At Pregnancy Assistance, where I work as coordinator, our principal objective is to provide relief of poverty, suffering, distress, misfortune, destitution or helplessness for pregnant women of all sections of the public, regardless of race, colour or creed.
We offer free crisis support in the area of confidential counselling and practical assistance. We are based at 195 Lord St, East Perth, and can be contacted on 9328 2929.
Wherever I am, I have a running conversation with God. Simply practicing his presence in my day-to-day life helps me to be grateful and serve others joyfully in all situations.
Br Lawrence of the Resurrection (c. 1614-1691) wrote: “The most holy and necessary practice in our spiritual life is the presence of God. That means finding constant pleasure in his divine company”.
I could be more disciplined at structured prayer, but I am grateful for the treasure of the Divine Office.
In challenging moments of my life, I take comfort in the rhythm of the Catholic Church and know that structured prayer is a gift that keeps my perspective on heaven.
The strongest influence on my faith has been my nonna, Severina Carniel, who immigrated to Australia after World War II.
Being over 30 when she arrived, she struggled to learn English. With my broken Italian and her broken English we had our very own method of communicating to each other.
What stood out to me about my nonna was her great love for me. She always accepted me for who I am. She prayed consistently but never forced me to.
She told me stories and showed me pictures of her favourite saints, Don Bosco and Leopold Mandic, whom she had received confession from.
I always found a relic she had sewn into the inner hem of my school uniform.
These paintings and relics were a mystery to me when I was a child, but came to be full of life and substance once I became an adult and began to research.
Because they meant so much to her, it made me curious to know why.
When I fell pregnant in less than perfect circumstances I was in despair, feeling scared, alone, humiliated and a failure.
I remember my nonna simply sitting with me, her hand on my shoulder.
She stayed with me as I cried and simply reassured me that everything would be OK. “Jesus loves you,” she said.
Now my faith means everything to me. Without the gift of faith I would be stumbling my way in darkness.
The light of faith is the answer that brings God’s plan and purpose into my life. No matter what situations I encounter in my life, I know that God is with me and has everything in hand.
I had a truly strong conversion that brought me back to the Catholic Church in 2004. I went to listen to a catechesis given by the Neocatechumenal Way in my local parish and it was through this that I discovered the love of God for me.
Since then, I have come to see that all of the experiences of my life have influenced my faith because God has been there like a cartographer drawing the map perfect for the plans he has for me.
My faith continues to grow as I discover how God has acted in my history. To see that the parts of my life I considered to be mistakes have been his greatest works; happy faults.
This gift of faith continually helps me to live in the joy of Christ, in the resurrection.
Life is full of ups and downs yet God’s presence and promise of happiness calls me to keep persevering, to never give up, and to be at peace.
One of my role models in the Catholic Church is Pope Francis. I am so excited and encouraged by our Pope.
I am very inspired by Evangelii Gaudium and this joy that comes from being truly Christian and sharing the Gospel.
A young woman in need came to visit us at Pregnancy Assistance recently. We listened to her, she had suffered a lot and her baby had also been very unwell from birth.
As we spoke words of hope to this woman, it came up in conversation that she had received a Facebook message from Pope Francis.
Initially, she thought it to be a joke. She said it was a simple message stating that he had felt compelled to write a letter to her believing she was going through some suffering at this time.
He reassured her that God loves her and asked if there was anything specific he could pray for her.
The young woman wrote back to Pope Francis and asked him to pray for her baby who had been hospitalised since birth.
Pope Francis responded that he would pray. A few days later, her baby’s health and mobility had increased so much that he was being released from hospital and could go home.
The young woman was so unprepared for this that she had no baby furniture or goods ready, and that is why she came to us for some assistance.
We told her that she had certainly come to the right place. We loaded her up with baby goods and walked her past the onsite chapel and the beautiful big picture of Pope Francis that was not by chance waiting to say hello to her.
The greatest challenge facing Catholics today is to really live with the spirit of Christ, loving others the way Christ loves us.
It’s beautiful to know that God is always calling me to come closer in dialogue and I know that I am never alone.