Why I am Catholic

They say that home is where the heart is. If that's true, then my current home is the Catholic Church with Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, with the aim of my ultimate home being heaven. The short answer in response to the question of "Why am I Catholic?" can be summed up in three words: faith, hope and love. Let me elaborate.

“Take courage.” God planted this gentle command within my soul while I was attending a silent retreat with the same name in 2018 led by Jesuit Father James Kubicki. At the retreat, I learned that the root of the word courage is “cor,” meaning heart. To truly take courage, one must take heart, and, as Father Kubicki said, “(What) better heart to take than the heart of Jesus?”

Thinking back on Evelyn Waugh’s famous Book Three title in “Brideshead Revisited,” I am Catholic because like “a twitch upon the thread,” God gently calls me and protects me when I need it most.

The Catholic faith, deeply intertwined with my Latino background and influenced by the experiences of my immigrant parents, has provided me with a sense of purpose, community and spiritual fulfillment that has enriched every aspect of my life.

Not very long ago, I accompanied a Jesuit priest who lives in my community to a funeral Mass at a nursing home operated by religious sisters.

After looking at Jesus face to face in adoration today and thinking about why I am Catholic, I thought to myself, how could I not be? I grew up in the Catholic Church, but during my freshman year of college, some questions started to arise in my mind. People approached me with questions about Jesus and the Catholic Church, and I didn’t know the answers.

I was baptized in the Lutheran faith. I grew up going to church every Sunday (or most Sundays). I attended Sunday school, and I was part of the church choir. I was confirmed in the Lutheran faith, I had God in my life, and my parents (especially my mom) were great at getting my family involved in our faith.

I have always felt a strong desire to be close to God and help others. I landed on teaching; I love working with kids and getting them excited about learning.