6:00 am starts my day with an iPad alarm, which usually brings the thought of wait, that must not be the alarm that means it’s time to wake up…although when I’m in my right mind I’m not quite sure what other type of alarm goes off at 6:00 am. You can see I’m not a morning person. Thankfully, that moment is quickly followed by “Cristo Rey nuestro” that gives rise to the much more motivating response of “¡Venga tu Reino!” and the joy of having one more day to spend for his Kingdom, at his side.
One of my favorite parts of my day then follows: my hour of prayer in the quiet of our little oratory, before the rush of the day begins. This finishes with morning offering as a community. Then off to breakfast – and the daily adventure begins.
8:25 the vans leave for class, whether you’re in them or not. (Well, not really… but almost.) I’m only taking 4 classes this semester because of the credits that transferred from my 3 years at Mater Ecclesiae, so I usually only have 2 hours of class each morning. The rest of the free periods I have at school I use for studying (well, or writing blogs…)
Depending on everyone´s class schedules throughout the week, the two vans leave school at different times with different people in them, but we all make it home for lunch at ten to three. Of course this means we snack in-between classes–it’s also my way of making a dent in the never-ending donation of apples we have in the fridge. After reading news or a papal homily for 10 minutes, the lunch conversations are a moment to reconnect as a community and to continue getting to know each other.
After lunch is time for studying, exercising, praying, skype calls… checking off that to-do list. Wednesdays are community day, so we play basketball together after lunch, and then have a block of time for Encounter with Christ, Lectio Divina, or other type of community reflection. Mass as a community at 7:15 concludes each day, where I place all I’ve done (or didn’t get done) in God’s hands, offering it to him to extend His Kingdom.
8:00 starts our dinner and continues the story of El Caballero de la Armadura Oxidada (The Knight in Rusty Armor). An hour later we begin night prayers as a community with Exposition and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. By that point I’m usually pretty fried — but that good sort of hit-the-pillow-wiped-out-but-so-happy fried. I find the meaning to that tiredness as I make my way from the chapel to my bedroom holding the Eucharistic blessing of my Spouse in my heart.
