10: From Debating Catholics To Becoming Catholic | Sydney Tanner

Sydney on the podcast today, Sydney is a dear friend and she is a teammate of ours on West coast Catholic. She is on our marketing team. And just as a woman, she is amazing and inspiring. So I know that you are going to learn so much from her today. Thanks. I'm excited to be here. So Sydney, welcome to Everbe. Thank you. Why don't you introduce yourself so our listeners can get to know you more. Okay. So my name is Sydney Tanner. I grew up in Minnesota. I'm the oldest of three girls.

So me and And then my two younger sisters. So it was a really fun household growing up. I went to Colorado state. So love Colorado, love skiing, all the things. And then now I live in Dallas, Texas with my husband. Um, and I, like Mari said, work on the West coast Catholic marketing team, which has been a dream. And then I also own Darling and Divine Jewelry. What's, what's darling and divine? Great question. So darling and divine is my jewelry company.

Our goal is to help emulate women's natural God given beauty through jewelry pieces. I love that. Um, so not jewelry pieces that take away, but add. to our natural, God given, womb created beauty, our tagline is uniquely designed like you, because each woman is uniquely designed, and each of our pieces are uniquely designed. We have Catholic pieces, as well as just your everyday classic pieces, all hypoallergenic, all non tarnish, and yeah, it's been a dream staples that every woman needs.

Yes. Every woman needs, every woman needs to accessorize. Yeah, absolutely. Well, thank you for introducing yourself. Uh, today's going to be so good. We are going to be talking about your story, your conversion story, and I feel like stories like these are always so inspiring and motivating for all people.

Like whether it's somebody, um, navigating conversion or asking questions about the faith As well as to people who are cradle Catholics like me, we were just talking about this before the episode started, but we were like, wow, like when you meet a person who converted, you're always like, what is your story? Like, how did you get here? And like being a Catholic myself, it's like, I was just raised in the faith. You know, I've come to love it and know it more.

The more that I've gotten older and like actually took time to take it as my own and to research and to learn what the teachings are. Yeah. But a lot of the times you notice that the people that are converts are the ones that have like that knowledge and that passion and that faith. Um, so it's so inspiring and I'm excited to have you share today. Thank you. Yeah. I was telling Marie before that when you are, you decide you're going to become Catholic, you're converting into the faith.

People look at you like you are like some golden bunny, like you are like the golden prize. Like. Like their jaw drops and they're like, tell me why, why, why would you become Catholic, you know? Um, and so, yeah, it's a blessing. So I guess to understand my conversion story and many, you have to go to how you were raised in the before. Um, so I was lucky to be raised Christian. I was baptized Lutheran. We'd go to church.

Like it was just like the normal Minnesota family, I would say that was Christian. In high school I started longing for a deeper relationship with Jesus. And so I, went to Hosanna, which was a non denominational, like mega church in the suburbs of Minnesota. I went to a small group there and that was good, but I wasn't like super invested. I would say it was like, Oh, it felt good to go. And then I decided to go to Colorado state for college and I was in young life there.

and things just didn't really pan out there. I was approached by Sarah, who was on staff with Stumo, which is a really big, Greek life. Student athlete, Christian ministry, not Catholic, very not Catholic. Um, and it was for Greek life and student athletes. So like very lost groups. And I was a Gamma Phi Beta at Colorado State. And I loved Stumo. Like Stumo was amazing. Those were my people and I was so invested.

I did their summer program every summer, nine week discipleship school, we went and did beach evangelizations, like walking up to strangers, sharing the gospel with them. Wow. and so I was like, So unfair for Jesus, like loved my relationship with Jesus. Would read scripture every day, prayer every day. You grew up Lutheran and was your relationship with Jesus developed as you were growing up?

Or was it like in college through this Jumo group that you were like really on fire and really close with the Lord? I would say for sure college. Going to Colorado state. I didn't pick it for spiritual reasons. You know, like people will go to like Steubenville because they're like, Oh, I'm Catholic. I want to like deepen my Catholic faith. Um, but I just chose Colorado state. Cause I was like, I love skiing. I love Colorado. Like it's away from Minnesota. And Stumo really formed me.

Like, I am so grateful. I had a friend ask, do you regret any of your college years, forming through Sumo? And I was like, Oh my gosh, no, I am so thankful for Sumo and the way it formed me and my passion to share the faith. It's not really a pro Catholic community. It is like, this is what we teach. It's very non denominational, Um, which is great. Um, but because of that, me and my friends would go debate the sisters on campus.

