Beliefs

Someone recently asked me the following:
Do you see any differences between what you believe now and when you weren't Catholic in belief? Is it the doctrine or the aesthetics of worship that drew you? Was it something completely different?

I was trying to think about my beliefs when I "wasn't Catholic in belief" and cannot make a distinction between the two.

Only a few years older than I was in this picture, I began learning about Catholic beliefs and attending Catholic services.

At such a young age my beliefs were as simple as "I believe in God and Jesus. I pray before each meal and before I go to bed, because my parents tell me to."

My experience is different from others going through this same process.

For me, the Catholic church is comforting. For nine years I have attended Catholic services, participating in everything but Eucharist and have never felt forced to join or questioned for attending. They've allowed me to learn about their faith, undisturbed and on my own. After experiencing years of education and religious services, I realize that the comfort and spirituality that I have gained in the past nine years have led me to this conversion.

Could I have had the same experience if I had gone to a Mormon school or an Islamic school? Probably not. I do think that the similarity in religious beliefs between the Baptist faith and the Catholic faith made the transition easier, but had I never attended Catholic school and my parents had continued to attend Baptist church I do believe that my experience would be different if it even would have happened at all.

Who knows?

Introduced to the Church

After months of learning about the faith and attending classes, I was presented to the community on Sunday.

As a group, we stood side-by-side with our sponsors behind us, their hand on our shoulder to comfort us.

All eyes were on us. It was intimidating to stand in front of the church with all eyes of the congregation on us as we were introduced by our RCIA leader and our sponsor.

Father Mark asked us what we asked of the Church.

Our response: "A deeper relationship with the Lord and full communion with the Church."

He again turned to us asking how the local church could help.

Our response: "With encouragement and spiritual guidance."

After having our eyes, lips, ears, shoulders, hands and feet signed with the cross, we were each presented with a Bible.

It seems like all of my life I've been studying the Bible. When my parents were no active in the Church, I attended Sunday school every week, reading scripture and discussing the message it is teaching us. After we broke away from the Church, I began attending Catholic school, studying almost every book of the Bible, memorizing them and writing term papers on the different Gospels, etc.

After years of studying the Bible, when we were discussing the readings from mass in our regular class period, I could not for the life of me find the books of Acts. In Sunday school I learned songs that helped us to memorize the books of the Bible in order. As I searched my new Bible, I recited these songs in my head, trying to at least figure out if Acts was in the Old Testament or the New Testament.

In this moment I realized that as much as I thought I had known about Catholicism from my eight years of schooling, just like the books of the Bible, I had forgotten parts to it and in many ways the meaning behind the scriptures.

Having given up on the scripture from Acts, I turned to the second reading from the Letter of John. As a read over the scripture one particular phrase stuck out in my mind.

And the victory that conquers the world is our faith.

No matter what happens with my relationship or the number of people that don't understand why I'm converting, my faith in Christ will keep me on the right track.

Easter

I experienced my first Catholic Easter this weekend. Although I'm still unable to receive Eucharist, it was an amazing experience just to attend a Catholic Easter Mass. Beautiful lilies and orchids surrounded the alter, where six large white candles were lit. In addition to the candles on the alter, each member of the congregation held a lit handle as they confirmed their baptism in the faith.

Spending my Easter weekend in Independence, I was able to attend my high school church for Easter services. St. Mary's, the church that I attended monthly for four years of my life, was now filled with members from the community instead of anxious high school students. Dressed in their Sunday best, including suits and hats, people of all generations spent their Easter Sunday in the Church confirming their baptismal vows.

It was an amazing experience. Sitting in the pew at St. Mary's, while those around me went forward to receive Eucharist, I realized how much I am looking forward to being a part of this community and being able to take Eucharist.

It seems like a miniscule thing, but the Eucharist is the action that mass is centered around and not being able to partake in it is depressing.

I'm ready and I cannot wait.

Holy Week

Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday are the Church's busiest days of the year.
Marking the end of Lent and the beginning of Holy Week, Palm Sunday, a "Sunday of the highest rank," led to a full house.

I've been going to church services on a regular basis since I came to MU. Each Sunday at 8:50 p.m. a group of friends and I make our way from our sorority house to Newman, making it there just in time to grab a seat in the back row - not wanting to wind our way through the other pews where single seats remain. While there is a good turn-out for the 9 p.m. service, the six or seven of us don't usually have any difficulty finding seats.

This always changes on religious holidays.

On Ash Wednesday, we arrived ten minutes early, anticipating a crowd. Unlike the approximately 50 or 60 students that hadn't thought ahead, we sat on the stage at the back of the church while others lined the walls and crowded in the Church's entryway.

On Palm Sunday, the church was equally packed.

If you're not going to Church on a regular basis, does going on a religious holiday make up for it?

People from all different denominations and religions are drawn to churches on religious holidays. Easter, Christmas, Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday - hundreds of people reserve their religious involvement to these select days.

Is going on certain days better than not going at all?
No matter what the religion, only attending on certain days is not encouraged, but it seems like they would rather have packed houses on religious holidays than not.

Help.

Here are a few websites that have helped me during this process:

Catholic Online
http://www.catholic.org/

Catholic Answers
http://www.catholic.com/

The Vatican's Official Site
http://www.vatican.va/

Should I Stay Or Should I Go.

The hope of the Church is not only to bring Christ into my life but to also add an active member to its community.

I'm from Independence, Mo., approximately a mile and a half West of Kansas City. In a year, when I graduate I plan to move back to Independence and create a life for myself.

In the approaching weeks, I will meet with my RCIA leader or one of the Newman Center priests and discuss why I want to be initiated into the Catholic Church and the gifts that I will contribute to the community.

Lisa, my RCIA leader, described "gifts" as musical abilities or desires to be a Eucharist minister. I do have aspirations of becoming more involved in the Church - but in my hometown, not Columbia.

Do I admit this during my discussion? After all, I am a student and not a permanent Columbia resident. My family and home are in Independence. Once I graduate I will have no reason to stay in Columbia. Should the Church be that important in my life that it would keep me here?

I think the most important thing would be that I want to join the faith. The church community is a factor, but my decision lies in my relationship with God, not with the Newman Center itself.