Speaker says spiritual quest led her to Catholicism, religious life

Published: 2004-01-09

ORLANDO, Fla. (CNS) -- Sister Nancy Streitmatter, a Sister of St. Casimir, took a roundabout route to the Catholic Church and religious life. Born a Methodist, she said she recalls being "a very spiritual child; I wanted to be close to God," but she and her family only occasionally attended church. Fiercely self-sufficient, she knew she had a spiritual connection to God -- often feeling God's presence while she walked in the woods near her central Illinois home -- but she didn't feel she needed God. At a turning point in her life, she realized God was always with her. "Jesus was right beside me. He had been there all along, just waiting for me to recognize my need," she said. "I realized my house had been built on sand; I knew it needed to be built on rock," she told participants Jan. 1 at the 20th annual National Catholic Student Coalition leadership conference in Orlando. The coalition brings together Catholic college students and campus ministers.

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