There'd be sisters in the plaza and like, we'd walk up to them and talk to them. And then like, there'd be Ram Catholic students and we'd go and be like, you worship idols or you're a worshiper of Mary, like all these things, right. And um, Little did I know, a year and a half after graduating, I'd be Catholic, so. And we have our little Mary statue right here. Little Mary statue, yes.

Wow. So when you're saying Stumos, Not pro catholic would you say like you grew up in this not grew up But like you were formed in this environment in college Was it anti catholic were they speaking out like against the church? Like did you have preconceived notions about the church?

Yeah, I think growing up a lot of people around me had negative experiences with Catholicism And so that planted that seed and all these lies and When you have all these misconceptions, it's a lot easier to feed the fire of those misconceptions than to pull back the layers of your heart and realize how much pride there is in that and like the humility you need to step into understanding Catholicism. And so I would say it was just easier to defend the Protestant faith than to be like, wait, what?

Why do they think this where are they getting this from? Easier to just defend what you know, rather than like dive into what you're debating to try and understand it. So often, I mean, like in debates, in any, in any topic. The person is so passionate about their stance and so defensive that they don't even give a second thought to what the other person's saying, you know? And so that's definitely how it was. So what were the initial beginnings of your interest in the Catholic church?

You know, you didn't really grow up with any like Catholic community around you. What sparked that interest? I just started dating a guy And In our conversations before we had like made it official we were dating He told me like he was like super devout Christian like he also was on nominational and I was like, oh my gosh Like I've met my husband. Yeah, like I right away was like this man is holy. This man is gonna push me We're very aligned in our hobbies and the things we care about.

And, I even remember coming home and my dad was like, I've never seen you this happy before. And that was a big testament to like, okay, I think that Sam is the one for me. Mm-Hmm. Um, however, two weeks into a stating, he sent me a super long voice memo and was like, um, I can't deny what the Lord's doing in my life. I'm becoming Catholic. I've been discerning this for three years. And like I, if that means that we have to break up. Like I will not not make this decision.

Like I am becoming Catholic. Wow. Wow. He texted you this two weeks into dating and you hadn't come up in conversation. No. Wow. He, he like thought he even thought of like not becoming Catholic because he was like, I like really like Sydney, but he was like, I have to be obedient to the Lord in this. Yeah. And so I hear this voice memo, it was eight minutes long and I'm bawling. Okay. I am like, they're deceiving you. The lies, like they're idol worshipers, all this stuff.

Um, I was like, they don't even know what heaven is. Like they, you know, works all this stuff. And you're probably also like emotional because you're like, I really like this. This guy's like, I thought this was going to be my husband. And it was like, you're two weeks in. So you kind of have those butterflies and you're like, Oh, I really like you. But they don't shoot. Like, this is a big deal. Yeah. Um, and I was just like, Catholic, like I never envisioned my life going to mass.

Like what the heck? And so I, he, he literally sent me the voicemail and went to bed, which was probably good. Like, it was like, I needed space to like process this because I was emotionally unwell. And so the next morning I was like, okay. Like I couldn't sleep all night. I was like, okay, give me a week. Let me like really dive into what I find about Catholicism.

And at the end of the week, I will let you know, like if we're going to be together and I can support you in this, or if like this relationship needs to end. Wow. I just like want to commend you for that. Like, that's like. A new level of open mindedness to like, given like the community that you were in, how strong you were in your Protestant faith and how you were like to fit, like, like debating the Catholics, you know, just to even have that moment.

I think that was probably the Holy Spirit that gave you the grace to be like, okay, I'm actually gonna do the research myself. I'm going to see what this is all about and yeah, see if I can support you. So that's, that's beautiful. Okay. So then what happened? Yeah. So I think you made a really good point about the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit prompts people's hearts, right. To be open to it because I, we're all prideful.

And so I didn't like, I don't know why my heart was more open in the end to receive Catholicism than like some of my friends even like they'll ask questions so I was like, give me a week. So I'm like, where do I even start? So I just make this huge list of my notes. I mean like scrolling, scrolling, scrolling list of questions. Wow. And I'm like, Why do Catholics worship Mary? Like why, like what, who are the saints? Who are these people? What is a nun? Do they even exist?

