Hope Sinclair from Motherwell is being received into the Church this Easter.
What interested you in becoming Catholic?
I’ve always been interested in the Catholic Church. Even from childhood seeing other little girls in communion dresses and wondering why I wasn’t doing that too. I started attending Mass with my now fiance Fraser and his family about four and a half years ago and loved the hymns and the feeling of the community and hearing the Gospel and how the priest would break it down for us in his homily. I liked trying to figure out what might be in the homily that week and how the priest would interpret it. Most difficult to explain is the fresh, inspired, happy feeling I would get during and after Mass. Eventually, that interest led to conversations about RCIA and here we are!
How did your friends and family react to the idea?
No one seemed to know what RCIA was until I broke it down and explained what it meant, but everyone was supportive. Especially my parents who aren’t particularly religious but who listen attentively every week when I come home talking about what I’ve learned at RCIA and all the connections I’ve made along the way.
What is the most surprising thing you learned in RCIA?
It would probably be my first week at RCIA when Fr Owen Ness told us about the creation story and Adam and Eve and that in fact there was no apple or apple tree as I had always pictured in my mind. I was gobsmacked when he explained the meaning behind the story and the tree of knowledge. I spoke about it for days afterward to anyone that would listen. It makes me laugh now to think about it.
Why does Catholicism feel right for you?
It just fits. It fits with my morals and values and relationships perfectly. Through RCIA and weekly Mass, I’ve felt comforted and overjoyed and at times overwhelmed by how it all just makes sense in relation to my life and my experiences. It feels right because it is right.