Finding Christ in the Catholic Church!
Vatican City, Italy 2018
This was from a pilgrimage I went on with my Newman Center in college! This is a picture of me and my college chaplain, Father Charlie Gallagher outside of St. Peters!
About 8 years ago, I walked into St. Stephen Martyr off M Street in Washington DC, a few blocks from where I went to college. I wasn’t Catholic, but since attending a Catholic school as a kid, there was a deep desire to know more about what the Church taught. With a mix of excitement for starting college, sadness from being so far from home, and fascination with world around me, I shuffled into a pew that warm Sunday morning. I felt peace, I felt at home.
Little did I know that 7 months from that morning would be the most important day of my life.
My name is Alli Kalina, and I am so excited to launch this thing! I have had a passion for writing since I was really young. Growing up, I was an aspiring journalist. I had a phase where I was an unofficial blogger (that only Tanner has read). And I have a strong desire to know Jesus more intimately and for others to know him too!
My journey to the Catholic Church is very different from most people’s story! I used to feel really discouraged by that, but I see how beautiful it is now! Everyone’s story is so unique and it is a gift that the Lord brings people from all sorts of places back to Him! I was raised in a Lutheran home, but knew very little about Jesus except that He was God and I should love Him. It wasn’t until I was in middle school at a Catholic School in Duluth, Minnesota that I encountered Jesus in a real way.
As a Lutheran, in a Catholic middle school, I felt it was very important for me to be resistant, or at least skeptical, to everything I learned in religion class. This skepticism let to curiosity, and my curiosity led me to asking lots of hard questions. My biggest concerns with the Church as a 12 year old were Mary and the Eucharist. I didn’t know many practicing Catholics outside of school, but I did know one! And praise the Lord for her! The one Catholic I knew figure skated with me and my sisters. She was older than us and would sometimes babysit for my family. I had a whole plan that the next time she came over to babysit, I would ask her all my hard questions once my siblings went to bed. And sure enough, one night when she was over, I sat her down and asked her my most important question, “Steffanie, do you reaaaaalllllyyyyy believe that the Eucharist is aaaactuallyyyy Jesus??…” I waited anxiously for her response, hoping she’d set my mind at ease, because Steffanie was smart. She gently told me, “yes, we do believe that!'“ And in a coincidentially Marian way, I pondered that in my heart. “How could that be so? Steffanie was smart… and she really believes this.” Ironically, after this, I followed up with, “okay, well what’s going on with Mary? It seems like you guys talk about her a lot…” And Steffanie, again patiently and gently said something along the lines of, “she’s Jesus’s mom. She was important to him and so she’s important to us.” I nodded my head, that makes sense for now I guess!
This little conversation was huge in my little heart. It made me more open to what I was learning in religion class in school and when we stumbled on the chapter about RCIA (Rite for Christian Initiation for Adults, a formal process where one discerns becoming Catholic), it’s like I mentally bookmarked it thinking, “hmm I would maybe look into that some day.”
Fast forward to the end of middle school, our teachers told us we would be heading over to the church. Honestly, they probably explained what it was for but I probably wasn’t listening so I had no clue what was going on. I knew the Catholic kids would go to confession and that’s it. At this point, I had never heard of Eucharistic Adoration, and that’s where we were heading. I remember shuffling into the pews of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosary and staring at the altar where a big, shiny, gold, sun sat. There was the most beautiful piano music being played by the church’s liturgist, and for the first time in my life, as I was staring at the altar, staring at the Eucharist, I thought to myself, “I don’t really know what peace is, but I think this could be it.” That day changed my life, I recognized the presence of Jesus in this Catholic Church, and I couldn’t forget it.
I had RCIA bookmarked in the back of mind and it was tugging on my heart. In high school I had a few Catholic friends who came from very Catholic families. I noticed their joy and how their lives looked differently than mine and my family. When I was a junior in high school, all of my friends were preparing for their confirmation and I thought, “maybe this would be a good time to explore this whole Catholic thing.” My mom ending up calling the Cathedral and asked about signing me up for RCIA. They told my mom it would be easier if I waited until I was an adult. By the grace of God, I just kind of shrugged my shoulders and said “okay sounds good!” I waited and it ended up being a huge blessing!
I ended up going to college at George Washington University in Washington DC and that’s where I started RCIA my freshmen year. I went in telling myself there was no pressure to become Catholic. I wanted to learn more about the Church and decide if it was where I was being called. As I learned more about the Catholic Church, I fell more in love with Jesus. I was in so much awe of the beauty and richness of the Church and felt so much peace about becoming Catholic.
I entered the Church spring of 2016 at the Easter Vigil and it rocked my world. It’d be silly for me to say that everything has been perfect since then. The closer I’ve gotten to Jesus, the more I’ve seen my own brokeness and need for him. I’ve made mistakes, I’ve fallen, but I’ve continued to put my trust in Jesus.
There’s so much more I’d love to share and I will do that in the future. Finding Christ in the Catholic Church radically changed my life. If you are searching for purpose, for the truth, for Jesus, I encourage you to learn more about the Catholic Faith. Praying for you all!
Mary, Mother of God, lend me your heart!