Like, are they, like, do they speak English? Like, I'm like, who are they? Like, who is a nun? why would you choose that lifestyle? Like, that's crazy because there's nothing like that. And I'm like, why can't priests get married? Why can't they have a family? That's so bizarre. And so I started researching and of course. Lo and behold, Father Mike pops up on YouTube. That's every answer to every question. And I will need to send this to Father Mike so he can hear this shout out.

Yeah. Oh, he would love it. Um, but this whole week I should preface Sam and I are not talking about Catholicism. Okay. I'm like doing my own independent research at this point. Yep. And Father Mike is helping me like, understand, understand, like he's so He's been so blessed by the Lord for his mission to explain things to non Catholics or Catholics. In a very simple, like, easy to digest, yet attractive way. Yes, yes. So I was actually training for half marathon at this point.

So I had many hours of running during the week. So I would just plug his podcast on and just go. And I was just like, I'd have a question, boom, that topic would pop up. Like he has everything, right. Which is such a blessing to those coming into the faith. So then I was like, okay, Father Mike's giving me a lot of peace here.

Although some of the answers are hard to understand and hard for me to digest because I've been thinking of Christ in a certain view or the church in a certain way, like I do get the Catholic viewpoint. Okay. But then I was like, What is a nun, you know? So they're abiding together like they pop up and so I start listening to them and I'm like wait like she was a d1 I think like yeah, it's like sister Miriam.

Yeah, I was like wait She's so cool Like these are normal people I remember I was at the nail salon and I was like had my ear pods in I was that girl and I was listening and I was like, how, how is this, how can this be? Like, how can she be normal and to none? What the heck? I was just like, I didn't know this was a desire of people's heart to be a sister, you know? Wow. So in addition to, My research. I also was like I want to speak to Catholics.

Okay, I need first hand witness first hand witness, baby are you in the faith? Are you devout? So I go on ram Catholic nice, which is which is like the Catholic version of stumo It's like the Newman. It's the Newman Center at CSU yeah, cuz I was like, well I don't know any Catholics. So I didn't grow up with any devout, devout Catholics. So I was like, all right, well, Instagram it is like, I love Instagram. So I just DM a couple. I DM this girl, Grace. She never gets back to me.

I DM this girl, Kelly. She responds overnight and was like, let's FaceTime tomorrow morning. And I was like, Perfect. And so I come hot and heavy, ready to basically pull her out of Catholicism. And was this girl a student or was she a missionary? So she was a student, Colorado state. She was a Theta and she was just like tagged in a photo, but she's a folks missionary at KU. Now she is. Yeah. So she like amazing. Yeah. So she knew how to answer my questions from like a baby, baby perspective.

Yeah. Um, so Kelly and I FaceTime and she was like, I think just like seeing like the Lord's story play out in this week, but Kelly and I FaceTime that first day of my research period. And she lays out so beautifully the church and answers my questions with so much grace. And I was spicy. Okay. Like I was like, Kelly, I don't get this, you know, whatever. And you know, come to find out she ends up being one of my confirmation sponsors. Um, She's amazing.

Later that week, I FaceTime with Neil, who is Sam's spokesmissionary, who is now in seminary. He is very wise. He has so much theology, like historical background can help, give an answer that's to the tradition, the scripture and the theology of the church, which I needed because I love history. And so that was a big piece of what pulled me into the church. At the end of the call was like, okay, if you can support salmon,, do you support salmonists?

And I was like, yes, I do support my boyfriend at the time. But it's not for me. It won't be for me. And I even remember calling my parents and I was like, Sam's becoming Catholic. Uh, I support him in it, but don't worry. It won't be for me., I remember facetiming Sam after the end of the week and I was like, okay, this is still really hard. There were so many tears shed that week, but I can support you in this, but it's not going to be for me. Yeah. But clearly you did become Catholic.

That's why we're here sharing your story. So what were the events or experiences or like God moments that you had in like the years after that, or what you, it sounds like it was a year and a half only, um, that led you to actually make the decision to become Catholic? Yeah. So at the end of the week, when I call Sam. He's like, you know, what, what research did you do? Who did you like find? And I'm like, there's this father, my guy, he's phenomenal.

