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Our Stories
Our Stories
Sheryls Story
My Story by Sheryl Weiman
While growing up my Father was an atheist and my Mother had a cult religion which left life very confusing. My Mother use to say that the reason I had a miserable life was because I hurt people in my previous lives and I had to suffer in this life. But my Great Grandmother gave me a china bible with the Lords Prayer on it. From the time I could read, I would read it every night and nod when I was finished, saying My God. There were many times when I felt there were signs to follow in Gods path, but with all the abuse and confusion throughout my childhood and dysfunctional first marriage, I only prayed to God in silence, alone. I battled to raise my three children alone. For years, hardly speaking a word, and visioning myself like in a cave deep down within my chest as a child with a candle writing what I needed to say and passing it via the throat to people around me, avoiding speaking. I had a good friend, which was a Catholic Family, and I watched them raise their children and how they interacted with family and close friends. I loved what I saw so much that I would pray deeply to God at night, that one day, I would meet and marry a Catholic man and have a Catholic life. I use to feel very heavy, as I wondered who would want to take on a broken family with so many problems. In 1998 I met a Catholic man and we were married in 1999 to which I adopted a large Catholic family of fourteen children. In 2000 I attended the RCIA course at Queens Park, but was withdrawn as my marriage wasnt annulled. Shortly after this I became very ill and it was years before I was ready to take the course on again, and in 2010 I turned to my husband and said it was time. I attended the RCIA course at Gosnells Parish and became Catholic on Holy Saturday of 2011. Just before becoming Catholic I was reading my answers to the RCIA questions. Nolan Stephenson the RCIA person then gave his answers to which answered my questions. Nolan has his faith and spreads the news to others and I am affirming my faith and my love for God. I described it to my Husband the next morning like I had been walking around in the darkness and someone turned the light on for me and I was standing before a white rubble road in the light ready to take my journey with God. It had shown me where I was at in my journey. From this day forth I knew my life was with God, and that troubling problem of wondering what I was meant to be doing with my life was over.
Marks Story
Mark 's Story
As an RCIA catechumen I was asked to tell the story of my spiritual journey. This was in 1993. I cannot remember when I first became religious. Even as a small child I believed in God, but I saw him like a spoiling parent asking him for material things of a frivolous nature. Like many children, I hated Sunday school and would do all sorts of things to avoid it. My mother was a religious person and over the years became more involved in the church. Out of a family of five well spaced children, I appeared to be the only one to follow her in search for a greater meaning. Although, my young brother asked many questions and became concerned if she did not go to church for some reason. I was a bit confused as a child because my mother suffered from a mental disorder. At times things were good and she looked after me well. But since she favoured my young brother, when things were not so good, I was the unlucky one who copped the abuse. In spite of the favouritism, I loved my brother and was happy for him. He and I grew very close. Even to the point that when I was away in the army, if he needed me he seemed to be able to call me and I would feel a compulsion to go home. He was very well liked in the community for his care and concern for others. He once went to the Melbourne Show by bus with a friend. When his friend became ill he cared for him for the whole day, missing all the things he went to see. Neighbours and friends knew their children were safe whenever he was asked to keep an eye on them. One day our eyes met for a moment and I felt like I was looking into the eyes of the Lord. I wanted to call him back, but felt paralysed and so off he went to do what he loved most, riding his motorbike. After his death, mothers suffering intensified. I too had my own cross to bear. I had been from drug to drug and psychiatrist to psychiatrist trying to find even a moments respite from the demon illness that tortured my brain. For the first 40 years of my life just like the Israelites I was in the wilderness. Although I believed in God I could not seem to contact him and in my suffering there were times when I cursed him. But he never stopped loving me. In maturity I can see how he carried me through the difficult times. At my lowest ebb, like Christ himself who fell and lacked the strength to rise. I cried out and I could hear his voice directly in my mind saying Trust in me my son. I think that this was the seed that began my trust and love of him. When I look back on my life, I can see how he has been true to his word in that although life hasn't been easy he has always seen to it that my burdens have not been too great for my strength. In his book he said believe in me and I will give you abundant life. I wanted a wife and children. He gave them. I wanted a nice house for them. He gave it. I felt it impossible to ever regain employment, but then became well enough to work and applied for a job. Even though I messed up the interview, I was still accepted, Ironically, I learned later that my interviewer was an active Christian. Life could have been really awful without Jesus carrying me through the difficult times and reminding me of his love for me. I had been raised as an Anglican, but my wife was a Catholic and our children were being brought up through the Catholic school system. We went to Mass together at St. Marys. I had developed a great love of this house of God because I could not forget the strong aura of peace that I had felt from the first time I had entered it, even though I had only come to repair the organ and did not even have religion in mind. Eventually, a prominent Catholic women's league lady, 'Molly Jensen' somehow noticed me and asked me if I would like to become a Catholic. I entered the Church through the RCIA process. I cannot forget 'The Rite of acceptance.' I was asked if I was nervous in front of all those people? I replied. How could you feel afraid when you felt as though Christ was cradling you in his arms? In the meantime, mother now in her