Twenty eight years ago today, a new child of God came to be. I received my Sacraments of Christian Initiation (Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Communion) at Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Duncan, Oklahoma.
My faith journey, like most, is unique. I come from a family of Protestants. My mother’s family is mostly Baptist, with a few Methodists mixed in. My father’s family is Pentecostal, with a few (very) Fundamentalist Baptists mixed in. My father, grandfather, and a couple of uncles are licensed Assembly of God ministers.
Growing up, we went to church occasionally and did the Vacation Bible School thing, but were hardly what anyone would consider devout. After my parents divorced when I was in Jr. High, we stopped entirely, but my father became a lot more devout, leading to his becoming a part-time minister. Through my college years, I was very agnostic and seldom thought about what faith I might have had at all. To this day, I’m not sure what the defining moment of clarity might have been that led me to seek God.
I attended Mass in the early fall of 1982 and I felt that was the way church should be, especially after having all those fire-breathing preachers yelling and carrying on at me for all those years. I started attending classes soon after (the process is much more formal and structured now. If you’re interested, I am part of the team that conducts them at my current parish), leading to my receiving the Sacraments on December 22, 1982.
Many people who received their Baptism as teens or adults tell of an almost mystical experience of great joy and light. All their sins have been washed away and they start afresh. I felt… nothing really special.
I did not let that stop me. I kept attending Mass every (mostly anyway) Sunday. I moved to Houston in the late spring of 1983 and began attending Mass regularly at the parish I lived near. After a while, I joined the Lector ministry, reading the Scriptures at Mass every few weeks. At that parish, I fell in with a great young adults group. We were a fairly close group and had many activities, both within the group and with other similar groups in other parishes. At one of those outside events (a happy hour at a local C&W bar), I met Yellow Hair; we dated and were married after several months.
I consider her to be one of my spiritual mentors, not in a formal way as in teaching me the Gospel or anything, but in the way she leads her life. When I would want to skip Mass, she would drag me there anyway. Over time, I have gotten to the point where I look forward to Mass. This gradual growth is the result of God giving me the gift of his grace through the Holy Spirit via my wife.
Over the last few years, I have become much more devout and certain that God is acting in my life. I have become much more active in my parish as part of the Lector ministry, the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA) program, and the Knights of Columbus.
Who would have thought that having a priest pour water over your head could lead to such a fulfilling life?
Shannon #4; That was a very good read. Like the Catholic respondant towards Evangelicals, my take on being “born again” is a repeated process as opposed to a one-time event. This is related to repentance. If, for example, one decides he or she lies too much, that person can repent and dedicate his or her life to be more Christ-like… Read more »
I have posted the following piece several times over the years. Those of you that remember it will have to indulge me again. I’m not sure WB has seen it. A seriously Catholic friend whose line of work has him hanging out with equally serious evangelical Protestants has a problem. “I’m not very good,” he says, “at giving the kind… Read more »
A great story, WB. I love such stories, particularly the conversion stories of those with backgrounds such as yours. My faith journey, like most, is unique. I come from a family of Protestants. My mother’s family is mostly Baptist, with a few Methodists mixed in. My father’s family is Pentecostal, with a few (very) Fundamentalist Baptists mixed in. My father,… Read more »
And we are glad to have you in our big, wide boat! It’s great that you’re helping to row! I remember when my husband received his entrance into the Church. It was, of course, at Easter Vigil, and after several stops and starts with RCIA, he had finally completed the preparations to receive his sacraments. After waiting so long, I… Read more »
I attended Mass in the early fall of 1982 and I felt that was the way church should be, especially after having all those fire-breathing preachers yelling and carrying on at me for all those years. What? “fire-breathing preachers yelling” from the Pentacostals and Assembly of God churches? What are you taking about. 😉 we dated and were married after… Read more »
Shannon #4; That was a very good read. Like the Catholic respondant towards Evangelicals, my take on being “born again” is a repeated process as opposed to a one-time event. This is related to repentance. If, for example, one decides he or she lies too much, that person can repent and dedicate his or her life to be more Christ-like… Read more »
I have posted the following piece several times over the years. Those of you that remember it will have to indulge me again. I’m not sure WB has seen it. A seriously Catholic friend whose line of work has him hanging out with equally serious evangelical Protestants has a problem. “I’m not very good,” he says, “at giving the kind… Read more »
A great story, WB. I love such stories, particularly the conversion stories of those with backgrounds such as yours. My faith journey, like most, is unique. I come from a family of Protestants. My mother’s family is mostly Baptist, with a few Methodists mixed in. My father’s family is Pentecostal, with a few (very) Fundamentalist Baptists mixed in. My father,… Read more »
And we are glad to have you in our big, wide boat! It’s great that you’re helping to row! I remember when my husband received his entrance into the Church. It was, of course, at Easter Vigil, and after several stops and starts with RCIA, he had finally completed the preparations to receive his sacraments. After waiting so long, I… Read more »
I attended Mass in the early fall of 1982 and I felt that was the way church should be, especially after having all those fire-breathing preachers yelling and carrying on at me for all those years. What? “fire-breathing preachers yelling” from the Pentacostals and Assembly of God churches? What are you taking about. 😉 we dated and were married after… Read more »