He's basically sounds like, you know, your mega church pastor, but he's in like priest uniform. I'm like, it's not crazy. And Sam was like, no way. That's the priest at my school. So Sam played baseball at university of Minnesota, Duluth, just like such a godsend. And I was like blown away. I was like, you know, this guy. You know, you're buddies with him. Uh, and he was like, yeah, I'll introduce you. When you come up and I was like, Oh my gosh.

Like all of a sudden I'm like, insert fangirl moment. As I'm sure everybody listening is fangirling right now. Like, did we all know Sydney was friends with Flo and Mike? No, we didn't. No, you do. He's so great. So I go to Duluth, Minnesota. We were doing long distance at the time. And so I'd go visit him and every time. We would go to RCIA because Sam was in the process of becoming Catholic.

And again, at this time, I'm just trying to like humble my heart and be more open to the Catholic faith and helping support him in this. Um, and so we'd go to RCIA. So I met father Mike and I think something I appreciate is because I wasn't raised Catholic. I wasn't like obsessive. Yeah, it wasn't like a superstar moment. Yeah. Like a lot of. The students at Duluth are like, Oh my gosh. Yeah. Yeah. Which they like humble themselves out, you know, like they chill out.

But I just was like, Oh, this guy's cool. You know, like, I don't know. You're like, I've been listening to your podcast. Yeah. I was like, okay, cool. Like I'm stoked to meet you. Um, and so going through RCA, I was just like, wow. You know, you don't realize the things that are missing in your Protestant faith until you become Catholic, until you start looking into Catholicism. What are some of those things that you felt like, wow, like the Protestant faith is missing this?

Well, I feel like there's so many answers in Catholicism. Like the catechism has it all. It's just like locked and loaded. But I would say Mary's role, understanding who Mary is, I would say, you, you never questioned like, Oh, like anyone can become a pastor, but then it's like, How do you know that they're qualified? Like they go to one, two years, two years of like, uh, formation school and then they become, whereas like some, you know, seminary six, like a long time.

It's like seven years, devoting their entire life. I would also say. The unity of marriage, the deep, deep theology of marriage. Yeah. I think even now being married, like chatting with my friends that just got married, like they all say things and they're like, wait, what? You know, like every time you were intimate with your husband, like you were renewing your wedding vows. Like you are becoming a saint. And it's a sacrament, it's a sacrament. I know like grace flows through that.

And it's just so beautiful. I think the more I peel back the onion, like the more I was like finding answers and wishing that the process of faith had answers to, but they didn't ooh. So you were going to RCIA, finding all these answers, loving what you were hearing. So yeah, I was going to RCIA and I was like slowly like questioning my Protestant non denominational background. I just was becoming more and more okay, John Six.

The Eucharist like that's wild and at first I remember sitting in candlelight mass and looking at the Eucharist and I texted Kelly and I was like Kelly am I supposed to be like seeing anything special what's going on here? Like I just see like this gold thing and even my first non nominational mind was like it's an idol it's in this Gold thing. It's like a it's the golden calf, you know, like I was like Idolization, but then I Was like, wait, the Eucharist is so beautiful.

It needs to be in like, in a pure gold, like for sure. I mean, it's the Lord. Yeah. Like the Lord. And I, and he was the Lord is so humble to come in such a form as this, you know, a piece of bread, piece of bread. And the more I was hoping for answers to be wrong, I kept seeing the truth in the Catholic church.

So, do you feel like in this experience of looking for answers, your attraction to the Catholic faith came from a place of like, wow, this is so beautiful, I wish my Protestant faith had that? Or was it realizing like, Oh, my Protestant faith teachings are actually wrong. I would say the first one, I wish my faith had that, or like, you don't realize what you're missing until you see what you're missing. And so adoration, there's no such thing as adoration in a non nominational church.

There's not an intimate chapel where you can just cry out to the Lord. Yes, you can do that in any, any space in your home, but it's not the same. I remember also I'd be sitting in candlelight mass. My mouth would start watering during communion. And I like told grace. I was like, why? And is my mouth watering? Like I crave this like I want to receive, you know? That is beautiful. Yeah, it is. That's literally grace. Yeah. And every time I walk up to communion now I'm like, I'm so unworthy.

