Meet Parishioner Chris Rizer: Discovering God’s Mercy Through The Alpha Ministry

Over the past few years, God’s mercy touched Chris Rizer’s heart in amazing ways and led him back home to the Catholic Church, his spiritual mother on earth.

“The Catholic faith caught my interest because when I was young I had family members who were good Catholics, and they made a huge difference in my development as a person,” he says. “Later in life, this made me want to practice a religion and rebuild my faith. I also noticed that some of the people who influenced me the most — outside of my own family — were also Catholics, and this gave me a reason to want to know more about the Catholic faith.”

As a young man, Chris used his intuitive and intelligent mind to search out the Truth, and God enlightened him each step of the way.

“Here’s where I’m coming from, philosophically — I once fell for the relativism trap,” he says. “I thought if one culture could naturally not have a specific moral, then the moral wasn’t universal and could be thrown away. I also thought, in error, that it was better not to have a moral than to have it and break the moral all the time. Then I fell into a sort of legalism and thought I’d just agree with the morals of my culture — the law. But then I realized some laws were absurd, others were politically motivated, and they didn’t always cover everything.”

As Chris rigorously searched for an accurate moral compass, he finally found what he had been looking for.

“I came to understand that knowing right and wrong is an intuitive process and that Catholicism provides a framework to guide someone on a path to living a moral life,” he says. “My personal and philosophical development regarding morality finally led me to Catholicism, especially since the most moral people I knew were Catholic and not hypocritical — they saw themselves as recovering sinners.”

In the midst of his “soul searching,” Chris found the Alpha Ministry, which provided the opportunity to dive into a deeper study of Catholicism.

“I first joined the Alpha Ministry because Fr. Greg recommended it after I made a thorough confession last November — the first confession I had made in about 18 years,” he says. “During Alpha, everyone is given free food and drinks as we sit at tables and talk. Then we watch a video or two which highlight religious teachings, and then we break into groups to talk about those videos.”

Looking back, Chris is grateful for the Alpha Ministry meetings he attended, and how they nurtured his relationship with his brothers and sisters in Christ.

“I enjoyed talking about the videos, mostly since it was an environment where people weren’t judging or casting any stones,” he says. “The videos gave us food for thought, and our conversations helped me understand what other people thought about the topics. At Alpha, I learned how forgiving the Lord is and how anyone can be welcome. Someone there actually said the bigger the sinner, the warmer the welcome. I took that away from the meetings and felt welcome.”

Chris now regularly attends Mass or watches it online due to COVID-19. He is also beginning to appreciate the Rosary, along with the graces that flow from it.

“I appreciate the readings and homilies given during the Mass,” Chris says. “They get me thinking. I also join in on the Rosary before Mass, but it is still new to me, and I’m looking forward to learning how to pray it the right way. Actually, I knew how to pray the Rosary when I was young, but I obviously didn’t pray it enough because I don’t remember which prayers are supposed to be said, and how many times.”

With the help of prayer and the sacraments, Chris is looking forward to making use of the valuable graces God has been sending his way.

“I hope to be a better person and to live with a foundation for morality,” Chris says.

Over the past few years, God’s mercy touched Chris Rizer’s heart in amazing ways, and led him back home to the Catholic Church, his spiritual mother on earth.