Rosie's Testimony

I wrote this up just after I decided to answer Fr. Brendan's call to serve during Mass, March 2009. Here comes my testimony: I am Catholic. I was raised Catholic and have gone to church since Mom started taking us. I realize as I say this how much faith Mom had to take 3 little kids to church on her own. I have always believed in God. I went to cathechism classes for First Communion and Confirmation. In high school I became involved in my church youth group. God led me there, Mom dropped me off and I realized once I arrived at the door that I did not know anyone except my teacher. That was the beginning of making my faith more than just church and class. That is when I realized that God wanted more, He wanted a personal relationship with me.  When I went to college I asked God to provide me with a fellowship. I became involved with InterVarsity which for those who don't know is an evangelistic inter-denominational christian fellowship with branches in many universities across the country. I was involved in bible study, weekly large group meetings with worship and a few mission trips where I grew in faith as I ministered to others. One thing that was always important to me was maintaining my Catholic faith. I have found that those Catholics who leave the Church is because they do not understand the Church. For those that criticize the Church it is again those who have misconceptions of the Catholic Church and what Christ's teaching mean and how they are integral to the Church teachings. I found my relationship with Christ grow stronger as a Catholic Christian. I found many of the things that InterVarsity teaches in the Catholic Church. I even found charismatic worship. When I graduated I moved into a home that focused on ministry but it was not a Catholic ministry. I found God calling me home to live my faith out at home among my family and in my church. I taught Confirmation, led a youth group and an adult small faith community. I participated in many, many, many retreats. I eventually left and joined NET Ministries, a Catholic Youth Ministry Program that trained young adults to go out and do retreats for churches across the country. It was 6 men and 6 women. It was a very interesting year filled with many challenges but we grew as a family. It was a 9 month program and after it ended we each went our separate ways. Readjusting to life after NET was hard, very hard. They had taught us how to be Netters but once we were done we had a hard time re-integrating into the world.  Back in the world I became a second grade teacher. It was a hard year. I found out that although I have the skills and ability to be a teacher it was simply not my calling. After the year ended I took some computer classes to get some office skills and almost a year later ended up moving to Vegas so that my little sister could attend a magnet school that she had been accepted into. I was involved in church there but very little. I wasn't sure how long I would be there and so I did not invest a lot. We lived there for 2 years and that was where I encountered Firefly (Its a TV show cancelled and now on DVD it has a strong fandom, I am a big fan and that is another testimony I can give later.). Once we moved back to LA and I got a job at Disney I was no longer involved in church, I still went to Mass and celebrated the sacraments but I was not active in any church. Through the fandom of Firefly I was discovering a new family, a new fellowship in the Firefly Community. It helped me to grow as I met a wide number of folks with varying beliefs. It was nice to see people accepting each other and caring for each other eventhough they were all different and basically strangers. I felt during this time that I was walking in the wilderness. God was allowing me to wander in order for me to take full ownership of my faith. Up until then I was so tied up in ministry that I was not 100% certain who I was without ministry. My identity was based on what I did and not who I was as a daughter of God. I needed to find out that I still believe even without the ministry and the fellowship I knew. God is good all the time. God showed me throughout this time, about 5 years now since I started working at Disney and 9 since I came back from NET that my faith is strong and that He is with me always. I knew this but now I really know it and can claim it with a certainty that I was apparently lacking before. I have been attending one church for almost a year now. Before that I kept going to different churches every Sunday, always a Catholic Church but usually a different one.  The reason I am sharing this now is because God is getting louder. You know how sometimes God just whispers and sometimes you can't really hear Him. You know He is there but you can't hear Him? Well the way I found this church was God led me there. I was looking for one in the area and He made me drive there, guided me. I parked and walking I asked God what are we doing here? Well wouldn't you know it was time for Confession. I did not go there planning to go to Confession but God had other plans. Recently I was driving by the church and I passed it. I had the Church Bulletin and during a stop light I read there was Adoration going on now and a Mass later. I kept driving thinking I'll go back later. Well God said NOW! So I said, "Oh now, so I need turn around now."  I have had a couple of opportunities to share the faith at work recently. I felt God's presence in a powerful way. This past Sunday Fr. Brendan at the end of Mass called for 2 volunteers to meet him after church. He needs assistants for the cathechism classes during the week. God said,"That's you." I went to the priest and I told him,"You called I answered". He smiled. I told him I would call the church and leave my info. I am really excited to be hearing God speak so loudly in my life. I am very happy, I know He has a plan for me and a purpose in His timing. In Christ,   Rosie May 2014 Update  I am still at the Church, still involved in youth ministry. We have a new youth minister so I decided to write up a recap of the year. I usually write up report if my Convention experiences like ComicCon & DragonCon reports. God is working mightily, most recently God took me on a trip to Rome. So I decided to start this Blog to share my walk with God, Father, Son and Holy Spirt. I just read a book called The Shack by William P. Young I highly recommend it. Read more about it at www.theshackbook.com it is an amazing wonderful journey. Walking with God in a close personal relationship is just that, a journey. Today I was thinking about how there are 3 levels of knowing: your mind, your heart and your gut. Your mind is head knowledge not personal. Your heart has feelings involved usually warm and fuzzy. Your gut is more like instinct. In your core and unshakeable, not based in knowledge or feelings you just KNOW. During my time with NET Ministristries I learned the following: God made me, God knows me, God loves me and God has a plan for me. I know this in my gut. I hope my sharing my walk with God helps others in their walk. Remember talking is important in all relationships, so is listening. When we talk to God that is called prayer. I will keep you all in prayer. God knows who you are. :)