As an Active duty Servicemember, my wife and I have called many places home but Immaculate Conception in Dayton is the first place of worship that has truly felt like home.  But it took me awhile to get here!

I was baptized and confirmed into the United Church of Christ in Connecticut.  As a teenager and college student, I drifted away from my faith and when the Air Force sent me to my first assignment on the other side of the country, I was unknowingly looking for a new home - something was missing in my life and I thought it was just my family. 

All-knowing, the Lord sent me on a first date with my future wife, who happens to be a devout Catholic and God-loving woman.  While we almost went to Mass on our first date (a story for another time), we ended up going on a weekly basis and my eyes began to open back up to the Lord.  I fell in love in more ways than one... especially with God, the tradition, and the aspiration of the Catholic Church. 

A few years and relocations later, we found ourselves attending Mass at Immaculate Conception and that’s when I first felt ready to take the next step of my journey toward God through the Eucharist. 

The timing was right but I was concerned that COVID would derail RCIA. Fr Satish, Will, Spencer and the entire team at IC found a way to make it happen, safely, and effectively.  I am incredibly blessed that I was able to go on this journey at this time and with my fellow candidates.  The community at IC truly feels like home and it has left its mark on us, especially me as a newly practicing Catholic! Thank you for welcoming me (and us) with open arms!

Hello!  My name is Gina Greenwood and I am happy to have been received into the Catholic Church at Easter Vigil this year.  I come from a Protestant background and have been a devoted and practicing Christian for many years.  Over the years I had become more and more drawn to the Catholic Church for three main reasons:  the real presence in the Eucharist, the history, and the traditions.  It’s been a long journey to get here and I am blessed to be a Catholic Christian. 

My journey through RCIA has been a beautiful guided experience.  I didn’t come to RCIA ignorant of Catholicism, but I have had what I knew fleshed out and things I didn’t know carefully explained.  As an RCIA cohort we walked through the experience together – even when we had to meet by Zoom.  The sessions themselves were well thought out and organized taking us step by step from the beginning (Old Testament) through today - Easter and beyond.  The Rite of Acceptance in October was especially meaningful as our sponsors made the sign of the cross on our foreheads, lips, heart, hands, and feet.

Each week I found myself looking forward to Sunday’s RCIA session.  I couldn’t wait to hear our speaker, take notes, and examine what I already knew and what I was learning.  The few times that I couldn’t attend I was anxious for our session to be posted so I could watch it!  At the end of each session I had nuggets and gems of information that I was excited to share.  I had many long conversations with my husband and my son.  My son was received into the Catholic Church last year in Denver, Colorado.  Due to COVID there was no Easter Vigil, so he missed that experience.    His learning experience was so different from mine that we frequently discussed the topics and how the information was presented.  I was able to explain some things more fully to him!  I have concluded that we are very fortunate at Immaculate to have such a well formed RCIA with knowledgeable presenters giving of themselves and sharing their knowledge and experience.  Thank you to all who led us as presenters and to Will and Spencer who made sure that each week could happen!

I especially loved the sessions where the Mass was explained step-by-step, word-by-word, action-by-action.  After our class I was able to joyfully enter Mass and carefully pay attention to each part.  Knowing what is being said and why, along with the meaning and tradition behind each part, has made the service come alive for me.

I can’t end without expressing my joy and gratitude for the Easter Vigil.  Saturday morning, we met for the Rite of Naming.  I put a lot of effort into picking my patron saint (Monica) so having a special prayer service for it was icing on my cake.  Well, maybe it was the raspberry filling between the layers as Easter Vigil itself must be the icing!  Even though there were some COVID limitations Fr. Satish did so much to make it special.  He explained what would be happening and why.  He had us come to the back so we could be a part of the lighting of the candle.  When we came forward to proclaim our intention and belief, I felt more fully rooted in Jesus than ever.  The Spirit was surely present and strong as Fr. Satish anointed and prayed for me.  Wow. 

One final fun note.  We were told to bring a handkerchief in case we needed to wipe any dripping Confirmation Oil.  When my son got married in 2019, he and his bride gave both mothers a cloth handkerchief with our initials and the words, “Tears of Joy.”  The perfect hanky for this occasion.  In the end, after Mass, I wiped all the oil I could onto the hanky, and it is in one of my drawers.  I can still smell the oil – I just checked!  A smell that reminds me of my whole journey and the greatness of God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

I am looking forward to finding my place(s) of service at Immaculate.

Proverbs 22:6 says: “Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it”  

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Being a novice regarding technology, I struggled for several weeks with what, I thought, was my dysfunctional cell phone. I couldn't figure out why it wasn’t ringing to alert me about incoming calls. Searching obvious causes, I finally discovered the problem, much to my embarrassment. Somehow, someway, without consciously doing it, I had activated the “Do Not Disturb” option.

Not being disturbed has some benefits. I gravitate toward silence and solitude, even more so after hearing Fr. Satish's presentations on St. John of the Cross. But the silence and solitude of missed communications, unconsciously blocked, were troubling.

