and will have Him as our light to guide us in this journey we call life.

Airam Aguasvivas De Los Santos
Student Assistant, Office of Mission, Ministry & Interfaith Dialogue
Honors, CSTEP and RISE Above Student
B.A in Psychology, Minor in Italian
St. Francis College, Class of 2024