Couple shares their journey to becoming Catholic

Akeem and Petal Jack will complete the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults on Glorious Saturday at the St John the Evangelist RC Church, Diego Martin.

The Catholic News asked the couple about their faith journey.

Akeem (34) and Petal (41) Jack

Q. How do you feel about your impending Baptism/initiation into the Catholic Church?

A. We feel excited. This shows our commitment to God and the Catholic faith, and it is just one hurdle in a beautiful journey to come.

Q. What was your previous spiritual life like? What religion did you belong to?

A. We belonged to the Pentecostal faith and for lack of a better word, we did everything “right”. We were baptised, went to church every Sunday, but it still felt like something was lacking.

Q. What attracted you/prompted you to join the Church?

A. I (Petal) grew up going to Catholic schools and Catholic church as my father’s family is Catholic. I had a connection with it. It was like coming back home. I invited Akeem to come learn and try to understand as he had no prior experience with the faith, and he did, and found his footing in RCIA class.

Q. Share a few challenges and joys of going through the programme?

A. For me (Akeem), most of the struggle came with understanding new concepts that I wasn’t exposed to before coming to this faith. But with the help in RCIA, I’m getting there. As for joys, we made some great friends that we hope to stay connected with beyond RCIA.

Q. What are you looking forward to when you are a member of the Catholic Church?

A. A sense of community by becoming active members, and a deeper and more meaningful connection with God.

Q. How do you plan to integrate yourself into the Catholic community and participate in parish life?

A. We plan to join church groups and give service to our parish and community anyway we can.