The Impact of O’Gorman
Dylan Majeres, Class of 2024
Foundation of Faith
I grew up in a pretty Catholic family. From a very early age, I had this really good base of my whole family being supportive of the faith and taking their faith seriously. We go to Mass together as a family every Sunday, and every New Year’s Eve we go to The Banquet. After serving, we reflect as a family on how we are doing the ministry of Jesus’ work by helping the people who need it most.
Even though I was surrounded by a faith-filled family, it wasn’t really personal to me. I know I’m supposed to be a Christian, be a good guy, be nice to everybody, go to church on Sunday, follow Jesus’ teachings, but it wasn’t something that I really took seriously. It was just something that my family did and I was a part of it.
The Impact
Then, I came to O’Gorman High School. I could feel God trying to pull me deeper into my relationship with Him, but I didn’t really know how to do that or what that looked like. I ended up going to The Well that was offered here at O’Gorman my freshman year. The Well is a night of praise and worship, adoration, confession, snacks and games. It’s an opportunity for students from all faith experiences to grow in their relationship with God. As I was there for the first time, I was thinking, “I came here for the spike ball and food. I’m just going to stay in the back, stand there, and observe. I’m here, that’s the part that matters. God will handle the rest.”
As we’re sitting there, people around me are singing, some people start crying, some have their arms open. It was uncomfortable for me as I was looking around, but it was also very moving inside of me. I could feel something inside me call me to be a part of this. I was thinking, “This is obviously having a profound effect on everyone around me.”
We took a break from the songs and one of the teachers, Mr. Cleary, talked for a little bit. He said, “Just give a little room for God in your heart. Open up a little bit and He’ll do amazing things with your life.” I said a little prayer to myself, “God if you really are real and if you really are who you say you are, show me.” I felt something move inside of me and I got emotional. That’s something I can’t really explain, but I felt at peace. All the worries of my day and of my life just went away. I was present in the moment, and started to sing. I started opening up my arms as a sign of opening up to God. That changed me. That’s really the first time I knew God was real, and I knew He had a plan for my life. This faith that I lived out through my family was now personal to me and was something that I really desired.
The following year I joined the Campus Ministry team. I kept trying to seek out that first overwhelming feeling of peace. I never got it again, at least not that surreal of a moment. I thought to myself, “Why? Shouldn’t I cry every time and have this surreal moment every time I try to have an encounter with Christ?” I slowly started to realize that the way that I find God is by serving others and by helping other people have the same realization that I did. That’s where I’m growing in my faith personally - by leading others. I have a leadership role on our Campus Ministry team and I find joy in serving others, helping them to find God, and take what I experienced so they can experience it themselves. As of right now, my faith journey is helping other people and it’s helping me because I see God in the people I serve. It’s a way that God can speak to me and I can still live out what God has planned for my life.