My name is Amanda Gately and I am beyond grateful for the opportunity to know, serve and love God here in Hingham with you all! I was raised in Pembroke in a Catholic family but never connected it with it personally until college. At a young age, I developed very negative self talk, particularly around my body and looking “different” then those who received praise for their bodies. This led to me feeling unloved, worthless and lost due to what others thought of and said to me, along the societal pressures to look perfect.
I went to Saint Anselm College and it was here the Lord planted the seeds of my faith. My junior year of college, I ended up dieting and losing a lot of weight quickly. I then was finally receiving the attention, gratification and praise I so desperately longed for my whole life. I thought me losing weight would finally bring me the love, acceptance, peace and joy to fill the deep void in my heart. However, none of that happened—in fact, it was quite the opposite, and I was left heart broken and even more lost than before. Although I had lost weight, I had gained an eating disorder.
Simultaneously but very intentionally on God’s behalf, my roommate at the time was the first person I had ever met that had a deep personal relationship with Jesus. From her influence and my heightened curiosity, I started getting involved in campus ministry by attending service trips and retreats. It was here I started exploring my faith and through small encounters with God and listening to the promptings of my heart, I continued to seek Him.
Over the next couple years, I would continue to suffer from anorexia, depression and anxiety. I was enslaved to these mental illnesses, that whether it was through my physical state or mental thoughts, I came very close to losing my life. However, within the suffering there was a glimmer of hope—Jesus. The Lord graced me with growing in deeper relationship with Him through doing a year of service at My Brother’s Keeper, experiencing the healing power of the Sacraments and hearing Him through scripture. Through His grace, I was able to believe that my identity was rooted in being a beloved child of God rather than the temporary and external factors I let rule my life. I surrendered myself to the Lord and He guided me toward recovery.
Within the anguish, destruction and death I experienced; the Lord’s protection, grace, mercy, glory and love was made so much stronger in a way I still struggle to explain or comprehend. God allowed me to suffer down a road where I was nearly dead, in order to make me feel what it was like to be fully alive—the Lord didn’t just change my life, He gave me life. It is now my deepest to desire to guide others toward Jesus and spread his love to all I encounter. I’m so excited to be a part of this amazing community, please know I’m praying for you all daily and that I am here to serve and love you all in whatever way you need!
To contact Amanda, please use the following e-mail address: agately@hinghamcatholic.org
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