There was a time when I thought conversion only meant changing from one faith to another. It was much later that I discovered it is an ongoing process. Conversion can be gradual, or it can take place as an epiphany: a sudden awakening, or illumination. This is where my testimony begins.

I was asked to teach RCIA class on prayer. This was God’s first step in answering my own prayer at the time, which was for a better prayer life. Mine felt dry and empty, a letdown from my expectations. Something was missing.

In preparing for the class, I came across a quote from Saint Thérèse of Lisieux that triggered my epiphany: “For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy.” In an action of God’s grace, this quote touched my soul. It awakened the realization that my prayer life lacked that intimate “surge of the heart” that looks toward heaven, and encounters the living God—an interior realization that prayer is not a one-way street but an exchange of love between Creator and creature! I realized prayer is communion, communication with God!