More than History

My parents were raised Buddhist and eventually converted to Christianity. I always questioned my faith. In Hinduism, for example, if you mess up in this life you get a restart in another life, but in Christianity, you only have one chance—one life—and that made me meditate further on what it meant to be a Christian and have faith.

My history teacher in high school mentioned that Catholics believe in transubstantiation [the change by which the bread and the wine become the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ). I thought it was the craziest thing I’ve ever heard. I asked my pastor what we believed and he said that it [the Eucharist] was just a symbol. But something didn’t sound right to me. I started to ask around more, and I got conflicted answers. Then, in my college years, when I came to further understand what Catholics believe about the Eucharist, I read John 6 and thought, “Wow, that makes sense.” The whole biblical scene was eye-opening and led to me learn more about the Catholic Church and discover its beauty.

In college I took a class on moral philosophy, and it made me interested in learning more about what the Catholic Church teaches about morality, too. I realized that there is a huge background of philosophy that supports what the Church teaches. I prayed to God to help me find His Church and to find the truth.

The more I learned, the more I was amazed by the continuous flow of tradition and faith that God gives us through the Catholic Church. I made a decision to become Catholic that summer, and it was the best decision of my life so far.

Christ doesn’t call us just to say no to sin, but to say yes to Him. The Church offers a vision of communion with God and I think that’s what young people are really looking for today.

As Pope Saint John Paul II reminded, “Be not afraid.”