I did it!

Thank you, Henry Petty, for serving as today’s guest contributor! Check out Henry’s blog for more of his reflections.

This past Saturday night, I was finally confirmed into the Catholic Church.  It had only taken 33 years to finish, but the point is, I did it.

Last night, my girlfriend Shannon and I, attended a nice reception with my fellow RCIA classmates whom I journeyed with to break bread, fellowship, and reflect on the past 8 months of classes and in our spiritual growth.  Fr. Tom gave us a chance to speak in front of our peers about our experiences during the process and what led us into the Catholic Faith.

One gentlemen spoke about how he was reluctant to become Catholic but after attending a few classes with his wife, he was touched, and it drew him in.

A young lady shared her story about the hurt she felt after serving in the military overseas and how she longed for faith and Jesus.

The most moving story was a couple who entered RCIA after being inspired by someone’s tragedy.  They were inspired because their close friend’s son had passed away in a car accident, and were moved that their family wanted to attend Mass the next day and how inspiring that was to them.  There wasn’t a dry eye in the house after they spoke.

Guess who was next?

I spoke of my promise to Grandma before she passed away that I would complete the process since she started it by having me baptized Catholic and how other churches left me lost, empty, full of guilty, yet I felt “at home” when I embraced the Catholic faith.  To lighten the mood after the people I followed, I cracked some jokes about the process and stumbling along the way in my path.  I slipped up and mispronounced “Pentecostal” as “Pentecost-O” but recovered by saying that’s what Pentecostals are called in Mexico.  Probably not PC, but people were laughing so hard I thought they were going to fall out of their chairs!

Shannon was moved after our gathering and she said she was “so glad to have attended a church fellowship function (celebrating the completion of RCIA) with Henry tonight. It really reset my heart and mind. I think sometimes we all get so wrapped up in ourselves and our situations that we forget what is important. Hearing others’ stories of what led them to the Church and seeing how fulfilled they are spiritually as a result of the RCIA process really touched my heart. It was wonderful.”

The good news is this is only the beginning of our journey as Catholics and not the end.  I have made a lot of new brothers and sisters in faith and look forward to journeying in Christ moving forward.  I am humbled and deeply grateful.