seventies had deteriorated physically. In her later years she had sacrificed a lot for me to help hold my marriage together while I did battle with my illness. I visited her often and she would say. Hello Mark even before she could have known it was me. I would make the sign of the cross on her forehead and tell her to be patient that he will be coming for her soon. But her suffering appeared to continue endlessly. I wondered what was I supposed to do? Could it be that I was expected to end it for her? But no, somehow I just knew that something important was happening. Mother appeared to be evolving into something special. One day she asked me if Norelle, my daughter, was alright now, as she had heard her scream. I remembered that Norelle had driven a staple into her finger and had cried out in pain that morning. Mother appeared to be reaching out of the tomb that was her body. Then one day she died. Somehow I felt disappointed because I was sure that because of our faith that I would have felt something special when she went. But no, she was dead and that was that and I had not even been with her when she went. Some months later at a Mass for the confirmation of grade 6 children something truly wonderful happened. I felt a tingling sensation on my forehead. Very slowly it moved down stopping just above my nose, then it started again above the eye and moved across. This was unmistakably the sign of the cross. This event puzzled me as I had never experienced anything like it before. It was nearly a week later while riding my bike and meditating like I often do that the penny dropped. This was what I used to do to mother! Dare I believe that she had reached from the grave to make the sign of the cross on my forehead. If it were possible and even if there were some penalty for doing it, I have no doubt that mother would do it for me. I remember her telling me one time that she did not want me to be spending my spare time coming to see her. She would rather that I go and enjoy myself. My reply was that if we only looked after ourselves and did not care about each other, then there could be no love in the world and I could not live in a world like that. My only explanation for this event was that I had given her one of the greatest gifts that Jesus had come to earth to teach. Forgiveness! And the sign of the cross brought with it the message that in doing so, I had been forgiven my sins also. At the Easter Vigil and my First Communion, I wondered if I would have any other experiences of the spirit and I did. I looked at the eyes of the 500 people loving and welcoming me and through them I saw the face of Christ in his people, his body! I felt truly at home. Shortly after this my son and other students were to do their confirmation. My mother had worshipped my son and I imagine that the sign of the cross occurring at the confirmation Mass had been because mother had been a Sunday school teacher for many years and such an occasion would have been special to her. I wondered if I would feel the sign of the cross again. This time I felt it the entire length and width of my face and in the years to come, feeling the sign of the cross became a regular occurrence. part 2: 16 years later -2009 Sometimes I even felt that thoughts that came into my head in response to some question were not my own, just like the first when I had heard him say to trust in him. On my first trip to East Timor, saddened by the intense suffering of a people so beautiful both physically and spiritually. I stood below a concrete cross on a hill above Dili and just kind of mused to myself Why wouldn't you put an end to such suffering Instantly into my mind I heard a voice. Many souls would be lost if I did it now. A new drug had given me some years of peace from my illness as well as the fantastic experience of being able to teach English to students in East Timor. But the effects of the medication were starting to wain and even worse were producing new and horrible symptoms. On an occasion when I was scheduled to do a talk at RCIA, I had been in a state of anxiety due to changes in medication and its withdrawal effects. I wondered if I should use a tranquilliser to calm me so that I would be able to do it properly and not embarrass myself. But I kept thinking to myself that I needed to show my trust and faith in Jesus by not using it. Just before the talk a thought suddenly came into my mind. You don't have to be a Martyr Mark, I know how much you love me. I took the tranquilliser and had a great time. The talk was on the Eucharist and the following Sunday I was an Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist and I had the most powerful sense of the presence of Jesus. So even if my talk was a bit off, at least Jesus still loves me. Things started to get really bad with my illness, the last resort drug which had helped for several months had failed and I was experiencing some nasty feelings. We had our house on the market as we had planned to build again, which would keep me occupied, but just at the critical time we had a buyer and suddenly we had to find a place to rent and move. This was an enormous task because of all my tools and equipment. But enduring some terrible anxiety we managed to get settled. I'm sure that thanks to the help of Jesus a comfortable home with an enormous shed came along just at the right time. But my condition continued to deteriorate. I had often wondered if hearing the voice of Jesus coaching me had been real or just my imagination. Then came the clincher! When all medical treatment had failed and I was suffering intensely. One day laying down in a most horrible state of depression, I felt my burden too heavy to bear. I wished with all my soul for death to envelope me and to slip peacefully into nothingness. In my mind I heard a gentle voice. If you went now Mark, you would be very disappointed that you gave up so easily. Finally realising that it was the medication that was the problem, I started the painful withdrawal process. Through my recovery, whenever I closed my eyes and thought about Jesus, I would feel the sign of the cross on my forehead. One night I felt lots of tiny little ones. I like to imagine it being the little children that I have loved and cared about that have gone to be with Jesus who had come to return the love in my hour of need. Recently my wife and I have suffered the bereavement of my brother in-law. Each night after I say goodnight to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I also say goodnight to the Mothers, Brothers and of course, most of all to the little children.
