By: Jay Sorgi
Some convey love for God and the Catholic faith through action, others through art, and still others through hours in prayer.
“Jesus for me is everything,” Cheyenne Selsor of San Leandro said as she waterfalls her love for the Lord through poignant tears, the kind that seem like an unofficial baptism. The Easter Vigil at St. John the Baptist Parish in San Lorenzo on April 4, 2026, will bring this new, powerfully devoted Catholic into full communion with the church through her remaining sacraments of initiation.
“He was waiting for me. This is what I feel, every single day. I can feel that he is happy too, like I am,” Selsor said through her tears about a new life in Christ.
“I feel like crying every single morning, (and) every single day when I wake up, I say, ‘Thank you, Jesus.’”
That journey to Jesus truly took flight on a trip to three Mediterranean countries when she visited family in February 2020. That trip led to a visit to the Shrine of our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima in Portugal.
“When we started driving there, I was feeling very peaceful. When we were parking, I felt the harmony. This was so peaceful. When the Mass started, I started feeling very comfortable,” she said.
“The Eucharist, in that moment, I felt the amazing spiritual touch in my heart. I felt the presence of Jesus Christ. I didn’t see him, but I felt something inside me.
Selsor couldn’t help but tear up again as she described the vision of Our Lady of Fatima in front of the altar.
“I looked at her. I looked at the priest when he was offering the Body and the Blood of Jesus. I felt something strange. I told my cousin, ‘I don’t know what happened to me, but I’m feeling something extraordinary happen within me.’ I heard the Hail Mary in Portuguese and English, a lot of people talking in several languages. This was so amazing, people praying to the Virgin. Oh my God, this one touched my interior.”
As Sensor’s family visit continued, she received a rosary, and her devotion to the Blessed Mother in recent years has aided her journey to finally make full entrance into the Catholic sacraments of initiation.
“I understand why I had my eyes opened that day when I went to Portugal. She was the beginning of my life, to go to her son,” Selsor said.
“I now understand why the people believe in the vision of Mary. It’s the mother of God. She’s interceding for Jesus when you pray to her. You can be in touch with Him through her.”
As she is experiencing the Order of Christian Initation of Adults (OCIA), as she is diving deeper into her Marian devotion which is her powerful lens in encountering Christ, she said she sees the Bible that had previously been part of her faith journey authentically come alive.
“It’s a book on the life of Jesus. All the time when I’m reading, I know I’m reading a life book. It is made for this time, too,” she said.
“Every class I go, it opens my eyes more. For your homework, the catechist said ‘You can bring a paragraph.’ But me, I express everything I learn. I think I am the only one bringing two pages because everything is touching me. The teacher we have, she’s wonderful. We have other teachers coming sometimes to give special classes. Everyone there is amazing. All the time when I go there, my spirit is open to learning everything.”
While sharing these truths about what has truly become the core of her life, Selson can’t help continue her tears, and alluded to how tears can reflect God’s own healing waters.
“He created us with water. When He died for us, water came from Christ’s side,” she said.
“I believe the water is the Holy Spirit.”
The waters flow spiritually throughout Selsor’s day working at a local hospital, so much so that it’s impossible for colleagues not to notice her evolution in faith.
“My coworker said, ‘Oh, Cheyenne, I see you changing a lot.’ I said, ‘Yeah, because I am in love.’ She said, ‘With who?’ I said, ‘With Jesus. I know him,’” she explained.
“I said, ‘You know him. She said, ‘No, I’ve never seen him.’ She was thinking I was talking about a man. I said, ‘No, I’m talking about Jesus Christ. He is everything for me. He made me happy.”
And with an air of comforting joy that gently surrounds her tears, Selsor can imagine what she would say if God walked into the room with His very presence, the kind that the Eucharist that she will receive embodies.
“I know you, Christ. I know you, my Father. I love you,” she said.
“Thank you for supporting me every single day. I love you.”