My name is Anna Thompson, and I grew up in a small rural community in Sullivan, IN. I am the youngest of 3, and the only girl! My family practiced the Faith minimally with attendance at Mass on Sundays and prayer before meals. It wasn’t until the summer before my freshman year in college that I had a profound encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist at a diocesan TEC retreat which began my personal relationship with Him. My journey of vocational discernment began in 1999 as I was finishing my college studies to be a high school math teacher. During my student teaching experience, it became very clear to me that what I had spent 4 years studying was not at all what I wanted to do. This was scary and confusing since it seemed like all of my peers were set on their course, graduating, and beginning their adult lives and I had seemingly wasted 4 years of my life. However, God used this disorienting experience to inspire me to begin asking the deeper questions of life: Who am I? What is my purpose in life? Who am I meant to share this life with?
I was able to graduate in just one extra semester with a degree in math, and then I decided to take some time out of life to ponder the answers to these questions by volunteering in the Church, since I had read in Gaudium et Spes that “man can fully discover his true self only in a sincere giving of himself” (Gaudium et Spes, n. 24). I asked around and searched for a place to volunteer and I ended up trying out the Apostolate for Family Consecration’s Catholic Corps way of life (AFC). The life was steeped in the Sacraments with daily Mass and frequent opportunities for Confession, daily Eucharistic prayer, formation in the Truths of the Faith, and a community alive with a desire for holiness. The grace of God working through these elements began to fulfill my deepest longings and encouraged in me a desire to live a life of consecration to God for the salvation of souls. Through a series of discernment periods, I ended up making a commitment for life in 2009 in the Catholic Corps and, as I continue to live this vocation, I can gratefully say that I have received greater understanding of who I am in Him, a means to live out His purpose for me and a community that supports and encourages me to live a life of holiness in Him. I currently serve as the AFC’s events registration department manager and on the Catholic Corps Coordinating Committee and Vocations Committee.