Parish Faith Stories

I wanted to be a saint when I was eleven years old. I would go to the church during recess to pray. I carried good deed beads in my pocket. My dad even built me an altar for my bedroom to pray before every day. And then life happened. I had not been attending Mass regularly for a while. I had been struggling in my marriage and had abandoned my dependence on God for my comfort and strength. I attended a funeral at St. Anthony’s for a friend and was …

I was baptized Catholic and born to great parents who practiced the faith all their lives. I was educated by Franciscans at Ascension parish and so received all the sacraments of initiation in grade school. I continued practicing Catholicism all through high school and into my mid-twenties. Then I stopped attending Sunday mass, opting to sleep in on those mornings. Was I mad at the church, or at God? No, I still believed in Jesus and God. I still thought the church of my childhood did a lot of good. …

I was born into a Catholic home and attended a Catholic school. My Parish was the center of my universe. The Holy Name Sisters taught me about the saints and prepared me for the sacraments. I will always remember my first Confession, first Eucharist, and Confirmation. I received each of these sacraments with reverence and excitement. When I was a 20-year-old college student, I met my first husband Doug. Doug was exploring Catholicism at the time. I soon moved to the city of Astoria where Doug lived. I was so …