‘I felt at one with them and with Christ’

Drew Haynes, right, receives the Eucharist from Deacon Jeffrey Powell, left, for the first time at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in New Albany on June 10 during a special Mass to welcome candidates and catechumens into full communion with the Church. (Submitted photo)

By Natalie Hoefer

Drew Haynes, 32, had gone to Mass with his wife Abby, a lifelong Catholic, since they began dating 12 years ago. Likewise, Abby joined him for services at his non-denominational Christian church.

“It was working great,” he said. “But as we had kids—our oldest [of three] is in pre-school—questions arose from her. We’d say we’re going to church, and she didn’t know what we meant. It was confusing to her.

“So we started talking about how to create more oneness in our faith.”

That was two years ago. Knowing they wanted their children to have a Catholic education, the couple started going to Mass at parishes with a school. The search led them to Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in New Albany in the spring of 2019.

Haynes noted that he “knew a lot about the faith” and “got a lot out of Mass” after 11 years of going to church with his wife.

Or so he thought.

When he joined Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA) classes at the parish last August, it turned out that Haynes knew “what they did at Mass, but not why,” he said. “RCIA really opened my eyes that nothing is done at Mass without reason. Every part of the Mass has deep history and a Bible reason behind it. I was really drawn to that.”

He learned that praying to Mary and the saints isn’t worship, but rather “asking them to pray for us before God.”

And while his non-Catholic friends touted their prayer as more “free-style,” Haynes came to appreciate the long-standing prayers of the Catholic faith.

“I learned the value of those prayers when you can’t think of words, when you’re too caught up in the day to think about how to put a sentence together for God,” he said.

As the classes progressed, he and Abby grew closer.

“I’d ask her questions,” said Haynes. “Some she knew, and some we looked up together. She and her whole family supported me the whole way. Even my parents saw a change in our marriage and our sense of unity.”

When Haynes learned that he would not be able to receive the sacraments during the Easter Vigil this year, he said, “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t extremely bummed. People who’d experienced the Easter Vigil … talked about how beautiful it was. I was really looking forward to experiencing it.”

Nevertheless, when he did receive the sacraments of confirmation and the Eucharist at a designated Mass on June 10, it was “beautiful” and “very special,” he said.

Especially receiving Communion.

“A big part of unity in the Church for me was to participate in the Eucharist,” he said. “I always felt I was a guest at Mass, no matter how involved I got [in the parish] or how many people I knew. I knew that was the one thing that would make me feel at home and part of the Catholic faith.

“And that’s what I felt, going up [to receive the Eucharist] instead of just watching others go up. I felt at one with them and with Christ.”

But there was one more surprise for Haynes after receiving his first Communion. He had arrived early for the special Mass to sit up front with his fellow catechumens and candidates to review the process for the special Mass. Consequently, he did not see the people who filed into the church and filled the pews.

“After Communion, I knelt down and looked up,” he recalled. “Family I didn’t know would be there were there, and then another and another. To see all those who came out to support me—Catholics supporting one another. It gave a sense of community that’s very special.

“It was a really special moment I spent two years waiting for.” †

 

Related: Delay in receiving sacraments due to pandemic did not dampen joy for new Catholics