Second in a series of articles about people who came into the church at Easter.

By Karen Mahoney, Special to your Catholic Herald

St. Augustine said, “How I wept, deeply moved by your hymns, songs and the voices that echoed through your Church! What emotion I experienced in them! Those sounds flowed into my ears, distilling the truth in my heart. A feeling of devotion surged within me, and tears streamed down my face — tears that did me good.”

Karyl Ruiz understands that elation. Raised without the benefit of an organized faith, she has an insatiable thirst for Jesus in the holy Eucharist.

The Kenosha woman was received into the Catholic faith during the Easter Vigil at her parish, St. Mark the Evangelist, Kenosha.

Ordinarily, becoming a member of the faith is joyful enough, but for Ruiz, 31, the extra blessing is her sacramental Catholic marriage to her husband Gonzalo on March 31.

According to adult religious education director Danny Rodriguez, Ruiz and her husband had been married under civil law.

“She is married, being sponsored by her husband, and together they have three very young children,” he said. “Each time I see her, her face radiates the love of a loving and caring God in her life, and her smile beams with the warmth of the Holy Spirit. Her entire RCIA journey has been like the Road to Emmaus story recorded in the Acts (of the Apostles). Her heart is on fire, and like a newly-born baby, she has a constant hunger to increase the holy presence of God in her life.”

As a girl Ruiz used to spend Sunday mornings nestled in a corner of the sofa, watching Mass on television. Thus, taking part in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults is both the completion and the beginning of Ruiz’s journey to Christ.

“My parents divorced when I was 3, and even though I was told about God and Jesus, I was never able to be involved any further than that,” she related. “I was taught at a young age that as long as I had a personal relationship with Jesus, it was all I needed, but I always craved more. I would beg for them to take me to church, but looking back, I don’t believe they really knew how to handle that, seeing that they didn’t have church in their lives either.”

While growing up, Ruiz attended a variety of denominational and non-denominational churches with friends and acquaintances, hoping to find a place to call home. Despite her attempts, nothing made her feel as comfortable as sitting in the pews and witnessing a Catholic Mass.

“After years of pondering, I decided to take RCIA classes after I lost my job last year,” she said. “I worked weird hours and wasn’t able to commit to much, so I took the opportunity to finally do it.”

Starting the classes in September fueled her desire to learn more about the church, the Bible, and Catholic traditions. Her weekly instruction, in conjunction with regular Mass attendance, opened up a world of which she craved to become a part.

“Wow! Did everything change for me! The passion, the mystery, the beauty,” Ruiz said. “Mass is a sacrifice, it is a ritual, and it is so much more than I ever could understand before. Every Mass I count down the weeks until I can (partake) in the Eucharist. I am actually craving it! I want to be able to experience the entire Mass and participate to the fullest by being able to have that close relationship with Jesus through his body and blood.”

While God was wooing Ruiz and working in her life, he was also active in her husband’s life, bringing a renewal into his own commitment to the Catholic faith.

“My husband is so proud of me! He is a cradle Catholic and had fallen away from the church, and I think more so due to the fact that I was not raised in the faith,” she said. “Since I started the process he has found his way back to the church which he has missed, but also with a deeper understanding of the faith and new-found devotion. My family is stronger now and my husband and I have found that our lives are more whole because of it. Almost like there had been a piece missing in our family life, in our children’s life and our married life.”

By her side during this journey were the couple’s three children, Casiano, 9, Alex, 7, and Adrianna, 22 months. The older two are preparing for full communion into the Catholic Church.

“We are all growing closer and stronger,” Ruiz said. “My children are also taking their catechism classes and will receive holy Communion next year. We are all in this together and I am so grateful to be able to give to my children the one thing I needed most in my childhood — a love for God and His son, Jesus Christ!”

Like the other catechumens and candidates in her parish, part of Ruiz’s instruction in preparing for full communion into the faith was to memorize the Nicene Creed prior to the Easter Vigil.

“I wish you could have seen the joy on her face the time I stood next to her, at Mass on the first Sunday of Lent, and she recited it flawlessly,” Rodriguez said. “She was so nervous prior to, and yet even more, so elated and happy immediately after, that we both really had to restrain ourselves from doing a high five after the words ‘and life everlasting, Amen!’

“I imagined that it was that same kind of joy when Cleopas and his companion discovered that their visitor was really Jesus. And I see the yearning in her face for that time at the Easter Vigil, when she can first taste and see the goodness of the Lord in the breaking of the bread,” he said.

One of the most enjoyable aspects in her journey to the Catholic faith, according to Ruiz, was becoming a member of St. Mark Parish. After realizing that God was leading her toward a Catholic community, she began an almost arduous searching for a place to call home.

“I was having a hard time finding a community,” she said. “I called many churches in the area and was a little bothered by the reception I was given because I didn’t have a denomination. I actually almost gave up! I finally decided to call St. Mark’s and was immediately filled with an overwhelming sense of acceptance and understanding. From the first moment, all they wanted to do was help me and did everything they could to get me going in the right direction. I was so excited. The only other struggle was getting myself to this point; evil finds many ways to keep you from accomplishing things that may better yourself and your life and the lives of the people around you — especially finding God.”

Ruiz attributes much of the transitional ease to her pastor, Fr. Ken Metz, who counseled, prayed for and guided Ruiz and her husband in planning their Catholic wedding.

“Fr. Ken is wonderful and has a great sense of humor! He is always there if we need anything and has really helped us a lot,” she said. “It hasn’t been easy to plan a wedding in less than five weeks. It is all consuming, but at the same time, extremely exciting. This is something we have wanted to do for a long time but finances, children and life kept it at bay. I am actually grateful that it has happened this way because, finally, it will be done right, and by God. Nothing will get in the way now!”

Ruiz’s journey to her home in the Catholic faith may have blessed others, especially Rodriguez, who has been with her since the beginning.

“I have taught RCIA for many years now, and Karyl is one of the sincerest and most joyful individuals I have ever had the pleasure to guide on the journey of faith,” he said. “Her story, as it unfolds, readily shows how God has been walking with her for quite a while now. Her journey demonstrates that God’s love is like a train in which we all need to get on board. And once one is on the ride, to then share the joys and thrills of the journey, not only with our God, but also with each other.”

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