Parishioner Profile: Traci Jagger — Testifying To The Grace Of God At Work

Even though Traci Jagger didn’t really grow up in a Christian family, Christ was still alive in her young heart in a beautiful way, inspiring her to pray and seek Him despite the obstacles in her life.

“My parents were both raised as Methodists but they didn’t take our family to church,” she says. “However, my older sister, Kim, would somehow find her way to various churches. Finally, she discovered a Full Gospel Pentecostal church that provided buses to take children to their Tuesday night Youth Group meetings and Sunday School. My mom allowed us to go, so we did, and theexperiences I had at that church planted little seeds of faith in my heart.”

Over time, Traci watered these little seeds by praying and keeping a friendship with Christ.

“I have always felt God’s presence in my life, and have made an effort to pray and keep a relationship with Him,” she says. “I had actually been praying part of the Rosary for many years. I was in the Navy for four years, and I had a friend who was a marine who had been raised in a Catholic family, and he and his mom taught me the Hail Mary and the Glory Be.”

A few years ago, these seeds of faith began to take root even further and brought forth the beautiful fruit in Traci’s heart as well as the heart of her son, Daniel.

“My husband, Dan, and I enrolled our son, Daniel, in first grade at Mt. St. Mary’s Academy, and after going there for a couple of months, he came home and told me he wanted to talk about religion with me,” Traci says. “So we sat down and had a big conversation about the various religions of the world. Even though he was only 6 years old, he seemed to understand it all. He looked at me and said, ‘Mom, in my heart I am Catholic,’ and I said to him, ‘You know, I think I am too.’ This was a very important moment along my faith journey.”

Soon after, Traci began the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults process, or RCIA, which she found to be inspiring and enlightening.

“I really enjoyed the RCIA process, so much that I am a member of the RCIA Team now!” Traci says. “I appreciated going through the Scrutinies, as well as studying about Catholic morality with the other RCIA members and discussing it with them. We were all so comfortable with each other that we could be really open with one another. It was so nice to be able to talk about things like morality and religion without people arguing with you!”

In April of 2019, Traci came into full communion with the Catholic Church, her true spiritual mother on earth.

“I had tried going to different churches over the years, but nothing really felt like home until I came to the Catholic Church,” Traci says. “Daniel was baptized in first grade and he and I received our First Holy Communion within a month of each other. As he was receiving his first sacraments, I was receiving my first sacraments though RCIA. Now we can share the Catholic faith together. Even though Dan is not Catholic, he has been incredibly supportive of us both as well.”

As a new Catholic, Traci finds our parish to be a beautiful source of strength, peace, and grace for her and Daniel. She recently joined a small faith-sharing group, which she truly enjoys.

“I love being Catholic!” she says. “St. Patrick’s is definitely a parish community, and it has been so good for me and my son. The parish and the school are our second homes. Through them, we have come to know a lot of people who have the same belief system and values that we do. It is such a supportive environment, and it has given me many opportunities to meet others and help them.”

If you would like more information about becoming Catholic or joining RCIA, please contact the parish office at 530-273-2347.

As a new Catholic, Traci Jagger finds our parish to be a beautiful source of strength, peace, and grace.