Mm-Hmm. I can't believe I get to partake in the greatest feast. Mm-Hmm. you know? I remember one time I was at Mass with Sam, Father Mike was, you know, doing his thing. And after Mass, I remember seeing all these girls during communion going up and receiving, like, these beautiful Catholic girls. And I started feeling, like, doubt, you know, of like, will Sam, like, want to marry a Catholic girl? Like, will he have wished that he married a Catholic girl? He's becoming Catholic.

And so at this point, how long have you guys been dating? Like, it's getting serious. It had been, like, eight years. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Um, and we talked about like, we believe dating is like a year for us and then get engaged. So it was like halfway through that and serious conversations going really well, other than like the hard conversations with Catholicism. And I should preface he never pushed me into Catholicism. He was so hands off. He was like, I made this decision by myself.

And you will do the same. If this is for you, that's great. And I'm here to welcome you. Like if you make that decision, but there was no pressure on you will make that decision. And so after mass, I'm, I asked him, I was like, will you have wished you married a Catholic girl? And he was like. I hope one day you become catholic and I was bawling.

I was just Like i'm so torn I see the beauty and the truth in the church but I also have this pride in me the worldly view is like I can't like I can't I could I could never become catholic the pride of like what the catholic church is perceived as And like you being like oh I could never be that right. Like I would never want to be that. Oh yeah. And even in my first year of being Catholic, like people would be like, where do you go to church?

And I'd be like, um, so it's still something like I worked through of like, I'm love Catholicism. I love the truth and beauty of the Catholic faith, but there's still times like the world hates the Catholic church and that's undeniable. And so. Sometimes it feels kooky because you're like, why would I make that decision? Like anyone can welcome a non denominational believer, but to say you're Catholic is very bold. It is.

So after this conversation with Sam, you're having a hard time because obviously his answer is saying, I hope you one day will become Catholic.

So he's not necessarily like saying like, no, Sydney, like, of course I'm okay with you, you know, marrying an un Catholic girl, but he's not also saying like, Yeah, no, I will, I'm going to leave you to go for a Catholic girl, you know, but he's kind of just like, I, like, I hope, I hope that this is you, you know, he's kind of insinuating like, yeah, like I want my future wife to become Catholic, how did you wrestle with that in the months to come?

And like, what was that final push where you said, yep, this is it. The rosary, like everyone go play, go pray your West coast Catholic rosary. Yes. So I started praying the rosary. I was gifted one and whenever I drove up to Duluth, um, cause I ended up moving back home to Minnesota cause I, Sam and I were getting serious and I was like, okay, I want to live at home to be closer to him. He'll be coming home from school and then we'll be close.

so I would drive up to Duluth and I would pray the rosary every single time. So I at least pray it once a week, which I feel like it's pretty good for a non Catholic. Yeah. So every Friday I would pray it. Um, who taught you to pray the rosary? A folks missionary at Colorado state, she sat me down. I was like, can we pray this? Like, I'm so intrigued. And at first it was like, so obscure. I was like, okay, why do we keep repeating the same or same prayer and I'm holding this object.

even a friend of mine the other day, she was in my car and she's like, this feels so religious. Um, it is, but it's so beautiful. It's beautiful. And. Just through, I feel like the prayer of the rosary, like all my anxieties were flushed out and just so much peace came. And I remember it was always, what is it? The sorrowful mysteries. And so I would just cry. Cause you're driving up on the weekends. I'm driving up on the weekends. Oh my gosh. That's every Friday.

And I would just fall on Fridays in my car because I was just like, never have I sat and meditated on those leading stages up to Jesus's death so frequently and so heavy in a place of peace. That is so beautiful. How did you become open minded enough to do that? Because I think it's one thing to be learning about the church and feelings of like, wow, that's so beautiful and desiring that.

But I know Mary is one of the biggest obstacles for Protestants and the idea that or the misconception that Catholics worship Mary. So how did you kind of I guess skirt around that and be like, okay, I don't worship Mary, but, I'm going to pray the rosary, which is asking for Mary's intercession. Right.

And it is, and the, the big misconception about the rosary is that people think that it is a prayer that worships Mary when really it is asking for Mary's intercession and meditating on the life of Jesus. Like you're saying the whole prayer is literally meditating on the life of Jesus in scripture through like the eyes of Mary. Right. Um, so how did you become open to that? Was it just like, you were like, well, I guess this is the next step or. I don't know.

