Happy Advent

Hello Newomen,

Lauren and I would like to wish all of you a blessed advent!

I often forget about advent and can't say that I have really ever tapped in to the grace that comes with preparing for Christmas. As a student adding more pray or reflection to these weeks before finals seems impossible. This time of year while full of traditions, cookies, and songs can also be filled with stress, family tension, and an overwhelming to do list before the end of the semester. I often feel small, incapable, and unqualified. It is hard to meditate on the holy spectacle of Bethlehem while I feel so much chaos.

But I think this is such a beautiful place to find myself. Mary was young, scared, and overwhelmed. The shepherds were frightened and really clueless to the significance of the nativity. Joseph thought of running away to avoid the responsibility and stress. But all of them came and all of them said yes. This advent I want to do the same, I want to show up and I want to say yes. I invite all of you to be more present this advent in your prayer, in sunday mass, and with the people in your lives. This season can be one of discernment and openness to Christ if we simply offer our attempts to our Mother and trust.

The following post from Anycia is a wonderful example of what God does with our hearts when we are willing.

Come Emanuel.

Mary Jaros



* This post is from senior Anycia Flynn. Anycia is a buisness major who spent her sophmore year in Rome and learned a lot about her femininity and her calling.


I never wanted to have children. I just didn’t see the point. That was until I went to Rome. When I was there I took a class called Theology of the Body. I learned fundamental things such as; what it meant to be a woman, what it meant to be a wife, and what it meant to be a mother. As the year unfolded I felt like my vocation was unfolding too. I suddenly felt like St. Paul, only it was John Paul II who had entered my life and let the scales fall from my eyes. I saw my life in a radically different way. I recognized the beauty of femininity for the first time in my life. I came back to the United States with a greater zeal and passion for life. A far greater understanding of myself and my vocation; which I assumed was marriage. I saw this path Jesus was taking me on and thought, well….He showed me what it means to be a woman, a wife, and a mother….obviously then I’m called to marriage. That however, hasn’t necessarily been the case. After a trip to Chicago with some religious sisters I saw that Jesus might be leading me in a totally different direction than I had anticipated. And I got mad. I kept thinking that if I really am called to religious life that means all of my time in Rome was pointless. Why do I need to know what it means to be a woman, a wife, and a mother if I am going to be a nun? I knew in my heart that Jesus led me to Rome and that He was the one who taught me the things I learned. Why then was he suddenly changing his mind? It took me awhile, but I realized Jesus wasn’t changing His mind at all. I saw very clearly how marriage and religious life intertwine. How one cannot be without the other. The beauty of both vocations suddenly became very clear. And I saw, the foundation that marriage is to religious life. Jesus showed me that I could never be His spouse until I learned what it meant to be a spouse on this earth. He showed me that I could never be the mother of many if I didn’t have the desire to be the mother of a few. He showed me that learning to be a woman, a wife and a mother is necessary to understanding the religious life, not contrary to it.