RCIA students eagerly await sacraments once social distancing relaxes

When asked what it was like spiritually to have his entrance to the Catholic faith postponed, Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) student Jeff Godfrey from St. Paul’s Newman Center said it was, “pretty difficult.”

“Even with the prospect of restrictions being lifted, I had family coming from out of town and out of state to watch me get baptized,” he said. “This seems unlikely, as I don’t want them to get sick. However, I see it as a test for my faith. I continue to watch holy Mass… a different one each week from around the world.”

Godfrey grew up with divorced parents, one half being a military family that attended a variety of Protestant services, the other being spiritual but not religious.

“I found myself angry all the time,” he said, “my faith was definitely lacking. I felt a void inside of me I wasn't able to fill. Last summer, I met my current girlfriend at school and started attending daily and Sunday Mass. At first, I found Mass to be quite intimidating. All of the various Protestant denominations I attended previously were very lax. To this day I have to pick up the ‘Mass card’ from the pew every once in a while to keep up, but it’s starting to become second nature.”

Through attending Mass and RCIA classes each week, Godfrey slowly but surely started to feel his anger disappear.

“I started to feel the void I once had begin to fill. I find myself smiling quite often for no reason at all. The only explanation I've been able to come up with is that the Holy Spirit has found his way back into my life.”

Michaela Gaislerova, a student at NDSU who also attended RCIA classes at the Cathedral of St. Mary in Fargo, began learning about the Catholic faith through her friend Emily.

“Through my three years at NDSU, Emily has been a light for me and a great example of someone who is living out her faith. I began learning about the Catholic faith through her, and at the beginning of my junior year I joined RCIA. At first I just had a lot of questions. I was discovering the differences between the Catholic Church and Protestant faith. As we kept moving forward with our classes, more and more questions were answered, and I realized that I am excited about the Catholic Church and I want to join. My relationship with Jesus has grown stronger through RCIA.”

Though she was disappointed she was unable to join the Catholic Church during the Easter Vigil Mass, she’s confident “it’s going to happen eventually.”

“I am really excited about having all of my sins washed away through Baptism and then being able to receive communion,” she said.

Greg Hamilton describes himself as “the old man” in St. Mary’s class and has been a practicing Lutheran his entire life. He comes from a family of many pastors.

“Kate, my wife of 34 years, was raised in a Catholic family, and we got to a point in our marriage where it felt natural for me to attend Mass with her,” he said. “I loved the liturgy and the focus on the Eucharist and the sense I had of the wonderful tradition that had changed very little over the years. My Protestant background in the Lutheran church is important to me and instead of viewing it as a step in a different direction, I see it as a natural progression that flows seamlessly from one to another. After all, honoring scripture and the sacraments were instilled in me from an early age, so it has been a natural transition for me.”

While he says the shutdown from the coronavirus slowed some of the momentum, Hamilton embraces the transformation God has given him.

“It is a special gift that I now share with Kate,” he said. “I love the Mass and look forward to it every week. Going through RCIA with the excellent guidance of Mary Hanbury, Brad Gray, and the clergy has been delightful and a true gift from God.”