Going to Mass helped Ivy Anderson and Jeremy Hauter find peace, and inspired their decision to become Catholics. Source: The Catholic Leader.
They are among 454 people in the Brisbane Archdiocese, almost twice as many as last year’s 241, who will be baptised this Easter.
For Ms Anderson, it’s been a year of finding faith.
She went to friends’ churches from different denominations, and while she enjoyed her time with friends, “something wasn’t really sitting right with me”, she said.
“I had been searching for a church; that was a slow process. I prayed for guidance and I asked God to lead me where he wanted me to go.”
Formerly agnostic, Ms Anderson and her mum embarked on a journey that would change them.
“We sat in for Mass one morning and I just felt an absolute reverence that I had never seen in a service before.
“So even though I didn’t know when to sit or stand or what to say, I really felt at home,” she said.
Over the next weeks, she started researching and was surprised to learn that everything she thought she knew about the Catholic faith was either completely wrong or completely opposite.
“I’ve really enjoyed discovering Catholicism layer by layer, and it seems to get more beautiful as the puzzle pieces fall into place.”
Sr Janette Marsh, who runs the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) group that Ms Anderson attends, was able to dispel the many myths about the faith.
Ms Anderson said that since she decided to embrace the faith, her father had noticed how it had changed her life.
“He asked if he could join me in coming to Mass and I got really teared up. I have a feeling that he’ll be doing RCIA next year,” she said.
On the other hand, it was a relationship breakdown that led Jeremy Hauter to a church.
The university student got to know the faith during a previous relationship with a Catholic.
“Exiting that relationship drew me closer because I felt called after that breakup to go straight to the church. And I felt at home since.”
Last year, after he went to Mass on his own for the first time, he left with a good feeling.
“Seeing the Eucharist for the first time properly and speaking to the sacristans before Mass – they’d shown a genuine interest in me and I felt welcomed,” Mr Hauter said.
“And I spoke to the priest afterwards and I just felt at home and especially after seeing the Eucharist for the first time.”
Brisbane Archbishop Shane Mackinlay welcomed 454 people to the Rite of Election at St Stephen’s Cathedral in February, almost twice as many as last year’s 241.
FULL STORY
Finding faith – Why young adults are choosing to become Catholic (By Kymberlee Gomes, The Catholic Leader)
