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A Child Brings Her Mother, Grandmother to Easter Joy

Story and photos by LIZ QUIRIN
Messenger editor

We’ve all heard the Scripture passage that tells us Jesus said to “let the children come to me.” In this case, the child, second-grader Kaitlyn Johnson, not only went to Jesus but she is bringing her mother, Toni, and grandmother, Cathy Smith, to Jesus as well.

Kaitlyn, who was baptized in March so she could make her first Communion with her class at SS. Peter and Paul Catholic School in Waterloo, began her faith journey in preschool.

A bright and iquisitive child, Kaitlyn began her school career in a Catholic preschool when she and her parents lived in Utah and then went to Catholic school here when the family moved to the area.

Her mother, Toni, always interested in the Catholic faith, knew second grade was a “big year” for her daughter because of the possibility of receiving first Communion.

First, however, she would need to join the Catholic church. “I wanted to be in God’s family,” Kaitlyn said. “I thought I should be baptized.
When Kaitlyn expressed her faith so clearly, her mother and grandmother decided it was time for them to make decisions as well.

Toni was raised in a Baptist church, and her husband is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormon).

Toni said joining the Catholic church this Easter, soon after her daughter had been baptized and received first Communion “just felt right.”

After speaking with her husband, Toni and her mother, Cathy, became members of the RCIA class at SS. Peter and Paul where Karen Seaborn, pastoral associate, is accompanying the group on their journey of faith.
“I love it,” Karen said of her part in the RCIA. “I love the church, its wonderful tradition and history.”

Karen said this year the group is “unusually large” with a dozen people learning about the Catholic faith.
Kaitlyn’s grandmother, Cathy, said when Kaitlyn became interested in the Catholic faith, she believed it was “time to be baptized” as well. “I love it,” she said of the RCIA community that has become like family to her. “I’m getting really excited” as the Easter Vigil draws near.

As Toni prepares to join the church she said the readings definitely speak to her. She is excited but also a bit nervous, especially about her first Reconciliation. “I’m looking forward to it,” she said. “I know I will just feel free.”
As people across the diocese prepare for their baptism and their first experiences as new Catholics, we welcome them to a new home, a new closeness with Jesus Christ.

Often those who become new members of the church become some of her greatest evangelizers. It happened at SS. Peter and Paul as a 7-year-old child brought two family members to the Catholic Church.