Pat’s faith journey

I was baptized and raised Catholic, and I’m blessed to be the oldest child in a family that makes faith a priority. But, like many life-long Catholics, a personal relationship with Jesus wasn't always at the center of my life. I grew up knowing a lot of things about Jesus – prayers, responses at Mass, answers in religion class – but not truly knowing Jesus. It wasn't until the middle of high school that I was led to make the journey between my head and my heart. As a sophomore, a classmate named Mark invited me to a local Christian youth ministry event. I wasn't very keen on going to church on a Tuesday night, but I had recently gotten my driver's license, and was constantly looking for an excuse to use it. That night was the first of many conversions that God worked in my life. The community was welcoming, the music was passionate, and the pastor spoke on the topic of "Wimpy Christians" – Christians who go to church on Sundays but don't act like it Monday through Saturday. As far as I was concerned, the Holy Spirit was talking directly to me. It was no coincidence that right after this evening, a youth ministry program was founded at my home parish in Davenport, Iowa. I spent the rest of my high school years learning from my loving youth minister, growing on retreats, and discerning my vocation. God had begun to matter in daily circumstances. College came with its typical highs and lows of faith, which were often very frustrating. At its best, ministering at a Christian summer camp, college retreats, and great friendships strengthened my faith. At other points, my faith was peppered with difficult decisions, troubling relationships, and struggles with sin. But through it all, God's hand was at work, guiding me into full-time ministry and, more importantly, family life - my own domestic Church. Working in youth ministry has allowed me to be more certain of God's presence than ever before, while always being challenged by my life-long call to be the husband, father, and minister that God created me to be. It's with a thankful heart that I echo the words of St. Paul: "But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been ineffective" (1 Cor. 15:10).