Vol. 3, No. 2, April, 1998

My Story of Christ in Me
By Rita Spitz

When I take time to look back on my life, I can see so clearly how my Savior was always there, but now I am aware of His presence and can give Him praise for what He does for me! I lived over forty years taking, receiving, grumbling, fearing, vacillating, and taking my blessings for granted. I enjoyed life but never really took time to thank God for the "coincidences " in my life. I remember being uncomfortable at Mass when the gospels mentioned "now you have new life" and wondering how to get it! When my brother mentioned in his letters about going to prayer meetings I thought he had gone off the deep end, but the more he wrote the more apparent it became to my husband and me, that he knew Jesus in some new way, and had that "new life" I was yearning for. When he and his wife arrived at our home from a Charismatic Conference at Notre Dame, they were excited. They insisted, "You have to find a prayer group." Full of fear and doubt, we reluctantly obliged. At our first meeting my eyes and ears were so busy . . . I kept hearing a dear little nun behind me repeating "Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!" (it was not long after that, that Sister Brigid became one of my closest friends in the Lord and we shared many joyful experiences). What followed, after many months of attending prayer meetings, was receiving the release of the Holy Spirit, and years of blessings in the form of solid teachings and courses on the Eucharist, the old and new Testaments, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Also attendance at the Charismatic Conferences have helped us grow and mature in the Lord.

As an only daughter, I had my own way about almost everything, but when Jesus came tome personally He called me to change. After my mother had a massive stroke, it took a lot of prayer and support of our prayer group for me to be able to quit my job and take complete care of her. Even though she couldn't talk, she learned to sing our "blessing" song and several others. Peace and joy reigned in our home! My husband and I experienced another change in our lives after we allowed Jesus to take over. Previous to that we spent every New Year's Eve drinking and playing cards or games with friends. Since 1975 we have invited our brothers and sisters from the prayer group to come to our home to celebrate the Eucharist (the Lord provides the priest!). It has become a tradition and we all agree that that is the only way to end the old year and welcome in the new.

My favorite scripture, which has helped me through the rough times, is "Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances... "(Romans 1 2). I am so grateful to the Lord for all the people . . . my husband, priests, nuns, relatives, neighbors, friends . . . who have been patient with me as I've struggled to attain "new life."