I never really had a hold up with Mary. It was weird. So many converting into the church, that's their biggest thing. Yeah. But to me, once I understood intercession. I was like, Oh, this is beautiful. Just clicked. Yes. It clicked. Mary wasn't a big holdup, even though she is for so many people. I think things that were a holdup for me was like, um, like the monstrance, idolization, like saints were pretty confusing to me, but then I was also like, that's beautiful.

They've lived really Christ centered lives and now we get to view their lives as the primary example of how to live out the Christian faith well. And so. I don't know, I was blessed that Mary wasn't like a huge hold up for me. That's beautiful. So you were praying the rosary on Fridays. And I just think my heart like slowly got transformed and it got to a point where I came up for Sam's confirmation and he became Catholic and I was like, this is so beautiful.

And I kind of knew, This is me, next year. And, making that decision was really hard. I was kind of one foot in. One foot out. I was like, wait. It got to a point where I want to go to confession. I want someone to hear my sins and let that load off. But I couldn't, you know, and so I think being in the Duluth Newman center, being around really devout, holy, holy Catholics, I was open to a whole new level of Christianity and like striving for excellence that I hadn't seen before.

And so after Sam got confirmed. Shortly after I actually was applying for a job at a Catholic publishing company and I had to write a letter to them. And so I wrote my testimony and in it, I was like, and I'm becoming Catholic and I sent it to Sam and he just was like, Oh my gosh, no way. I'm going to cry. He was probably so excited. So I sent it to Sam.

I sent it to Grace and Kelly, who ended up being my confirmation sponsors, they were just like, Oh my gosh, like, I can't believe, You're committing to this. This is so beautiful. Praise God. So it's so beautiful to, to stand by someone and see the process start to finish. It's, so inspiring, like for the one who is Catholic to see how the Lord works. And I think what gets me so emotional about stories like this, or seeing friends convert is you just see the love of the Lord.

And it just reminds me of the good shepherd. And it's just like, The Lord is relentless in going after every single one of his children. And you were like super closed off to it at first, but he was like, nah, like I want you with me and I'm not giving up. And he gave you all the grace along the way. That is so beautiful. So what were the reactions of your friends and your family members?

Throughout the process of discernment and then when you actually chose like i'm gonna become catholic What were what were those relationships like and what were those reactions like? So when sam said he was becoming catholic a lot of my friend group from college like my bestie girls were like You Uh, you need to break up with him. Like, it's not even the, like, if and or but, like, you should end it with him because he doesn't actually love Jesus. And I was just So heartbroken by that.

I also had friends that were like, I'm gonna be honest I don't know much about Catholicism, but I will be here for prayer, you know like I will pray with you through this process It's really hard to hear from your best friends that you've like grown You So much within college that they don't support you, you know, like one of them even told me like, I don't support your marriage. Like if y'all get married and like, that's hard. That's so hard.

Did any of them, did you, did you lose friendships through this? Did any of them like turn away and not lose, but like people would say things and you're like, that were hurtful. Yeah. And people do still say things where I am like, what do you mean by that? You know, um, because it's not true, you know, like, don't tell me what the Catholic church is because I know the Catholic church and you do the research, you go to RCIA for a year, then let me know what you think. Right.

Like I had someone say like, the Catholic church believes in multiple heavens and all these things. And I was like, yo, that's Mormonism. That's not Catholic. I know the Catholic church, trust me. Like, I would not believe in that. And so, yes, I had a lot of friends that were not supportive. And some of them came around, but I still think they're like very hesitant.

And then as far as family, no one implicitly said anything, but no one in my family is Catholic and no one really supports Catholicism, I would say. And so I think that was hard because they saw it as like very extreme. Like, why would you become Catholic? You know? Yeah. Cause I know that I've had Friends who grew up Protestant, became Catholic, told their parents, and their parents like broke down crying. And it was like the worst news that they could have ever heard.

Was for your family more of just like, confusion, or was it just like, don't really get what you're doing now, but that's fine, or was it like, Right. You are going down the wrong path. It wasn't like they were saying I was going down the wrong path. It was more so just like, yeah, confusion. And then also, what does this mean for our family in the future? Like, oh, it's Sunday. we want to go to church, but you're trying to go to mass? Like, how does that work? Oh, yeah.

In the future, godparents and baptism, that's different. Yeah. You know? Yeah. And so it's been really beautiful though, seeing my family come like to be super supportive, I would say. Like, it's like, oh, of course we go to mass on Sundays, you know? Do they go with you? No. Oh, Oh, of course you go to mass on Sundays. Yeah, of course. Sam and I go to Mass on Sundays. Um, like, it's not like I have to hide it anymore.

