Lesley Pippet

I am 61 years young and happily married with seven children. I was born in London and one of four siblings. Dad was not active in his faith but always made sure that we got to Mass. Mum became a Catholic when she got married and was very anxious that we were supported; fortunately we got a lot of support from the excellent convent primary school nearby. Secondary education was in Manchester where the faith was more readily shared. I was always keen to be involved in parish life and in those days the youth groups were excellent, so all the social life evolved around these.

In the late 1960s I moved to Surrey and again found great support from the parish. I was active in fund-raising for missionaries in Southern India and as I worked for an airline I travelled a lot which enabled me to witness the Church in action – this has had a profound impact on me as Our Lord has shown me how blessed I am.

I was always keen to get married and prayed much about this – I met my husband, Anthony, through a Catholic social club and we married in 1980. We wanted a large family and as I was 34 years old we thought that we’d be fortunate to have three or four children. The Lord was bountiful and we had seven in seven years! (I knew Our Lord had a sense of humour.) We were living in North London so there was no family support nearby but the parish were wonderful in helping us. Our local convent helped with babysitting and parishioners popped in to lend a hand. I really made the parish my family and it has remained so.

Bringing up a large family has many joys and some sorrows but Jesus did not come to take away sorrow but to fill it with His presence and I can witness to this in so many ways.

We were involved in a prayer group and my faith grew through membership of it – I can witness to many occasions when the Holy Spirit has been working overtime, for example, making a purchase of a mini-bus possible by a contact that I made after witnessing a car accident. Obviously cash was short but we always knew that God would provide and He has.

We had booked a family holiday in Bournemouth in the 1990s and were all very excited, however three weeks before departure we had a phone call to say that the house we were hiring would not be available. This sent us into a panic so we phoned the prayer group in Bournemouth where we had friends and asked them to pray hard – the next day we had the confirmation that a house had been found with space for nine and at the same price. This was indeed a miracle as it was high season and Bournemouth was steaming with people.

As a parent the power of God’s healing touch has manifested itself in our family life. For example, when our children have been unwell my husband and I have got into the habit of praying for them and asking for healing. In these ways and others, I have seen first hand how Our Lord has called us to be His instruments for the good.

I have found daily prayer and Mass so life-giving. I also found belonging to a Bible study group wonderful – mine is ecumenical which I believe adds an additional dimension to the way that the Spirit is at work.

For the past seven years I have worked for the Catholic Enquiry Office helping people who are searching and this has been a great privilege. I know the greatest gift I have is my faith and I hope that I make this known to everyone that I meet.