OCIA Humbled Me

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My parish priest reached out to me back in January and asked if I would consider being a young lady's sponsor for OCIA (formerly RCIA). Without hesitation I quickly said yes and was thrilled to finally experience what the formation process was like at our parish. Like so many OCIA programs world-wide, our OCIA group has seen significant growth over the years in individuals wanting to either become Catholic or receive the remaining Sacraments of Initiation (ie Eucharist and Confirmation). This year there are 20 candidates and catechumens at our parish alone, preparing to enter the Church at the Easter Vigil. That's definitely a reason to celebrate!

I was excited to meet the young lady I would be sponsoring. We met and immediately hit it off. We're both music nerds, married to even bigger nerds, and adore our fur babies (we shared TONS of photos of her two dogs and my three cats). Her husband was also going through the process of becoming Catholic, which gave them a unique opportunity as a couple. I was ready to walk with her as a friend and sponsor, and dump all of my "wisdom" onto her along the way. What I wasn't ready for was how the Lord would use the few sessions I've been able to attend with her to, for lack of better terms, humble me.

I was raised Catholic. Not that this is a bad thing, I am very proud to have been raised in the Faith and have had so many influential people in my life who have shared the beauty of the Church's teachings with me. Thanks be to God I've never even had a crisis of faith like those close to me. I have always believed the Catholic Church to be the one, true Church founded by Christ himself, and that faith is what you must lean on in the struggles and crosses life throws at you. Not having a lack of faith doesn't mean that I haven't stopped learning about my faith, and I cherish those moments. That's why I was super excited to go through OCIA this year.

I quickly realized I was in way over my head. I didn't know how to answer some of the seemingly basic questions she and her husband were asking. Sometimes I would have the theological explanation, like why we pray to the saints and how it's different from worshipping them—which we don't—but not a clue HOW the saints actually hear our intercessions.

I'm starting to understand what God was telling me. It is good that I have such a strong faith, and that I am willing to share it with others by living out my faith, but I don't have all of the answers and I most likely won't on this side of heaven. And that's ok. I am still loved by the God who created the heavens and earth, I am still living out my vocation to love Him more. I am fearfully and wonderfully made, even when I don't have the words to back it up like an apologetic. This doesn't mean that I'll never learn from the questions of converts that I've never thought to ask, but it definitely proves the idea that you simply don't know what you don't know until you know. And that's ok. Learning about the Church is good, it's why OCIA exists; the formation process helps answer the questions and make sense of the Church's teachings as a family of faith.

It also means I have some homework to do!

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