Editor’s Note: The Catholic Star Herald is following some of the faith journeys of those preparing to enter the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil on Saturday, April 19.
For Dae Miller, the path to Christ included a trip to Dunkin’ Donuts.
The year was 2017, three days before Christmas. A few days prior, he had been invited to attend a John Paul II group at Our Lady of Peace Parish, Williamstown. There, he met Kari Janisse, then-youth minister, who invited him to the Simbang Gabi Mass, a Filipino Catholic tradition, at 5:30 a.m. the next day.
Afterward, French Crullers and Boston Creams.
“This was my first time at the Catholic Mass,” said Miller, born in a Christian household but never receiving any of the sacraments. “But it wasn’t the last.”
Now Miller, 21, a math major and freshman at Rowan College of South Jersey and a member of its Catholic Campus Ministry, is preparing to fully enter the Catholic Church. He will receive the Sacraments of Initiation – Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Eucharist – at the Easter Vigil on April 19 at Saint Bridget University Parish in Glassboro.
“A lot of wisdom has come from all of my experiences,” he said, “and I’ve received much from God’s grace.”
Stranger in the city
After the Advent 2017 morning of Mass and breakfast, Miller, who admitted he wasn’t serious about faith at the time, became a regular face on the Our Lady of Peace Parish campus, an “outlet to de-stress from the pressures of school and home.”
He went to Mass every opportunity he got, and became a dedicated member of the JPII youth group, volunteering with service trips to both Ronald McDonald House and Joseph’s House in Camden, and becoming an active leader in their prayer initiatives.
Miller also joined a Thursday night men’s group, “talking about God’s work in our lives.”
When COVID hit in 2020, the government’s distancing protocols kept parish activities shuttered and/or limited, and Miller soon fell away from the place he called home. “I was lukewarm about the faith, wasn’t praying as much; I wasn’t involved,” he said of this time.
Looking for a change of scenery, Miller moved to New York in December 2023, working as a waiter and host at various restaurants. “This move was spur of the moment,” he said. “I wanted to do something different, and moving to New York made me feel powerful and invigorated. “It was an attempt to find out who I was, and the truth.”
There, among the masses, though, he found no community, no connection. He remained unmoored, moving three times in the span of six months.
“Everyone was a stranger,” he recalled. Furthermore, unlike those he knew at the JPII youth group, those he met in New York were “ambiguous in what they believed in; there was no truth, no staunch beliefs among them.”
Before long, Miller felt the pull to return to South Jersey. In July, he reconnected with Janisse, now director of Rowan University’s Catholic Campus Ministry, and enrolled in classes at Rowan College of South Jersey, studying at both the Vineland and Glassboro campuses.
Now, he is a fixture at the Newman Club’s various events. “Mass every Sunday, daily rosary,” Miller said, rattling off what’s keeping him busy. “The Catholic community [in Williamstown and Glassboro] have always been there for me. If I call my friend or campus minister, they’re going to answer the phone.”
He has also noticed “these individuals are truly on fire with the faith, and brazen and open about the faith. They’re not afraid to speak about what they believe. I appreciate that, and it keeps me coming back.”
Miller said he has been inspired to embrace the Catholic faith. “After a lot of prayer, and thinking about who I was and what I wanted to believe in, [I realized] there was no room to be lukewarm. I had to say yes to God.”
‘It’s God’s plan’
OCIA formation started in November at Saint Bridget University Parish, on Sunday mornings with Kari Janisse and Dom Scarcella, parish catechist. “These lessons have helped me, especially in responding to others’ questions and defending my faith,” Miller said.
Kim Pacis, Miller’s friend from his youth group days and now OCIA sponsor, noted her gratitude in being a witness to Miller’s “growing confidence that God wanted him to say yes to the invitation. He’s ready for the Lord.”
Pacis noted Miller’s ever-willingness to join her on Tuesdays and Thursdays in Atlantic City at the Father Benedict House, where they help the Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal in their mission to spiritually and physically feed the hungry.
For Miller, his sponsor “has been a big part of my conversion. … She’s influenced the way I see the faith, in being truly submerged in the joy and happiness” of the Lord. “She represents what it truly means to be Catholic.”
Now, a week before taking complete hold of the blazing Easter fire, Miller is grateful for the understanding that “one’s path in life is not always what you expect. Ultimately, it’s God’s plan that’s going to happen, and it is the most important one.”
“I found God” at Our Lady of Peace, Miller said, and today, he realizes He’s “always been with me through everything, through this winding life.”
“I’ve been on the train” to the Lord, Miller continued. “Yes, sometimes I’ve been looking toward the back, but God’s always kept me on the tracks.”
at the bottom and then tap “Add to Home Screen”
