I remember looking up from my pew and seeing what I thought must be an angel.
The summer before, I had decided to read the majority of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. I had been questioning religion and the meaning of life for years by this point. The Catechism seemed a reasonable place to learn what exactly the Church teaches; by summer of 2013, I finished it. It seemed to make sense, so I decided to check out the local Catholic Church in Gainesville, St. Augustine’s. One daily Mass, I remember looking up from my pew and seeing what I thought must be an angel. The cantor singing at this particular afternoon daily Mass was this incredible girl. I found her beautiful looking, but her voice just put her over the top. She seemed to radiate light, like in the movies when an angel is around. I left sort of stunned.
Still unsure about committing to being a Catholic, I only went every once in a while, in the afternoon. Some time later, I was talking to a good friend of mine at dinner, over pizza. He loved talking about religion. I told him how I was on the fence about Catholicism. I had already gotten over the biggest hurdle of all, believing in the True Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. The previous summer, when out to dinner with my grandma, I had asked her thoughts on how Communion could literally be Jesus’s Body and Blood. A couple from the next booth over chimed in and said, “We believe it, because Jesus said so.” That was enough for me!
So, while discussing it with my friend, he said, “You know, they think Mary is the Queen of Heaven?!” I responded, “So? That doesn’t bother me. That makes sense to me.” He replied, “Then why don’t you become Catholic?” Thus, that week, I emailed the local RCIA director at St. Augustine’s and signed up for RCIA.
Starting RCIA and Meeting Julia
When I met the RCIA director for an initial meeting, he asked me why I wanted to become Catholic. I told him, “I read the entire Catechism, and I agree with it.” He said that he had honestly never gotten that response before. Just like that, I was on my way to becoming a Catholic. The RCIA class was a large one. There were a lot of people pursuing becoming Catholic and a lot of Catholics sponsoring them. One of the Sunday nights during class, I looked over, and to my surprise, the cantor was there. I said hi, but that was it.
One Tuesday evening after work, I went to a daily Mass. Afterwards, some college students asked me if I wanted to stay for dinner. It was called Newman dinner, and they had it once a week. I said sure! I wasn’t going to pass up a free meal, especially with new people since I was still new in town. While standing in line, I looked up, and the girl was right in front of me. She looked over at me and said with a peppy smile, “So, what’s your story?” I began to tell her how I had decided to convert. This led to me talking to Julia a little bit every time I saw her.
Rite of Election
The Rite of Election came. This was a time where all of the future Catholics are brought before the Bishop and he gives his blessing to them becoming Catholic. We traveled all the way to St. Augustine, FL, where the Cathedral of our diocese was. The time came to get the Bishop’s approval, and we entered the Cathedral. I had no idea that one day, I would be marrying that wonderful girl that I just loved to say hi to in that Cathedral. That could have only been a dream at that time.
Becoming Catholic at St. Augustine’s
I became Catholic that Easter, one of the most unforgettable nights of my life. I was so excited to be a Catholic and receive my First Communion. My parents, sister, and Grandma all came down to Florida to be there. It was such a beautiful, exquisite night. I had finally become Catholic. I could receive the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of our Lord, Jesus Christ. The hunger I felt for the Eucharist inspired me to go to daily Mass on a more regular basis. I just couldn’t get enough of this great mystery. This caused me to get to know even more people at the parish.
First Date with Julia
A few weeks before, my friends from work had taken me out to a Friday swing dance. I had never gone to one before, but they helped me feel comfortable, and I had had a blast. One week, I decided it would be fun to get an even larger group to go. I started trying to gather people from both work and Church. A ton of people said yes. Yet, as it got closer to Friday afternoon, almost everyone started making excuses as to why they couldn’t make it.
That night, when I got to the dance, the only person I recognized was Julia. She was so beautiful, and I was honestly so excited that she came. Normally, the dances are held inside, but the building was being renovated, so that week they held it outside. Now, I probably don’t have to tell you how hot and muggy Gainesville can get. After just a short time, Julia said, “Want to go inside to cool down?” Once inside, she said, “So, what do you want to do next?” I was not expecting that at all. But, I said, “I don’t know, what do you want to do?” She suggested ice cream. We went to Cold Stone, which I now know to be her favorite ice cream place. We ate our ice cream and again, she asked, “What next?” I was not the type to stay out late. I was more the wallflower-that-leaves-early kind of guy. But there was no way I was going to miss the opportunity to keep spending time with this girl. We went to Starbucks across the street and talked until almost 2 AM.
The following day, I called to ask her out on an official date, and she said yes.