St. Leo’s Welcomes New Catholics At Our Easter Vigil Mass

One of the most beautiful traditions in the Catholic Church is the Easter Vigil liturgy. Following the simplicity and solemnity of Lent, Holy Thursday and Good Friday, this Mass represents the reawakening of hope and light as we celebrate Christ’s resurrection. It is also the Mass that allows us, as parishioners, to welcome adults into our parish who are receiving the Sacraments of Baptism, First Communion and Confirmation.

Each year, St. Leo’s is blessed with the arrival of new and returning Catholics who enter fully into the Church through our Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults process, or RCIA. This year, three people have been meeting weekly to learn and grow in the Catholic faith in preparation for receiving the Sacraments of Initiation.

RCIA sessions are held on Thursday evenings in the Gather Room, where there is ample space for social distancing. Fr. Don Buhrman enjoys facilitating our parish’s RCIA process with the help of a wonderful team of volunteers.

“It’s very nurturing that I get to journey with people in their spiritual awakening and awareness,” he says. “And of course, I learn things every year just talking with them and watching the videos. It’s very uplifting for me. It’s almost paternal — these young people are coming into the Church, and I’m honored to walk with them on their journey to Catholicism.”

As always, this year’s candidates (those who are baptized and preparing to become Catholic) and catechumen (those who are unbaptized and preparing for full initiation into the Church) come from all walks of life, but as catechumen Jesse Smith affirms, “We are all on the same journey.”

Jesse attended Catholic Mass with his father when he was a child, though he was never baptized. As a young adult, he began questioning the origins of life. He began looking into answers to this question in history, philosophy, quantum physics, and more. Again and again, he found a Truth that corresponded with the teachings of the Catholic Church. His search ultimately led to St. Leo’s and our RCIA process.

Jesse has enjoyed his participation in RCIA and the welcoming sense of community at St. Leo’s. Looking ahead to a continued future in the Church after the Easter Vigil, he hopes to get involved with parish life. He is excited to see what God has in store for him.

“I’ve become a much kinder person,” Jesse says of his transformation in RCIA. “Now, I’m more gracious and willing to give to others. It’s God who makes the difference, just to put it simply. You learn what He wants us to be, what His intention for us is, and why He came here on earth.”

Candidate Mitch Liberty grew up Methodist and attended non-denominational churches throughout his college years. He began to learn a bit about the Catholic faith and attend some Masses when he married a Catholic. After he and his wife, Janae, moved back to the Grand Island area about a year ago, they started coming to St. Leo’s, where Janae’s parents are parishioners.

Around the same time, the couple’s first child, Lana, was born. Mitch decided he didn’t want his daughter to one day question why her mother took Communion and her father didn’t, so he enrolled in our RCIA process to learn more about the Church.

“It’s been awesome,” Mitch says of RCIA. “It’s very interesting to hear the history and the finer details about why Mass is the way it is and why beliefs are the way they are. It’s a good, diverse group of people and we have some great discussions. We have five individuals who help lead the classes, and they all have a unique perspective and spend their time doing this. I’m very appreciative of all of them.”

Mitch is excited about being received fully into the Church at the Easter Vigil Mass, knowing that the Sacrament of First Holy Communion will bring him even further connection to God and spiritual growth. From there, he looks forward to an active life in the parish.

“Something Janae and I have talked about is getting more involved in the church,” Mitch says. “I think this will help us take that next step forward, for me to feel a part of it.”

With a grandfather who was a Mennonite minister, candidate Lauren Ediger was raised in the Mennonite church, where she was baptized at the age of 16. Her faith remained important to her throughout her adult years, carrying her through the first 51 years of life. At the same time, Lauren became very interested in the Catholic Church during her first corporate job and became friends with three Catholic co-workers. Knowing that each woman attended Mass in a different parish, Lauren was amazed to hear all three women discussing the same Bible passage each week. This unity contrasted with her experience of the Mennonite service, where each pastor covered a verse and sermon topic of his own choosing.

Lauren’s interest in the Church was further peaked by her neighbor, J.J. Chmelka.

“J.J. goes to the 4 o’clock Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral on Saturdays,” Lauren says. “I would be out working in my yard when he left and he would say, ‘Come on, come on, Jesus wants you!’ I always said, ‘Someday.’ And then ‘someday’ came.”

Lauren lost her husband to a rare form of cancer in November 2019, making her lean on faith in a new way. Last fall, she decided to enter our RCIA process. Of all the blessings she has found in the Catholic Church, the one that stands out the most is the universality of the teachings and the liturgy.

“There’s one Mass that is the same going on all over the world, and it’s one simple Truth that has not been diluted by all the different religions and what they added in or kicked out,” Lauren says. “It’s so simple — it’s about unity.

“This is the story I’ve lived, and it’s all coming to fruition now,” she adds. “It’s just amazing.”

We invite everyone at St. Leo’s to join us in extending a warm welcome to our RCIA participants being received fully into the Church at this year’s Easter Vigil. What a wonderful reminder they give us of the beauty and grace to be found in our faith!

Mitch Liberty with his wife, Janae, and their daughter, Lana

Jesse Smith

Lauren Ediger with her granddaughter