Wendys story
Wendy's Story
Wendys Story: Becoming a Catholic Becoming a Catholic was something I had been thinking and procrastinating about for a long time. My children and husband are Catholics, the children all receiving a Catholic education. Even though I wasnt the Catholic, I was the one in our family who encouraged the children to go to church and attend to their religious sacraments. During the childrens Catholic upbringing, and being married to a Catholic, I gained a fairly good insight into the life of a Catholic. When I went to church, whether it was with the children or by myself, I went to the Catholic Church, as I felt this was where I belonged. I reached a stage in my life last year when I felt I had lost direction. I had no goals. I was working full time, a mother of three healthy, well-adjusted children, I had a home, nice garden, friends, but something was missing. I didnt have inner peace and happiness in my life; I blamed things and people around me for how I was feeling. When I went to church I found this happiness and inner peace, peace with myself and with those around me. I realised that inner peace and contentment came from having faith in God. In one of the school newsletters I read about the RCIA, and decided to attend the first meeting to see what it was about. I told no one! Looking back, I realise now that going to that first meeting was, for me, the biggest step in becoming a Catholic. I didnt know much about becoming a Catholic; I just thought you became a Catholic. I had no idea about the RCIA journey. Being a private person I didnt tell anyone about it for quite a while, until I really decided RCIA was for me, as I needed to do this for me alone. After about six weeks, I finally told my husband. I took him for a long walk, practising what I wanted to say, picking up enough courage to say, I have something to tell you. He told me later, he was imagining something dreadful had happened. I told him of my desire to become a Catholic and about the RCIA process. Through the RCIA I found a good friend in Jeanette, my sponsor, whom I had known for a long time. I made other friends, especially the other two candidates, Jeff and Chantal, who gave me courage, strength and many laughs to get through the RCIA journey. I found I looked forward to the weekly meetings as they gave me time to reflect on the meaning of what we were all doing. Being a wife, a mum and a full time nurse, I find I am always giving of myself to care for others. The support, friendship and genuine encouragement from the RCIA team and Jeanette were amazing. They gave up their time, they guided and cared for us through the RCIA journey, with overwhelming generosity. Some of the highlights of my RCIA journey were the Rite of Election, where we met Bishop Michael, and the Mass of the Chrism, during which the three of us presented the gifts at the Offertory. The Easter Vigil, when we received the Sacraments of Initiation, was an emotional night for all of us. I could feel the support from everyone in the church and, even though all my family could not be present, I felt I had the family of the church behind me. People I had never met before came up and congratulated us and celebrated supper with us afterwards with a beautifully decorated cake. I felt very special and truly welcome. One person said that he admired my courage because it was easy for him, as he had been born a Catholic. I felt I had joined one, big, happy Catholic family. Since becoming a Catholic I heard Fr Geoff speak at Mass one day about facing lifes challenges as a Christian I know exactly what he meant! I faced many challenges on my way through the RCIA journey. I was very appreciative of the strength and guidance of Jeanette, the RCIA team, Fr Geoff and Fr James, Jeff and Chantal, and the members of the parish, but I know my faith in God got me through this huge challenge, and Im sure that same faith will be there for any more of lifes challenges.
