Abstract
Using an autoethnographical approach, this writing is an attempt to reflect theologically on my journey in life and faith as a cradle-to-grave Catholic in the years since the Second Vatican Council. I was 13 in 1970 when the liturgical and doctrinal implications of the Council were being promulgated in the Western church. These changes had a major impact on my spiritual, and secular, self-understanding as a young Catholic women. In my mid-teens I also had a major psychosexual trauma that had life-altering consequences. As I navigated my pathway into young adulthood, and beyond, I experienced continuing grief and loss in a variety of circumstances over an extended period. Using the work of other scholars as context, this writing uses autoethnographical techniques to record my life trajectory, in order to view it through a theological lens. This lens is mine, and mine alone. The work also includes fragments of the creative writing of others, including the biblical narrative, to situate my life as a Christian woman within my wider spiritual heritage. This spiritual heritage is our human journey of struggle, joy, memory, grief and lament … and, not least, hope. This writing recalls a story of dreams thwarted, and vocation lost. It is also a story of conviction, courage, and faith. In 2024 it will be 50 years since my adolescent trauma had its zenith.