Nate Sparks

December 2023

Musician Nate Sparks describes his return to the Catholic faith as a slow process. “I came back through prayer,” he says. “A true encounter with God through prayer.”

Nate grew up in Saints John and Paul Parish in Altoona, but like many of his friends, he stopped going to church after Confirmation. He fell “head over heels into music,” pouring all of his energy into jazz. After high school, Nate’s passion for music led him to the Juilliard School in New York, where he developed his skills in an elite musical environment. But he wasn’t practicing his faith. Sometimes he and his friends would talk about God, but Nate never prayed or went to church. In hindsight, he sees a connection that didn’t occur to him at the time: “It’s funny—the musicians that quickly became my closest friends at Juilliard happened to grow up with Catholic backgrounds.”

After graduating from Juilliard in 2017, Nate stayed in New York to work as a freelance musician until 2020, when the pandemic sent him home to Iowa. He soon reconnected with a friend from high school—a fellow musician and former atheist who had experienced a profound spiritual conversion.

Nate listened in amazement as his friend described his life-changing encounter with Jesus. The friend invited Nate to Mass and urged him to pray. “I didn’t want to do it,” Nate says—but when a crisis pushed him to his limit, he gave in and prayed. To his surprise, God answered in ways more wonderful than he ever could have imagined.

At around the same time, Nate went back to Mass. Then he went to Confession for only the second time in his life. His faith began to grow and there was no looking back. But since his return to Iowa, Nate had struggled to find the right career path. After training as a musician all his life, he longed to make a living through music. And now, with his spiritual life coming together, he wanted to serve God through his work. He turned again to prayer: “God, what can I do with this? Where are you calling me? What can I do to be able to work full-time?”

When a job opened up that matched his criteria, Nate applied. And after accepting the position of Liturgy and Music Ministry Director at Sacred Heart, Nate found himself in a job that combined the two most important parts of his life: spirituality and music.

With a daily schedule focused on Scripture, music, and prayer, Nate calls his new job a “Godsend opportunity.” And while his work keeps him busy, there’s always time for gratitude: “What else could I ask for?”