Trichelles Story
Nothing Short of Wonderful: Trichelles Story
Trichelle Cox is an East Maitland parishioner, a faith filled woman, a married mother with 4 small girls. She very generously agreed to be Kates sponsor and we would like to share with you her RCIA story. I became a part of the RCIA process because I wanted to contribute something to my church. I have grown up enjoying a strong faithful community that has surrounded me with many people that I love. So many women and men have been contributors to this community that I am a part of and I asked myself How am I contributing to our faith community? A small notice in one of the school newsletters that came home in my daughter.s school bag one day mentioned the RCIA process that was about to begin, and asked if anyone would like to contribute in any way so I made a phone call and I was asked if I would like to be a sponsor. I can honestly say I am so grateful for all the weeks I have attended meetings as a companion to my new friend, Kate. I thank my God for the journey of which I became a part. I am grateful for all the people whom I encountered along the way the RCIA team members, candidates and sponsors, priests and religious Sisters, and other members of the church community, many of whom I had never spoken to before. Being with these people was so special, as week after week, the love, blessings and gifts of our God just flowed out from the moments of reflection and faith sharing. It is better to give than to receive and by contributing to the RCIA process I developed a warmth and appreciation of life in general. The meetings on Monday nights were special, prayerful, spiritual nourishment for those on this journey to join our church and also for my own faith journey. To meet someone new and offer to help out as a sponsor is a special opportunity. I.m sure God is glad that I wanted to hold Kate.s hand and walk with her for a while, showing her, and sharing with her, all the good things God has given me. It was a privilege to explain the importance of my faith and to develop a close friendship with Kate who was like a gift emerging as the weeks went by. As I couldn.t remember having been to an Easter Vigil before, I found the ceremony very uplifting and simply amazing! I was deeply moved to be up there beside Kate, probably as overwhelmed as she was, but giving her my support as she was received into the Catholic Church and then as she celebrated the Sacraments of Confirmation and First Eucharist. I love the quote from 1 Corinthians 13:13 which reads, As it is, these remain: faith, hope and love, the three of them; and the greatest of them is love. During the RCIA process I shared in all three of these gifts in my life and helped others to find them in their lives too, often in hidden places.
Damians Story
Damian's Story
Damians Story: Thanks be to God he brought me home Although baptised into the Anglican faith as a baby, my exposure to, and knowledge of, any religion was very limited up to age 22, when my life started to change for the better. At age 22 I met a girl who was a practising Catholic which surprisingly didnt really worry me. Although I always had a respect for religious beliefs, I never had any interest in religion myself. In the beginning of our relationship I never attended Mass and we rarely discussed religion. I had many misconceptions about what being a Christian meant, and thought life as a Catholic would be a bit restricting and boring. After spending some time with Joscelyn and her family I started to realise my thoughts and feelings about being a Catholic were changing as I found these Catholics were good people and great fun to be around, not at all leading the restricted or boring life I had imagined. Going to church with Joscelyn and her family for the first time was a decision I made for myself; I certainly had never expected to go. The experience was different and I felt awkward at times but it sparked an interest in me and so I started to do some exploring and went to Mass on other occasions. After my first experience of Mass I started having regular conversations about faith with Joscelyn and researched everything Catholic on the internet. I spent a lot of time reading about every topic I could think of concerning the Catholic Church and even bought and read a bible. Boy was that a hard book to tackle! By this stage I felt I had a reasonable understanding of the Catholic faith and was attending church more often. I also found that I was having little problem believing most of the things I was reading about and was always wanting to learn more. God was well and truly leading me home. On the way to work one morning I noticed a message board out the front of a church inviting people to Catholic Enquiry Evenings. I read this message every morning for maybe a couple of weeks and eventually it got the better of me so I mentioned it to Joscelyn. She didnt know much about it but was willing to go with me. I found the evening interesting and the people friendly. I remember having read about the RCIA on a Catholic website, but that night I learnt what the RCIA really was and what it involved. I had a feeling I would go through it at some point in my life but at this time I was just not ready to take that leap of faith. A couple of years later I married Joscelyn in the Catholic Church and by this stage I considered myself unofficially Catholic, attending Mass every week, praying and really enjoying my new found faith. One day my wife pointed out a notice in the bulletin advertising the RCIA Enquiry Evenings again and this time I knew I was ready for it. I started the RCIA process and went to all of the weekly meetings with Joscelyn and her parents. We all learnt a lot, even the life-long Catholics, and we made some great new friendships too. The RCIA journey helped me explore my faith further, introduced me to the local parish community through special ceremonies, helped me to interpret scripture readings and view beliefs in different or more open ways. The process was worthwhile and a good introduction to the Catholic faith It has been an enjoyable journey and I feel God has filled an empty part of my life. Thanks be to God -he brought me home! Damian Lambert St Johns Parish, Maitland
Article 2
Banyo-Nundah
SIX people celebrated full initiation into the Catholic Church in Banyo-Nundah parish at the Easter Vigil on April 23.One of them, David Ellis (pictured back right), the parish's member of the Elect, was Baptised, Confirmed and received Jesus' Body and Blood for the first time.Grayson Dowling (back left) had become a father just days earlier and his newborn, Matthew, was also present among other family members.The women - (from left) Jean Maree Pool, April Roth and Marguerite O'Shea - all celebrated Confirmation as did teenager Andrew Milazi.Each expressed joy after the celebration and a sense of true welcome.Their RCIA sessions were led by Banyo-Nundah parish priest Fr Paul Chandler.
