Surprised by Graciousness

This is the first image that comes to
mind when I say "journey."
Want to come along?

Please forgive me for the length of time between posts; there has been much to share, but little time for blogging. Many use blogs on a more frequent basis, but my intention is to post every quarter or so with an update on how life and formation is going. I would love this to be a means for my benefactors, friends, and family to journey with me!

That being said, these past seven months have been beautiful and they have provided many an opportunity to give thanks! Seven months ago I was overwhelmed by my college debt while working full-time, living in Kansas, and praying that the Lord would make it possible for me to begin my first year with the Apostles of the Interior Life the coming Fall. I had heard the Apostles speak often of the miracles of Divine Providence within the community, but I don't know if I truly believed them until I experienced it myself.

A month after I was accepted into the year of pre-formation with the Apostles, I knew I needed to start fundraising. I don't particularly enjoy asking people for money, and I never have (this is the root of why I never joined Girl Scouts: asking people to buy things). To do so requires a large amount of humility that I never possessed; but, I knew that if I wanted to move forward with the community, this was something I needed to do. I begged the Lord to be merciful and to send me people who had a
heart for His service, but He did so much more!

Not only was I able to enter this August debt-free, but some benefactors also made it possible for me to spend time with the community in Italy over the summer! It is the only time of the year that the whole community is together, and it was such a blessing to be there with them. I could not imagine a more beautiful way to kick-start this next step in my journey, and for this I am incredibly grateful.

The exciting part about the fact that God created us each uniquely is that each journey subsequently has its own flavor. So far, my first two months have been a whirlwind of blessings, travel, new and old friends, and above all, Love. Within these first two months I have lived in a house with eight people that typically houses four (and I was the only one who was not fluent in Italian), I traveled with two Italians as their "tour guide" to a city I had never been to, survived an almost blown tire and a severe tornado watch/storm on the highway with 6 other people in the car (and the most amazing and kind AAA mechanic ever), safely arrived in Kansas for Tatum's vows and was able to meet her beautiful family, spent around four hours a day in prayer, found a new spiritual director (my 4th in the last 5 years, whoop!), gave three talks to people my age and younger, had a meal with Fr. Timothy Gallagher (if you don't know him, click on his name!), prayed in front of an icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa (one of St. JPII's favorites), chopped off almost all of my hair (slight exaggeration), AND I am learning how to cook Italian food from native Italians. I'm feeling pretty blessed. ;)

Our Lady of
Czestochowa

However, the list is not really the point. The point is that with the ins-and-outs and ups-and-downs of the crazy world that we live in, the Lord's grace reigns supreme. With my limited capacity, I will never truly be able to understand how I got here or what is coming next, but what I do know is that since I am here, I will try my best to follow where He is leading. His plan is always better than mine, and it is far more exciting.

So, thank you. Thank you for whatever part you have had to play in my journey so far; I am so grateful for you and I am praying for you every day (this still applies if you are a stranger that just so happened to see this post today...prayers are coming your way, friend!). I will see all of you in the Eucharist, but until then, may God Bless you abundantly!


P.S. Happy feast of the coolest and most captivating Pope I have ever seen, St. John Paul II!!

                

Wasting My Youth...

Interestingly enough, a couple of times that I have shared my journey and discernment with people I have been met with the rather uncomfortable (for the person asking) question "Well...do you think that your youth will be...wasted?" My usual response is to smile and say something along the lines of "I'm not sure exactly what you mean, but no, I think my life still has the potential to be wonderful!"

But then, I prayed about it.

What exactly are people referring to, in this instance, when they speak of my youth? Money? Fame? Intimacy? I suppose the answer would depend on the person asking the question, but I write today to dispel further inquiries of this nature ;)

Just yesterday, I was invited to the farm home of a family that is very closely united to the Apostles of the Interior Life. I expected to spend the afternoon talking and drinking tea, and not much more. BUT the Lord is a gracious and merciful God, and he often surprises us.

