McGrath Institute Blog

The smell of homemade apple coffee cake wafting from the kitchen, mornings waking up without an alarm, ample time to read novels while curled up by my mom’s bookshelves, an affectionate dog whose curious eyes follow me from room-to-room; these are some sure-fire signs that I am home. Even as I traverse the country and the globe, making new homes for myself far from Rhode Island, there is a peace that washes over me upon every return to this place, my first home. 

I’m no stranger to weak and distorted vision.

Squinting, eye exams, countless pairs of not-so-stylish glasses, prescription sports goggles (albeit short-lived), contact lenses and changing prescriptions: these have been part of my daily life since I was six years old.

The world offers you comfort, but you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness.
- Pope Benedict XVI

When the alarm goes off at half past some-way-too-early hour, I wish I could say the words of Pope Benedict XVI dance through my head and I spring from my warm bed, ecstatic about my morning run.

Please, God, please! Let Tom Brady play well tonight. Please, help my team to win!

My middle school self (please forgive me, but my team pride cannot help but highlight that the Patriots have been playing in Super Bowls for that long!) knelt at her bed, begging God to help her team win. Haven’t we all, from children to seasoned fans, done this? Look at the stands at any close sporting match and you’ll find people with eyes closed and hands clasped together in prayer as the clock winds down. We’ve prayed and bargained and pleaded with God when a game is on the line. And when victory is ours, we exclaim that God was on our side. However, does God really care?