On being Catholic

I'm not a "cradle Catholic". I was baptized and confirmed Lutheran. I still remember my confirmation - it was while I in the military hospital in Wiesbaden Germany having knee surgery. I was still in high school at the time. It was a inspirational moment for me. Being a military brat, the base chapel was always an eclectic mix - but receiving communion touched my very soul at that moment in time. I enjoyed helping out at the chapel, with vacation bible school and Sunday school. Teen Challenge was a cool place to go and I enjoyed the Revelation Generation.

Somehow all of this slipped away and I married too young. But there were some very good things that came out of that marriage - three beautiful daughters who I love dearly (rather they believe it or not) and I discovered the Catholic Church. My first touch with the Catholic Church was when my first marriage was blessed by the Church (something I thought needed to be done to have Vanessa baptized in the Catholic Church) I thought it would be special to have her baptized at the church my ex-husband went to - St. Ann's in Nashville.

Even though I wasn't Catholic I felt that a Catholic education would be very beneficial to my daughters. I didn't need to be Catholic to send my daughter to school at St. Bede's but I thought it was about time we started going to church as a family. So we started attending Mass at St. Bede's. I felt that same warm welcoming feeling I had felt before. I started attending RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults) classes at St. Bede's - it's a long process starting in October and ending on the Easter Vigil (the Saturday before Easter) when I entered the Church.

I truly enjoyed the time I spent as a member of St. Bede's parish. I volunteered to coordinate the nursery and helped with grounds keeping. I still remember the day we laid sod for the school. Megan was baptized by my favorite priest - Fr. Troncali. But it all fell apart when one daughter was having problems with ADD - the school wasn't really equipped to deal with her needs and my ex-husband was sent to Korea on a remote tour.

So I drifted away from the Church but I kept my personal relationship with God. He had an amazing plan for me though. So stay tuned for more....