My mind frequently wanders in church. Shocker, I know. In quiet moments of trying to be prayerful, my train of thought often strays, and like a dog that sneaks out the front door, it's at least a block away before I notice and grab the leash. Since graduating from Yale in May, one of its favorite destinations is, ironically, another church: Saint Thomas More, the Catholic Chapel & Center at Yale University.

I look at the man sitting beside me in the pew. We met in a Small Church Community in early 2014. He became my best friend, and is now my fiancé.

I think about Redwood City, California, where I live and work. I am a full-time volunteer at the St. Francis Center through the Dominican Volunteers, a program I learned about from a woman named Allison—after a 10pm Mass at STM.

I reflect on how my faith has matured unexpectedly—and exponentially—ever since I first entered those Chapel doors on Park Street.

It’s strange and wonderful to imagine STM growing and changing while I’m thousands of miles away. Strange, because something that was once so daily is suddenly so physically distant. Wonderful, because I know that other students are becoming part of its community. When I grab onto those wandering thoughts of mine, I pray that these students find themselves, as I do, thankful for the mysterious and beautiful ways that STM is changing their lives.