"My biggest decisions have happened in front of the Eucharist." | Max Cormier

For Max Cormier, a parishioner at Fr. Mario’s parish, St. Aloysius, faith wasn’t always part of his life. Hear how he grew to adopt an agnostic worldview, which developed into atheism, as a young person, and listen to him describe the life-changing moment before the Blessed Sacrament where he found the missing piece, which brought him to a place of passionate faith and love for the Eucharist.

(00:34) We meet our guest, Max, a teacher at a Detroit public high school and a parishioner at St. Aloysius in Detroit, where Fr. Mario serves as pastor. Max shares how he came to be a parishioner at St. Aloysius and his love for the parish community. 

(03:00) Max shares some of his background and relationship with his faith as a young person. He describes his experience of beginning to doubt God’s existence as a high schooler and how he came to adopt an agnostic worldview. 

(09:34) Fr. Mario comments on how God used the gift of Max’s intellect to bring him, eventually, to a point of conversion. He highlights the Church’s teaching on faith and reason, emphasizing that they are not at odds with one another, but that reason leads us to a point to make an ascent of faith. 

(09:57) Max shares what it was like to begin college with an angry atheistic perspective. He goes on to describe how his roommate — one of his best friends —was involved with the Catholic student center on campus and how he began to engage with and genuinely enjoy the community found there. Eventually, to get out of a weekend playing baseball, Max and his roommate decided to go on a retreat held by the group. 

(14:28) Max shares what his retreat experience was like and describes a life changing encounter he had with Jesus in the Eucharist, where he found the missing piece to the worldview he had previously held in Jesus’ presence. 

(17:22) Max describes how that experience began his adult faith journey and shares how his life changed from then on and Fr. Mario comments on how God will work in small moments of grace — like in the many small moments that led to Max arriving at the retreat — in order to enter into our lives in more dramatic ways — as he did during adoration. 

(21:28) Max shares how surprised his parents were by his reversion and how happy they were to know that he had found community and, most importantly, arrived at a place of faith. 

(25:36) Max shares what the Eucharist means to him today, how he brings every major life decision to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, and the unconditional love he experiences in Jesus’ presence.

(28:54) Fr. Mario asks Max what he might tell his younger self, having experienced this reversion and Max emphasizes the role that friendship, community, and invitation had in his powerful faith journey.