"What good would life have been to us, had Christ not come as our Redeemer?"

---From the Exultet of Holy Saturday

This weekend, more than 150,000 people throughout the United States will take an important --- though not final --- step in their respective journeys of faith when they are fully initiated into the Catholic Church. They include men, women and children seeking the sacraments of baptism, confirmation and Eucharist, as well as people previously baptized in other Christian faiths and now desiring to become Catholic.

Most have come to this point through the rites of Christian Initiation in their parishes in a process that invited them to inquire, be welcomed and --- during the season of Lent --- perform an examination of conscience in relation to the Sunday Scriptures and their own experience of God in their lives. How has God spoken to them through the stories of the Woman at the Well, the Man Born Blind and the Raising of Lazarus? How is their faith challenged, strengthened, nurtured by family, friends, community and the world in which they live?

In the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, more than 3,000 people will receive the sacraments of initiation this weekend at the Easter Vigil celebrations in their parishes. As is customary during Holy Week, The Tidings in this issue presents the stories of several of these new Catholics.

'Something told me to do it'

For Jon Matalon, chief financial officer of Professional Business Bank in Pasadena, his baptism and reception of the sacraments of Holy Communion and confirmation at St. Finbar Church in Burbank at the Easter Vigil is a milestone in a journey of faith that started long ago.

The son of a Jewish father and an Episcopalian mother, Matalon, 51, grew up with his two siblings sharing a belief in God. "God always had me," said Matalon. His dilemma was deciding which religion to practice.

His parents divorced when he was 12, and two years later his maternal grandmother and mother arranged for a baptismal ceremony for Matalon and his sister and brother. Conflicted about choosing Christianity, Matalon declined to participate. He remembers watching the ceremony from the back of the church.

"God was something out on the periphery," he described. In his thirties, he met and married Deborah, a Catholic single mom with two children. In 1990, they became the parents of twins, Abraham and Rebecca, and "there was no question that they would be raised Catholic," said Matalon.

He frequently attended Mass with his family, and, over the years, noticed how much comfort the parishioners received from their faith. At the encouragement of his wife, he had several discussions with Father Tom Cook, then serving as an associate pastor at St. Finbar, who eventually asked Matalon if he was ready to "go the next step" and enter the inquiry class.

"Something told me to do it," said Matalon, who said he has learned a lot about Christ's mission during his year-and-a-half Christian Initiation process of formation. Matalon described RCIA as a "good process" since faith is discussed and shared on an adult level. He urges prospective converts experiencing reservations to "ignore outside influences and go with heart and mind" into the process. "Don't restrict yourself to others' beliefs," he counseled.

His family has been active participants in the process with Deborah acting as her husband's baptismal sponsor and the twins quizzing their dad on his knowledge of the Catholic faith. His sister (who converted to Catholicism a decade ago), his mom, uncle and older daughter are coming to attend his Easter Vigil reception into the Catholic Church.

"I'm a little nervous," admitted Matalon. "Is lightning going to strike?" he half-jokingly wonders. Reflecting on his RCIA experience and upcoming initiation into the Catholic Church, he's grateful that he made the decision to become a Catholic now, at mid-life, "when you still have time to open your eyes and experience Christ."

---Paula Doyle

A family in conversion

Like many families, the Slichters will gather this Easter to attend church services and celebrate the resurrection of Christ. But this year's celebration will be especially memorable for this Lakewood family, all of whom are preparing to receive their sacraments and be received into the Catholic Church.

Sid and Mary Slichter and their three children --- Jennifer, 20, Holly, 15, and Aaron, 11 --- are excited about the faith journey that has brought them to this stage of commitment to the church, although it "wasn't an easy road to this point," noted Sid.

Married as high school sweethearts, Sid and Mary recently celebrated 21 years of marriage and to celebrate renewed their vows at Holy Family before friends and family.

Sid, 39, a supervisor at a manufacturing company who was baptized in the Baptist Church as a child, was the first to make the journey after the death of a very close friend who served as his "big brother" while he was growing up.

"He was more like a father to me," Sid recalled. "When he got sick with cancer his friend he knew from business who was Catholic helped him through his illness. This man was really just an acquaintance, but he helped my 'brother' unconditionally."

That friend had a priest come over and say a blessing for him, and hosted a memorial at his Catholic parish. After witnessing how this man gave himself selflessly to his "big brother," Sid decided that he "wanted some of that in my life…I wanted some of what that man was giving."

Soon Sid began attending Mass at Holy Family Church in Artesia, became curious about becoming a member, and was introduced to the RCIA team. As he became more involved Sid realized he had found something important that was missing in his life and wanted to share it with his entire family.

Even though Sid grew up as a Baptist and Mary as a Catholic, they were not actively practicing any religion. Still, "it was something we had talked about many times that we wanted to do but we never really put in the forefront to pursue," said Sid. "This came about and it just seemed no better time than the present to start."

His wife Mary, 37, a stay-at-home mom, was impressed by her husband's enthusiasm and eagerly joined him in the faith journey.

"Being part of the church brings comfort and peace and it instills a sense of unity in our family," she said. "I know this is the beginning of a lifelong journey."

But the Slichters found that it wasn't so smooth getting the kids on board.

"They just came out of nowhere and told us we were going to get baptized and we were like 'Oh, really'," said Jennifer. "It was kind of shocking and we didn't go for it at first. Growing up we didn't really go to church much."

But as they attended Mass with their parents, they began to like what they were hearing and seeing, and they made some discoveries of their own.

"I was surprised to see a lot of my friends from school here. I didn't even know they were Catholic," said Holly. "Being part of the church makes me feel better about myself and when things go wrong I'm able to handle them better."

Even 11-year-old Aaron has found that becoming part of the church has given him a new outlook on life.

"Being here makes me feel good because when I get baptized it'll be like starting my life from square one, and I can make better choices and do better," he said.

The Slichter family members all say that the process of preparing to become a member of the Catholic Church has brought them closer together and has helped them rearrange their priorities.

"This has brought a lot of things to the forefront that we hadn't really talked about before," said Sid. "It's enriched our lives a lot and I think it will continue to enrich our lives."

---Michelle Gahee