It is said that nothing good ever comes from a middle of the night phone call. Unfortunately in this case they were definitely right. I just got off the phone with who informed me that earlier in the night the Catholic Newman Center in Kirksville, MO was hit by lightening and burned to the ground. Newman was my home away from home for my years in Kirksville while attending Truman State. To think of all the memories that that building held for so many of us brings me to tears.
While I know that the building will rise again and that the good news was that no one was hurt, I can't help but mourn. Perhaps it was fitting that the ring tone that awoke me to this news was Seasons of Love from Rent because that's how I would measure the Newman Center's impact on my life.... in Love.
May God support us all day long
till the shadows lengthen
and the evening comes
and the busy world is hushed
and the fever of life is over
and our work is done -
then in this mercy -
may God give us a
safe lodging
and a holy rest
and peace at the last.
-John Henry Cardinal Newman
Yeah, I got the news when I woke up this morning. I'm still in shock. I just can't believe this happened. I have a lot of memories in that building as well. As I was just writing in an e-mail to a friend, most of the most important events of my college career happened in that building, from my first Mass and my baptisism, until just recently when I was on AIM at the Newman office when I told Matt I liked him. That building was my home away from home for four years and I was looking forward to another semester in it until I graduate in December. I know I'm not alone in mourning the loss of this building. It's funny that it's so hard to keep in mind that it's only a building, it just has so many memories attached to it. God bless and I love the fact you ended with the Newman prayer.
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