In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. This is something that I was taught the second I could talk.
I have been Catholic my entire life, I was born and raised Catholic - my parents took me to church every weekend. I was young so I didn't have a choice, I just did what my family did. That all changed once I entered the 6th grade. My faith, and how it progressed and grew became up to me. I started going to our middle school youth group meetings. We participated in bible studies, went on service trips and made lasting friendships. I was instantly hooked. From 6th grade until I finally entered high school, I went to every event I could possibly go to.
Once I entered high school my faith was stronger than ever. And my love of Catholicism and youth group continued to grow. I went to a Catholic school from kindergarten until senior year. Unfortunately, many of my peers were not as invested in their faith life as I was. I got involved as a leader in campus ministry my senior year, I was a retreat team coordinator. It was probably my favorite thing I was involved in during high school. I evangelized as much as I could in school and continued to grow in my faith at youth group.
Looking into colleges, I knew I needed a solid faith base to keep me grounded throughout my four (or five) years at school. The Newman Community instantly became the biggest priority on my list. I was determined to find a school that fit my criteria, a big school, big football program, no snow, and most importantly an active Newman Community. The last school I visited was Virginia Tech. Unfortunately, the school I fell in love with was right smack in the middle of the mountains, so I had to accept the snow. But the Newman community made up for it.
As a freshman in college, I had a rough time with my roommate and pretty much was living at the Newman house I was there so often. Now, as a sophomore, I am on leadership and will be leading a bible study this semester.
Catholicism changed my life, it lead me to the school that was right for me, it introduced me to my lifelong friends, and most importantly, it has kept me grounded even when things get tough. No I can't recite to you passages from the bible off of memory (although I wish I could) and I don't know everything there is to know about church history. I am still learning. I'm still learning how to pray, I'm still learning how to strengthen my relationship with God, and I'm still learning how to lead a small group. Luckily, I know I have my Newman community right along side me, and God will never leave me alone.
I encourage you, if you are reading this and have the slightest curiosity about Catholicism, come to Mass on Sunday. At Virginia Tech, Mass is at 10 am, noon, and 8pm. Come and ask questions. I, along with the rest of the Newman Community would be happy to answer them. If you are Catholic, and haven't been to Mass in a while, come this weekend, God would love to welcome you back.
As my friends like to say, if you let him, Jesus will wreck your life, in the best way possible. Jesus has completely wrecked my life, and I thank Him everyday for it. Just give Him a chance, you won't regret it.
