CHRISTAL CHONG
I joined the RCIA session in August 2022. It was a wonderful experience at the RCIA session. The facilitators were very kind and helpful and genuinely tried to guide us in our faith. I am also blessed to have made some good friends on my RCIA journey. We studied God, the Trinity, the life of Jesus Christ and the teachings of the Catholic Church. I always looked forward to the sessions because I wanted to discover more about God’s love.
During the session, I developed a closer and more meaningful relationship with God. I learned to be more loving, patient, understanding and selfless, just as our Lord Jesus Christ teaches us to do.
After receiving the Sacrament of Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Eucharist, I felt an immense joy in my heart. My life has been renewed by the love of God. From there, I strive to be a better person in life and glorify the Lord by giving hope to others and being compassionate. Moreover, I also want to continue to experience God’s love and grow stronger in my faith. Indeed. becoming a Catholic is the best decision of my life and I have no regrets because we walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).
RACHAEL FUNG
When I came to RCIA, I was shy and nervous that I’m a baptized person who doesn’t actually go to church. I feel like I can’t continue my journey with God and take a different path. Through many sessions and sharing, I realized that even if you go down the wrong path, you still have time to forgive yourself to God and go back where to you started. I also thank my teacher for asking me that it is a sin not to continue the journey with God and I asked my mother to go to church together. My mother felt guilty at first for not really participating the good news with my brothers and I, but joining the RCIA community has really helped us receive our faith. During Easter Vigil, I received my Sacrament 1st Holy Communion and Confirmation, the cheering of the crowd and the joyful ringing of the bells make me very happy that I am finally going back to where I was before. I am really grateful that God called me to see where I am right now.
BRUNO LEX WONG
After my baptism, I realized that this was just the beginning of a new journey. It’s like a piece of trash paper being recycled into a new A4 paper. Although it looks new, the scars and creases are still there. I am grateful to all facilitators, aka sensei, for giving their time to guide, teach, advise, and make us megastars. I want to thank to all my brothers and sisters for their commitment. In the end, being a Catholic is all about love.
RONAN FUNG
Before I go to RCIA, I’m the kind of person who just stays at home and doesn’t know the existence of God. I always face problems what I think of my own ability. Knowing God is like meeting a new friend in life. In the community of RCIA, I meet different people who also have difficulties and are learning perhaps, also on a journey together to get to know God. May God have His way to take our destiny in hand to learn more about His way.
GERALDINE CHIONG FUANG LING
Before joining the RCIA session, I was a Mormon who was baptized at the age of nine. Back then, I used to think that going to church every Sunday is compulsory just because my mother, who is a Mormon until today, brought me there to learn about Christianity. I was so young that I could not fully understand the importance of reading the Bible. During my high school years, I knew that being a Catholic is not easy because many rules have to be followed and we have to fully commit to it for the rest of our lives.
I stopped going to church before I started my academic years at the university. There was a year that I have gone through a lot of things physically and mentally alone, mainly including those university friends that I met and the relationship with my previous partner. I started losing those friends when I was with my previous partner, who made me very emotionally unstable in that same year. I almost lost hope and I started praying in silence, until my current partner, who is willing to accept my past, appeared after what I have gone through. I still remember how good things happened back then and that is how I started regaining my religious beliefs.
After a year of being with my current partner, he brought me to the Catholic church. It looks so different compared to the Mormon church services. From that moment, I was in disbelief that I could feel spiritually for the first time. I feel more peaceful every time I pray in front of the crucifix. Because of this, I decided to start my RCIA journey together with some new friends that I met and join the RCIA lessons to seek guidance and strengthen my Catholic faith. I looked forward to the lessons every week and was fascinated by how many people were on the same path as mine. After joining the RCIA session, my partner and I can experience the church mass together and talk about things on a deeper level. I feel blessed to be part of the RCIA family, and I am very thankful to the RCIA facilitators for being there with me and the other members throughout these 8 months of a spiritual journey.
RUSSELL FUNG
When I first came here, my mother forced me to do it. But after a few sessions, I began to get interested in learning about God. I have no regrets staying in the RCIA community. Before I was baptized, I was nervous and not sure if I was ready. But after thinking about it, I knew I was ready. After my baptism, I felt joy and happiness. Before I came here, I was always very reckless and didn’t think twice about my decision. Now I always think about the consequences before making my decisions and I used to have low confidence when I was reaching out to others and now I feel like I’m more open to others and speaking to others with more confidence can. Finally, I thank all my RCIA facilitators who have accompanied me on my journey. I am also grateful to my family and RCIA members for their support. Most importantly, I am very thankful to God for guiding me on my journey here and always there.
GRACE C. MARTINEZ
Since I believe in the existence of God and did not do any bad things, I thought I’m in the right way. However at times I feel there is a void and that there is something missing in my life. I am confused and at lost and I don’t really know what I am searching for.
My husband is practising Catholic and a true believer. He shared a lot of Catholicism to me. While going into the process of getting our marriage bless, I discover that I need to be baptised as a Catholic. That is when I was told to enrol into a RCIA class. In the beginning, I was not really keen to attend RCIA considering my tight schedule, imagine having to spend 3 hours of every session.
I found out later that I was not alone in this journey. There are also other people like me who are searching for something, to be saved by JESUS. I was inspired and motivated to know more about the Lord after listening to the sharing given by the facilitator’s. It was a relief for me to learn and the knowledge that has been planted in me about Christ makes me want to know more. I realised that my tight schedule was not a problem anymore. I knew then that this is the piece that was missing in my life. I want Jesus to save me whom I only knew as God but was not aware of the enormous troubled, He has to go through in order to save me from death due to my sins which I don’t deserve it.
I learn new things in RCIA on how to pray and read the Bible and how the word of God affected my daily life. I learn how to be patient. Now I understand my life is entwined with God and has purpose, to dedicate and serve and do his will. He is the only one true God, saviour that my soul can find full joy, peace and love which I hunger and thirst for. He is my lord and my God Jesus Christ.