First of all, my most loving hostess took me to a wonderful lunch in their one-stop-light town. When she discovered that I had never spent more than 5 minutes with a horse in my life, she brought me to her friend's house who just so happen to have two! After taking a few minutes to explain who I was (haha, hello, I am a perfect stranger to you and now I am in your house asking to play with your large pets) and why we were there, we went out to the horse pen. Have you ever stood next to a horse before? They are HUGE! It is incredible.

Once I convinced Dash, the horse pictured above, that I was a friend and not an enemy, he lifted his enormous head, took a big step forward, and lowered his head behind my shoulder. He then proceeded to squeeze me close to him, giving me the most sweet and unexpected Horse Hug in the history of horse hugs (if there is such thing)! Have you ever been hugged by a horse?! Dash then put his head on top of mine and played with my hair a bit before resuming the hug. I think I stood there for 10 minutes just hugging this gentle giant. It was amazing!

While lost in my horse-hug, I did not notice that this beauty pictured on the right, in his jealousy, had crept up behind me awaiting his turn. Soon thereafter I was petting both of them simultaneously, as they took turns nudging me with their incredibly soft snouts.

If that wasn't enough of a gift for a Sunday afternoon, we went from this little horse farm to a small museum attached to Baker University. Here a brilliant man on staff gave us a very personal tour of some of the oldest and most beautiful pieces of art and literature that I have seen in a long time. Once he found out we were Catholic, he excused himself to go bring something from the back. He returned and handed me this, a small prayer book from Italy. He explained that this book came from a very prominent family, the Albani's, from whom came several cardinals....and a Pope. This prayer book dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, at some point, belonged to Pope Clement XI.



WHAT?! A SECOND-CLASS RELIC!

Well, I certainly was not expecting that :)

So I suppose the point is, no, I don't think my youth is being wasted away by walking down the path toward a vocation to religious life. In fact, I think my "youth" is being blessed in ways I would never have imagined possible if not for the amazing folks the Lord has brought my way through my discernment.

Thank you, to those who asked, for your love and concern. I'll be keeping you in my prayers.

P.S. You should really add "Hugging a Horse" to your bucket list. I felt the power and love of God within the simple kindness of that massive and yet gentle creature.

God Bless!

Latest and Greatest

 Dear Family and Friends,

Thank you to those who made my
pilgrimage to Italy possible!



It is with great joy that I write this post to share what has been happening in my life! As many of you know, for the past few years I have been discerning a religious vocation, and the possibility that I might be called to consecrate my life to Christ and his Church.



During my freshman year at Texas A&M, I met a religious community called the Apostles of the Interior Life and it was around the same time I started spiritual direction with one of the Sisters. This religious community focuses on the spiritual poverty of God's children and their Charism was established to build up the Church by reminding her members of the importance of a personal relationship with God. Through spiritual direction, I saw first-hand the community at work within my soul and the souls of my dearest friends. This is where my journey with the community began! Since that time, I have participated in many parish missions and retreats; and have given witness talks with the community. My heart could not be more on fire!

The Apostles of the Interior Life

Recently, I took a big step in my journey by completing an application to join the Sisters. Just this last month, Sister Susan (the superior) gave me a letter of acceptance into a time of pre-formation. Hopefully, I will be moving back to College Station and into their convent this coming August.

It was such a blessing to graduate from Texas A&M in May of 2013! However, in my time there, I incurred debt from student loans. The Sisters desire that I be free of external pressures that may inhibit my further discernment with them, and in order to do that, I must be debt free.

Currently, I am working at Northwestern Mutual in Kansas City and have started paying my monthly student loan payments; however, I know that I am in need of greater assistance in order to move forward with the community this August. My current debt is $65,000 and by the grace of God, an anonymous donor has offered to match up to $20,000 of donations made!

First and foremost, I am asking for your prayers since I know full well that my journey with the Lord has only begun. If you have any prayer intentions that you would like me to hold close to heart, please let me know! Secondly, I ask you to pray about supporting me financially so that I may continue on the path that the Lord is leading me. My prayers shall by with you and yours always. God Bless!

In Mary's Love,
Briana Regina Santiago

To learn more about the Sisters, please visit their website listed in the "links" section above.