the lord has pursued me my whole life
Hello, my name is Erin, and I am from Toledo, Ohio. I was born into a Catholic family. I have an older brother and two siblings who are the same age as me—I’m a triplet! From day one, I have been part of community. I love my family, and we connect through our faith and our shared love for the beauty of nature.
I was blessed to attend Catholic schools my entire life. In high school, I began to grow deeper in my faith and decided to deepen it.
During my freshman year, my family and I attended a day conference where I first experienced Eucharistic Adoration with praise and worship. This moment was later described by my FOCUS missionary as my “first dance” with Jesus.
Throughout my freshman and sophomore years, I continued to seek out opportunities for Adoration and praise and worship. In my junior year, I participated in a homeless ministry program called Labre, which is based on the life of St. Benedict Joseph Labre. Each Monday evening, local Catholic high schools in Toledo come together to prepare food and deliver it to two locations in the Toledo area. The program provides consistency for those who often lack it, and the food becomes a way to build relationships with the people we serve. Through Labre, I encountered Jesus in the people we served and saw the face of Christ in them.
As I prepared for college, one of my main prayers was, “God, please do not let me lose my faith in college.” I initially planned to study American Sign Language interpretation. There are only two universities in Ohio that offer that degree, and due to a learning disability and a low SAT score, my options were limited and ended up attending school in Dayton, Ohio. What I thought was a setback became an answered prayer. The Lord provided me with a strong faith community and friends who helped one another grow into the saints we are called to be. We attended daily Mass and made daily Holy Hours together. My desire to serve others continued in college. I became the student coordinator for service opportunities at the Newman Center and helped establish programs to meet needs in the community.
Through prayer and guidance from the Holy Spirit, I felt called to change my major and move back to Toledo to study Social Work at Lourdes University. During this time, I consecrated myself to Our Lady and completed the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Through these experiences, I learned to recognize the movement of the Holy Spirit more deeply. I later discerned a call to serve as a missionary with Christ in the City. I served in Denver from 2022–2023 and then in Philadelphia for my second year from 2023-2024. During this time, the Lord pruned, reshaped, and cultivated my heart. In encountering my friends on the street, I also encountered my own poverty. The Lord revealed His love to me in both small and profound ways. I lived in a large community and for the first time consistently prayed the Liturgy of the Hours, which strengthened my relationship with Him. I very much value my time as a missionary to intentionally encounter and love Christ in the poor and have our Lady as an example and support.
After my time as a missionary, I entered into deeper discernment of where the Lord and Our Lady were leading me, especially regarding my vocation. During a discernment retreat, I heard the Lord’s call to be His bride. This desire had always been in my heart, but the Lord, knowing I take time to process, gently led me step by step to fall more deeply in love with Him and prepare me for that moment. Looking back, I see how the Lord has pursued me throughout my entire life. I have always considered myself a romantic at heart—I love Disney and the Song of Songs. After requesting application papers for the CFR Sisters, I spent time in the chapel with Jesus. In prayer, I received an image of Prince Charming placing the glass slipper on Cinderella’s foot—a perfect fit. I am excited to continue walking step by step with Our Lord and Our Blessed Mother. Thy will be done, Lord. Jesus, I trust in You!
