Encountering Jesus: Samantha’s Story
Samantha Lierz is an alumna of the JPII Newman Center and a current FOCUS missionary. She recently spoke about a few experiences in her time here that helped direct her to where she is today.
I am a cradle Catholic. My family was faithful but didn't do a lot more outside of going to Mass on Sundays, praying before meals, etc. I decided to live at the Newman Center my freshman year because I thought it would give me a better chance of having good roommates that hopefully shared my beliefs.
The summer after my freshman year of college I realized that I had not been to confession at all. In Catholic school, the school brings in priests twice a year to hear confessions, and since I didn’t have anyone saying, “Here’s your day to go to confession” I had just honestly forgotten to go. This was the first time I really had to choose my faith for myself.
Spoiler: I chose to pursue it.
I knew that when I got back to school in a couple weeks I needed to go to confession. My first week back, I knew that I should get in line, but I was afraid and didn't do it. The next week came around and I still didn't do it. I don't know exactly how long it was, but one week I was waiting for Mass, and I don't remember getting out of the pew, but I just remember being in line for confession. When I went into the confessional, I was greeted with such love and understanding that it was probably one of the best confessions I have experienced in my life. The priest talked with me about some of the things that I was struggling with, and when I left the confessional, I actually felt equipped to “go and sin no more”.
When I was waiting in line for confession, I was thinking about what my penance might be. I figured since I had not been to confession in a year and a half, I had to get something more difficult than three “Hail Mary”s. Maybe a rosary every day for a week or daily Mass. When I had finished my confession, the priest said, “For your penance I would like you to say one ‘Glory Be’”. I thought, “Jesus, what? I don’t know if you heard me correctly, but I haven’t gone to confession in a year and a half, and you’re only giving me one prayer? And it’s the shortest one?” I was surprised but I returned to my pew. As I knelt down to pray my one “Glory Be”, I was filled with great peace, and I realized why I my penance was what it was.
God was not mad at me for not going to confession during the past year. He was just happy that I had returned home to Him. For the first time maybe, I truly experienced the overwhelming love that the Father has for me.
After this experience in confession, I joined a Bible study that was led by a FOCUS missionary. The missionary's name was Miranda, and there was something about her that I was very drawn to. I had struggled with friendships in middle school and high school. Coming to the Newman Center I built friendships that were different, and I believe it is because both sides of the friendship were rooted in love of Jesus Christ. Over the course of my sophomore year, Miranda invested in me as a friend and began mentoring me in my faith. During my sophomore and junior years, Miranda started to encourage me to think about applying to be a FOCUS missionary.
I probably never said it like this to her face, but whenever she would bring it up, I just always thought, “There is no way on earth I would be able to do what you are doing as a missionary! I could not do that. I’m not an extrovert; how am I supposed to fundraise my entire salary; and I do not want to get sent outside the Midwest”.
Turns out, you can be a missionary if you’re an introvert, I was able to fundraise my entire salary, I got sent 22 hours away from home last year, and I was a missionary in New England for a year.
One day I decided that I would pray about being a missionary so that I could tell Miranda, “I prayed about it once and I just don't think it's for me”. But turns out Jesus had a bigger plan for me than I could have imagined. I prayed about it once and I realized, “Holy cow I think I actually might want to do this thing!” I still had many fears and reservations, but the Lord had put this desire on my heart to be a missionary. With each worry I brought to him in prayer, he calmed my fears and asked me to say one little “yes” to Him at a time.
My parents are Catholic, and they love me a lot, but they were worried when I shared with them that I was considering being a FOCUS missionary. My mom didn't want me to move far from home, and my dad was worried that I would not have any money and that I wouldn’t be able to afford food and rent and anything else I would need. When I told my parents that I was applying, I don't think I realized how much they were worried about me taking this next step after college.
One day my parents were helping with a retreat at my parish and there was time for Adoration. My dad didn't know exactly what to pray for, but he remembered that I was traveling that day to visit a friend. So, he decided that he would pray that we would have fun and have safe travels. As soon as he knelt down, he saw Jesus in front of him, more real than anything he had experienced. My dad started to converse with Jesus and share with him his fears about me becoming a missionary. And Jesus said to him, “I gave Samantha to you as a gift, and I need you to give her back to me”.
After this experience, it was amazing to see the faith my dad showed and how, even though it was hard for him to let me go, he knew that this is what Jesus was asking of me. And to see the way my mom’s faith and trust in Jesus has grown after hearing about my dad’s encounter is beautiful.
For me, it was very powerful to think of myself as someone whom God needed. That He wanted to use me to share Him with others. That He had a specific and personal plan for my life, and He desired that I would say “yes” and follow Him in this radical way.
I don’t think I would be a missionary if it weren’t for the Newman Center here in Omaha. My entire life has been and will be changed because of my time here. The way I attend Mass is different. The friendships I have will be different. The way I raise my children will be different. I hope that, for the rest of my life, the people I encounter will see that there is something different about me and the way that I live that will make them curious why that is. And I can share with them that it is because I have encountered Jesus.