by Colin Reitenmeyer

Before I met Jesus, I was an Atheist. I believed that humans just made up God to control society. My life was boring and routine. I had no sense of purpose in my life, and I went from day to day doing things that felt good, regardless of if it hurt others. I was restless and was searching for something that would truly make me happy.

One day when I was thirteen years old I was listening to a podcast, and the man speaking was a Christian. He argued that if a society of people is what determines good from evil, what if you were teleported to a world where Nazi Germany had won WW2. Would what their society said about what is Good and Evil be correct? Of course not. Something higher than humanity must determine what is right and wrong.

I looked into multiple religions and I found Christianity interesting in particular. The idea that we humans are broken and Jesus died that we may have eternal life resonated with my heart. I spent the years 2020 and 2021 reading books and watching videos on the internet about Christianity. I went to Mass for the first time and I was amazed at the sacredness of what I saw. The beauty that I saw there was what I had been searching for my entire life. I then joined RCIA and converted to the Catholic Faith. I was confirmed in February 2022, and it was the happiest time of my life.

Ever since then Jesus has blessed my life. My once restless heart is now satisfied by the God who loves me. I grew in friendship with many of my fellow Catholics and have a new loving and supportive church family at my parish.

A few weeks before my confirmation, I was attending Mass and afterwards a man gave an announcement that a series called Discovering Christ was starting at my parish. I felt a calling of the Holy Spirit to give ChristLife a chance. The week after my confirmation we had our first session, and it was fascinating. Many of the questions presented by Discovering Christ were important questions and ones I did not have centered in my mind. I began to discuss these questions with my friends and classmates; such as what is the meaning of life or why is Jesus so important, and I saw the seeds of evangelization being planted in them.

A few weeks after we finished Discovering Christ we started Following Christ. This series was amazing for my faith life. I learned how to forgive others who had wronged me, and my relationships with them improved. And most importantly I learned how to be a Spirit-Empowered disciple of the Lord and carry that out into my daily life. I saw great changes and opportunities in my life. A classmate had been cruel to me that year and I had fallen into the temptation to be cruel back. But the Holy Spirit called me to apologize to her for not living the Christian way of loving your enemy. This is how ChristLife helped me to be a better disciple of the Lord.

 

Colin Reitenmeyer is a sophomore in high school. He lives in Catonsville, MD and attends St. Mark Parish.