St. Agatha Parish Lent 2011

RCIA Elect and Candidates

After years of considering becoming a Catholic, I felt that my faith in God has grown so much over the past few years that I feel that now was the time to do it before getting married and starting a family. I want to share my faith in God with my future wife who is Catholic and God willing- my children.

My name is Jessica. I am an aspiring teacher, but I currently work as a waitress. In 2007, I taught at a Catholic School. I found myself learning how to say the Hail Mary, as I was trying to teach the four-year olds in my class how to say it as well. I attended Mass with them on the first Friday of every month. On each of those Fridays, my students would ask me why I was not going up to receive Communion. My response to them was that I had to sit with them to make sure that they behaved. This was partly true, but how could I tell them that I was not Catholic? At this time, I began to think that maybe I wanted to become Catholic. My daughter was also in my class at the time.

Edward Hayward - Candidate

My participation in RCIA at St. Agatha’s Church stems from my wish to lead a spiritual life in the Catholic tradition, but also to participate fully in the life of my Church and in the spiritual life of my family. Becoming a Catholic is a decision I made many years ago, but never found the time to fulfill. Entering the RCIA program brought me immediately closer to my Catholic faith and I am confident that I made my decision at the right time in my life.

I was raised in the Presbyterian church, but the two people who had the greatest influence on my faith when I was growing up were both Catholics: my mother, Sally, and my late grandmother, Marie O’Callaghan. My mother’s views on Jesus and his place in our lives were firmly rooted in her Catholic upbringing. Her mother, Marie, was well-served by her Catholic faith for 99 years of life and to see belief persevere over the course of a long and enriching life always inspired me.

For more than 20 years, I have worshiped in the Catholic Church. My wife and sponsor, Sheila, introduced me to the Church in the years before we were married.  I immediately felt at home in the Catholic Church and drew great comfort from the new rituals and traditions of the Mass. We married in the Church and our two sons, Brendan and Nick, were baptized Catholic and are fulfilling their Faith Formation at St. Agatha’s.

I am sincerely grateful to Mary Sheedy, Father Casey, Father Coughlin, the other leaders of the RCIA program and my fellow candidates for their guidance and support.  I look forward to the fulfillment of this part of my spiritual journey and the remaining the journey ahead.

Erika Riley - Candidate

Although raised Lutheran, I began going to a Catholic church on Sundays about 15 years ago after moving to a town in Connecticut where there were no local Lutheran churches. Since that time I met my husband, was married in the Catholic Church, and had my children Baptized in the Catholic Church. Many times I considered going through the RCIA process but never took the next step. In the summer of 2010, after I signed up my eldest son for CCD classes, I realized that it would be the perfect time to make more of a personal commitment to the church. Many thanks to the RCIA team who has helped make this transition a journey full of personal growth and new friendships.

My name is Jennifer Miner. I currently live in Quincy and work as an administrative assistant for Humana. I became interested in the RCIA program after I became engaged in June. Embarking on this new journey of my life was exciting and as we talked about our future and someday starting a family of our own, I realized how important it is to have God be apart of my life. I began to research the RCIA program. My father went through this program when he married my stepmother and he is positive and supportive of my choice as well as my fiancee's family.

Going through this experience has been amazing and I look forward to everyday, every class that we have to see what I can learn next. Having God now as a part of my life has opened my eyes to so many things. For me, it is seeing the world in a whole new light and the mentors that we have in the RCIA program at St.Agatha's make this experience even more incredible. I am able to ask questions, talk about how I am feeling and know when I look around that room that each and everyone of them is there supporting you and helping you open your heart to the God.

For me, choosing to become Catholic and undertake the RCIA process here at St. Agatha was ultimately an easy decision. I say ultimately only because it took a bit of self exploration and realization to understand that this is where I belonged. On a practical level, it made perfect sense. My wife was baptized and raised as a Catholic. When our son was born, there was no question that he would also be raised in the Catholic faith. Janine and I were married here at St. Agatha, and our son was baptized by Father Casey. Also, Janine has worked here at St. Agatha School for several years, and I have  gotten to know many of her co-workers and members of the church. Needless to say, I have always felt a connection with the St. Agatha community.
            On a personal level, I was baptized Protestant and attended church off and on throughout my youth, never really making a spiritual connection. Growing up, I was always encouraged to explore all aspects of spirituality and to find my own connection with God. With what little I learned in church growing up, and what I came to discover during my youth, I found that I have always felt a deep connection with the ways and teachings of Christ. This has really been the driving force behind my continuing journey of faith. This, and the overwhelming sense of community, love, and acceptance that I have always felt here in the Catholic church.