Glenda shows it’s never too late to turn to the Lord

By Josh Low

70-year-old Huon Valley parishioner Glenda Weiss was one of four parishioners welcomed into the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil this year.

Baptised in the Anglican Church as an infant, Glenda explained that she was exposed to Christianity through her grandmother who took her to Protestant services in her early years.

However, after her passing when Glenda was 12 years old, her family drifted away from the practice of faith in everyday life.

Her remarkable journey to the Catholic faith began following her daughter Elke’s own return to the Church several years ago.

When Elke prepared for and received her Sacraments of Initiation in the Church, Glenda began attending with her.

As Elke prepared for her own return to the faith, Glenda had a health scare in late 2022 which left her crippled in hospital. It was there in the hospital when she felt that God was calling out to her.

“I feel that He just called me at the right time when I was in the hospital.

“More and more, I was going to church with Elke. Naturally, when she first received her sacraments, I was there. And I started to come more and more.

“Then I did the Alpha program which led me to where I am today.

She added that though her husband is an atheist, he had been supportive of her faith journey, while also noticing a change in her behaviour.

“Going back a while now, he noticed something was different. He’d say to me, ‘You okay? You just seem very calm.’

“I began to feel different after starting the Alpha program – like I’ve got a real inner peace.

“I can’t get enough now. It just engulfs you,” she said.

“There’s so much learning to be had, and at my age my memory’s not so great anymore which is sad. It’s a real regret that it took me to almost 70 to begin seeking God.”

Glenda said she chose St Helena as her confirmation saint as Helena herself came to the faith later in life, with her grandmother who took her to church as a child coincidentally sharing the same name.

Making her first Confession on the morning of Holy Saturday and receiving the Eucharist that same evening were moments she will never forget.

“Seventy years is a long time, and I had like four pages of stuff written down.

“It was a long one. But yeah, and coming out of there afterwards, and after I did my Penance, I felt like an absolute semi-trailer load of rubbish had been lifted off me,” she said.

“I had tears in my eyes while receiving Communion. Yeah. I was just so grateful, so thankful, so humbled. I just appreciated it so much.

“I would have to say that becoming Catholic is the best thing I’ve ever done in my whole life,” she said.