Great joy!

This past weekend, a dear friend of mine sought permission to enter the Catholic Church at this coming Easter Vigil. Raised as an Evangelical Protestant, she has been looking into the Catholic Faith for the past year and a half. She is very intelligent and has been doing a lot of reading and I would hazard to say knows more about Catholic theology than most Catholics do. It came to a point where she needed to decide whether she would follow through on what she had discovered. With great joy, I discovered yesterday that, after much prayer and discernment and having spoken with a local priest, she has made that decision and will be entering into the Catholic Church this coming Easter.

My friend has asked me to be one of her sponsors. I am incredibly humbled and honoured by this request and do not feel worthy, yet at the same time I will do my best to support her as she continues her spiritual journey in the Catholic Church. I have witnessed her emotional, spiritual, and intellectual struggles with the Catholic Faith over the past year and a half and have had the priviledge of having many late night conversations with her. As I spoke with her yesterday I realized that God had been using me as an instrument to carry out his will in ways I had never thought. It certainly wasn't any of my doing because I was completely oblivious to the impact my confidence in the Catholic Faith and our numerous conversations had on her. Although she claims I had a significant role to play, I know it wasn't me but rather God who was working through me.

In light of my own spiritual journey, her expression of gratitude for my witness to the Catholic Faith and her desire for me to sponsor her is particulary special to me. I am very humbled by her request. It is truly a blessing for me to have this opportunity and an incredible source of grace for me. God is faithful and he knows the desires of our heart. Having the opportunity to sponsor my friend as she enters the Catholic Church is very special and important to me, not only in that it brings me great joy to see my friend enter into the life of the Church, but also as this role relates to my own spiritual life.

Please keep my friend, and all those preparing to enter the Catholic Church this coming Easter in your prayers.