When I first came to Arizona 8 years ago, one of the items that didn’t come up for consideration during the move was faith. I had been baptized and confirmed in the Anglican Church in Canada and didn’t anticipate the lack of presence it has in the U.S. For that reason I was drawn to the Catholic Church due to the similarities of the Mass and so had been practicing as a committed Catholic ever since.

Over time, my involvement in the church extended to being a lector and part of the finance and fundraising committees. I was being held up by the Priest and business manager as a leader in the Parish and The Knights of Columbus wanted me to extend my leadership skills to them as well.

In February 2008 I attended the first Catholic Men’s Conference in Phoenix and after the first 2 speakers it hit me between the eyes - it wasn’t right that I was being held up as a leader when I wasn’t even confirmed in the Catholic Church. After praying and meditating on it for a couple of weeks I decided this was something I must do. I didn’t want to embarrass anyone at my existing Parish once this new became common knowledge so began my search for a Church community in which I could pursue RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults).

I’ll admit the idea of attending weekly classes on night a week didn’t thrill me and I expected it to be boring and onerous. However, God was calling me to do the right thing so I made the commitment. With my fiancée by my side as my sponsor, I jumped in with both feet knowing it would be nearly a year before this journey was complete.

I missed taking communion at Mass and looked forward with trepidation to confession which I’d never done. But an amazing thing happened on the road to confirmation. I found myself looking forward to my class on Thursday nights, the discussion about scripture and learning about my new faith. I engage vigorously in debate and found myself reading the bible more during the week to become familiar with common passages and parables. As I read other material I found prayers that struck me as both pertinent and very personal to my life so began saying them daily. I began investigating and asking questions about saints, church history, and the rosary.

As we turned the New Year I looked forward to our weekend retreat and my first confession and began preparing for it. After all, what does one say when confessing sins of 50 years? When it finally happened it was a truly emotional experience. I lost it as I said the prayer of contrition and cried for 10-15 minutes afterwards. Upon reflection later I realized this was all part of the cleansing and forgiveness that this sacrament is for. That’s why did Christ die on the cross for us!

The last few months included the 2nd annual Catholic Men’s Conference and I made announcements in our class related to it encourage the men to go. Those I saw at the conference told me it was my testimony that compelled them to attend. During conversations with others in the class I found out that everyone could feel my passion for Christ and found my testimony very moving. I just knew God was calling me to do more with my story.

After praying on it, I decided I owed it to others to use my talent of speaking and writing to share my testimony with others. "If it brought just one person to God or back to God" I asked myself "wouldn’t that be a true ministry for me?" And so Drawn to Christ was born, the vehicle with which I would begin to share with anyone who would listen.

By Easter Week I was so full of the Holy Spirit that I felt a peace come over me. I was very calm and wanted to absorb everything during the Confirmation Mass. I wouldn’t change a moment of the journey and now look forward to a day when I might revisit this experience as a sponsor. In the meantime, my fire for Christ has not dimmed by one ember and I continue to write about my daily journey as a newly Confirmed Catholic of which I am most proud. Follow me or book me for an event at www.drawntochrist.com