Stories of the Community

God is at work in our St. Ignatius Martyr Catholic Church community. Read a few of our stories of grace, conversion, and discipleship.

Easter Vigil 2024

Marina

Although I have been surrounded by the Catholic faith for many years, becoming Catholic was a personal choice for me and, ultimately, a decision that I took a long time to make. It was not that I did not know Christianity—as a child, I attended a Baptist church—but my family did not practice any religion. My parents chose not to baptize us and did not force any religious views on us. The local Baptist church was a safe place for my sister and I to go to Sunday School while my parents had other things to do.

I continued to be involved in church until I became a teen mother. Being a young, single mother was a really traumatic time in my life—I often felt scared, but channeled my love and focus onto my son, my education, and getting into college to make a better future for him. I was accepted at St. Edward’s University and immediately found the supportive, loving, friendly environment that I needed. I had the best professors, advisors and financial aid helpers I could ask for! It was there that I also met my husband, a Catholic from a strict Latino family. I loved how faithful he was and how his family blessed and prayed for one another. We decided to get married, and I kept my heart open to Catholicism, making sure that my marriage was in the Church and that my children were baptized and followed Catholic teachings. Despite my marriage preparation and my children’s catechism classes (that I attended with them), there were many times I felt lost and empty and like an outsider at Mass. Looking back, I know I avoided attending Mass when I felt this emptiness. I had been around Catholicism my whole adult life, but I never actively took the steps to become Catholic myself. Many times over the years, I asked myself, “What would those steps even be like, and is it too late for me?”

Last year, I made the decision that it was time to learn more. I first reached out to the RCIA director at St. Ed’s and they suggested I find a parish where the other RCIA candidates would be older, not college-aged. They told me about St. Ignatius and I smiled—it was the parish my husband and I had attended a few times over the years and where our marriage sacrament was filed (because St. Ed’s doesn’t have a parish office of their own). “What a coincidence!” I thought, and I emailed Isaac, their RCIA director, that same day.

The very first meeting I had with Isaac had a real impact on me. As I rattled off the details of my life—why I was considering RCIA and the many reasons I never took the steps to convert to Catholicism—I was overcome with guilt and embarrassment that I had taken so long to take this step. I will never forget Isaac's response. After calmly listening, he said, “God was with you in those moments, the whole time.” Those words have comforted me through this journey, and when I look back on my life, they hold true: God was with me the whole time.

In fact, I now see multiple truths: while it is true that everyone's faith journey and relationship with God is different and unique, it is also true that it is divinely intended that we all have a faith community and be part of something bigger than ourselves. It has been incredibly healing to be accepted and embraced by the Church at St. Ignatius and to feel unconditional support each week attending RCIA classes. At the Easter Vigil, Father John’s use of three whole pitchers of water to baptize me, while funny at the time, was also a beautiful metaphor of cleansing—my past, present, and future. I felt a euphoria with each pitcher and an immense sense of love, for myself and for God. Now, I look forward to what I can continue to offer in love for others—as a mom, a wife, a therapist, and a community member—and how to keep my faith with me as a part of my whole self.

Tyler

Born and raised in Dallas to a cradle Catholic mother and non-religious father, my experience with church in my younger years was attending a Baptist church with the part of my family, on my dad’s side, that regularly talked about God and taught us about God and Jesus. For me, going to church felt more like “daycare” (versus “Sunday School,” as my cousins would call it)-- I wasn’t very interested in it and, instead, always wondered what fun things we were going to do afterward. Outside of attending church with them, no one in my family encouraged me to grow in my faith or to be baptized.

In high school, I met a new friend who attended church regularly with his family. I began going on a weekly basis and gained an interest in searching for how to have a true connection to and relationship with God. But I never really found what I was looking for in the churches that we attended, and my interest in searching quickly diminished after I graduated from high school and moved to Florida.

While living in Florida, I was not attending church until I met my girlfriend in 2016. She is a cradle Catholic, raised by an amazing Catholic, Cuban family. It took a while for her to introduce me to her family, but once she did, we developed a great connection and I began going to Mass with them. After attending a few Masses, I was drawn to the community, the structure, the centrality of God, and the way in which things were taught. The feeling that this was what I had been searching for began to grow.

