Volunteer Spotlight: Lucia Watson
Written by Radio Maria England on 16/02/2021
Lucia Watson
Volunteer Spotlight: Lucia Watson
Why is your faith important to you? Was there a period in your life when faith became particularly important?
I find this question so hard to answer! Well, my faith has been in a constant state of evolution ever since I was born! I remember clearly the very simple prayers that I heard and memorised when I was a child, and although at the time I didn’t fully understand what they meant, they definitely helped me during difficult times. As a child, my life had quite a few downs, and was often quite unsettled – I regularly felt very out of sync with other children. And despite my lack of any real knowledge of the catechism, I knew and certainly felt that there was something deeply comforting in the recitation of those words, together with a real sense of communion contained within those lines of prayer.
Now, when I say that I didn’t really understand those prayers that I spoke or heard, I’m telling you the truth! I was taken to mass every Sunday at Our Lady and the English Martyrs in Cambridge, but to the Italian Mass! And although my Mother is Italian, it was never my mother tongue so I was of course unable to appreciate the true value of the Mass. But, despite this, I know now that Our Father speaks to us in many ways and words aren’t always needed!
Now I recognise that my act of worship and praying would have contributed to the growth of my family, the growth of my church family and the growth of my social family. I entered motherhood in 2002, and it was during my pregnancy that my faith took up a different importance, as I began to engage more intimately with my faith and relationship with God than the slightly more “call and response” approach of my younger years.
My faith has always remained very present, and it’s never not helped me to overcome every trial and every bump in the road – however there have certainly been developments in my church community which have led me to approach my faith differently. In other words, as people have entered and left my life, my faith has evolved alongside it. One example of this might be the introduction of Father Pat Cleary, who came into my life during my pregnancy with my third child. It was during this period that my husband set up his business and I gave up my job as a nursery nurse to assist him in building that up and care for our growing family. As I was taking my older two children to school, I would often take myself off to mass at St Laurences straight away afterwards, and it was here where I began to really develop a more intense thirst for a relationship with God and more awareness of my ultimate need for his hand over our lives. I became much more conscious of my need to reach out, to grab. And through the support of Father Pat and with some wonderful friends who God introduced into my life, I’ve been on a wonderful, powerful journey of faith.
What is your local Church and are you active in any of its groups?
St Laurence’s has been our parish since our children began to attend the school. I used to help organise a children’s mass with Father Pat when I had my third child. It was very simple and relaxed and came about at a time when there were quite a few toddlers in the parish. We always had a little feast together afterwards, it was a precious time. I’ve helped out with the children’s liturgy here and there over the years but when our family grew again and our fourth child came along it became more of a challenge to this regularly unfortunately.
What do you most enjoy about Church?
Many things! On Sundays I enjoy the community spirit, and I enjoy being a part of the mass – either through reading or through being a Eucharistic Minister. Having a job to do makes me feel useful! I like to be busy, and there is something satisfying in giving back to a community from which I’ve received so much. During the week, I feel differently when I attend mass, I enjoy the peace that comes with the simplicity of it’s structure – I’m able to hear more, concentrate more and take into my mind and heart every word and prayer. I can do this with little distraction so I suppose this is where I feel really, really close to Our Lord and focus on Him. Whilst I love the hustle and bustle of the 9:30 children’s mass, and the passion of the Ablaze mass, there is something so special in the sense of tranquility that can be obtained through quiet communion with the Lord in His own house. So I do try to pop into the church sometimes, even if I can only grab 10 minutes to have a pray, or a cry, or light a candle or just sit in peace! We’re encouraged to pray amongst the pots and pans, which I think is what Saint Theresa of Avila says, and pray without ceasing, and I do try to do this, but at the moment, as you can imagine, it’s a very, very busy household with everyone being at home all the time so it’s a bit difficult to obtain some quiet time between me and Him, but I do try!
Why are you involved with Radio Maria?
I heard about Radio Maria England through a lovely friend of mine, Maria Rosaria, who’s another volunteer. She invited me and my son to the first volunteers meeting – I initially came more out of an interest to see what stage the station was at in its development and if I could help in any way – my husband is a sign maker so I was aware that an organisation like Radio Maria would possibly benefit from my being there. But having left the meeting I was very excited to learn more. I wanted to be involved with Radio Maria because I recognised that there was such a need for a radio station like this – I know I certainly need it! I felt compelled to assist in its creation in any way. Myself and my family have all learned so much since becoming involved, and have been blessed in many, many special ways. I absolutely appreciate everyone who works so, so hard to maintain this wonderful organisation, and I would definitely encourage people to join the Radio Maria England team of volunteers to help build this up even more – you definitely won’t regret it!
I really would encourage people to listen, and I do, I mention it everywhere and to everyone! It’s not just for Catholics, it’s for the whole world, I’ve learned so much since becoming involved.
Interested in Volunteering? Email: Volunteers@RadioMariaEngland.uk
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Jacob On 24/02/2021 at 2:09 pm
Such a lovely lady❤️❤️❤️Lots of peace and love to her