Buying his first car – and its personalised number plates – may have been the beginning of a truly life-changing choice.
Andrew Pratt
I became a Catholic during Easter 2012 at Sacred Heart Church, in Thornlie and since then have become more prayerful.
I now see things more from a Catholic perspective then I would have previously, like the Eucharist and Adoration.
I have always considered myself Christian. I was raised an Anglican and have as long as I can remember felt a connection to God and Jesus.
Mum and Dad dragged me to the church as a kid so some of it must have stuck.
I have been married for 24 years and my wife Annet and I have three children: Hayley (21), Michelle (20) and Jordan (17).
My prayers are for my family and my work as a public servant.
During various points in my life I have felt God’s influence over me and have found a greater focus on my faith during major life events like funerals, weddings and baptisms.
When I was about 18 or 19 (a young bloke about to buy his first car) I wanted to rush out and buy a panel van.
I wanted to be a bit of a hoon and panel vans were cool cars to buy in those days.
I went to look at this car and it had personalised number plates that said, “ROM 10 9” The guys that were selling it to me were Christians and they wanted to make sure that I had these plates and knew what Romans 10:9 was.
The Bible passage reads, “If you declare with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
It sowed the seeds and has stuck with me for a long time. That was one of the moments in my life where I could feel the presence of God around. My conversion probably started then.
As a young adult, I had a brief association with one of the evangelical Christian churches called the Church of Christ whose exuberance and obvious enthusiasm were attractive to me.
Around the same time, I met my wife Annet (now my sponsor) who is Catholic and we began attending church together.
My mother-in-law attends Mass a few times a week as well as on Sundays and prays the Rosary every night.
The whole clan is more than just Easter and Christmas Catholics. I began to notice strength of faith and commitment to God and the Church from my wife, her family members and other Catholics that drew me closer to my own faith.
Whilst the enthusiasm of the Church wasn’t as obvious as the evangelical church it is still there with a depth of strength and faith that really stands out.
I found the RCIA journey a very enriching experience.
The process was contemplative and spiritually focused. Whilst at times it was challenging to express my thoughts and feelings, the sharing was uplifting.
The RCIA team’s dedication and input has been outstanding and I will always be grateful to them for helping me on my journey.
Also, the welcome feeling I have received from the members of the Church who have said a quick word, given a nod or smile has been really appreciated.
I pray for a variety of things like whatever might be troubling me that particular day or week. I ask God for guidance.
I also try not to pray to God for only things I want to ask him for but also to thank him for the things I’ve been blessed with.
I feel that I have had a fair bit of luck in my life. The kids are great and the missus is great so I thank God for that.
It is a pretty secular world at the moment and you can get caught up in lots of rubbish.
Now that I am Catholic I tend to speak out more on issues that might get raised up in the office.
Some things may not be particularly pleasant like bullying and I will say, “Hang on; I don’t think that’s right.”
I have asked God to give me the strength to deal with these situations. Now I have become a union delegate because I think someone has to stand up and be a voice for others.
I think that is because I have been praying about it. It must have been.
My conversion has been more of a slow burn. I guess that comes from going to church for 20 years. There have been ‘A-ha’ moments in my life when I have encountered God at work, like the time when my grandmother in Brisbane telephoned me.
We were in Perth so we weren’t in regular communication although we would call for Christmases and stuff. A week before she passed away, she accidentally rang my phone number.
Without knowing it at the time, it was a “goodbye” conversation. When she did pass, there was closure for me because I felt like we had said our goodbyes.
Another time I had a colleague who was depressed and rang me to ask me to pray for him. It’s a big office and he was more like an acquaintance but he chose me.
There are not too many Catholics in my office but I told them I was becoming Catholic at Easter. Who knows? I might be sowing some seeds for later down the line. Some people have asked me a bit more about my faith.
I still think I am fairly inexperienced in my journey to answer their questions but just a little bit of enthusiasm and preparedness to talk about it helps.
Whilst it has taken a while for me to get off the fence and become Catholic, I have always felt welcome in the Church and I believe it was ultimately God’s plan for me to make my commitment.
Now I have a sense of love and peace as well as respect. It is a sense of being, belonging and purpose.