St. Elizabeth Ann Seton - Scholarship Award 2020
Below is the winning 2020 essay submitted:
At a recent parish mission, Gus Llyd, during his sanctity of life talk, said that he grew up in a "Catholic Bubble" includes going to church every Sunday and Holy Day of obligation, receiving all of my sacraments while attending Catholic school, and most of my social interactions took place in and around my parish community. I then went to publish school for the first year of hight school and suddenly my "Catholic Bubble" was gone. Everyone had their own opinions and most of the people I was around were not Catholic. This is when and where I was truly able to live like a Missionary Disciple of Jesus. Yes I stated earlier that I did receive a Catholic Education and always learned to live like a Missionary Disciple of Jesus but, that was easy in that time in my life because everyone around me was doing it was well. When I was first educated about living life in that manner, it was thought the Ten Commandments and of course, The Golden Rule. Jesus lived in a way of full-hearted kindness and acceptance. I was taught that we are to live in the manner in which Jesus did. The word disciple comes from comes from the latin word disciples, which directly translate to learner. Thus, being a Disciple of Jesus mean being a learner of Jesus. God sent his only son to Earth, yes as a sacrifice, but also to teach us how we are to live in order to have eternal life in heaven with him. At times, living the way Jesus did is difficult, especially in today's society and with all of the negative side effects accompanying social media. At this age as a senior in high school life revolves around social media and technology. that being said, I am indeed human and do make mistakes and fall into cycles of constant judgmental thoughts, negativity and depression surrounding social media but what I have learned over the years is that being able to live as Jesus did, I must be able to combat those feelings, receive forgiveness from God and strive to live as his son did. Living as a Missionary Disciple of Jesus is something we strive for each and every day and work for, which I have been increasingly exposed to throughout my last three years at Nolan Catholic High School. Soon I will be going to college, my life will completely change. As a student, living alone in a new place with new people I believe it will be one of the most challenging times of my life. I completely intend to continue my faith life throughout the next several years at my college parish. I thought it was tough as a freshman in high school at a public school to live as a Missionary Disciple of Christ but as a freshman in college I'm very confident it will be much harder. I first need to ensure that I am grounded in my own faith and confident in myself and faithful at my new college parish. Then, and only then will I be able to begin my missionary lifestyle, starting with the friends I have going to college with me from high school making sure that they also continue to explore and grow in their life with God. Continuing in my college life with the people I meet and the friends I make. I cannot force anything upon anyone or make people believe what I believe, I can only share what I know and believe in my heart and that is exactly what I intend to do.
Below is the winning 2020 essay submitted:
At a recent parish mission, Gus Llyd, during his sanctity of life talk, said that he grew up in a "Catholic Bubble" includes going to church every Sunday and Holy Day of obligation, receiving all of my sacraments while attending Catholic school, and most of my social interactions took place in and around my parish community. I then went to publish school for the first year of hight school and suddenly my "Catholic Bubble" was gone. Everyone had their own opinions and most of the people I was around were not Catholic. This is when and where I was truly able to live like a Missionary Disciple of Jesus. Yes I stated earlier that I did receive a Catholic Education and always learned to live like a Missionary Disciple of Jesus but, that was easy in that time in my life because everyone around me was doing it was well. When I was first educated about living life in that manner, it was thought the Ten Commandments and of course, The Golden Rule. Jesus lived in a way of full-hearted kindness and acceptance. I was taught that we are to live in the manner in which Jesus did. The word disciple comes from comes from the latin word disciples, which directly translate to learner. Thus, being a Disciple of Jesus mean being a learner of Jesus. God sent his only son to Earth, yes as a sacrifice, but also to teach us how we are to live in order to have eternal life in heaven with him. At times, living the way Jesus did is difficult, especially in today's society and with all of the negative side effects accompanying social media. At this age as a senior in high school life revolves around social media and technology. that being said, I am indeed human and do make mistakes and fall into cycles of constant judgmental thoughts, negativity and depression surrounding social media but what I have learned over the years is that being able to live as Jesus did, I must be able to combat those feelings, receive forgiveness from God and strive to live as his son did. Living as a Missionary Disciple of Jesus is something we strive for each and every day and work for, which I have been increasingly exposed to throughout my last three years at Nolan Catholic High School. Soon I will be going to college, my life will completely change. As a student, living alone in a new place with new people I believe it will be one of the most challenging times of my life. I completely intend to continue my faith life throughout the next several years at my college parish. I thought it was tough as a freshman in high school at a public school to live as a Missionary Disciple of Christ but as a freshman in college I'm very confident it will be much harder. I first need to ensure that I am grounded in my own faith and confident in myself and faithful at my new college parish. Then, and only then will I be able to begin my missionary lifestyle, starting with the friends I have going to college with me from high school making sure that they also continue to explore and grow in their life with God. Continuing in my college life with the people I meet and the friends I make. I cannot force anything upon anyone or make people believe what I believe, I can only share what I know and believe in my heart and that is exactly what I intend to do.