Summary of Written Encounters
Mar 19, 2023
Reflections of families and children from our Family Faith Formation:
Mar 12, 2023
Reflections of families and children from our Family Faith Formation:
Mar 05, 2023
Reflections of families and children from our Family Faith Formation:
Feb 26, 2023
Reflections from some more who joined our Family Movie Day in January and watched “The Chosen"
Feb 12, 2023
Personal Encounter from Amy Graf
I encounter Jesus in the Christian people God has placed in my path throughout my life, particularly in my fellow parishioners at St Patrick Church. One such encounter stands out: A member of my family had been behaving in strange ways that were troubling us. I attended a Bible study at St Pat's and lingered afterward, chatting with a parishioner who is a nurse. She suggested that the behaviors could indicate a mental illness. That comment shone a light on our darkness, providing a direction for us to learn more and ultimately live with this condition! Over the years since, many other parishioners have helped to heal my confusion, anxiety, and grief with their knowledge, kind words, prayers, and blessings. With Christ as the vine, I am blessed to be surrounded by the branches of "my people" in the Church!
Feb 05, 2023: Reflection of some of our youth:
Danny & Sarah Giesselbach:
My brother, Danny, and I grow closer to God in many ways, the most important way is through opening our hearts up to Him. We offer everything we do up to God and we try to always do what we think is right. It wasn’t always easy, we often struggled when we were younger to find God’s role in our lives. But then we realized, God’s role is to guide us through life and towards Heaven.
We try to attend Mass every weekend. We can’t always make it because we have a lot going on in our lives, but whenever we have to miss Mass, we always say an extra prayer. We try to pray every day because prayer is the best way to grow closer to God. Even simply sitting in quiet helps us grow closer to God. The silence is often the best way to truly hear what God has to say.
Danny and I have also joined many Church organizations so that we may grow even closer with God and we can aid others in their journeys as well. We have joined the high school youth ministry team which is a great way to grow your relationship with God while spending quality time with friends. Danny & Sarah Giesselbach
Jan 29, 2023 - Anonymous Encounter
“Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord? These short phrases from our hymn hit me with a powerful punch of realization. Since I can remember, Sunday was my favorite day because we dressed in our Sunday Church outfits, white gloves included, and went to Church. I was so excited about going to Church that I was the first one ready to go while my brothers and sister grumbled, and my mom scolded them to get ready. My mom did not take any fake excuses and hurried them along with punishment promises. As I grew, I grew in faith and love for all that our faith gives us. I was the only child in my family to continue going to Church after 16 years of age. I listened to the readings, the songs, and the homilies, often feeling like they were directed to me, personally, in my life. They seemed to know my current situation, put it out there for all to hear, and guide me forward. If you listen, you will hear what our Lord is telling you. If you listen, you will be guided by His teachings. If you look at Him, you will not see manmade materials, but see Him there for you. If you look to the Blessed Virgin Mary, again, you will not see a statue, but a Mother filled with love here to help you and guide you to Her Son. If you look around you see the many Saints given to us with their teachings and life accounts to show us the importance of our faith. I was proud of my faith and not shy about sharing it with others, although often being ignored.
“Well, this is it. I had it all together, although not a perfect life by many standards. I did have good Catholic faith upbringing and teaching from my mother and grandmother, a strong faith filled with dedication and love, and a heart open to help others and let them know that our faith is here and is true for them. They only need to allow it to enter into their heart and their mind and their deed.
“Not so fast. Attending Mass, doing daily readings and prayers and helping others, I found out, was not enough. During one Sunday Mass we opened our hymnals and began to sing “Here I am Lord”. Immediately my eyes looked up to Jesus and tears came running down my face. I was being told, then and there, that there is more I can do and more I need to do. Each tap of the keyboard and each word rang loud and clear as I quietly tried, to no avail, not to cry and receive the message being given to me.
“I have joined several ministries and do my best in each to make a difference and bring others to our faith and/or back to our faith. I say yes when asked to participate in or do a task for our Church. I am not perfect and thank God every day for my many blessings and helping me through the many difficulties in my life. I always knew He was there with me and He shows me that with Him I can get through life’s perils, do what needs to be done and do what He needs me to do.
“To this day, I tear up every time we sing that hymn and I promise to always be open to answer His call. “Here I am Lord. Is it I Lord”
Jan 20, 2023 Dave Caputo shares his experience:
“My Roman Catholic faith has always been strong, and a foundational part of who I am. But like many of us, sometimes the routine of daily life can sometimes blunt the awareness that God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are with us, and within us, at all times. It can a noteworthy event like a child’s birth, a marriage, or a death to jolt one’s awareness of faith. For me, that has happened many times over the years, like the birth of my children and my own marriage.
“Most recently, the death of my father was such an event. There probably has not been a more profoundly challenging moment in my life. While the birth of a child or a marriage undoubtedly changes your life, there is the hope and expectation of a lifetime of faith-filled moments to come. With death, it seems the end of those moments. Yet, my father’s funeral Mass was able to provide me with comfort, and a re-awakening of faith - that those moments will continue, if differently than I could have conceived.
“And while we should continue to strive for daily reminders of God in our lives - waking each morning, working with purpose, loving and laughing with family, and even overcoming the small or large challenges that we tackle each day - we should not waste the opportunities to strengthen our faith, particularly through life’s more considerable moments as they are presented.
“Sometimes God speaks to us quietly each minute of the day, and sometimes God shouts so loudly in a moment that you can’t help but listen. While I still have a lot more listening to do, I am comforted in knowing that whether they be small moments or big, God continues to provide me with a million moments to be comforted with and strengthened by my faith.”
Jan 6, 2023 Patricia Thomas’s Story:
“Sitting in front of the Blessed Sacrament, alone in Church one day, an audible voice said to me, ‘Your daughter will exceed you in accomplishment.’ “My daughter had left her home with me in Leonia, N.J. to go to California where her father lived. She had been an undiagnosed alcoholic and addicted to crystal meth and other drugs. At one point she lived on a bus with Rastafarians and spoke of a 3rd eye.
“It was no wonder that I wondered for a moment if this voice, which I believed to be from God, had somehow been misdirected to me. I looked around the empty Church and came to believe that it was meant for me.
“My daughter is now 22 years sober and active in A.A. She speaks widely and often throughout Pennsylvania and other states and is widely known, loved, and respected in the community of addiction recovery. She sponsors other women in the program and is a leader hosting conferences and sponsors to assist those in need of addiction support. She is sound, sober, and free of her addictions. She has had the same job for 20 years and raised 4 children.
“At 83 years old, I will celebrate 54 years of sobriety in January. During my life I often prayed and begged God for His mercy and to take over my life which seemed lonely and miserable. On that one day, in Church praying, asking God to help me surrender to Him I felt God’s love. I was moved and my heart was filled with a new kind of love, God’s love.
From that day on I was restored with a natural heart and love I never knew possible. My devotion to God and His love for me helped me carry on and help my family and others to this day.”