An Abusive Partner, and a Son Out of Wedlock Who Encouraged Me to Serve God
MJ, 43, single, holds a diploma in Nursing.
She works as a product manager in a pharmaceutical company.
MJ was raised a Catholic and she practised her Faith— until she fell for the wrong man, and strayed away from God.
Her Story
I was raised by my grandmother on my father’s side. And then I lived with various families to finish school.
My grandmother taught me to pray the Holy Rosary every day, attend Mass every Sunday and holiday of obligations, go to Confession, receive Communion, and even fast as often as necessary.
When I was in high school, I experienced for the first time attending recollections and retreats. I loved attending such activities. Also, I attended prayer meetings as well as a Life in the Spirit Seminar.
Later, I also joined our parish choir and an Opus Dei group.
Straying Away
Despite my fairly strong Catholic foundation, I got derailed from my spiritual journey.
I lived with a married man who early on left his family. And I had a son with him out of wedlock. I felt lost. I knew I was not doing the right thing.
Since I knew I was in a situation that was not the Will of God, there came a point when I just could not attend Mass.
Then, I even went as far as attending a non-Catholic fellowship. At the time, I was already thinking of ending my relationship with this man. But he wanted to work out our relationship, so he brought me to this non-Catholic service.
But there was really no saving this relationship. He was abusive. Yes, I was actually a victim of domestic violence.
Finally, after a decade or so, I decided to turn away from my sinful life and move on to a life with God.
Finding The Feast
At the time I was suffering the pains of abuse from my partner, an officemate invited me to attend The Feast in Valle Verde Country Club in Pasig.
In 2010, I attended Feast Valle Verde twice, and I moved on with my life to pick up the pieces of my broken self.
In 2014, I looked for a Feast near where I lived. As if on cue, my brother invited me and my son to attend Feast Bluewave Marikina. So we attended.
What I like about The Feast is it explains the meaning of the Bible verses.
During my first days at The Feast, I well appreciated Bro. Bo Sanchez’s talk series titled His and Hers where he pointed out the difference between a man and a woman and how they should understand and relate with each other with compassion.
My son, now a teenager, so loved The Feast that he went on ahead of me to join a Feast Ministry. He joined the Ushers group, and he encouraged me to join the ministry. Now we are both members of the ministry now called the Connect and Warmth Ministry.
My passion to serve God has grown so strong, that I am now involved in the Liturgical Ministry and Intercessory in a church near our place.
The Feast keeps reminding us how God loves us. It strengthens my relationship with our Lord. It enlightens me about what is right and what is wrong.
Moreover, The Feast teaches me how to be a good mother, sister, daughter, neighbor.
Back to the Church
The Feast constantly teaches about our Catholic Faith.
What I like about the Catholic Faith is it gives us freedom to practise our Faith— but without abusing such freedom.
