Find out what's been going on in the Parish
In this issue
Testimony
First Communion Photo
Knights of Columbus Photos
Youth Ministry Update
Homilies
Testimony
My name is Sandy Resendes, and I want to tell you a little about how I came to have Jesus at the centre of my life. I am a cradle Catholic. I was baptized when I was 3 weeks old; I went to Catholic schools for my entire school career; my parents made sure that I went to Mass every Sunday, received my First Confession, my First Holy Communion, and my Confirmation, right on cue. And, because, within the framework of my small, childish world, I was doing everything I was supposed to do, I was a good Catholic! I didn’t need anything else out of faith. Despite the valiant efforts of both my parents to bring me up a “good Catholic” according to the customs of the day, something was missing.
After I left high school, my Catholic high school, I went off the rails. I started looking to the world to fill the void in my life. I stopped going to Mass or went sporadically because now and then I remembered that I was Catholic. I associated with worldly people; I made bad decisions especially regarding relationships and ultimately fell into a life of sin. I thought I was growing up and doing what the world expected of me. But I started to believe bad things about myself, the worst of which was that I wasn’t worthy of God; that, after all my Catholic upbringing, I wasn’t even going to get into heaven.
But even though I wasn’t aware of it, God had a plan for me. He had blessed me with a beautiful daughter, Lisa, who, despite my mediocre spiritual example, developed a strong devotion to the Lord. And she could see, even if I couldn’t, that that’s what was missing from my life – a personal relationship with Jesus. In the gentlest, most patient and loving way, she was persistent. I finally agreed, to attend, after two previous invitations, over two previous years, the Archdiocesan Women’s Retreat.
It was there that, through the testimonies of the retreat leaders and the lyrics of the worship music, the Holy Spirit whispered in my ear, “You are a daughter of a king. You are the beloved child of God and there is nothing you have done or nothing you can do that will change that truth.” It was meant for all the women in the room to hear but He said it to me - personally. At a time in my life when I believed it was impossible for someone like me, I learned that “In my Father’s house, there is a place for me”. I gained a new identity: I am an adopted child of a God who loves me with a love so big that He sent his only Son as a sacrifice to destroy my sins – mine, personally.
My biggest fear after the retreat besides how I was going to drive home from Princeton with tears in my eyes was that this perfect love, this unbelievable acceptance, this new-found hope that I was feeling was just that, a feeling and that it was going to come crashing down around me and just blow away. But Jesus had called me, and I had to act.
The first person I spoke to was Lisa. I asked her, “What do I do now? What does Jesus want from me?” And, in her wisdom, her answer was, “Ask Him.” So, I did. My prayers led me to Fr. Don’s door. With his guidance and Spiritual Direction, the Lord placed me on a path of healing. I started to receive Spiritual Communion and make non-sacramental confessions; Through the Women’s Faith Study Group I started studying the Bible for the first time in my life. My loving, committed, albeit common-law relationship, changed, too. We married, in a civil ceremony, of course, but a year and a half later, our marriage was blessed in the Church.
With Fr. Don’s ongoing Spiritual Direction, the love and support of my daughter and the cloud of witnesses placed on the path of my faith journey, the Lord continues to heal me and draw me closer to his heart. The Mass has come alive for me, and I now hold dear the sacraments, especially the Eucharist, that I had been away from for so many years - I had no idea how much I loved the Catholic Church until my Good Shepherd came after me. When I had been out there on my own in the world, working things out my way, He never forgot about me; He had been with me all along, working things out - His way, and I will be forever grateful.
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So, if you’re feeling a little tug on your heart and you think you’d like to know Jesus a little more personally, I highly recommend that you sign up for Alpha in the fall or any of the CCO faith studies when they become available. Thank you.
First Communion Photo
Here's a photo from our First Communion from last week!
Knights of Columbus Photos
The Knights of Columbus are excited to share they have added new members to their group on Sunday.
Youth Ministry Update
Our Youth nights for this school year have wrapped up for the Youth Ministry. We've learned and grown a lot over the last 9 months. We kicked off the year in September, running weekly Youth Alpha sessions. The start of the new year was a bit difficult because
we were online, but soon enough, we had in-person sports and movie nights. Then in November, we had a Youth Alpha day retreat where we played games, had discussions, adoration and pray-overs. Over the past 2 months, we've focused a lot on trusting God in our everyday lives. Something new we've also started is journaling!
We'll be back on July 3rd with weekly fun summer hangouts! We hope you all had as much fun as we did! Thanks to everyone who’s supported us over the last 9 months with meals or just dropping your kids off!
