God Stories From the Pews
....Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts. Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope... 1 Peter 3: 15
Below you will find an archive of parishioner testimonies featured in our bulletin. The testimonies are in backwards order of when they appeared in the bulletin. Our belief is that what the Lord has done for any one of us, He can do for each of us....feel free to approach any one of these people for prayer, as they are ready and waiting to pray for you for the Lord to move in your own life!
Parishioner Testimony: Jenny Malley
I am a cradle Catholic and as a child and as an adult I realize I was practicing my faith without a relationship with my Father in Heaven, Jesus and certainly not with the Holy Spirit. I definitely was going through the motions and picking the teachings I chose to follow. I had a mercenary heart and my prayer life was transactional even when I started following the teachings of the Church in a more devout way.
About ten years ago, I was at mass listening to the Gospel. It was the very end of Matthew’s gospel, Chapter 28. The last line, verse 20 is,” And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” Never before had scripture done this to me, but it absolutely struck and pierced my heart, I felt Jesus’ PRESENCE, his LOVE, it was an incredibly comforting and convicting moment! He was, he IS with me always! It was an experience I wanted all the time. During times of doubt, struggle, even though I won’t forget the words, I would open my bible and read the words again and feel renewed and confident in HIS presence. I have the words engraved on a ring I wear, I have them hung on a sign over my door so that every time I leave or a guest leaves my home, it is the last thing they see.
My faith journey has not been a straight line directly into practicing my discipleship in the way I am today. We all evolve and grow in our faith at different paces and along nuanced paths. But it set a foundation for discovering what his presence in my life means, what a relationship with him is like and how HIS voice can speak to me and convict my heart in a powerful way. It feels like putting on glasses after everything is blurry. It is clear (pun intended!!!) that he is present, he hears us and he loves us.
My prayer for you is that you feel and understand Jesus’ presence and power in your life, and that in that reality, you understand all the good he has in store for you, that His mercy, His peace, His love and His faithfulness also convict your heart and flow out of you to the rest of the world. I pray you never waiver in the truth, that Jesus is WITH. YOU. ALWAYS!
Jenny is typically at the 4PM Saturday Mass, as well as OCIA and Advanced Discipleship. Feel free to approach her any time and ask her to pray for you to encounter His love just as she did!
About ten years ago, I was at mass listening to the Gospel. It was the very end of Matthew’s gospel, Chapter 28. The last line, verse 20 is,” And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” Never before had scripture done this to me, but it absolutely struck and pierced my heart, I felt Jesus’ PRESENCE, his LOVE, it was an incredibly comforting and convicting moment! He was, he IS with me always! It was an experience I wanted all the time. During times of doubt, struggle, even though I won’t forget the words, I would open my bible and read the words again and feel renewed and confident in HIS presence. I have the words engraved on a ring I wear, I have them hung on a sign over my door so that every time I leave or a guest leaves my home, it is the last thing they see.
My faith journey has not been a straight line directly into practicing my discipleship in the way I am today. We all evolve and grow in our faith at different paces and along nuanced paths. But it set a foundation for discovering what his presence in my life means, what a relationship with him is like and how HIS voice can speak to me and convict my heart in a powerful way. It feels like putting on glasses after everything is blurry. It is clear (pun intended!!!) that he is present, he hears us and he loves us.
My prayer for you is that you feel and understand Jesus’ presence and power in your life, and that in that reality, you understand all the good he has in store for you, that His mercy, His peace, His love and His faithfulness also convict your heart and flow out of you to the rest of the world. I pray you never waiver in the truth, that Jesus is WITH. YOU. ALWAYS!
Jenny is typically at the 4PM Saturday Mass, as well as OCIA and Advanced Discipleship. Feel free to approach her any time and ask her to pray for you to encounter His love just as she did!
Posted in Testimonies from the Pews