Joining a Family

By Tessa Keller

Growing up, CCE and Mass were what happened on Sunday mornings. As a little kid, I liked it, but as I approached my teenage years, I started to feel that my mom was forcing me to “waste” my Sunday mornings at church. I was approaching Confirmation age, and I had serious doubts about whether I wanted to be confirmed. The deciding factor was my grandmother: I knew she would be disappointed if her eldest granddaughter wasn’t Confirmed, so, at the very last second, I decided to commit to my Confirmation prep classes.

In order to be confirmed, I had to choose a Confirmation sponsor. I asked my CCE and LifeTeen teacher, Mrs. Bare. When I asked her to be my sponsor, I did not know how greatly she would affect my life. Mrs. Bare educated me in my Catholic faith, and more than that, she became another friend with whom I could talk to about whatever troubled me. Mrs. Bare’s faith in me inspired me to have a little bit more faith in myself, and her stories about her time in campus ministry eased my fears about going away to DePaul because they helped me to know that, if all else failed for me at DePaul, their campus ministry wouldn’t turn me away.

I started attending Sunday Night Mass my freshman year, it wasn’t until my sophomore year that I decided that volunteer as a Eucharistic Minister. That’s when I realized just how close everyone in CCM was. That’s when I realized I wanted to be apart of that community, but joining the CCM family presented a challenge: I find it very hard to talk to new people. But seeing how close everyone in CCM was made me want to be a part of that family. There is always someone in the CCM office to talk to or hang out with. Everyone in CCM is always willing to listen without judgment, just as Jesus would. That’s what CCM is, a family, and I hope you come and join the family!