Print Issue: April 25, 2002

God's Graces Touching The Faithful: Mass Of Thanksgiving Welcomes New Catholics

Neophyte Margarette Towner bows her head during the opening prayer of the Mass of Thanksgiving at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Atlanta. Towner and her mother, Bettye Green, who served as her sponsor, attend St. James Church, McDonough. Said Towner, "I was just accompanying my mom to RCIA classes, but last year at the same time I thought about taking the step for myself, someone on the RCIA team approached me about becoming a candidate. I am so thankful and happy I did it." (Photo by Michael Alexander)

By Erika Anderson, Staff Writer

ATLANTA - For Patty Palmquist, a former Baptist, converting to Catholicism has been "pretty amazing."

"God's graces are touching me personally. It was never personal before. I am just blown away by the sacraments."

Palmquist of St. Stephen's Church, Lilburn, was among those who attended the annual Mass of Thanksgiving April 19, celebrated by Archhbishop John F. Donoghue. The mass is for the neophytes who were welcomed into the Catholic church this Easter.

As the rich strains from the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception's new pipe organ played, the neophytes settled into the church with their families, friends, and sponsors.

In his homily, the archbishop expressed his delight in the new Catholics.

"Among the many occasions I have during the year to meet and celebrate with the faithful, this one gives me special hope for the future, and great reassurance about the life and work of our Holy Church," he said. "For this is an occasion of welcome and thanksgiving - a time to stand at the doors of the Church and to welcome you as the newest children of God-and a time to thank Him-for by the Sacraments of baptism and confirmation, God has called you into His own family, and made your lives a part of His own."

Archbishop Donoghue said that although those welcomed into the church at Easter completed the long journey toward Catholicism, at the same time they were at the beginning of a journey of faith. He spoke of the many gifts that the church offers, namely in the sacraments, where God "reaches down . . . making contact with us."

"We would be very foolish to let these great gifts of God ever slip away-but it can happen. And my friends, it happens when we doubt, when we disobey, when we decide that we know better than the Church knows," he said. "There is no doubt, there is no lack of testimony as to what the Church is all about, or how dependable she is."

The archbishop encouraged the neophytes to embrace all the teachings of the church and expressed his gratitude in their new faith.

"Dear friends, I make my own thanks to God today, for sending so many good men and women to His Church in North Georgia, and I pray, as your Bishop, that your lives will grow in the love that comes to us from Heaven and resides in this Holy Catholic Church," he said.

Following Communion, neophyte Oup Khamvongsa and her godparent, Melissa Beam, shared their journey through the Christian Initiation program.

Khamvongsa, 29, said her faith journey began in 1978 when a Catholic family adopted her family and brought them over from Laos.

She attended Catholic church with the family until she was 13, though her family practiced Buddhism.

Though she stopped going to church as a young teen, Khamvongsa had a connection to God.

"Throughout my teen years and my 20s, I went through tragedies, and during those tragedies I would say 'God, why?'" she said. "For me to ask that, there had to be something there."

In 1997, Khamvongsa moved to Atlanta.

"I knew something in my life was missing, but I thought maybe it was a man to have a relationship with," she said. "At the same time, I knew it was deeper than that."

She then met her fiancé, a cradle Catholic, and began going to church, where, although she had questions, she felt at home.

She began the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults program at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Alpharetta to gain the answers to her questions.

"I didn't know anybody, and I had a lot of questions, but they were easy to ask," she said. "During those eight and a half months, I met a lot of friends and the church became my family."

Khamvongsa called Holy Week "one of the most magical weeks I have ever experienced," and admitted she was a "nervous wreck" at the Easter Vigil. Though she at first doubted if she wanted to become Catholic, she said her "hard struggle" was worth it.

"I look out in the crowd, and I see friends, family, I see home, but most importantly, I have a new sense of faith. I'm proud to be Catholic and now I have something to offer my children if we have them," she said. "We are all given a gift, but it's up to us to open the gift. That gift is the everlasting love of God and I know he will never leave me-that he walks with me every day of my life."

Her godmother, Beam, said it was an "honor" to accompany Khamvongsa through the program.

"It brought my faith so alive in a way I've never experienced before," she said. "I was able to see the church through her eyes. It was a tremendous, tremendous gift."

At a reception following the Mass, the neophytes gathered in the parish hall.

Gary Little, a former Methodist who came into the church at St. Anthony's Church in Atlanta, said that the sacraments, especially the Eucharist, are a call to action.

"(Receiving the Eucharist) is like putting on your shoes," he said. "Now you're expected to walk."

At age 70, Bernice Marable, also a neophyte from St. Anthony's, said that she feels reborn in her faith. Although she had attended the Methodist church all her life, "something was missing."

"They weren't helping enough," she said. "They weren't helping the poor, they weren't helping the sick, they weren't helping the seniors."

As soon as she walked into Sacred Heart Church in Atlanta with a friend, she knew she was home.

"Everyone there was just worshiping God. They didn't care what you had on, or if you were wearing a hat, or what kind of car you drove."

Marable said from that point on, she was "determined to become Catholic," taking classes at St. Anthony's to adapt to her schedule. At the Easter Vigil, her entire family came, though Marable admits many of them wondered why the head of their family would want to become Catholic. The vigil was emotional, she said, especially receiving the Eucharist for the first time.

"The Spirit just took over me completely and God just went into my body," she said. "It's still exciting. Every time I receive Communion I feel the same way."