Monday Fourth Week of Lent
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1 Sam. 16:1, 6-7, 10-13, Psalm 23:1-6, Eph. 5:8-14, John 9:1-41
This Sunday’s readings reveal that our Father knows our weaknesses and nonetheless desires to heal each of us. In the Old Testament reading, God chose David, the most unlikely son of Jesse, to be the new King of Israel knowing he would fall numerous times. Despite his weakness, God also knew of David’s willingness to repent and return to favor with God.
My life mirrors David’s in many ways. My journey to the light of Christ began early in life. Having been raised as part of a divorced family, a rarity in the 1950’s, I grew up with a deep feeling of shame. Yet, my mother was faithful to take me and my siblings to the Baptist Church every Sunday. At the age of 7, I profoundly knew God had a call on my life. I accepted Christ as my Savior and was baptized.
At the age of 8, I shined shoes after school to help pay the bills. I walked by a Catholic church on the way to work and would stop there to pray. I had never seen a place so beautiful and with such a presence of holiness. There was a life-sized statue of Jesus and Mary and I would sit at their feet and pray. I felt most especially close to Mary. After a time, I felt so drawn to the church that I went home and told my mother I wanted to be Catholic. When I told her this, she told me if I wanted to destroy her, do just that! We were already ostracized from my grandparents and couldn’t even attend the same church with them, my uncle, aunt, and cousins. In those days, we were taught horrible things about the Catholic Church. Despite this, the Protestant church taught me to love Jesus in a very personal way. But, I never looked at the Catholic Church again nor did I go and pray at that beautiful church.
By the time I finished high school, both my sister and brother had been married, divorced and remarried. With so many broken marriages in my family, I chose never to marry. Having had no example of what a good marriage looked like, I couldn’t see myself bringing children into the world. I became a Respiratory Therapy Technician and then left for East Texas to attend a Baptist college. I wanted to serve God, but I just couldn’t totally believe all the Baptist doctrine being taught. I quit college and became a Registered Respiratory Therapist. I loved my career and felt I was doing the Lord’s work. Through the years I vacillated between different churches and denominations, but my heart was always restless. Yet, I would never look at the Catholic Church. Much like King David, I fell in and out of some very serious sin, but I always returned to the Lord and church.
In 2011, at the age of 59, I was diagnosed with lung cancer. I had pulmonary surgery and my lung collapsed. I was sick for quite some time. When I returned to work, I had my car worked on and the mechanic disconnected the battery. As I was resetting my radio, I found the Catholic station, “Immaculate Heart Radio.” As our Lord would have it, Scott Hahn was giving his testimony. After hearing his testimony, I promised to follow Christ wherever he wanted me to go. Over the next year or so I read every book suggested by Patrick Madrid, Sister Anne Shields of Renewal Ministries, Mother Miriam of the Lamb of God, and many others. Within a year, I was convinced that God was calling me to the Catholic Church and her teachings were the true faith I had been looking for my entire life.
My mother was blind from the time she was 70 from macular degeneration. I cared of her for many years while maintaining my respiratory care business. When I decided I had to become Catholic, I went to her and told her God was calling me to the Catholic Church. In contrast to the first time I told her about my desire for the Catholic faith, this time, she looked up at me with her beautiful blue eyes and said, “Well honey, if that’s what Jesus is telling you to do that is what you must do!” I began RCIA in September of 2012, and entered the Church on March 31st, 2013, at the age of 61. During RCIA I fell hopelessly in love with the Blessed Mother.
In 2016, I was prompted by the Holy Spirit to retire and move to Abilene. My sister and mother lived here, and I had no remaining family in California where I had lived for 40 years. I arrived in Abilene on September 26th, 2016, and my mother passed away just 4 days later. There are no words to express my gratitude to God for His faithfulness when I was far away from Him. I thank God for bringing me to Abilene when he did.
During the past 10 years of my journey through the Church I have experienced hope, peace, and love as I have never known. God knows my heart. Our Lord has revealed many of my faults through receiving the Eucharist, the Sacrament of Reconciliation and spending time in Eucharistic Adoration, but for the first time in my life, I realize God loves me! I always knew I loved God, but I truly never believed he could love me, a sinner. Our Lord brought me home to finish my race, to become more Christ-like through the Sacraments of the Church, and to share and live the gospel wherever He leads me. I am no longer restless as Jesus continues to heal my heart, mind, and soul.
Stephen Teehee has been a Parishioner at Holy Family for less than a year. He has a passion for studying the tradition & teachings of the Catholic Church and is grateful for the kindness he has received from the parishioners here and Fr. Adam.
He loves the Blessed Mother and is President of the Curia for the Legion of Mary and helps with the RCIA team.
