Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Frank Kane's Reflection


Over the years, through activities at Regis High School, ski racing, service on the board of Children’s Hospital, and various organizations here on campus (i.e. Knights of Columbus and Social Mentors), I have retained a passion for helping others embrace as unique what sets them apart as individuals.  Merely in striving to help them accomplish this, I realize I have invited them to find God in their differences and handicaps and, thus, in all things.  I have always believed that wherever good can be found, so too can God, and vice versa. This belief continually compels  me to encounter God’s hand in an area of my life where many overlook it: my gait. Though the way in which I move is easily my most distinctive feature and does not come without certain setbacks, it remains something for which I give daily thanks to God and everyone around me. My gait more often than not allows me to bring out the best in those I love and in those whom I meet on campus each day.  In bringing out the best in those I love and encounter, I am hopefully better able find God in those people whom I often find it more difficult to love and to embrace.

-      Reflection by Frank Kane

Frank Kane is a sophomore majoring in Political Science and Philosophy.  Hailing from Denver, he is involved in the Knights of Columbus, Social Mentors, CLC, and the Kansas City branch of the National Sports Center for the Disabled. He maintains an unending passion for writing and politics and, before graduating, hopes to jumpstart the University’s College Democrats student organization.  

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Meaghan Fanning's Post


The poet Hafiz writes, “Even after all this time, the Sun never says to the Earth, ‘You owe me.’  Look what happens with a love like that—it lights up the whole sky.”  We hear the phrase “unconditional love” on a regular basis.  How often do we pause to ask what this really means?  To love without conditions, without limits.  How could we ever do this?  I take comfort in the fact that knowing and truly believing that we are made in the likeness of God and that means that we are created to love.  It is God’s joy to love us, and it should be our joy to love one another.  I find God in the pleasantries and drudgeries of everyday life – the life that sometimes feels like paradise and sometimes feels like we are walking against a hard, freezing wind.  But within that life, every day, is the opportunity to show people around us how much we love them. Anne Lamott shares her reflections on simple love and friendship: “All you can do is show up for someone.  But when you do, it can radically change everything.  Your there-ness can be life giving.  So you come to keep them company, even when it feels like the whole world is falling apart, and your being there says for just this moment, this one tiny piece of the world is okay.”  To love is to show others God, to allow them to feel beloved on this earth. 

Meaghan Fanning is a senior Hawk and loving the last month of Rockhurst! She is majoring in Nonprofit Leadership Studies and Theology and Religious Studies and minoring in Philosophy.  She was deeply formed by her years spent on the Executive Board of VOICES for JUSTICE and leading her beloved CLC.  Meaghan is continuing on to get her Masters in Social Work next year.  

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Charli Bultmann's Reflection


It is difficult for me to pinpoint a specific moment in which I have found God, especially during this past year at Rockhurst. This year has been more of a journey on the path of creating a beautiful relationship with God for me.  I have seen God while walking to classes when I see the sun shining so brightly and the sky hovering above me in its rich blue color.  I have especially become aware of God lately in the budding of new life in the trees and flowers all over campus.  But God is not only present in these things; this year, more than ever, I have seen God in the people in my life. My family, close friends, and even acquaintances have been compassionate and thoughtful in ways I never realized before.  It is every person around me that makes me see God.  He is in all of us in one way or another.  I believe that it is our experiences with others that truly help us to find God.  These experiences unite us not only as a Rockhurst community but also as a community of God.

Charli Bultmann is a sophomore Biology major at Rockhurst.  Hailing from Carrollton, Missouri, she is a Student Ambassador, member of Phi Delta Epsilon, Zeta Tau Alpha, and CLC.  At this year’s Easter Vigil, Charli received her first communion and was confirmed into the Catholic Church.