Finding Beauty in a Broken World
Winning Essay: Age 19-24 (co-winner)
By Miranda Kattula
Life is full of many big and small moments. In this lifetime, we may experience many victories that leave us feeling accomplished, as well as plenty of defeats that can leave us feeling lost. As humans, we can feel alone during these moments in our lives, but we need to know and understand that these things never go unnoticed.
The graces that God has bestowed upon us have guided me into the choices and decisions that I make today. In a world filled with hatred, destruction, and evil, many souls remain lost, never finding true fulfillment, and living solely for the material world. However, within the struggle and hopelessness, God’s love and mercy shine.
God’s unconditional love defeats evil and brings peace, hope, redemption, and sanctification. God knows our deepest struggles, which is why He has equipped us with the necessary tools to fight in the spiritual warfare of our lives.
I am incredibly blessed to have been born and raised in the Chaldean Church. The Church has been the foundation that has upheld my life. Once I learned the roots of the Catholic faith, it became clear to me that the Catholic Church is the One True Church. The knowledge I have learned regarding church history and theology has revealed the healing and love that I have received from Christ. Which, therefore, has made it impossible for my heart to ever want to leave the Catholic faith.
The same God that healed the paralyzed man, that raised Lazarus from the dead, and that was resurrected from the grave, lives in me today. My most joyous moments have been spent leading youth groups, teaching catechism, singing in the choir, and serving wherever the Lord has called me to. My most difficult moments have been spent in adoration, in the Mass, and on my knees in prayer.
In this inconsistent world, God has been the only constant. The Lord’s will never felt forced upon me; they were divine callings that kindled a deep desire in my heart to serve God in any capacity that He provided. The personal relationship I have with Jesus has changed every aspect of my life, and every day, God has graciously provided me with confirmations of His love, so that I can live my life as a testimony to Him.
While I did grow up in the Church, many times in my life I did not always place my identity in Jesus. As I grew older and began to understand our faith more deeply and intensely, it only made sense to turn to Jesus in everything that I do. Once I placed my identity in Christ, I recognized that all these earthly things come and go. Things such as the perfect job, the perfect grades, the perfect house, the perfect friends, are all temporary and will never satisfy the deepest desire of my heart. Everything in this world will pass away, but God will not pass away (Matthew 24:35). The Chaldean Catholic Church has taught me to place everything about myself and everything in my life at the foot of the cross.
The Church as an institution is vastly different from what my parents, and especially grandparents, describe. They describe church as somewhere you go on Sundays for Mass, Saturdays for Catechism/Communion, and when you need the priest’s assistance for his sacramental duties.
Today, our churches are busy and thriving. At each church on any given day, there are adult bible studies (in both English and Arabic), youth groups for both middle and high school students, men’s and women’s groups and conferences, summer and winter camps, catechism and communion, special events held by different groups, charity organizations, prayer groups, and retreats.
My parents and grandparents have also described that there was not always an emphasis on the importance of partaking in the sacraments, especially confession. Today, confession is widely encouraged and talked about with all age groups.
While our Chaldean Church has been doing an amazing job at making improvements within the institution, we still have a lot of work to do. For one, I believe that Chaldean programs need to address the mental health stigma effectively. While I see major strides to make that happen, I have noticed that many Chaldeans still do not understand mental health. Conversations about mental health should be more prominent within homilies and different groups. Placing a greater emphasis on the topic of mental health and providing resources for the individuals struggling, can also help reduce the amount of drug abuse, self-harm, suicide, and eating disorders within our community.
I think important things that need to be addressed when it comes to mental health are how children can speak to their parents about it, early signs to watch out for in oneself, red flags to look for in family and friends, medication, therapy, and hospitalization.
What I see as the role of the church in 2050 is to be unapologetically Catholic and help evangelize to more people. Now that many families have been here for generations and have established roots, we can begin to reach out to more people who are not Catholic within our communities.
I believe that if the Church properly prepares its parishioners, we can help all people of all different religions and nationalities. I pray that people will see Jesus shine through our people, even with the simplest interaction. What the world needs more of is radical Catholics who will speak the truth with love and conviction, and not back down from the good fight.
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