An encounter with the eucharistic Lord
What could coffee, St. Catherine and a campfire possibly have in common? Each represents a defining moment God used to encounter Kara and lead her on a path “home” to Him in the Catholic Church. For just as we read in Romans, “We know that all things [and all moments] work for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose.” (Rom 8:28)
Growing up, the Drewiske family’s rule was: “We worship together.” Since Kara’s mom, Rebekah, is Lutheran, and her dad, Greg, is Catholic, it meant attending Immanuel Lutheran for services one Sunday and then Mass at Our Lady Queen of Heaven Parish in Wisconsin Rapids the next. Kara and her siblings—an older sister, Julia, and a younger brother, Isaac—attended Immanuel Lutheran School through eighth grade. They were also confirmed in the Lutheran faith. However, when it was time to transition to high school, Kara chose to attend Assumption High School since she had already played flute in Assumption’s band for three years and had friends there.
to the Marian Center for Peace in
Wisconsin Rapids for adoration.
Kara’s family’s worship routine continued as she learned about the Catholic Faith in her classes at Assumption. Reflecting on her experience, she acknowledges the hybrid form of Christianity she practiced: “I always felt a deeper desire for something more meaningful. I often thought that there had to be something else out there. I started at Assumption as a freshman and took all these religion classes, but it wasn’t until my junior year that everything really clicked for me.”
A Spark of Faith in High School
At the beginning of Kara’s junior year, Assumption hired a wave of young, dynamic and faithful teachers across the curriculum, whose energy and enthusiasm permeated the school’s atmosphere. Kara, for one, took notice.
Anna McCarty was one such teacher. She taught Kara’s religion class, and Kara shares with a laugh, “She ran on coffee and Jesus. She just had a way of drawing people in. I wanted to know what she had because I wanted it too.” McCarty was a true inspiration, igniting in Kara a deep desire to seek the truth in her faith. That school year, a seed was planted within her, encouraging Kara to dig deeper and ask more questions.
who inspired her to reflect deeply on her beliefs
and ultimately take the steps to convert.
Kara was not alone in this quest for Truth. Several other non-Catholic students at Assumption were also on a similar journey, including Kara’s close friend, Macy. The friends reached out to McCarty, seeking guidance on how to explore the Catholic Faith. She invited them to join a girls’ group she led called Rosa Mystica, where they met other teen girls from the area who were serious about their Catholic faith. They shared fellowship, prayer and challenges to grow in their spirituality in accordance with the Church’s liturgical year. McCarty also recommended they read spiritual classics. Kara and Macy read many books, including such gems as “I Believe in Love: A Personal Retreat Based on the Teaching of St. Therese of Lisieux” by Father Jean C. J. d’Elbee and “Rome Sweet Home” by Kimberly and Scott Hahn. After finishing each book, they would meet to discuss what they had learned.
A Turning Point in Italy
As her junior year drew to a close, Kara was excited for another exciting journey. Her paternal grandma, Grandma Jean, who loves to travel, started a tradition of gifting her grandchildren a graduation trip. Kara had longed to see the beauty of the Italian countryside, so the summer before her senior year, she accompanied her grandma on a group tour to Italy.
A couple of moments that remain etched in Kara’s memory include her visit to the Colosseum, where she imagined how many Christians, including several saints, lost their lives for their faith in the very arena where she stood. Another significant experience was during her tour of St. Dominic Basilica in Siena, where she encountered the incorrupt, severed head of St. Catherine. Kara shares, “That was a turning point for me.” The history and the Truth of the Faith struck her as she sat before a beautiful, centuries-old reliquary, seemingly staring her straight in the face.
The Call to Conversion
Kara returned to Assumption for her senior year, ready to continue her journey of encounter. At a youth ministry campfire that fall, she overheard Assumption’s youth minister, Jenna Lynch, fielding a question about entering the Catholic Church. “Do it now!” she heard Jenna say. “While you’re surrounded by people who support you. Don’t wait until next year or sometime in college, because then you probably won’t.” That thought resonated with Kara, who was discerning entering the Church, especially since her return from Italy. Jenna’s advice was wise, but Kara wanted to be sure that entering the Church would be accepting the Truth. She spent much time in prayer, especially at the Marian Center for Peace, which offers perpetual eucharistic adoration.
Shortly thereafter, at daily Mass in the Assumption chapel, Kara was in prayer, pleading with the Lord to send her a sign that she should indeed adopt this Faith. As her Catholic friends received Jesus in the Eucharist, she went up for a blessing. Father Steven Weller, associate pastor of Our Lady Queen of Heaven Parish in Wisconsin Rapids, typically prayed a simple “May God bless you,” but that day, he began to administer it in Latin, saying, Deus benedicat. Through those beautiful, ancient words, she felt the Holy Spirit moving. Struck, she knew in that very moment, “This is my sign.”
Pisa cathedral Duomo di Pisa, in Pisa, Italy.
Still having a slight doubt, she brought her prayers of discernment to her senior retreat the following week at Ss. Peter and Paul Parish. As Kara approached the Communion rail for a blessing, again, she heard it: Deus benedicat. The words resonated with centuries of mystery and beauty, drawing Kara to the Church. While contemporary Lutheran services focused on the latest worship songs and were “centered on the sermon,” Kara recognized that the Catholic Mass is rightly “centered on sacrifice.” It was that eucharistic sacrifice that won her over. Kara could no longer resist the call; she knew where the Lord was leading her.
