Testimonials

Glorifying, worshipping and praising were all foreign concepts for me, a 25- year old Catholic, until I was recently blessed with receiving the knowledge of God’s love for me. I was baptised as a baby and obtained a Catholic education throughout primary school, high school, and university. However, as I grew older, I became distant from the Church, very seldom attending mass (except for Christmas and Easter).

I decided to move abroad with the view of gaining a different experience and perspective of life. When I was not travelling, I worked and lived in London for two years in total. Whilst living there I developed a relationship and was not living out Christian values. In hindsight I can recognise that I was aware, even at that stage, that there was something missing in my life but I was unable to actually identify it. I was struggling to deal with some personal emotions such as guilt, self-conflict, and helplessness which stemmed from events occurring at that time.

I came back to Perth for what was meant to be a three -week holiday and was completely oblivious to the fact that God had other plans for my life. I went to an inner healing retreat with Fr. Varghese in Melbourne. A three- day retreat was not on my agenda and negotiation of two days was under strong consideration on my part, but it was God’s will (and maybe because of His Grace) that I stayed for the entire time.

On my return from Melbourne I broke my right ankle, requiring surgery and was unable to walk for over eight weeks. During this time my mother gave me many religious books to read, DVD’S to watch and stories to listen to. This gave me the opportunity to reflect on the big questions- How did we get here? What is our purpose? Where do we go when we die? My mother then encouraged me to attend a seminar series where I received the gift of the Holy Spirit through baptism of the Spirit. A week or so following this, I received the Eucharist at Mass. I experienced an overwhelming feeling of being brought home, being loved, and a feeling of worthiness that brought me to tears. Once my eyes were open to God, I felt strengthened, and after Fr. Varghese spoke and prayed with me, it became clear that I was to stay in Perth and end the relationship that I was in.

I can now identify what it was that I was missing. The void that I once felt has been filled with God’s all-powerful love. I am so thankful that I have people in my life, in particular, my mother, to support me on my journey.