If you were to tell me five years ago that I’d be receiving spiritual direction from a Catholic priest on a weekly basis, I would have looked at you like you were crazy. When I was a freshman at Hope College, first trying to find my footing on campus, I was also in the midst of figuring out where I stood in relation to Christ. Coming out of a very dark period in my life, I was grasping for some answers and seeking Truth.
After first meeting and interviewing Fr. Nick for a mandatory class assignment my sophomore year, I asked him if we could meet again for personal reasons because I figured that he would be able to offer some guidance. I had many questions about the Catholic Church as well as issues I wanted to discuss concerning my own mental and spiritual struggles. After that first meeting with Fr. Nick, we began to meet almost every week over coffee to discuss more questions I had. Little did I know, I was slowly beginning to put my life in perspective of who God made me to be.
These meetings continued on for almost a year, at which point I realized that God was calling me into his Church. I started attending all of the Saint Benedict Institute’s Catholic speaker events, going to Sunday Mass, and attending Adoration every week. I was falling completely in love with the Catholic Church and especially the Eucharist. The summer after my sophomore year, at St. Francis de Sales’ Pentecost Mass, I was received into the Church!
After that point, my love for Catholicism just continued to grow. I became Faith Formation Director of Hope Catholics my junior year, I co-lead a Bible study about the Eucharist, and I participated in Exodus 365, all while continuing to receive spiritual direction from Fr. Nick. I remember having this feeling that God was calling me to do more for his Church and for some reason the Saint Benedict Institute kept coming up in prayer. I believe that my internship for this institute was the answer to this prayer. Now I get to evangelize and walk with others in their faith just like the Saint Benedict Institute did with me. In seeking God, I now have this amazing opportunity to talk to others who may be seeking him as well.
Kirsten Miskowski is a senior from Linden, Michigan. She is studying psychology with minors in dance and religion. Kirsten is an evangelization intern for the Saint Benedict Institute and the president of Hope Catholics. She enjoys talking to others about their faith and how God is working in their lives. Kirsten studied abroad in Vienna, Austria, this past summer.