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<\/a>In the fall of 2008, Jendel had an experience that, while subtle, created an internal change with profound consequences.<\/p>\nAfter a night of drinking too much for the first time, she woke up feeling that \u201cthere\u2019s got to be more for me than doing things this way,\u201d she said. \u201cNot just the drinking, but in life.\u201d There was something that needed to change, but she was not sure what.<\/p>\n
She stood in front of the mirror, tears falling, and sang lines from a Protestant hymn, \u201cI surrender all to Thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing dramatic had changed or was different, but internally there was a slight shift,\u201d Jendel said. \u201cMaybe God was opening me up for the next step.\u201d<\/p>\n
A month later, she started dating her co-worker Jeff, a Catholic. While in the past she wouldn\u2019t have been open to dating a Catholic, she felt a new sense of openness.<\/p>\n
They had their first of many Catholic\/Protestant debates on one of their first dates. Subsequent discussions tackled everything from grace and justification to the sacraments and the saints.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was amazing to me that we kept dating,\u201d Jendel said.<\/p>\n
As the relationship progressed, Jendel started thinking about a future with Jeff. He helped her feel comfortable with the idea of raising future children together in the Church, \u201cbut I made it clear, I\u2019m not converting,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
After she agreed the children could be raised Catholic, she decided to attended Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA) classes at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Arlington \u201cto learn more about the Faith and about Jeff,\u201d said Jendel.<\/p>\n
As she grew more invested in Jeff and Catholicism, friends and family members from home were worried and gave her Protestant resources on why Catholicism was not scripturally sound. \u201cThese were beautiful people who love the Lord, but I had to do my own research \u2014 lots of research and intense prayer,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Seeped in Protestantism since birth, her research on Catholicism sometimes \u201cfelt almost like I was going against God,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was lots of internal struggle for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
She continued to attend RCIA, however, talked with and emailed Catholic friends, read books and watched videos on Catholicism, and attended Protestant\/Catholic faith-discussion dinners.<\/p>\n
Then, finally, \u201cI had the most beautiful realization,\u201d she said. \u201cIt started with the Eucharist. If you look at Scripture and compare it with early history, you could see the healing power of it,\u201d said Jendel. The realization led her to see the sacraments as physical manifestations of God\u2019s grace.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe sacraments are not a to-do list. They are a brilliant, physical way to receive Christ\u2019s gifts to us,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The idea of grace as a gift, which holds a special place for many Protestants, Jendel saw in a new way through the sacraments.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Eucharist is actually receiving grace. In reality, sacraments are not things you are doing, but you are putting yourself in the path to receive the grace of Christ,\u201d she said. \u201cWe are very real, physical people, and God\u2019s using real, physical things.\u201d<\/p>\n
When members of the RCIA class started talking about confirmation saints, Jendel decided to study some saints\u2019 lives herself. She came across St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, patron of the Arlington Diocese and a convert with a deep connection to Scripture and the Eucharist. The saint\u2019s twofold love \u201cresonated with me,\u201d said Jendel.<\/p>\n
She even tried praying to St. Elizabeth. But since praying for the saints\u2019 intercession is not part of Protestant faiths, she did so with trepidation.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would pray, \u2018Lord, I don\u2019t know how to ask for Elizabeth Ann Seton to intercede for me. Sorry if this is wrong,\u2019\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Three weeks before the Eater Vigil, unbeknownst to Jeff, Jendel stared considering converting.<\/p>\n
As part of her decision-making process, she attended a faith discussion dinner on charismatic Catholicism and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. For Jendel to hear \u201cthat the Church has (the charismatic tradition) in its heart\u201d was something very important to her. The dinner also left her feeling that charismatic Catholicism was \u201cmore sound then faith-filled Protestantism,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Once Jendel fully grasped the gifts of the sacraments, saints and Holy Spirit, she recognized the fullness of Christ in the Catholic Church. Here was a faith that did not just have a piece of truth, but a complete truth.<\/p>\n
She made her decision.<\/p>\n
When she told Jeff, he was shocked. She\u2019d consistently told him she was not converting, and he\u2019d never pressured her.<\/p>\n
Jendel knew her decision was bigger than the relationship, but her choice to convert was buoyed by Jeff\u2019s love. \u201cHe loved me so well,\u201d said Jendel. \u201cThe way he exhibited Christ to me, it was very helpful in my faith journey,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Jeff proposed a month and a half after Jendel was received into the Church.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Read it all.<\/strong><\/a> It\u2019s a winner.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"How about this for a love story: the saga of Athea-Anne Lee Jendel, who fell in love with Catholicism and with the man who would become her fiance. The Arlington Catholic Herald describes her remarkable journey from religion to religion, until something just clicked: In the fall of 2008, Jendel had an experience that, while […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":132,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[11170],"class_list":["post-6029","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-converts","tag-converts"],"yoast_head":"\n
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