MERCY CHECKS IN: PART 1

MERCY CHECKS IN: PART I

As we are updating the lives of St. Clare's first graduating class, we thought we would share some insight from Mercy.  Mercy, a member of the 2013 graduating class from St. Clare, is now in her second year at Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia.  Mercy recently sent an update on some of the things in which she is involved as a CHC student.  This is part 1 of her comments.

“We all love receiving, and that’s ok. However, true joy and happiness is found with those who give, those people who sacrifice their time, daily routine and many other things so that they can serve others.” In my first year at Chestnut Hill College, I attended the “First Year Get Away Retreat”, which gives participants the opportunity to meet other freshmen and make friends. When I signed up, I didn’t know that this would be the beginning of my involvement with retreats. At the time, all I wanted was to go to the beach and have a weekend break from school. Little did I know that Campus Ministry would become a part of me. The following week after the retreat I found myself in front of the campus ministry lounge. I signed up to be a member of Campus Ministry and I couldn’t have been happier."

"The journey with Campus Ministry has molded me and the experiences that each retreat holds has taught me a lot. After joining, I began to participate in weekly mission experiences which include things like helping in kitchen soups, tutoring kids in the poor areas of Philadelphia, and helping the elderly in the Villa (home for the old people) in Chestnut Hill. I would mainly go to the Villa since my school schedule collided with the other opportunities of the week. In November last year, I got a chance to attend a transforming retreat, the Search Retreat. It was the beginning of the month, and luckily it was on a weekend. We were twenty eight students, two nuns and a priest. I developed more bonds with friends and made more new ones. The main themes of the retreat focused on Love for God, Self-Love, Love for Others, Forgiveness and Letting Go. Before the retreat, I asked my friends who had been on a Search Retreat before what the retreat was all about.   Most of them would say "Just Go and Search'. I would reflect on that and to be honest, it didn’t make sense until that weekend. One of the major characteristics of a Search Retreat is that it is timeless. You are totally disconnected with the world. There are no watches, no phones, and no television. It’s like being on another side of the world, joining with friends, creating bonds with strangers, and sharing stories from the heart. Search opened my eyes to many things, but one of the lessons I learned is that 'Everyone has a story.' There is something more to the smile on someone’s face and believe me it is true. We all have a story we hold into our hearts, so different and very unique, and on Search we are able to share our stories and actually make a difference."

"Among those twenty-eight students, seven of them were Search Retreat leaders. So this year, I reapplied but to go as a leader. I sent my application attached with an essay and also had to go for an interview. Fortunately, I passed all the requirements and this year, I am going to be a Search leader. I cannot wait to share my story with the Searchers."      TO BE CONTINUED....