I wanted to start off by showing this video because in today’s world where there is more and more tolerance for the persecution of Christians, especially Catholics- we must remind ourselves of how truly awesome our faith is and all the wonderful things our magnificent church and its people have done through the years. To introduce myself I’m Lisa and I’m in love with Catholicism... but I wasn’t always.
I was raised in a devout Catholic family with a six pretty great siblings and two wonderful, faith- filled parents. I will forever be indebted to my parents for their persistence in prayer. Prayer is very powerful and if it wasn’t for their constant and continuous ones, I certainly don't think I'd have this story to tell you. I grew up attending mass every Sunday, went to religion class, and even got confirmed- but I was really just going through the motions mainly to appease my parents. It didn’t hurt that I had friends who were doing the same. Unfortunately, like many, when I went away to college, I drifted further and further from Christ and gave into some of the many temptations that were there. I eventually got to a point where I was so confused and enveloped in seeking the pleasures and prestige of this world, that I doubted that Jesus was the son of God and no longer gave too much thought as to what awaits after this life. I was in the art program and sadly, in that circle, many are agnostic, atheist, or very quiet about their faith if they had any to begin with. I learned something in school right away- that it was both acceptable and encouraged to be spiritual, but to be religious was to be ignorant, uneducated, and barely tolerated. It just goes to show the mass confusion in our society about religion and spirituality. I hit my lowest low in my final year of graduate school when I fell into a deepening depression, a further state of confusion, and actually got physically sick. I was seeing doctor after doctor and went through many tests to find the cause of my numerous ailments. It was Febuary 2007 when I got an odd phone call from my mother. In a nutshell, she told me that a mere acquaintance of hers wanted to send me to a place called Medjugorje after hearing about my troubles. Keep in mind that I never met this person and wouldn’t for years to come. Of course I thought my mom was a fanatic and crazy for even telling me such a thing. I immediately wrote this acquaintance off as just another eccentric religious friend of hers. However, soon after I hung up I found that I was thinking about the offer and furthermore, I was intrigued with why a stranger would want to send me to a faraway land. I did the obvious thing- I googled this Medjugorje and read a brief synopsis about how Mother Mary was apparently appearing there, sending messages, and something about secrets. Since I was at an all time low I welcomed an escape from my reality, a chance to see the fanatics in action so I could mock them some more, and I decided to accept this free trip to Europe. Despite having two part time job schedules to rearrange and my graduate midterm review scheduled for while I was to be gone, one week from my mothers strange phone call I was on a plane to a little mountain village I’d never heard of in the former communist Yugoslavia.
I want to first say that like Lourdes, Fatima, and Guadalupe, as Catholics, we are not required yo believe in marian apparitions or miracles. They are undeniably responsible for millions of conversions, healings, and spiritual growth- not to mention how they’ve left scientists dumbfounded, but nonetheless we are not required to believe in them. But unlike those places deemed credible and true by our church, the apparitions at Medjugorge still continue to this day so Rome cannot say if they are valid or not. In my opinion, we will know someday very soon if the reported apparitions are authentic.
I can only tell you of my experience in Medjugorje. Three days into my trip, on Valentines Day 2007, I experienced the Holy Spirit in such a way that while a very special priest prayed over me, like St. Paul, I had an instant conversion. That is, I was filled with such peace, clarity, and understanding that I suddenly knew that God exists, Jesus is his Son, and indeed my friends, the Catholic Church is his one TRUE church. Medjugorje was the closest place to heaven I’ll ever experience here on earth. Needless to say, I believe in Medjugorje.
A couple weeks later I flew home back to my cold reality only to realize just how much I would have to give up if I truly amended my life as planned with God as priority. I was dating a man who I thought was the love of my life who despised the church. I had friends who did the same and I was previously living a life that made a mockery of God. I soon lost my boyfriend and most all my friends as my new Catholic identity started to appear. I struggled to overcome many obstacles as I sought to give up my sinful life over a period of time. It’s amazing how God gives you all the necessary graces to do what is right if your heart is open to his will. As hard as this “cleansing” process was, I was finally free- and nothing feels better than true freedom.
I had been making paintings for years and I made some decent work, but when I got home from my special trip I made a different kind of painting. With this particular piece of work, God used little ol’ me as an instrument to communicate something greater. I named it Transcendence. It is still the best piece I ever made. I have never gotten so many intense reactions to a piece of work. People see all sorts of things. They see a skull, a baby, a cradle, teeth, a veiled woman’s figure looking down upon a baby.... truth be told, I’m not talented enough to knowingly put that all in there. Everyone does agree on one thing within this painting though- that is, that there is a distinct battle between good and evil going on in it. And that’s exactly what I painted- an image of an aborted baby.
