Denver Catholic

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AC Tune-up $ 49. 99 Locally Owned and Operated 303-280-5765 squeaksservices.com PLUMBING, HEATING, COOLING Taking care of our families, by keeping yours safe! « 'Even in the midst of tragedy, God can bring good' of the Columbine massacre, she shared her story with the Denver Catholic of how God led her out of her high school that day, and into a deep rela- tionship with Christ. SEARCHING FOR FULFILMENT Sister Mary Gianna said growing up in Texas, California and then Colorado, she had loving parents, but as a family they did not practice any religion or faith. After the school shooting, like many of her classmates, Sister Mary Gianna struggled coming to grips with what had happened. "I started drinking and going to par- ties, thinking if I was in a relationship, then I'll be happy," Sister Mary Gianna recalled. "I was searching for fulfi lment." But near the end of her junior year a classmate of hers who seemingly had everything going for him committed suicide, and Sister Mary Gianna said her senior year she hit rock bottom. "If he was in so much pain and suž er- ing and took his life, what do I do with all my suž ering and all my pain?" Sister Mary Gianna said she asked herself. "I thought I was going to take my own life by my 18th birthday." It was that year that a friend invited her to come to a youth group at St. Fran- ces Cabrini Catholic Church, where Sister Mary Gianna would meet a youth minister named Kate. "I remember seeing something diž erent in (Kate)," said Sister Mary Gianna. "She was so bright, so full of life. I could tell that she had something in her life that was missing in mine." Sister Mary Gianna said Kate and the youth group introduced her to a God that loved her, and that had a plan for her life. RCIA, NET AND DLJC After high school graduation, with the support of her parents Sister Mary Gianna chose to attend Franciscan Uni- versity of Steubenville, where her fresh- man year she went through RCIA and was received into the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil of 2002. After college, she spent a year with NET (National Evangelization Team), sharing her testimony with teenagers across the country. At the same time, through the encouragement of others, she began to consider religious life. "I felt God wanted to use me to lead others to Christ as my youth minister had led me to Christ," said Sister Mary Gianna. "And I felt God was calling me to share how he had worked in my life, my personal testimony." In 2010, Jenica Thornby entered religious life as a member of the Disci- ples of the Lord Jesus Christ, she was given the name Sister Mary Gianna, and last year on Aug. 4, 2018, took her fi nal vows. She now serves at The Ark and The Dove retreat center in Pittsburgh. CHAIN REACTIONS Standing in the center of the Colum- bine Memorial at Clement Park, Sister Mary Gianna is drawn to the plaque that remembers Rachel Joy Scott. Rachel was the fi rst victim on A pril 20, 1999, and after being shot, one of the gunmen asked her if she still believed in God, to which Rachel replied, "You know I do," before the gunman shot her in the head. "Unfortunately, the two boys talked about how they wanted to start a chain reaction of death and violence and destruction," Sister Mary Gianna said. "However, Rachel had a theory that if one person could go out of their way and show compassion and kindness, we would never know how far it would go, and it just might start a chain reaction." Sister Mary Gianna said Rachel's story has become an inspiration to her, and coincidently, Rachel's family played a role in her own conversion. Sister Mary Gianna said the day after the shooting she was at a friend's house and her friend's mom told Rachel's aunt about how she had left just before the shooting began. Sister Mary Gianna said Rachel's aunt replied, "God must have a plan for your life." It was one of the fi rst seeds planted in Sister Mary Gianna's heart, that started to grow, and as Sister Mary Gianna continued to say 'yes' to God, led her to the life she has today. "Even when I didn't know God that day at Columbine, he led me out of school, he protected me," said Sister Mary Gianna. "Even in the midst of tragedy, God can bring good, God could bring life out of death. The worst tragedy was Jesus being put to death on the Cross, and it led to our salvation. And even in the midst of this tragedy of Columbine, God could bring good." Sister Mary Gianna reads the tribute to Rachel Joy Scott at the Colum- bine Memorial in Clement Park. PHOTO BY ANYA SEMENOFF

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