Where to start?

It is no use walking anywhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching.
St. Francis of Assisi

It is said that every journey begins with just one step. So my journey to the one Holy Catholic Church must have had a beginning; I'm just not sure when it began.

It would be easy for me to say that the journey began the evening I attended my first Mass -- November 1, 2006. But it could not have -- part of the journey had to lead me to the Church door in the first place.

The truth is, I believe I have been "on my way" for my entire life. The little girl who lay in the grass and spoke to God was already on her way. The young woman who greeted her newborn children with wonder at the miracle of their existence was on her way. The almost-40 matriarch who sat by her father's bed as he lay suffering was travelling "the road". She just had not bothered to read the signs.

I hope to trace (or retrace) through these pages and these words the various "signs of grace" in my life that have lead me to this place -- this faith, this longing for baptism, this hunger for communion. If you are so inclined, come walk with me. We will look for the signs together.

Next Installment: Deep Roots