December 8, 2024 Essay: Starting a New Chapter

[This Second Sunday of Advent, St. Ignatius Loyola Parish celebrates the RCIA* Rite of Entrance and Welcome, acknowledging a group of adults as they formally begin their journey toward becoming Catholic. This essay is written by Steven M., who was received into the Church at last year’s Easter Vigil.]

In December 2021, I accepted a six-month work position and was posted to New York City. It was a dream opportunity and satisfied my appetite for a new challenge. I realize now that it also appealed more deeply to my subconscious, which at the time, had to JUST. KEEP. MOVING. FORWARD.

As all of us have experienced and can relate to, the years leading up to my moving to New York City, were challenging: first, my brother-in-law’s passing and then the turbulence of the pandemic. This contributed to this need for momentum.

I guess when I reflect upon my journey of becoming Catholic, it can be summarized very simply—it gave me a stillness that I hadn’t ever been able to harness—a stillness to appreciate the present with the support and love of God.

It was my wife who ultimately brought me closer to my faith. I was raised by a Catholic father and a Church of England mother, but not baptized. Whilst privately I practiced my faith, I had never seriously pursued or committed to either. After attending a Catholic Church regularly with my wife, I decided I was ready to pursue a closer relationship with God.

After some quick research in my local area, I came across the St. Ignatius RCIA program and reached out. After an introductory meeting, I was signed up for the upcoming cohort starting in September. The program was an incredibly special experience. It provided me with a framework to explore my faith, and space and time each week to challenge my thoughts. Hearing from the RCIA leaders and sharing the journey with other participants was the most useful part. I felt appropriately vulnerable to sharing my thoughts and keen to hear other’s perspectives. So much so that when the program ended I was missing the weekly sessions!

I first started to notice this inner stillness during Mass at St. Ignatius. At first, I was blown away by a homily that really spoke directly to me. Then week by week, I felt a fluctuation of intense emotions during the services I couldn’t describe, but suitably punctuated by the incredible music of the choir and organ. And finally, I started to hear God’s voice speak back to my prayers!

As my wife and I walked back down the aisle on our wedding day, I looked out to the pews to see my friends and family, including so many members of the RCIA team and cohort. It felt like a fitting conclusion to my chapter of becoming Catholic. I really encourage anyone who is considering the RCIA program to pursue it. It changed my life and will remain a special and incredibly important experience.

— Steven M.

*Beginning in Advent of 2024, RCIA’s nomenclature will change to OCIA (from Rite to Order of Christian Initiation of Adults).