Eric Dooley

If I had to consider the earliest sparks that would ultimately launch my faith journey, two people come to mind for two totally different reasons: Dad and Angela.

I don't suppose my upbringing was all that different than most of the other "cradle Catholic" stories I've heard. I was raised in a culturally Catholic family, got all my sacraments, Mass every Sunday, Catholic school for most of my life—the typical routine producing the typical results: a decent, go-through-the-motions Catholic without much spiritual depth.

I attended a small Catholic grade school through 5th grade, but then switched to a public middle school where I received a much more challenging education. I valued the experience greatly, and seeing as how I didn't have much of a Catholic conviction yet, I was siding with my mom who was in favor of me continuing to the public high school (in her mind—better college-prep programs, in my mind—where all my friends were going).

Dad however, felt strongly that I should get back into the Catholic school system. Whether it was out of conviction for my spiritual formation or simply cultural nostalgia of his alma mater, he managed to convince me that I should attend the Catholic high school. Never could either of us have imagined the ripple effect of that decision…

Now, let me just warn you, early teenage Eric was NOT an Eric you'd want to meet. My desperation for acceptance by the "cool kids" and being noticed by the "pretty girls" were my *only* priorities.. Needless to say, when I discovered that Angela from Latin class was attending the upcoming campus ministry retreat, I was all ears. Though the Jesus thing weirded me out at the time, all I could think was "...a chance to spend a weekend with Angela? SIGN ME UP!" (like I said, not my proudest era..)

It should come as no surprise that the hopeless romantic made zero progress with Angela that weekend, but strangely enough, God made progress with me. The authentic joy that was in the air. Me not having to try and "be someone". Whatever that moment was at Adoration that breathed a stillness into me I'd not experienced before. A seed was planted.

The spring retreat rolled around and Angela wasn't going, but I didn't seem to mind. I figured it didn't hurt to try the "Jesus thing" again. And again my junior year. Gradually it started to sink in: Jesus is a real person and I could encounter Him there. Further still, the Jesus that would move me to tears in Adoration is the same one that had been permitting me to consume Him EVERY SUNDAY OF MY LIFE. That "ah-ha moment" wrecked me, and my life was now on a trajectory that would never be the same again.

In college I pursued my passion of software engineering, and kept leaning into my faith all the while. I met one of those "pretty girls" my first semester that became a best friend from the beginning. Though we dated other people within the same circle of friends, she would eventually become my bride 7 years later and has been changing my life for the better ever since. God kept cultivating ministry hearts in Ginny and me, and has called us to serve in countless capacities over the years—most notably through youth ministry, parenthood, and entrusting the incredibly important ministry of Catholify into our unworthy hands.

I don't know why, but God picked me. Through a few key moments and people, He "blinded" me from my selfish and immature ways and adjusted my focus towards Him. Once He had my attention, I was all His. The only reason I can figure that He would bother to pull such a "St. Paul" on me is that He has very big plans and, consequently, high expectations. I just pray daily that I can live up to them...