Reborn in Faith: A Life-Changing OCIA Journey
By Mary Eckert
I was born and raised Catholic and attended Catholic school for some of my education. Although my desire for faith had always been present, I never deepened my understanding of the faith from an adult perspective until much later.
Chris and I met while working at Home Depot. Our friendship started at work, and through that time together, our relationship blossomed.
After our first date, I mustered up the courage to ask Chris about his belief in God. More specifically, I wanted to know if he believed in God and, if so, if he belonged to a specific faith community. He told me that he did believe in God, but that a relationship with Him was “not a priority.” My heart was crushed. I pleaded with the Lord to change Chris’s heart. One day, I asked Chris to come to Mass with me, and the next Sunday, he came!
For a while, Chris and I attended Mass and our conversations about the faith started and stopped at the church doors.
After a year, Chris started asking me questions. To help him on his journey, we started attending the OCIA inquiry sessions at St. Max. A few weeks later, he told me that he was interested in going through the OCIA process and he asked me to be his sponsor.
I was overjoyed. After a year, I saw Jesus moving in Chris’s heart – right in front of my eyes . . . and I had a front-row seat because I was going to be his sponsor!
In the beginning, I accompanied Chris, simply for Chris’s sake. He was not raised Catholic, so he was going to learn about the faith and I was going to be there merely as support. I could not have been more wrong – being Chris’s sponsor deeply changed me!
After each OCIA session, we would talk about the faith. This helped us to grow closer to each other. After a later session, Chris, with conviction, said, “Everything in my life makes sense now.” He explained that, until looking into the Church, he always knew he had a desire to be a husband, father, and friend to many, but he never understood why. Through learning about the Church, he desired to know Jesus and to have a relationship with Him. He desired to serve Jesus by being a husband, father, and friend. All the questions he once had about who he was were answered through Jesus and His Church.
Although I was raised Catholic, I walked away from the OCIA process feeling the exact same way. For the first time, I understood the Catholic faith as an adult. I was given the opportunity to ask hard questions and to hear good answers. Through the process, I fell more in love with Jesus – and I was able to do it with my soon-to-be husband. Experiencing each session together helped us to grow more in love with each other and with Jesus and His Church.
Although all the sessions were beneficial, I specifically remember the sessions on the sacraments. Growing up, I prepared for them, but I never understood their real purpose. In time, I came to love each of them in their own way. The sacraments are a powerful way we can grow closer to Christ, and learning about each of them individually was significant for my own faith journey – how gracious God is to give these sacraments to us!
The OCIA retreat is still one of my favorite memories from the process. Chris is very quiet and reserved. He needs encouragement to come out of his shell. On the retreat, the light of Jesus shined brightly through him like I had never seen before. We both embraced the weekend and had an incredible time together. The retreat setting provided a turning point for our relationship which would not have been possible if I had not been his sponsor.
Most know that the OCIA process is for preparing catechumens and candidates for the Easter Vigil. What most don’t know, though, is that the process is so much more than that! I grew so much during our time in the process, which culminated at the Easter Vigil. Witnessing Chris’s confirmation and seeing him receive our Lord in the Eucharist for the first time – that memory still brings me to tears. Our faith life together started in the OCIA process which provided a foundation for our married life together.
Looking back, I would never have had the opportunity to grow in my faith life if it wasn’t for Chris’s journey. God’s goodness shined upon both of us during the OCIA process. God was working through me to bring Chris to know Him, but He was working through Chris to bring me into a deeper relationship with Him as well!