REGINA Magazine 34 | Page 5

Finally, after graduate school, feeling empty because the degrees and high-powered job I was told would bring fulfillment did not, I joined RCIA. It wasn't until several months after Baptism that I attended my first Latin Mass, and realized how much richer it was, how I could pray in peace and focus more clearly on God.

DISCOVERING ST ALPHONSUS LIGUORI

Shortly after my Baptism in 2014, I visited Baltimore with friends. One of them mentioned the beauty of Saint Alphonsus Liguori, so we stopped by. The doors were locked and the lights were out, but through the glass of the vestibule, I saw the glow of the sanctuary candle revealing numerous intricately-carved saints’ statues standing guard above Our Lord. A vaulted ceiling arched majestically above a life-sized statue of Saint Alphonsus, ensconced in the marble high altar. It looked like the kind of church so old that the prayers of the faithful of years' past still waft above the candle racks.

REGINA | 5