WHAT FAITH MEANS TO ME

MARCH 31, 2023 | ERYNN SWEENEY

MATER DEI HIGH SCHOOL, CLASS OF 2023

SAINT IRENAEUS PARISH SCHOOL, CLASS OF 2019

Faith is the impulsive love that walks on water, runs after the lost sheep and welcomes the Prodigal Son home. Faith is the reckless release of what we find comfort in holding onto while we are being held back from God.


In my experience, what holds me back from God is my constant concern about the passage of time. Most of my days revolve not around Jesus but around the clock as I race against myself to accomplish everything on my to-do list and move from destination to destination.


During the school day, I live bell to bell from 7:45 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., always thinking about what is coming next. But faith reminds me that neither our school days nor our existence is marked by temporal time alone. Rather, human time runs on a parallel axis with God’s time, namely, eternity. Faith means that when I’m taking notes in class, talking to a friend or setting up the nets for volleyball practice, I’m living in time but participating in eternity, the place where our hearts belong.


Earthly time is filled to the brim with a mutual reaching out — us toward the Divine and the Divine toward us. The pains of growing up constantly remind me that we cannot reach too far after all, but God reaches further to meet us where we are at. He did once on Calvary, and He does now. Eternity has entered time, the Word has become Flesh and God has saved Himself a seat in every classroom and lunch table, made Himself a spot on every team and choir.


Through Mary, Mater Dei, He became small so we might see how big we are inHis eyes. And nowhere does He become smaller and more humble than in the Eucharist, the treasure of our Catholic faith.


By celebrating all-school Mass, praying with Ms. Steves before volleyball games and participating in Friday morning Adoration, my concerns about the passage of time fade away because I realize that every second brings the fulfillment of a new grace. In time is eternity, and in eternity is an invitation to dance with the Divine.


We will miss steps and lose the beat. We will forget the songs and sing the wrong melody. But God fills in the spaces where we fall short, narrowing the gap between the natural and the supernatural until time and eternity are one. Living faith in high school for me means striving toward this unity and letting God transform my bell-to-bell existence into one marked by glory-to-glory. It means forgiving and asking for forgiveness. It means loving ridiculously in this life and hoping radically for the next one to come. It means participating in the joy our hearts were created for and realizing that the space between time and eternity is not so wide after all.


Erynn is a graduate of St. Irenaeus School in Cypress and holds a 4.5 GPA. She is a member of the girls volleyball
team, California Scholarship Federation, National Honor Society and ASB Team where she serves on the Scarlet
Ambassador Commission, the student-marketing team. She is an honored recipient of the Andi Collins Award.

This article originally appeared in OC Catholic on 3/31/2023. Reprinted with permission.

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