Search
Allowing God to Work in Me
-
June 4, 2024As I approach ordination to the service of God in His Church as a Deacon, I am filled with joy and peace. For several weeks, I have been reflecting on how God has been present in my life all these years, from my acceptance to the seminary through the Diocese of Corpus Christi to my approaching ordination as a transitional deacon. I have also just returned from a week-long spiritual retreat where I was able to pray, reflect, and sit in the silence of the mystery that is God and where He is leading me.
I started the retreat with some doubts and apprehensions that I could bring forward to the retreat leader, a holy and prayerful priest who spends his days praying and studying Theology and Scripture. As a result of this retreat, I was able to let go of my worries and dare to trust in God in this next stage of my life.
It is not by my efforts that I am here today but that I have allowed God to work in me. And there is no greater peace than knowing that I am following God. And if there is any excitement, it is reserved for Jesus, my love, who draws me closer to Himself each passing day.
This is in my heart now as I approach sacred ordination. It is the outburst of a seed that I believe was planted at my baptism but began to sprout in my first year in college at TAMU-Kingsville. At the Newman Center, I began to discern my vocation. The community is vibrant there, and they respond to each other’s needs in selfless service.
Despite their age and ailments, there are beautiful volunteers who are present for the college students to provide them with a warm meal and a kind smile, looking for nothing in return. These are the people who taught me service, love, and prayer. They created the environment for God to find me and speak to me in the silence of His love. It was here where I first heard the call to the priesthood. They were my second teachers in the faith after my parents.
My father taught me forgiveness, not only because he taught me how to go to Confession but also because there were many times he forgave me and times when I had to forgive him.
My mother taught me patience, kindness, gentleness, and compassion in her daily tasks of being my mother. I am grateful to God for them, and I look forward to seeing them smiling at me from the pews. They have supported me every step of the way.
At first, I wanted to be a pharmacist, and my parents supported me in that decision. When I finished my studies in Biology at TAMUK, I knew at that point I wanted to be a priest. My parents supported me and encouraged me. I began at Holy Trinity Seminary, where I studied philosophy for two years, earning enough credits to earn a philosophy degree at the University of Dallas. I am now enrolled at Assumption Seminary in San Antonio in conjunction with academics at the Oblate School of Theology. I will finish the preparation required to be a priest there the following year.
