Reading the Lightning testimonio was so fascinating to me, especially the portion about when she discusses her views on religion. For some reason, I was expecting her to mention how her maternal family would participate in Catholicism, especially since a lot of Latinos(as) do. So when I read that God was an image that was not necessarily accepted by her maternal family, I was very surprised. I liked reading about her experiences because it showed me some of the similarities between her and I, as well as some of the differences. Quintanales mentions how her mother was really the only one in the family who exhibited religion and I can definitely relate. Although my maternal family is very God-oriented, my mother has always been the only one to really ground my sisters and I in our faith. While my father did grow up with some aspects of Catholicism, he was definitely not on the same level with it as my mom is. In fact, ever since my younger sister got diagnosed with diabetes at the age of six, he stopped believing in anything altogether. He would always say, “If God existed, then why do bad things happen?” a phrase that many questioning people use to try and understand or justify religion. However, my mother sent all of my sisters and I to Catholic school and even made me and one of my younger sisters become altar girls for our local church. I served as an altar girl for twelve years and I actually really enjoyed it. While I do not think that being religious makes someone a good person, I do believe that it plays a key role in helping people to see the good in others and to always recognize their blessings. Attached is a photo of my cousin and I serving at one of our church’s Sunday mass’ a few years ago.
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