“As someone who has always had a strong relationship with the Lord, I had a deep understanding that I wanted to further my relationship with Him by being marked for Christ, becoming His child, and belonging to His one and true Church.” - Peyton
I met Peyton two years ago while doing youth ministry in Tallahassee, Florida. Peyton was raised in a passionate Baptist family and when he came to a Catholic youth group for the first time, he had many insightful questions about the Catholic faith. It was an absolute joy to get to share the treasures of the faith with Peyton. He soaked everything up like a sponge! The years he spent reading Scripture revealed to him how to pray, how to live virtuously, and who the Lord truly is. This had prepared his heart for the invitation to deepen his relationship with the Lord through the Sacraments. I had the privilege of accompanying Peyton to his first Mass. He said, “I was initially scared. Scared of uncertainty of the general structure of the Mass, but more so for what it would do to my soul. That it would call me into the uncomfortable and ask me to die to myself. But, during the Mass, I felt a serious sense of peace and an overwhelming sense of the Divine Presence of the Lord. My soul knew before my mind knew, and it took another year for my mind to catch up.”
Here’s another student. Maria. Her story is a little different. Maria grew up with her father practicing the Catholic faith and her mother practicing the Baptist faith. To respect her mother’s wishes, she remained unbaptized until she was 18 years old. In many ways, she had been living a Catholic life without being Catholic. She had attended youth group most of her life and knew that the Lord was always present. The year I was one of her campus ministers, she attended every retreat we held. At the end of this year, she desired to be baptized, but at the same time, she was scared to make the commitment because it meant she’d need to change some of her lifestyle. It wasn’t until she visited our Motherhouse while on a mission trip with one of our sisters, Sr. Rita Clare, that she made the final decision to be baptized.
Both Peyton and Maria described the wait for their Baptism day as long and painful. Peyton said, “Once I had decided to become baptized, there is nothing I wanted more. I deeply desired Communion and to be free of sin. This longing intensified as the day approached.” Maria described her wait as full of spiritual attack and obstacles, just like the darkness of Holy Saturday. She said, “Once I made the decision to be baptized, I knew I would receive backlash, for many of my friends were not Catholic and there was a lack of understanding from some family members. For a split second, I had my doubts, but when I realized I would lose a lot of people, I decided I would surround myself with people who wanted the best for me.” Maria explained that losing these friendships shifted her focus onto the Lord and away from what others thought about her.
Peyton described a similar struggle. He said, “I was the first Catholic in my family and with the pioneering of the faith, there was some tension and a level of misunderstanding. This increased my conviction that I would die for the Truth that this is the true Church.”
- By Sr. Bridget Schlangen, TOR
