Tuesday, November 29, 2005

The Catholic ReportInterviews Katelyn and Wynette Sills

Hat tip to The Trog for the link.

Dave Hartline of The Catholic Report interviews Katelyn Sills and her mother. They have grown in their faith as a result of their family's ordeal. Observe:
Dave Hartline Katelyn how has this affected your faith?

Katelyn Sills I think it has deepened my faith. I try to live my faith through such things as my blog. There’s a death penalty case here in California and I have written about why I believe the death penalty is wrong, since it goes against life. I love the Church and through all this I see the wisdom in the Church’s Teachings. I want to live it out as best I can I am not bitter at anyone. I just want to move on and I hope there can be reconciliation at Loretto as well. I loved that school. I volunteered my time to go to the Catholic grade schools to talk about Loretto and how they should go there. I learned an important lesson about faith and it’s not easy to follow the path set for us by Jesus and all the saints but I am trying to live that out.

Dave Hartline Mrs. Sills how about the faith of you and your husband?

Mrs. Sills You know as tough as it has been there has been a certain calmness that comes at times, just listening to Katelyn talk to you and the wisdom of her answers makes me proud of how she’s living her faith. I have to confess my knowledge of the faith 10 years ago was limited at best. I would contently sit through Mass and think well that homily was nice or it feels good to be here but I probably couldn’t have told you the difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament. My faith has grown through being involved at school. Katelyn was in a Christian school near us here until we could get her into Loretto because being out here in farm country our options were limited. My faith grew with my involvement. As I studied more about what it was I was hearing on Sunday I realized that faith is a commitment. My husband and I became Eucharistic ministers and then I became involved in quietly praying at abortion clinics. We are just trying to live out our faith and we will continue to do so. I believe blessings come with events like this and we are already experiencing them.
Say amen!

Now, read their testimony carefully one more time. Do you see it? They have a palpable sense of the Lord's presence in their lives. How did they come to experience him? They lived in relationship with him through living in the Church. They committed themselves to participating in the life of the Church. In so doing, they clearly experienced his presence in a profound way. I'm particularly struck by how radiant Ms. Sills faith has become. She understands the profound witness of truth that the Church offers than I ever did at her age. Her life testifies to the loving relationship she enjoys with her family, who clearly model discipleship for her.

When we live in communion with our brothers and sisters in the faith, we live with our Lord. If we're having a hard time finding him, we're only as far away as the communion of believers that live in his midst. Look to Katelyn Sills if we're unsure of the path. She gets it. So can we!