The Sydney Centre for Evangelisation is shining a spotlight on Catholics who have incredible, inspiring stories of faith through its “Disciple Diaries” initiative. Source: The Catholic Weekly.
Sydney Centre for Evangelisation director Daniel Ang said the purpose behind the Disciple Diaries, which will see Catholics share their journey of faith in The Catholic Weekly.
“As Archbishop Anthony [Fisher]’s vision for our parishes comes to life through Go Make Disciples, it is vital to share the stories of discipleship that are emerging, a fruit of the Holy Spirit who draws people to truth and love of Christ,” Mr Ang said.
“It can be hard to embark on a journey of faith and holiness if you have never heard anyone else talk about it, if Catholics don’t share the impact of conversion on their life and on those around them.
“So that’s one of the hopes of this new series for 2024 — to break the silence around God’s action in people’s lives and bring the personal stories of faith and conversion taking place here in Sydney into the light.”
The first Disciple Diary story is that of Careena Craven, a 51-year-old mother of two, who grew up in a household “with no faith at all”.
“There was no church, no Christmas, no Easter,” she recalls.
In her early 20s, she met her husband, Danny, a practising Catholic. As their relationship deepened, she felt the pull towards her husband’s Church. For the next few decades Ms Craven watched as a faithful observer, but one on the sidelines.
It all changed in 2020, when she listened to the “Bible in a Year” podcast. Suddenly, “the Bible came alive. And I wanted in.”
Fortuitously, Ms Craven found the perfect “in”, through the Sydney Archdiocese’s RCIA course — the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults.
The culmination of this formation finally saw her enter the Catholic Church at the age of 50.
“Magical isn’t the right word to describe that day. It was pure sacred wonder!” she said.
FULL STORY
Disciple Diaries: Careena’s five-decade journey to the Catholic faith (By Darren Ally, The Catholic Weekly)