Yeah. And so, and like when we have a kid like getting 'em baptized right away, like Yeah, I know. They'll be super excited about that. Um, that's beautiful. And so it's been really cool. To see. And then I think some people just like, hush, hush. Don't say anything, which is fine. Like, but I want to talk about Catholicism. Like, I want to be like, ask me questions. You know, you're like, I want everybody to be Catholic.

So now that you are Catholic, you've been Catholic for like a year, a year and a half. Just over a year. That's amazing. Still a baby Catholic. Now that you've embraced your faith fully, what parts of Catholicism do you love the most? Do you feel like resonate with you the most? I would say adoration because Yes, you have deep prayer time and like worship, but you don't have anything like adoration.

So I love adoration I would also say like The battle of like praying the Rosary, like it's the flesh verse, like, you know, like prayer, like sometimes I'll be like, Oh, I don't want to pray the Rosary or I don't want to spend time, meditating on these prayers say, but then once I do, the graces are so abundant. So real. And so I would say I love the meditation and then I love the quietness of the Catholic faith. What do you mean by that by like the quietness?

I think a lot of non denominational churches it's about what can I get out of it? The lights the camera the action like, you know smoke confetti cannons like everything like a whole production It's a whole production which can be fun. And I think like our other teammates Sarah said it well that's camp when we're worshiping the Lord, we should be in so much reverence and a beauty of the fear of the Lord, you know, sitting there in awe and silence and just thanking the Lord for what he's done.

Cause it's not about us. Like, it's not about what I can get out of mass because you're not going, you're not going to get out anything out of mass. If like, that's the mindset you're going into it with. And so. I would say Just the simplicity and like it's just not about us. Yeah, and that's the beauty.

No, I love that I think you know, we all experience this at some point or another when we really dive into prayer But the Lord works through the silence so much and when we finally are able to step away from our lives Quiet the noise of the whole world and just be with the Lord. That's where you find like clarity and peace and understanding. And like you said, like worship is good and beautiful.

And these non churches have beautiful, beautiful bands and song and worship that I think like has even helped my prayer life, but there's a time and place for that, and then there's a time and place for worship and father going back to father Mike, actually, he has his big talk of like, uh, What's it called? Like do you, how to, how to pray the mass or something like that. And he always talks about how worship is sacrifice.

And so mass, the reason it's worship is because the sacrifice of the lamb, on the altar, it's not supposed to be a party. Like that's another, that's another time and place, but mass prayer, it's, it's silence, it's sacrifice. It's reverence. Yeah. And I would say a huge thing. That changed my outlook on Catholicism in the mass was the hour that'll change your life YouTube video by Father Mike.

It was a Sikh talk back in the day It was like I think a million views or so Yeah, it's huge but Kelly sent me that and I was sitting there and I was just like awestruck because I was like Oh my gosh, like it all lines up like it all makes sense. I want to be intimate with Christ You know and like I want to receive And so, yeah, that's really beautiful. Thank you for sharing your story so openly. So honestly, I love hearing all the little details. So many that I haven't heard before.

Maybe there are people who are listening, who were in the same boat as you, maybe there's people who are interested or maybe just like curious or intrigued about the Catholic faith or intimidated or scared. What would be your advice to people who are exploring converting to the Catholic faith? I would say, pray for a humble heart. That is step number one, because the Lord cannot do anything through pride. Humility prayer and action, like be humble, pray through the process and then take action.

You're going to have to make a decision. You have to be bold and step into that. And it's going to feel so scary for most people. But I think like just trusting in the Lord, it's such a great test, trust in the Lord, like he's got you. So beautiful. Sydney, if people want to hear more of you or find you on socials or the internet, where can they find you? You can shop Darling and divine@darlinganddivine.co. And then on Instagram, it's Darling divine.co.

And then my personal Instagram is Sydnee period. Tanner. Amazing. What do you talk about on Sydney period tanner? Well, I love working out. So she is your faith fitness bestie. Okay. So basically like anything of how to honor the body. Well, yeah. Like through fitness, food, spirituality, all the things like well roundedness. That's so beautiful. Thank you, Sydney. This was such a good combo. Yes. Thanks guys.