Lent, for me, meant a time to turn OFF the “Do Not Disturb” option on my cell phone and, more importantly, in my heart and soul. As a result, I began to hear the ringing of challenging messages that had failed to receive the attention they deserved. Some of the messages emerged from the RCIA meetings. Others arose from reading devotional materials related to Lent. The most important messages regarded MERCY. I appreciated often hearing about mercy during homilies and  the liturgy. The Agnus Dei (Lamb of God), a deeply meaningful prayer for me in the Catholic Mass, held ever greater meaning during the Lenten season.

Easter meant a renaming and a new way of sharing in the Eucharistic experience with the gathered community. Taking my Confirmation name from St. Augustine caused me to wonder about this sacramental seal on my life and growing nearness to Christ. The chrism marked a change that I'm still trying to process—the movement of the Holy Spirit. Receiving the Bread of Life connected me with others, united in the Body of Christ. In that way, he has called us to spread the Eucharistic message of Christ's sacrificing love and forgiveness to both those gathered and those not at the table. I hope that joining the Catholic Church will help me grow more and more to be a Christian and a disciple.

Thanks be to God!

I would like to ask that we all pray for a young woman I met yesterday as I was going about my busy life. I stopped to get a hair cut and was wearing my discipleship t-shirt from the retreat. She asked me what it meant and I explained to her that we as disciples of God stive to Act like Jesus, Speak like Jesus and Think like Jesus. She then when on to tell me she had just been diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of twenty three and had already been told that she would never have children.  

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Allow me to share our experience regarding our 7 year old daughter Maria, when she fell 8 ft into an open basement and was speared by steel rod fastened to concrete on the floor. She is doing well and sustained minor injuries...considering that is (cracked rib and collapsed lung when surguons removed the rod.  She could understand why Mom was crying and so upset....she whispered to Mom that Jesus and Mary were holding her hand.  Remarkable!

How many miracles/apparritions have been given to us, and then seemiingly forgotten?  I think of Fatima, Akita, Garranbandal, LaSallette, etc,. etc., that reaffirmed our Gospels and gave us warnings of our future.  This accident in our family has made us more aware of how short life is, and what we could do to improve our spiritual "readiness" whenever the time comes for us to die.  At any rate, Thank you so much for your visit to Maria in hospital, your prayers and all you do as a Catholic Priest!    

- Raymond and Maria Yates

I love sharing how God led me to the Catholic Church, not because the story is about me, but because in every way, this story is about God.  I never dreamed that I would become Catholic, yet quite unexpectedly I found everything I’ve been looking for in the Catholic Church—of all places.  It is impossible to put into words the inner movements of one’s soul, but here is my best account of my journey.

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For most of my life (until recently), which would be about 14 years, I have been a Catholic. Raised in a catholic home, went to church every week, Sunday school... but nothing really felt real. I mean, I never felt totally one with God and Jesus, and his Church. Never really understodd the Catholic doctrines, or cared to know more.

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First, I want it to be known that I absolutely love my upbringing, my family, and their faith.  I am the fourth of eleven children from a very Christian home.  My father was the pastor of an Evangelical Lutheran church that he started in Maryland.  I grew to know the Lord and had the Bible read to me every evening before bed until I left for college.  We moved to Ohio as I was finishing my eighth grade year and I transitioned from home school to public school for the first time.  While I made friends very easily, we were not the best influences for each other. With all of these changes and the influence of my friends, my faith was lukewarm. Like many others, I felt that God was distant and I only cared Him about when I felt helpless.

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I never believed in all that 'religious stuff'. I didn't believe in God. Certainly not in hell. So negative. My parents did not take us to church. My parents told my sister and I that we could choose what we wanted, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity..whatever.  I didn't have much exposure to Gods truth.  The most religion I had was from our awesome Jewish friends who always had us over for Passover.

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My brother (drums) and I (guitar, singer) have been members of the IC rock mass for almost 6 years now. From the very beginning actually. I'd like to share with you some of my past and a testimony of God's great work for us at the "Rock Mass."

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In reflecting on the readings from Mass, I am reminded of my conversion story. When I was 14 years old, I was diagnosed with eyeritis which caused me to have to live at home through my 7th and 8th grade schooling. During that time, my family was told I was at risk of becoming blind. I had to live in literal darkness. I had blankets put at my bedroom windows to keep out the direct sunlight. If I went outside, I had to wear three to four sunglass inserts behind my glasses in order to allow my eyes to adjust to the sunlight. A tutor came to my house twice a week for schooling.

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Did you know that when you Google “The Lord’s will for my life,” it produces over 12 million hits?

In June, 2008, my wife, Liz, told me that she was dissatisfied with her work as a Family Practice physician. She didn’t feel like she was using her gifts and skills to their fullest ability. She wasn’t “changing the world” like she had always planned.

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My health has been failing me for a few years now, and as my body declines and I become more dependent on the help of others I am realizing how blessed I truly am.  My mind has been whirling with worries, especially about what decisions I need to make about my future.  My disease has no cure and my lack of options weighs heavily on me. 

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