While growing up in Ohio, my faith life was limited to attending Mass and serving as a music minister. At that point, I didn’t “get much” out of Mass, so I would actively serve in a music capacity to fill the time. I consider my old self as Catholic in “actions” but not in “purpose” – going through the motions because I was supposed to rather than knowing why or Who I was trying to live for.
After graduating from college, I moved to the South Bend in the summer of 2022 to work as a mechanical engineer. Just about a month into living in the area, I met Sean at a young adult event and was invited to the Alive Series and the Ablaze Bible Study. It truly seems like divine Providence! I started attending Bible study where I got to know many wonderful, faith-filled young adults. From this weekly time of Scripture study and fellowship, I came to see my Catholic faith not just as a label but rather purposeful, driven by wanting to know and be loved by Christ even more.
My involvement with Ablaze Mission truly revolutionized my faith journey. I never knew how much I would enjoy Scripture or how having a faith-filled community would impact my daily life. Being Catholic today can be difficult, but having friends who are willing to share in struggles and successes with you, with Christ at the center, is life changing. Personal prayer time is still a work in patience but I have experienced such love and peace from God, especially in the practice of Lectio Divina (a prayerful method of reading of Scripture), which I learned at the Ablaze Bible Study. Eventually, I began helping to organize Ablaze community events and began to grow closer with many great friends through Ablaze.
While being very involved in Ablaze Mission, I was blessed to attend World Youth Day 2023 with the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend. During this pilgrimage, I encountered Jesus in a new way – I believe this was made possible because of the support I received from Ablaze prior to the trip and the sharing of my experience after returning home. In the time after this encounter, my heart continued to open to God’s call and purpose. This eventually led to me saying “yes” to taking a year-long break from engineering to become a NET missionary. While I now cherish being a missionary to youth, I still draw so much spiritual support from the Ablaze community and I am incredibly thankful.
By allowing myself to be loved by God and others, especially through Ablaze, I have come to trust in and surrender my life to God so much more deeply. I am so glad to have a personal relationship with the One Whose good news and love I am sharing as a missionary. I say it frequently to those I meet, but I would not be who I am today without having been involved in Ablaze Mission. I will always be grateful for Ablaze Mission and the opportunities it provides for young adults to know God in a personal and powerful way.
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