If you haven’t guessed already, I wasn’t always pro life. It sounded much better to say I was pro choice. I supported a woman’s right to choose- to choose what, I ask now? I was blinded by ignorance and arrogance when I was on the other side. I thought I was supporting feminism. Only pro -lifers know what true feminism is. It’s astounding and truthfully, very scary, how the devil works- isn’t it? Once I studied this issue, of course I became staunchly pro-life and now I volunteer at a crisis pregnancy center. I've become passionate about communicating the evils of abortion and am happy to do it despite the persecution I face because of it. In doing so it holds great merit as it is a spiritual work of mercy. Though I have attended protests, notably the March for Life in Washington DC, which is a truly awesome event filled with hundreds of thousands of people, many of which are young by the way, usually I simply defend life when someone is not. It’s very difficult to do in certain situations, but it is necessary and we are called to do it. Something my father always told me that has rung true is that you never know how your actions effect others....and you may never know on this side of heaven. Your little pro-life statement comment on a facebook post or something like that might actually be the catalyst for someone’s conversion. You can save souls in this way- isn’t that amazing? I’ve never been one for bumper stickers, but I do have my favorite Mother Teresa quote on my car- it states “It’s a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish”. It’s still not easy to drive around with it because I know the hatred that it ignites in people who don’t know better- and nobody wants to be disliked. But once again the Holy Spirit gives you all the strength and courage you need to do what is right. It is said in the gospel that to do or say nothing when you know better is a great sin. When you feel timid about speaking up to defend our faith just think you are actually helping the heavenly kingdom...and if that doesn’t invoke a sense of wonder and awe, I don’t know what will.
After I graduated, I moved to Saratoga and entered into a year of intense study of my newfound faith. You see I believed, but I was still unsure of some of the church’s teachings. I want to just point out here that we must first and foremost humble ourselves and trust in our church’s wisdom and then set out (armed with prayer) to investigate why a church teaching is so. We must remember that like good parents to small children who have to say "no" or nothing at all sometimes, God is our almighty father and he knows what’s best for us always! Each time I have done this, I’ve experienced a great revelation as to why a teaching is so and am blown away by the church’s wisdom, logic, mystery, and beauty. This has happened with the teachings on abortion, contraception, gay marriage, women priests, and premarital sex, and cohabitation. It’s important to acknowledge that much confusion surrounds these hot issues because too often these days we are not hearing what the church actually teaches... even in church! But that's a whole other post ;-) I urge you to please learn your faith. It is your responsibility and I promise you that once you do you will have a stronger love for your faith and even revel in the truth and wisdom it holds. You will become zealous...and courageous. You will become proud to be a Catholic, and be inspired to communicate your faith’s greatness to others. God will never leave us orphans and his church always offers a way to live life joyously without submitting to evil. My study of Natural Family Planning is one instance of this. You are all young, but as you get older you’ll be able to look back and see how God places certain people in your life at certain times for specific reasons. Through this year it was "J", a loud n’ proud protestant who loved to duke it out about how his church was right. Though we are united with protestants as they are our brothers and sisters in Christ and we often share similar beliefs, there are differences. Christ did not want this disunity amongst his body and someday we will all be unified as one. I look forward to that day. Until then, as long as both parties are respectful, a debate can be healthy and actually help both sides in their understanding. As "J" challenged me daily with questions on why Catholics believe as they do, I was eager to find the answers so I could combat his misconceptions about the the Catholic Church and offer him the correct resources that held further explanations. Like the excitement of falling in love with a person, learning your faith can be that exhilarating. I fell in love with Christ’s Church that year.
I want to wrap things up here with how after I decided that I would strive to be a good Catholic, I was struggling with if, where, and when I would ever meet a good Catholic man. I was trying to stay open to God’s will for me, be it the single life or a religious vocation, but I really did want to marry. So I prayed a specific prayer (God asks us to be specific in prayer you know). I prayed that I would meet a man that would make me want to be a better Catholic! Impossible, I thought. On July 5, 2008 I met Joseph. He was an atheist- agnostic at best, but I felt called to give him a chance. Within the first weeks of our meeting, I explained to Joseph some of what I believed and why. I gave him some good faith-filled literature and a cd by Christopher West who speaks on Pope John Paul II’s Theology Of The Body. Unbeknownst to me, Joseph had three rules in dating, and one was to never date a Catholic. Nonetheless as fate would have it, he was intrigued with my resolution and listened to the cd. In fact I found out later that he found the message so surprisingly interesting that he listened to it many times over. By September, Joseph was attending daily mass (I wasn’t), by October he entered into the RCIA program, and in November of that same year, he proposed. On April 25, 2009, after we celebrated a very special Easter with him coming home to the Catholic Church, we got married. We have since welcomed a son and two daughters who have filled our lives with such joy, challenge, and purpose. Though difficult, we try to live like Jesus and lead holy lives. It has always been my personality to want to move mountains, so I often wonder what God wants me to be doing as I struggle to balance being a wife and mother. Lately I am reminded of St. Therese of Lisieux and try to do small things with great love- it is in this way, I have realized, that you can indeed change the world.
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