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Private Paths on the Common Journey
by Chris Grygo
See, I am doing something new! Now it
springs forth, do you not perceive it?
-- Isaiah 43: 19
Pentecost, the Feast commemorating the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on
the Church, reminds us that the Easter Season is ended for the
year. And what a year it was! The same Holy Spirit that
enabled the Apostles to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all
nations was manifested to us this Easter through the witness of four
women-- sisters of ours who were welcomed into the fullness of the
Church at Easter Vigil. On behalf of CYA, I recently had the
honor of interviewing Sarah, Tracy, Chris and Karin about their
journeys to Catholicism. There were many common threads linking
their stories of faith. Read along as these four women highlight
for us how God brought each of them into our Catholic Family.
The first theme to jump out of the stories was the role relationships
played in drawing these four women to the Church. Sarah told me
that the original impetus to be fully initiated into Catholicism came
through a man she dated. After many discussions together, the two
attended a talk by Cardinal Dulles entitled, “Why be Catholic?” The
event was pivotal for Sarah, who said that “it explained what he [her
boyfriend] couldn’t about the faith.” The talk eventually led
Sarah to attend St. Francis Xavier Church and to consider the Rite of
Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA). “I kept coming to St.
Francis’ RCIA off-schedule…” she explained, “and finally started
studying in preparation for making my sacraments this year.”
Sarah said she initially “held back because of the line in the Creed
that says ‘I believe in one, holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.’ I
didn’t understand what it meant by ‘one’ and ‘apostolic.’” RCIA
classes clarified the essentials of the faith for Sarah, and convinced
her of the truth proclaimed by the Church. Sarah noted that Sr.
Helene Conway, with whom she also met one-on-one, was “very matter of
fact and not opinionated. She helped me learn what the Church
teaches and to become Catholic for the right reasons.” Sarah’s
process touched her heart as well as her mind. “I had an
emotional outburst the night Frank Greene, my sponsor, spoke at RCIA on
prayer. I was crying the whole time, out of fear of the step I
was taking.” Sarah recounted that she “felt prayerful throughout
the entire next day. I kept focusing on the words ‘I praise you’
which was something I wanted to work on in my life. I have never
had a problem praising God, but I wanted to redirect my prayer to focus
outwardly instead of just asking all the time. The tears signified, to
me, humility. I wanted the congregation to be able to say that I
was really ready at Easter.” They did, and Sarah received the
sacraments of Confession, Confirmation, and Eucharist this Easter.
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