My life took a 180-degree turn

I was a Pentecostal for many years and I never in my wildest dreams thought I would ever become Catholic, but God knew differently. Being married to a Catholic woman brought me to a critical juncture in my spiritual life and the decision to convert was not an easy one.

The Catholic Faith was a sore topic for me, primarily because of the distorted information that was fed to me from a tender age regarding the “praying to Mary Mother”. Due to this false information I developed a strong dislike for the religion and swore never to become a part of it. This definitely changed when I experienced the presence of the Holy Spirit at a Catholic retreat, some seven years ago. The gift of speaking in tongues soon followed and my hunger for Jesus intensified. I felt as if my life took a 180 degree turn in terms of my faith in God and I wanted to know and experience more of him.

It was these experiences that led me to make a promise which materialised on April 23, 2011. That was a day I will remember for the rest of my life — the day I finally fulfilled a promise I made to my wife and her Catholic family some three years ago — to become a Catholic. A feeling of completeness and deep joy overwhelmed me when the “disciple of God” — Fr Francis — consecrated me with Holy Baptism. This brought me to the high point in my spiritual journey when I could finally say to the world that I am proud to be a Catholic and I can now partake of the Body and Blood of Christ. It is a feeling I cannot explain. – Sheldon Ramharack, Mary Immaculate Queen of the Universe, Bourg Mulatresse