After getting to know my girlfriend’s family over the next few years, I saw how God was so important in their lives and I recognized that this was something that was missing in my life. I wanted to be able to share this with them and with the family that I hoped to have in the future.

I moved to Austin in the fall of 2021 and proposed to my girlfriend in the summer of 2022. My now-fiancé moved to Austin shortly after our engagement to finish her Master’s degree and start a new life with me. One weekend, we stumbled upon St. Ignatius Martyr Catholic Church after “browsing” the local churches around town. We attended a few Sunday Masses and it immediately felt like home. We were then planning our wedding and I thought, “What better time than now to look into finding that deeper connection with God through my marriage and by becoming Catholic.” We set up a meeting with Isaac to discuss the RCIA process and joined in on a Wednesday class to see what it was all about.  A few weeks later, I began my journey in RCIA and was on my way to becoming a Catholic!

The weekly journey with the RCIA community has been nothing but a positive experience. I went in knowing little about the Catholic religion, and the classes provided what I had always been looking for regarding the education about faith, prayer, liturgy, and God in general.  Listening to and being aware of God is something that I am now much more conscious of after many sessions with the team and the discussions that we had that really break down what it means to be God-reliant and to live through and with Him. I feel a sense of deeper connectedness and openness in my life.

Some of the high points, spiritually, through this process included the Rite of Election, being anointed during our retreat, and seeing some of my biggest prayers answered. At evening prayer during our RCIA retreat, hearing Deacon Steve’s voice (now Father Steve) resonate through the nearly-empty church was so powerful and moving for me that it was the pinnacle point in my journey —my excitement began to build rapidly after that, as I was soon to be baptized.

Since being baptized, my connection with God is unlike any other period in my life–I feel closer to Him daily which gives me strength, clarity, and positivity. I’m more open with others and walk with a different light in me. I find myself listening to Him more, praying more frequently, and living through Him. As I begin this new journey as a Catholic, I couldn’t be more thankful for the St. Ignatius team and community through this entire RCIA journey.  I’m really looking forward to what the future holds with my new relationship with God and sharing Him and His word with others.

Sharon

Our Hearts Were Made For Thee

When I reflect on my life now, I see a beautiful tapestry woven by God—a heart once hardened to stone, now opened and transformed into flesh.

Growing up in a Christian-based sect that rejected churches, I was taught that traditional churches were closed to God's voice, defined by outdated rules and customs. Our leader claimed to be a prophet of the last days, interpreting rules based on his personal revelations and out-of-context Bible verses. The group was marred by mental and physical abuse, especially towards children. Isolated from secular society, I believed our experiences were normal and never considered planning for my future, as I expected the world to end by my twenties.

When I was sixteen, my father revealed the truth about the group's abuse, leading me to leave the cult and renounce my faith in God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. My worldview shattered, I struggled to understand myself and my emotions, forced to think about the future for the first time. I still had a deep longing for God, but since I couldn’t directly believe in him as a personal God, I went on a lifelong search to find something else that would satisfy that longing. I went headfirst into New Age teachings, Eastern spirituality, and wanting to become enlightened. I often struggled with depression and suicidal ideation, but I was sure that if I just found the right teaching or method, it would free me of that suffering.

Later, after escaping an abusive relationship, I lost everything I had rebuilt, feeling lower than ever. However, reconnecting with a long-lost aunt and uncle provided a glimmer of hope. They demonstrated genuine Christian kindness, gradually shifting my perception of Christianity. This newfound perspective, coupled with cognitive behavioral therapy, helped me start piecing myself back together psychologically. I began to understand the importance of valuing myself and standing up to abusive behavior.

Encountering conservative social and psychological commentary, I delved into the argument of moral objectivity vs. moral subjectivity. Reading C.S. Lewis's "The Abolition of Man" solidified my belief in moral objectivity, which aligned with my values. Despite this, I remained unsure of my spiritual path, though I found myself drawn to Catholicism through the examples of passionate Catholic commentators and the peace I felt when listening to a livestream of the rosary.

A turning point came when I rewatched The Passion of the Christ. Witnessing Jesus's sacrifice and the transformative power of his blood, I had a profound understanding of his love for humanity. This experience opened my heart to God's love, and I felt a deep sense of safety for the first time in my life. I decided to begin the process of joining the Catholic Church.

