Every year, many adults knock at the doors of the Church, asking for entrance. Among them are also those who were baptized Catholic but, for various reasons, did not receive all the Sacraments. Others never attended Religious Education classes, and are looking for answers to their questions. Our wise and loving Mother, the Church, has responded to this need by establishing a program of instruction called Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, better known as R.C.I.A..

We, at Holy Trinity, offer this nine-month long program beginning every Fall. Although primarily directed to those who have never been baptized or who are entering the Catholic Church from other denominations, the program is open to everyone who wishes to deepen their knowledge of the Faith. Every year, those who take advantage of this opportunity, are able to watch the Holy Spirit at work. Invariably, they find new strength in their commitment to holiness, and often they end up by sponsoring a participant as godparents.

In the Bible, and especially in the New Testament, we read of the work of the Holy Spirit, but at the R.C.I.A. meetings, we actually witness His work, and it never ceases to amaze. Folks from all backgrounds, age and experience come because they feel a call that can no longer be ignored: the call of God.

The path that brought Kelli, one of this year’s participants, to our R.C.I.A. is a fairly typical one. She is a Catholic who is returning home, and taking ownership of her Faith after years of ups and downs. Kelli is a bright young woman, born in a Catholic family in a small farming village of South-western Colorado. She attended Sunday Mass with her parents for the first several years of her life. She attended Religious Education at her parish and received the Sacrament of First Holy Communion. Then, as it often happens, her parents’ jobs changed and Sunday became a day of work, rather than a day of rest. Mass attendance became sporadic and so did the attendance at Religious Education classes. Confirmation went by the wayside.

Kelli kept the lines of communications open with God through daily prayer and the encouragement of her grandmother (what would the world do without grandparents?), but school activities and friendships often interfered with regular Mass attendance. Kelli knew that her Faith was important, but had not made a personal commitment to the Sacraments. Then came a big change. A bright student, Kelli came to Boulder to study biochemistry. Away from the loving and sheltering environment in which she was raised, she did look for a Catholic church, and even started attending Mass. But, as is too often the case when kids find themselves in unfamiliar surroundings, she lost her bearings, and let herself be distracted by the many activities and temptations that are part of university life.

Meanwhile, back in her small town, her faithful grandmother kept up the prayers, and God kept up His calls. Kelli never forgot the Faith in which she was raised.

Then, as it happens with most of us, came the turning point. After graduation, she volunteered to go to Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil, to teach English to children who lived in the slums. Her lodging was only three blocks from a Catholic church. Mass was comforting and familiar, even in a foreign language such as Portuguese, and it made her feel a part of a larger community.

When she was in Brazil, her grandfather died, and she came home for the funeral. The local parish had been assigned to a new religious order, the S.O.L.T. (Society of our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity), the same order that gave us Fr. Corapi, and she was intrigued. Eight short months later, her grandmother, the most holy person Kelli ever knew, the one who kept praying for her, followed her beloved husband. Her funeral set the seal on Kelli’s commitment to finally embrace the Faith in which she was raised, and make it her own.

Now living in Denver, Kelli came to Holy Trinity to continue in earnest her walk towards holiness: She is preparing to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. She wants to become involved in the parish, just as her grandmother and her mother did back home. Alone, in a big city like Denver, Holy Trinity offers a place of refuge, a community based on familiar values and goals. More than that, Holy Trinity offers the Sacraments of salvation.

Please, pray for Kelli, our sister in Christ, and for all those who are beginning their walk of Faith. May they all persevere beyond the day in which they will receive the Sacraments. May they make treasure of Gifts of the Holy Spirit, and persevere until the day in which the Lord calls them home.