Denver Catholic

"It is more blessed to give than to receive." (Acts 20:35) DISCIPLE OF THE MONTH "The goal is sainthood": Linda Platt and the St. John Vianney Lay Division Con g r atulations LINDA PLATT for being the Archbishop's Catholic Appeal "Disciple of the Month." If you know someone else who is courageously spreading the Gospel, please share his or her story with us at give.archden.org/nominate and they may become the next "Disciple of the Month!" Raised in Mexico in a close-knit Catholic family, Linda Platt had always dreamed of becoming a missionary. But when her mother was killed suddenly in a car accident while Platt was expecting her second child, she found herself questioning everything she believed. "I was lost," she said. "I knew about God, but I didn't really know him." But a parish retreat, connected to the St. John Vianney Lay Division, changed her path. Platt learned that what she had desired so intensely was not found in the world, but in an intimate relationship with Jesus. Platt had studied engineering in Mexico and worked in the field for several years, but decided to leave it behind and dedicate her life to ministry. She earned a master's in biblical theology from the Augustine Institute and became deeply involved in the Lay Division, using her bilingual formation to translate the curriculum into Spanish and begin the first classes in her language. "The Lord helped me detach from the things of the world," she said. "It's not about success or achievement. The goal is sanctity — to be an imitator of Christ." In her years at the Lay Division, she has seen countless lives transformed. "The Word of God changes hearts," she said. Although Platt once dreamed of serving in Africa, she said she has come to understand her missionary calling in a new way: serving a spiritual poverty. "Before we seek the Lord, he's already seeking us," she said. "Give him a chance, and he will transform your life."

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