Two nights ago I embarked on a new journey towards becoming a Catholic eventually. I joined the RCIA group at my church. RCIA is short for 'Rites of Christian Initiation for Adults'. It is an introductory and exploratory discourse for adults who are interested in understanding or becoming a member of the Catholic faith.
The priest at my church is Father Philip. He, like me, came from Malaysia. Half of the ten or so new faith seekers were also from Malaysia. This observation alone should confirm that Malaysia is losing a great number of its people. Many of these leavers are unsurprisingly finding their new home in Australia.
So the conversation last night was all about Malaysia, from politics to food to culture. You could be forgiven for thinking that the session was held in Johor Bahru. The few caucasian Australians were the clear minority. Due to the sheer number of Asians, especially Malaysians, living in Perth, many Australians are well disposed to the culture and information about Asian countries. So the common topics of Asian food, Anwar Ibrahim, Mahathir etc featured prominently in conversations without anyone feeling out of place. Well, I did say that I love Australia. The people here are so adaptable to new cultures, so long as they do not conflict with their core beliefs.
As an outside member of the Catholic faith, I might have more freedom to ask a few questions. I look forward to the weeks ahead when we explore some of the touchy subjects.
I will record my thoughts and discoveries here from time to time.
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