Initially, Kara struggled to approach her family with the announcement that she planned to enter the Catholic Church. She was nervous about what they would say or how they would react. However, once she opened up to them about her intentions, they were extremely supportive and happy that she was embracing the Faith as her own.
In the late fall of 2023, Kara joined the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA) at Our Lady Queen of Heaven Parish, where she had been attending every other week throughout her life. Her senior year became a time of deep spiritual study and prayer, particularly in front of the Blessed Sacrament. Kara eagerly prepared to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church during the Easter Vigil on March 30, 2024.
Witnessing to Her Friends
Kara began to realize that her journey to become Catholic was not just about her and her family; it was also a form of ministry. “I feel like my witness to Catholicism has definitely influenced my friends’ perspectives. They see how much I want this and how passionate I am about it. This is prompting them to rethink either their own lack of passion for their faith or even consider Catholicism as an option that wasn’t previously on the table for them.”
As Easter approached, Kara shared: “I’m counting down the days, but it’s definitely humbling to be at Mass and not be able to receive, to still go and continue to go on a weekly or daily basis. I feel like there’s so much grace in that.” Describing her prayer during the consecration and while others received Communion, Kara says, “I really just ask for the grace that [Jesus] would prepare my heart and make it a good place for Him to dwell in me so that when I do receive, He could fully consume me from within.”
Trevi Fountain in Rome.
She describes her feelings during that holy week as “surreal.” Kara was on the verge of receiving something she had desired deeply for many months. Overwhelmed by the beauty of the moment, she reflected on receiving Jesus for the first time, saying, “I’m finally home.” Grandma Jean proudly stood beside Kara as her sponsor, along with many others who supported and inspired her journey. On that day at Our Lady Queen of Heaven Parish, eight others also joined the Church, including five students from Assumption Catholic Schools.
Kara chose St. Elizabeth Ann Seton as her confirmation saint because she felt a strong connection to Seton’s story, particularly her conversion from Protestantism to Catholicism and her profound faith journey in Italy.
In May 2024, Kara graduated from Assumption, and a few short weeks later, she departed again for Italy, but this time with a large group of Assumption students and graduates led by alum Father Justin Kizewski. Together, the group toured Rome and Assisi. Kara explains that “Italy was beautiful the first time, but it was so much more meaningful the second time. “ For now, she fully understood that she was “walking where the saints walked.”
Living Her Faith Beyond High School
Kara now studies at the Milwaukee School of Engineering, following in the footsteps of her dad and sister. As she focuses on her nursing studies and continues to explore and savor the faith she has found, Kara admits that the difference between the small community of Assumption, where all were believers, is a stark contrast to her new college community, where few have that faith or hope she was surrounded by during her high school years. However, Kara and her sister attend Mass each Sunday at Old Saint Mary Church, and she keeps in touch with other Assumption alums, one of whom frequently attends Cor Jesu “Heart of Jesus” (an Archdiocese of Milwaukee initiative to continue to encounter Christ through eucharistic adoration, reconciliation, praise and worship and Mass).
With inspiration from her mentor, Anna McCarty, Kara continues to take the Christian’s call from Matthew’s Gospel seriously: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it
under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.” (Mt 5:14-16) Indeed, the ripple effect continues as friends follow her example.
Kara rejoices that a friend and classmate, whom she has known since second grade at Immanuel Lutheran School and who also attended Assumption High School, is now preparing to enter the Church this Easter. Over the summer, they would attend Mass together every Thursday. “It was our thing,” Kara shares. “He didn’t have a ride but wanted to go, so I would pick him up, and we’d go together.” She is thrilled that he, too, is on his journey “home.”
When she isn’t studying or attending Mass, Kara enjoys reading, crocheting, playing tennis and participating in eucharistic adoration. “He’s always there; Jesus is right in the room with me,” she shares about her experience in adoration. “I remember the first time I went to adoration with the understanding that it truly was Jesus. It was so life-changing for me. I approached adoration with a completely new perspective and found so much peace there.” The peace she has discovered during adoration has sustained her throughout her journey into the Church and has been the foundation for overcoming the challenges of everyday life as a new Catholic.
Kara’s journey into the Catholic Church is a testament to the beauty and power of God’s persistent call. Through a series of transformative experiences—from the influence of faithful mentors to encounters with the sacred in adoration and the Eucharist—Kara discovered the depth and richness of the Catholic Faith. Her story reminds us that God often uses the ordinary moments of life, like conversations, books and friendships, to spark a desire for something greater.
Kara’s conversion didn’t stop with her. Her passion and witness have already begun to inspire others, including friends who are now considering their own paths toward the Catholic Church. Her willingness to embrace the Eucharist as the center of her life reflects a truth central to the Catholic Faith: that Jesus meets us in the most profound and personal way through the sacraments.
As Kara continues to navigate life as a college student, she remains rooted in her faith, finding strength and peace in prayer and the presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Her story is a reminder for all of us to remain open to God’s call, to be a light for others and to trust that He is always leading us home.
Story by Amy Eichsteadt
Published in the Spring 2025 issue of Catholic Life Magazine