As for my spiritual journey, it’s been interesting to say the least!
I was baptized in a Roman Catholic Church because my grandfather was a devout Catholic and my mom wanted to make him happy. Religion did not play a huge role in my childhood. I would occasionally go to church with my grandfather and attend CCD. My mom had been turned off by the fact that a when she went to baptize me she was given a hard time by a priest would didn’t want to baptize me because my mother was a single parent at the time.
When my grandfather passed away I stopped going to church altogether. I had somewhat of a traumatic childhood and didn’t feel like church made it any better. This resentment was intensified when I found myself attracted to another girl for the first time.
After a failed relationship I left home to go to college and started to hunger for a spiritual home again. I went to many different churches and after meeting a wonderful Catholic priest who served as chaplain at my college, I decided to go back to Catholic mass. Though I was happy, I started to yearn for a deeper relationship with God and had a desire to follow more closely so I began to discern a calling to religious life.
I had a week retreat at a traditional Franciscan convent. Although I was very attracted to their way of life I was uncomfortable with the social and dogmatic principals of the community and the Catholic church as a whole.
I came home pretty disillusioned. My step father suggested I attend a local Episcopal church, so I did. I enjoyed it and have been attending whenever possible. The priest in charge of my parish assured me that my experience with the Catholic church was not at all uncommon. Although I was happy with my new spiritual home, I was upset because I thought that the religious vocation was not an option anymore and I still had a strong desire for it.
Then one day I was on the EC website and came upon the link for religious orders in the Anglican Communion, as well as a couple interdenominational ones I was so excited! Now I have been researching various communities for women.
There it is my journey to God from birth to now!
