He taught me to always seek and speak the truth and to always be discerning and not just take things at face value. I knew that if I ever had a question about anything, he was the one to go to. More often than not he would always direct me to where I could best find the answer. Just giving me the answer was the easy way out. Back then his options were encyclopedias, other reference books, the Bible or just answer it himself if there truly was no other way to find the answer. I wonder what he must think of Google. I got my love of reading from him, along with cricket, British drama and humour and aiming high. Unfortunately, dad passed away when he was only 49. I miss him terribly.
Dad and I shared many great moments.
Dad was not was not always a Catholic. He was baptised at the Burwood Methodist Church (the building is now a Greek Orthodox church) as an infant. His father married an Anglican woman whose own father was the verger at St Thomas’ Anglican church in Enfield. Surrounded by people of faith he certainly got his fill of faith education.
Unfortunately, when he was 14 and his father died, he had to leave school to work to help support the family. A few years later his mother remarried a widow who just happened to be Catholic. This, however, was not what caused him to convert to Catholicism. His journey started one day when he was around 17. He was walking in the city near St Mary’s Cathedral when he felt that he should venture in. He was met by a priest who sat with him for some time and they talked. A lot of what was spoken about I am not sure, but I know it was a significant turn for him with his faith, which he had been struggling with since the death of his father. He talked about this moment many times. He then began to explore the Catholic faith which saw him attending YCW meetings. A few years after his chance meeting in the Cathedral, the family moved to Gunnedah. Not long after that he went to a YCW Ball where he met my mother Leonie. She was the catalyst that concreted my father’s decision to become a Catholic.
Mum and Dad at a YCW ball in the late 60s.