I was born into a Catholic family that attended Sunday mass and always said grace before meals. My education, starting from kindergarten, followed the Catholic faith and had weekly liturgies for students to participate in as well. Needless to say, it seemed like every part of my life had a foundation of faith.
From Baptism to Holy Communion, I had received the first few sacraments of my Catholic faith. I distinctly remember the excitement I felt when I joined the adults to participate in Communion and receiving the body and blood of Christ. My peers and I lined up in our special Holy Communion outfits, girls in white dresses and veils, boys in suits, to take part in something much bigger than ourselves.
My spiritual life was growing, and I was under the impression that I would only strengthen my relationship with God. By the time I was a sophomore in high school, majority of my classmates had either gone through or started the process of Confirmation.
The sacrament of Confirmation is the completion of the sacrament of Baptism. Baptism is looked upon as a rebirth, and celebrating the welcoming of a new life into the Catholic church. Confirmation is seen as the maturing and growth of that individual, and fully accepting their belief and place in the Catholic church (catholic.org).
I began the process of Confirmation during my sophomore year,but decided halfway through that I could no longer continue working toward receiving the sacrament. I began to question my faith and God, letting personal trials influence my decision not to be confirmed.
My faith life began to struggle, and I found myself disagreeing with Catholic beliefs rather than supporting them. There were multiple things that contributed to my decision to not get confirmed, and I turned away from God.
During my senior year, I rediscovered my relationship with Him by leading 300+ of my classmates on a Pilgrimage, and leading a special retreat called The Encounter.
Although my spiritual life does struggle from time to time, I am continuing to grow in my faith. I do not wish to regress in the progress I have made, which is why I have made the decision to get confirmed next year, in 2019. Although it took me a few more years than my peers to continue the process of getting Confirmed, I am still very proud of the growth I have made in my faith over the past couple years.