CET colleagues take leap of faith together

By Catherine Sheehan

When Marisa Newman and Astrid Goss discovered they were both interested in becoming Catholic they decided to undertake the journey together, giving each other much-needed support along the way.

As colleagues at Catholic Education Tasmania (CET), they were in the perfect environment to find answers to their many questions, and encouragement to keep pursuing their journey towards the Catholic faith.

Both officially entered the Catholic Church, receiving the sacraments of Confession, Confirmation and First Holy Communion, in May this year.

“Faith is part of working for Catholic Education,” said Marisa, Project Manager with CET. “Everything I went to felt very inviting and I just asked a lot of questions.”

“I came in here one day and said to Astrid, ‘I’m thinking of becoming a Catholic’. And she was like, ‘Well, funny you should say that, I am too.’ And I was like, ‘Well, why don’t we start?’.”

Astrid, who is head of the CET’s ICT department, said they were both blessed to have received so much support from their colleagues at CET, in particular from Executive Director Dr Gerard Gaskin, and Martin Tobin, Director of Catholic Identity.

“We’re so lucky. Gerard and Martin have just been so supportive of us going through this journey,” she said.

As a child Marisa was baptised into the Uniting Church and although her family were not particularly religious she always believed in God.

About five years ago as she was walking past St Mary’s Cathedral in Hobart, Marisa felt a sudden curiosity about the sacrament of Confession. She asked a Catholic work colleague, Chris Ryan, if she could go to Confession. Mr Ryan, who is the current Executive Director of the Archdiocese of Hobart, also acted as Marisa’s sponsor when she received the sacrament of Confirmation.

At the time, he told Marisa she could attend Confession, but that only Catholics could receive absolution from the priest.

“I think I’d always wanted to know. For some reason, Confession seemed like a very curious process to me.”

When Marisa began working at CET she peppered her colleagues with questions about the Catholic faith.

“I just asked a lot of questions, ‘I don’t understand this. Why do you do the Sign of the Cross? How do you do it? Am I allowed to do it because I’m not a Catholic?’ I must have asked every question known to man because I didn’t know anything about Catholicism.”

When she discovered that Astrid was also interested in becoming Catholic, and that they both lived near Claremont, they approached Fr Suresh Sesusion, Parish Priest at the Claremont Parish, to inquire about receiving instruction in the faith.

As well as providing them with instruction, Fr Suresh also introduced them to the Sycamore online faith formation course that both found particularly helpful.

Marisa said her first Confession was the most moving part of the process of entering the Church.

“It was just one of the best experiences of my life.”

“I felt like I was talking to God probably for the first time… it felt good, really good. Of all the processes that we’ve been through and all the steps we’ve been through, that is by far the most moving for me.”

“I walked out of there feeling alive, happy… I felt uplifted.”

Astrid said she had a similar experience of attending Confession for the first time.

“I think I cried a lot, but I felt so connected, so loved… I just felt like I was being listened to and I had a place to go, and it felt really good.”

Although Astrid had been baptised in the Anglican faith, growing up she had attended Catholic schools—Immaculate Heart of Mary and St Mary’s College in Hobart. She learnt about the Catholic faith throughout her schooling yet she always felt there was a barrier between herself and her Catholic class mates.

She regrets that she was “never invited to become part of the process”.

“There were the Catholics and the non-Catholics. And you’re in the bucket of non-Catholics, and that’s just the way it is.”

Despite this, she always felt a strong connection to the Catholic faith.

“That’s what drew me to come work with Catholic Education when the role came up, giving back to the community, supporting my values.”

Having Marisa as her companion on the journey was significant she said.

“We gave each other the brave confidence to go into the unknown. And Fr Suresh made us feel so supported. No question was silly.”

Astrid describes the moment she received the sacrament of Confirmation as “amazing”.

“I just felt warm throughout my entire body. It was such an amazing experience. It’s hard to describe.”

Even though they are now officially members of the Catholic Church, both Marisa and Astrid say they are excited to keep learning about the faith and to keep asking questions.

Both expressed a sense of belonging and of being embraced by the Catholic community, particularly in their parish at Claremont.

“That is our parish and the people there are lovely,” Marisa said.

“And it just feels like home. I feel like I belong, totally.”