Justins story
Justins story
Question 1: What first drew you to the Catholic faith and what was your previous experience of Christianity? My formative years as a Christian were within a Baptist church with a very strong emphasis on Scripture. The pastor of the church taught me the value of loving the Church of Christ; loving the Scriptures; and always being teachable and willing to change if so required by a faithful studying of the Scriptures. On this basis, a few theological shifts occurred in my thinking before becoming Catholic i.e. from Baptist to Reformed Baptist to Reformed Presbyterian to Anglican. Based on typical Protestant teachings, I had always thought that the Catholic Church was heretical and certainly not Christian. However, an Anglican priest first helped me to see that it was possible to call Catholics Christian and that I was probably unfairly biased against the Catholic Church. This aroused my curiosity enough for me to start asking what it was that Catholics ACTUALLY believed as opposed to what I THOUGHT they believed. One day, quite by chance, I came across an advertisement in the newspaper for the Catholic Enquiry Centre. I got in touch with the CEC and received a series of booklets which introduced the Catholic faith. I was quite pleased to find that much of what the booklets contained actually resonated with what I already believed; except for those teachings which are distinctively Catholic e.g. Eucharist, Mary, etc. Having been through significant theological changes, with no particular group having all the definitive answers (i.e. everything in the Scriptures basically became a matter of who was interpreting it) I started to see the wisdom of having an official teaching authority and it wasnt terribly long before I saw that the authority was there all along it was the Church; and the only Church which fit the bill was the Catholic Church since she has existed since she was founded by Christ, and the Gates of Hell have never prevailed against her. Question 2: Can you describe the process through which you were received into the Church? We joined the RCIA programme in our local parish in New Zealand. It wasnt completely helpful in the sense that it wasnt particularly strong on doctrinal emphasis. But this didnt phase me too much because I had already studied the Catholic position sufficiently to be convinced of the Churchs teachings. At this stage I was probably already halfway through the Catechism, and thoroughly enjoying it. Halfway through the process, we moved to Australia where we joined the RCIA programme at the Ocean Reef parish. The difference was like a breath of fresh air. It was far more structured and the teaching was solid. It was especially good for my wife because she was still grappling with a few issues which the NZ parish wasnt really addressing. We were received into the Catholic Church on the Easter Vigil of 2010. Question 3: How has your life changed since you became Catholic? Becoming Catholic has been the biggest step in faith that I have had to take...and it has also been the most rewarding. I now have a relationship with our Lord Jesus at a depth that I never experienced before as a Protestant. I have experienced Gods grace on a whole new level one that leads to sainthood if only we would embrace it. Looking back, I can see that I have become a better person by Gods grace. Question 4: Were there any significant people or events along your journey who supported, encouraged, or otherwise hindered your reception into the Church? Without a doubt, Our Lady has been the most influential person in my journey. When I started praying the Rosary, things become clear in a way that they werent before. My Baptist pastor and the Anglican priest (both mentioned above) had an influence in laying the foundations necessary for me to be open to the Catholic Church. One significant event I remember often walking past the Cathedral in Auckland and seeing people through a window praying before the Marian shrine. I used to think to myself that they were so superstitious. Then oneday, I decided to actually take a look inside the Cathedral, and I remember being overcome by the quiet reverence and beauty. At that point, I thought to myself Now I know why Catholics love their religion and why it is so hard for them to leave. It wasnt long before I decided to attend a lunch time Mass at the Cathedral. I was struck by the similarity to the Anglican liturgy; but also by the centrality of the Scriptures. There was also a reverence in the liturgy which appealed to me. I was particularly struck by the ordinariness of the people who would simply wander in...and then wander back out afterwards. Everything about it seemed to fit in so naturally with the ordinary course of life. The more I attended the lunch time Mass, the more I fell in love with it. I also became thoroughly convinced of the Presence of our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament and it wasnt much longer after this that I realised God was calling me home to His One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.
Sheryls Story
Marks Story
Wendys story
Trichelles Story
Damians Story
Article 2
Justins story
Page 2
Page 3
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