Second semester freshman year I took Prof. Robert Krieg's Foundations of Theology class after a friend recommended him as a great, funny professor. The class was mind blowing to me. The bible was written and compiled over a long period of time? The authors were real people, with audiences and cultural backgrounds that shaped their writing? This was not just the same old bible anymore. The stories in it had context and motives. I had thought I knew the stories and the lessons we were supposed to learn from them, but all of a sudden I realized I knew basically nothing at all. I loved Prof. Krieg's class. I couldn't get enough of learning about the Old Testament and the Gospels and how there was so much more inside them than I ever imagined.
Sophmore year I took my second requirement - an overview class of the sacraments. The last time I had learned about Eucharist in any kind of systematic way I had been in second grade, Reconciliation, fourth grade. Never had I learned about the sacraments of marriage, or holy orders, or baptism, at least that I can remember. It was wonderful to learn about the development and meaning of these sacraments that I'd just taken for granted. I may not be a theologian or priest, but these sacraments are a part of my spiritual life, and it was eye-opening to learn about the graces that I'd been receiving my whole life but had never stopped to think about before.
After I'd fulfilled my university requirements, I kept taking theology courses whenever I had room in my schedule, and I ended up with a minor in theology. Before I came to Notre Dame, theology was never something I thought I would study. It would just be a requirement to fulfil, no different than my science or math requirements. But these first two courses opened my mind to a God who's bigger than parish CCD or a few retreats. God and His grace can't be contained, and I'll never know all there is to know about Him. I hope I'll be able to instill this same sense my own daughters as they grow up - keep wondering about God and heaven and the saints. Keep asking questions about Him. Keep reading the stories in the bible because they'll always have something new for you to discover and hear. Keep being open to the movement of God's grace in your life through the sacraments. And it's all because of the seeds those first two theology classes planted in my own heart and mind.