RCIA helped me to grow closer to God and develop more of a relationship with him. As ready as I felt to be baptized, the prolonged process of learning, praying, and growing in community proved important to strengthen my faith and confirm that the Catholic Church was where I belonged before fully committing. I experienced a lot of inner struggle between me and God, my family who were angry with me, and feeling like I couldn’t share my faith with the people I already knew for fear of alienating them. Having the support of the RCIA group helped me reconcile those things and learn to rely on God more and more. I’ve grown so much more comfortable praying and just talking to God. I’ve learned to properly examine my conscience and continuously open myself to God’s love, no matter how I’ve failed in my attempts to accept his grace. I’ve learned that he not only wants my sacrifice, but also my rest and silence.

Finally being baptized, confirmed, and able to receive the Eucharist, is a dream come true. When I receive Communion now, I go back to that moment in The Passion of the Christ when I recognized Jesus for who he really is, not who I once thought he was. The imposter Jesus is gone, replaced by the true God, and, to paraphrase St. Augustine’s words, my heart truly was made for him, and now, in him, it is finally at rest.

Lauren

Growing up in Phoenix, Arizona, I was raised as a non-denominational Protestant with what I like to call, “rock-and-roll Jesus,” so religion has always been in my life, although at some times more than at others. Both of my parents were raised Southern Baptist, but wanted to raise us in a more open environment than what they had both grown up in, so they joined a “megachurch.” That meant guitars, drum sets, and laser shows for Sunday services – quite the production! It also meant books, coffee, and other things for sale in, essentially, a gift store right in front of the church. I remember always being bothered by that, as it felt like a commercialized version of church. The older I became, the more it felt to me to be really lacking in substance.

But God has been sprinkling Catholicism in my life– first, I went to a Catholic high school and afterward to a Jesuit college in New York City. Then I started attending Mass here, at St. Ignatius, with my boyfriend (now fiancé), a “cradle Catholic.” We had many conversations about getting married in the Church, raising our future children in Christianity, and wanting to grow together in our faith. In our search for a church, we stumbled upon St. Ignatius. After many years of not having a church to call home, St. Ignatius immediately felt different to me. Now, every time we welcome visitors at the end of Mass, I get emotional because I will never forget the first time that I was a visitor and was welcomed.

Last year, on Easter Sunday, I remember Fr. John talking about the group who had just been baptized and confirmed at the Easter Vigil. Officially joining the Catholic Church had been on my heart, so I took this as a sign to reach out and begin the confirmation process. I started attending sessions with last year’s RCIA group and could tell it was going to be a special process. However, when I found out that I was going to have to wait to be confirmed until the following Easter and attend weekly sessions until then, I panicked– it had been over a decade since I had consistently attended church, and the commitment scared me. But after going through it, I really appreciate the process and its length because it gave me the chance to grow, have ups and downs, and become part of an incredible community.

I don’t think I knew how much RCIA was going to affect and change me as a person. I also don’t think I knew how much I needed God and how far away from Him I really was. I now feel closer to God than I ever have. I find myself thinking differently, seeing things in a new light, making different choices, and living my day-to-day life with God at the forefront. I have found so much beauty in the richness of Catholicism–the history, the mystery, the rituals, the language. Lastly, I cannot say enough how amazing the community has been–to have people I didn’t even know come up and tell me how excited they were for me made me feel like I could do anything with the people of this parish by my side. I can only hope to make other new members of the church feel just as welcomed, loved, and supported as I did.

I cannot even express how incredible it felt to be received into the Church at the Easter Vigil. From beginning with the bonfire – which felt like a culmination of my journey and an expression of how on fire for the Lord I felt – to watching other members of my RCIA group be baptized, I truly could feel God’s presence throughout the Mass. Then, after being anointed with oil and becoming Catholic, I brought the wine to the altar in preparation for Communion. In that moment, I felt God put his arms around me and walk down the aisle with me, almost as if I were floating. To be able to finally partake in Holy Communion and to be an official member of the Church is a feeling I struggle to even put into words. What I can say is this: I am finally home.