When I was six years old and getting baptized, I discovered that our family had a religion. As a young child, I couldn't fully grasp the holiness and mercy of God. However, as I grew up, I began to understand and believe in the truth of God. The religion I was to believe in was Roman Catholicism, and I would like to share my story within the Catholic Church.
Photo by Dongpangyo Catholic Church
I started my journey here, at Dongpangyo Catholic Church.
Early Church Life
I was baptized in 2013 when I was six years old. Since my father wasn't a believer then, I followed my mom to church. Church life was fun. As I mentioned earlier, I didn't know much about God at that time. The reasons church was enjoyable were the many friends I made in Sunday school and the various activities such as Bible plays, songs, dances, and other engaging events.
Acknowledging God
I believe the most significant characteristic of the Catholic church is the 'Eucharist'. When I was 10, I had my first communion. To explain, the Eucharist is the body of Christ, and to receive communion, we need an appropriate academic level to understand the basic principles. So, I started learning the principles of having my first communion and became more curious as I kept learning those holiness. (I'll be explaining this in my next post.) When I had my confirmation when I was 12, the want of Catholic knowledge became bigger.
Life as Altar Server
After my first communion, I became an altar server. The altar server is the position where they help the priest perform the mass easily. I had to wake up at 5 a.m. when there was a mass early in the morning. After mass, I had McMorning and went to school. I enjoyed the job and did it until when I graduated middle school, ending my year as the leader of the group. The members I met in the altar server group became my best friends and the days as the altar server made me understand the Catholic liturgy better.
Being an Accompanist
When I was 15, I became the accompanist of the church student choir. This event made me to be interested in the power of music in mass. One day, mass was performed without the choir. The reason was that I was the altar server. There were no substitutes, so when I was up at the altar, there was a huge chaos between the believers about the timing to sing or not. So, I studied a lot about church music and found out that the choir is not only the music group but also the leader of the response during mass. After, I tried to practice more, understand the piece better, and perform with more passion.
Stepping into Composing
Then, I thought, 'What about making my music be used in mass?'. So, composing came into mind. With my experience as the accompanist, I was able to feel the correct chords on my melody line. The splendid touch I felt in my fingertips while composing music with the piano made me feel that Jesus was with me, helping me.
This has been my Catholic journey up to now. I dream of spreading the Catholic faith to the public in various ways, such as writing and music. Please do not misunderstand—I respect all religions, but I would like to share my thoughts about Catholicism.
Your catholic journey sounds interesting! I’m eager to hear more of the story.😮