“Two weeks ago, I was able to attend our Christ The King (CTK) celebration. This was only my 3rd time attending, but it was very different than the ones I had attended before. This time the young adults were organizing it. When I came to Canada, almost two and a half years ago, I was thirsting for Catholic community. I had only heard of Regnum Christi a few months before my arrival in Canada, but for some reason, I was sure it was exactly what I was looking for: a Catholic community for life.
The first time I attended CTK, out of the 150 attendees, I think I could count the young adults with just one hand. I was introduced to Monique Strassburguer who made me feel welcomed and who was in charge of Communications for the movement, among other things, including trying to create a young adults section. I also met a number of people, who I can now call friends, including Monique (of course), Fr. Todd, Alicia Cestra and Troy Scotchburn.
I shared Monique’s dream. We talked about it that night. We wanted to have a group of catholic young adults with which we could grow deeper in our faith and carry on the Church’s mission of evangelization. Back then, if anyone had told us that we wouldn’t only have a strong group of young adults on fire for Christ, but that they were going to organize the 2017 Christ The King Celebration, we probably would’ve told them to keep dreaming (OK, Monique wouldn’t say that, but I would’ve).
The truth is, no matter how things were back then, I was very optimistic of what could be, and I knew that maybe 2015 wasn’t the right time. But eventually He would bless us with such community. Thankfully, we didn’t have to wait too long. In May this year, we had our very first Young Adults’ Meeting. I was able to meet some amazing people, who I hold deeply in my heart, and who I get to call family. God is so generous with us. Sometimes, when we ask for something, he gives us so much more. This time, I prayed for a catholic community, but he blessed me with a family.
Of course, none of this could’ve happened without the hard work that many of us have put into it. Many members of our RC Family have been hard at work for many years, doing their best to spread Christ’s kingdom on earth. And it is evident in the incredible results we’ve seen. The fact that the Young Adults, with Monique’s coordination and leadership, were able to organize the celebration is, by itself, an incredible outcome.
Personally, for the past couple of years I have been trying to get as involved as I can with the movement, and had been discerning whether to incorporate or not. However, after almost 2 years of involvement, I believed I was already fulfilling the commitments of an RC member, even if I wasn’t officially one. Hence, making the decision to incorporate ended up being a very obvious one. And let me tell you, it felt incredible, I was finally and officially part of the family. The ceremony was beautiful and it made me feel encouraged. But that wasn’t the best part of all. The best part was seeing and hearing how Christ, through me, was inspiring so many people. I was baffled. I wasn’t expecting to get such reactions from fellow RC members. Those people I had met at my first CTK, and ones I’ve met along the way were just as excited and inspired as me, if not even more, to see what God was doing through us. It was a statement, that our Catholic faith is far from dead, that there is hope, and our faith will remain young and vibrant. That even if we live in a culture filled with hedonism, selfishness and materialism, there are still young people willing to say “No” to this world, and “Yes” to life everlasting, to take the more difficult, but most fulfilling path of following Jesus, and bring a lot of people with us.”
By: Monica Torres, new RC Member
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