A rich harvest at the Easter Vigil
After many years of adult baptisms declining, the diocese has seen a steady rise over the last three years. This year, that rise became a surge, with 370 adult baptisms, 120 more than last year, and the most since 2006. Young people in particular seem to be attracted to the riches of the Church. We interviewed three catechumens and one candidate preparing to enter the Church this Easter to hear how the Lord drew them to the Catholic faith.
After many years of adult baptisms declining, the diocese has seen a steady rise over the last three years. This year, that rise became a surge, with 370 adult baptisms, 120 more than last year, and the most since 2006. Young people in particular seem to be attracted to the riches of the Church. We interviewed three catechumens and one candidate preparing to enter the Church this Easter to hear how the Lord drew them to the Catholic faith.
Cameron Sandstedt, 23, grew up attending a local megachurch. But his family stopped going to church when he was about 10, and by 15, he had abandoned the Christian faith altogether.
A few years ago, he reached a low point where life seemed devoid of purpose or meaning. Asking what makes a good life led him to ask what makes a good man. “I knew the answers offered by the gym bros and alpha males online weren’t it. Jesus was still the best answer I knew.” He started studying history and theology, asking which church had the best claim to be the one that Jesus founded. He found the arguments for Catholicism the most compelling.
“And once I realized what the Eucharist was, I knew I didn’t have any other choice.” He started attending Mass at Immaculate Heart of Mary parish and read the entire Catechism before the first day of Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA) classes. When Cameron told his father about his decision to become Catholic, he learned that his dad had just been initiated a few weeks prior at the same parish!
Abbey Dean, a freshman at University of Michigan, grew up without any exposure to religion. “I think my Mom had had some bad experiences with the Church,” she says.
Abbey would pray by herself, and by high school she found herself asking God for help on a regular basis. When she started dating a Catholic classmate her senior year, it motivated her to figure out what she believed. But she didn’t want to be influenced by him, so she started visiting churches and researching different traditions on her own.
At her first Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA) meeting, she had an experience in prayer of feeling as if God was wrapping her in a hug. “I felt like he was telling me that I was exactly where I needed to be.” There have been times during the process when she questioned herself, but God would always speak to her through the readings or prayers at OCIA that week.
Aaron Adira, 23, attended a megachurch as a child but was never baptized. In high school, he prayed about where to go to college, and God led him to Michigan State University. When he arrived, he started attending a similar church and realized he had a hunger for more reverence. “That got me asking what worship is for.”
University Christian Outreach exposed him to Christians who were deeply committed to historic strands of Christianity. So, he started doing research. “I was drawn to Catholicism because it seemed like the most demanding. I wanted a church that was going to call me to discipleship.”
When he learned about the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, he thought, “If this is true, then the Catholic Church is where I need to be.” So, he started going to adoration and asking God, “Is that you?” And over time, his prayer felt more alive there. He realized the Eucharist had the grace he needed to answer the challenging call to discipleship he wanted.
When Anthony Cook, 29, saw one of his supervisors come to work with a black cross on his forehead, he asked a coworker what it was. The answer sent him to the internet, looking up “Lent.” And that led him to the story of Jesus fasting in the desert for 40 days.
“I was blown away. I wanted to learn everything I could about Christianity.” He was starting from scratch, having had no exposure to church growing up. “I didn’t know what a Mass was. I thought it was a wake.” After he attended his first Mass, at St. Paul’s parish in Owosso, he was too intimidated to approach the priest, so he asked the first lay person he saw, “What do I have to do to become Catholic?” She was more than happy to answer, since she was the OCIA director!
Two months later, Anthony approached that supervisor to share his story and now the supervisor is Anthony’s sponsor.
All four of these initiates are brimming with joyful anticipation as they look forward to receiving the sacraments at the Easter Vigil. The Lord is truly doing a great work through the parishes of the diocese. Let’s pray for all the newly initiated this Easter season, and let’s also pray that God will continue to use all of us as workers in his harvest.
