CATHOLICISM is a long way from Buddhism. For Goulburn’s newest priest, the leap from Laksa and chilli to meat and three veg is just as great.
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The good news is that Fr Michael Lim can whip up dishes that tantalise tastebuds in his native Singapore.
His journey to Catholicism and a vast country parish has been a greater learning experience. Fr Lim is Mary Queen of Apostles Parish latest assistant priest, arriving from Canberra after his ordination seven weeks ago.
He replaced Fr Sunil Kadaparambil, who went to Canberra.
The priesthood was furthest from his mind growing up in a Buddhist family. The closest thing to Christianity was his Baptist girlfriend.
His moment of conversion came at age 35, when his family was seeking a cure to his sister’s debilitating rheumatoid arthritis. Unable to walk without crutches, she also suffered from medication side effects and a cyst in the womb. A family friend took them to a Catholic healing service.
As Fr Lim told the Catholic Weekly, he was sceptical.
“It was a charismatic service with people waving their arms or placing their hands on others’ shoulders to pray. I thought it was ridiculous,” he said.
He threw out a challenge to God - ‘make my sister walk and I’ll believe.’ After the priest and family had prayed for her, she stood up, walked and then ran. From that point, Michael Lim embraced Catholicism.
Three years later he entered Singapore’s St Frances Xavier seminary to study for the priesthood.
“In life you are always searching for meaning...and I’d been searching for a long time,” he told the Post.
“I was relatively comfortable as a Buddhist. When you look for meaning you question why things like war happen. Until that moment I hadn’t realised God is real and alive and that experience made me see all those questions were not necessary.”
All of his family were Buddhist but have since converted to Catholicism. Many of them attended his ordination at St Christopher’s Cathedral, Manuka on March 25.
Since his arriving from Singapore in 2009, Fr Lim has served at St Christopher’s, Batemans Bay, West Wyalong and Page in the ACT.
For the full story, please see the print edition of Wednesday's Goulburn Post.
