“Through this experience, I learned that there will always be room to grow. As stagnant as we may get sometimes, it may feel like there’s no room to move forward. But it’s crucial to remember to leave our hearts open to growth.”

“The faith study culminated with my decision to make God the centre of my life, and it was followed by an event called World Youth Day (a gathering of Catholic young adults from all over the world). Both of these radically changed my relationship with God.”

“We were invited to place Jesus to be the centre of our lives and encouraged to stand to make that commitment firm. With streams of tears running down my face, I stood. I invited Jesus to be at the centre of my life in front of Jesus in the monstrance. I prayed like I never prayed before.”

“I am learning every day to trust in the Lord, make small acts of surrender to His Holy Will, and choose the joy He offers. You know what saves me every time? Simply, FAITH.”

“I had looked at my life and knew that I was constantly rejecting His invitations. I went to confession for the first time since my first one and that’s when I made the decision to accept Jesus as my personal Lord and Saviour.”

“Nine years ago on Corpus Christi I had a conversion. I experienced Christs true presence in the Eucharist and asked a friend after mass how to become Catholic.”

“I said yes because I knew that I couldn’t do it without God. I had tried and failed. I wanted to experience a love beyond sin, beyond mistakes, beyond pain. Saying yes would change everything, and it was scary, but I knew He would guide me through it.”

“Indeed, it was another and more finalized “YES” that had marked the trinity of “yeses” that solidified that my heart, mind, and will were surrendered to God despite my own faults and failings.”

“Who am I? “You are MINE.” Am I loved? “More than you could ever know.” All my life, I had been seeking my identity, my worth and meaning in all the wrong places. For the first time, 6 years ago, I found out- I AM BELOVED.”

“Some people have profound moments of prayer that convince them to join the church, but for me, it was more intellectual. By nature I am a skeptical person, so I think God reached out to me in a different way.”

“I had no other explanation for why this crowd of 1.2 million teenagers were silent other than the fact that for those few hours they were sitting, standing, and kneeling face to face with their Saviour.”

“There were some nights, when I didn’t have anywhere else to go, I’d find myself sitting alone in the church, watching the tabernacle. I knew that His presence was there in the Eucharist somehow, and I was able to find peace there.”

“Confession was terrifying. I hadn’t been in 20 years, and I only decided to go because we were in Adoration just before and I felt a tug on my heart, and praise God I listened.”

“Experiencing Adoration and a powerful sense of His unconditional love pushed me to begin this journey of discovering that God is real, tangible and alive in the world.”

“I don’t think I had ever come face-to-face with a man who was so unapologetically Catholic. Looking back to that grade 12 class, my teacher answered every question I had about the Catholic faith without my needing to ask.”

“I am the only Catholic in my family. I often say that there is absolutely no reason that I should be Catholic. I was never exposed to it, it was never something I knew about - but somehow, here I am.”

“While praying in a chapel in Omaha, Nebraska, I felt an overwhelming sense of peace and I experienced a knowledge of God’s love that was communicated to my mind but especially to my heart. At that point in time it gave me the strength I needed to say yes to being ordained a deacon in a few short months.”

“Jesus, take the wheel” was a struggle, I wouldn’t let go... it was more like “Jesus, just might break the wheel... trying to pry it from my white-knuckled grip”. My wandering away from Him had more to do with fear and lack of trust.”