Stories of Grace

“Everything we have is a freely given gift from our good and gracious God, and here, in the tradition of handing on the chalices, was, for me, a concrete symbol of this beautiful truth of our faith.”

“Even if I wasn’t there fully, if I missed a day, if I didn’t visit, if I wasn’t listening, wasn’t speaking back, didn’t answer any of the questions about things God could see that I couldn’t, God still came.”

"So this time I stayed on the medicine out of fear. I was so afraid of looking worse and feeling worse about myself that I ignored all of the signs of the intense depression that Accutane was causing within me."

"Winifred’s example invited me to find my own home most fundamentally in the Body of Christ, in the prayers and liturgy of the Church, and in the communion of saints, past, present and future, that surrounds me there."

"God’s plan for me isn’t a novel I can pick up and read whenever I want. I don’t get to peek ahead at the end of the book and I certainly don’t get to coerce a confession out of Him as I did my poor mother, but rather, I have to live the chapters day by day… and that’s where faith comes in."

"In a way, church did offer an individual experience distinct from earthly, broken relationships, through restored union with God. But that was only part of the picture. Being restored to Christ meant imitating his example, imitating his path of Incarnation into broken earthly relationships."

“Everything I was, am, and will be is a gift from God, especially when I look at it from His point of view. If I saw myself as God sees me and loved myself as He loves me, I would be able to expel this toxic image of myself and embrace the beautiful human being that God created me as and continually calls me to be.”

“28 days ago, I pulled on my cap, adjusted my goggles and plunged once again into the depths of grace.”

Listen to alum Patrick Calderon tell how God's love broke into and transformed his loneliness and depression

"It was in the deepest darkness of my condition that God’s presence illuminated me with hope. I felt God reach out and embrace me. It felt like he was sitting next to me in that church pew, holding me up with his arm around me as I continued to pray to him."

"For me, the messy reality of being adopted consists of a constant internal struggle between overwhelming gratitude and unexplainable feelings of inadequacy. For every voice that tries to tell me that I am unwanted and unloved, there is this stronger reiteration of love from my mother, who has shown me what it truly means to love unconditionally."

"Quite simply, I wanted to bake my own pie - I wanted to be in control, always on the giving end of charity. But God was inviting me to something different, something beautiful, something more in line with our eternal goal - union with the love of God, which must always be received."

"If I sit in the side aisle of the Basilica, I can see clearly the stained glass window I eyed suspiciously years ago, a window I can now trust like an old friend: each little piece, fit into place slowly and creatively, as light shines steadily through." Listen to Notre Dame senior Madeline Lewis tell the story of finding the grace to trust the intricacy at play in her life.

Leah Jacob tells her story about an eating disorder, the depths of self-accusation, treatment, and the rediscovery of beauty.

"I think that, if we’re lucky in this life, we’ll get to come across perhaps three or four really really good ponds." Listen to Notre Dame senior Madeline Lewis tell the story of finding the grace to sit with things for long whiles.

"It's a messy business, drowning in God's love and grace." Listen to senior John Lee tell the story of encountering the humbling grace of God in the breaking of the bread.

Listen to Saint Mary's senior Jess Jones tell the story of encountering grace as a comfort and stronghold amidst all anxieties: "I cannot even put it into words, but it was as if God picked my fearful body up as my mom had when I was a little girl, and held me in His arms until I was calm. It was then that I knew that God would not let me suffer from this for my entire life." Jess is a 2017 grad of Saint Mary’s College, having majored in Communicative Sciences and Disorders and minoring in Gerontology and Sociology. She is currently in grad school on her way to becoming a Speech Language Pathologist! Jess was a mentor for Notre Dame Vision in the summer of 2016 and will serve again in 2017.

"We were not capable ourselves of the relationship we were gifted. Yet our obstacles were as nothing to God’s grace." Listen to Notre Dame junior Courtney Morin tell a story of love, trust, and grace encountered through the adoption of her little sister.

Listen to Madeline Lewis, a Notre Dame senior, tell a story about fog, bread, and unexpected grace in the uncertainty of waiting.

“There isn’t a tidy bow that I can wrap on this story. But, I learned, it’s not the bow that makes things beautiful; it’s the gift of life itself.” Listen to Alex White, a graduate student in the Echo program and a theology teacher in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, tell a story of family and finding God who gently holds the world.