School: St. Joseph Seminary College
75376 River Road
St. Benedict, LA 70457
Background
I grew up in Kennesaw Georgia mostly, besides my younger sister who was born in Mississippi because of my dad’s work. Yet we moved back to Georgia early on, and both my sister and I started school in Georgia. My mom and dad are both Costa Rican, they moved to the States in 2002. They planned to work for a while and go back but God had other plans. Besides my family of four and my lovely dog, the rest of my family is in Costa Rica. My sister and I try to go at least once a year to visit the family.
What are your favorite hobbies and interests?
One of my hobbies that I used to do a lot is playing FIFA, which is a game that I play but I don’t have the time to play it often. Now in seminary, it’s going to be much harder to play since I want to focus on school and building fraternity with the guys that later will become my brothers. Playing soccer is also a hobby that I want to return to since I haven’t played organized soccer in a while. One of the interests that I have is F1 which I start to watch during the Covid lockdown.
What is one of your favorite scriptures?
One of my favorite scriptures is Matthew 4:18-22. The reason why this scripture is one of my favorites is that honestly, I like it a lot. As a child, I heard this verse in church and every year we get to hear it and I always remembered it. Now in seminary, the verse on how Jesus calls the first disciples, touches me more, because I decided to listen and accept his desire. Just as Jesus told Peter and Andrew, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” they left to follow him. I too want to become fishers of men.
Who is your favorite saint and why?
My favorite saint is the one I chose for confirmation, St. Joseph of Cupertino. He is the patron of examination and air travelers, The reason why I chose him was because I needed help in school. There was this one day that I needed help on a test, I do study a lot, but I was just so anxious that day, That I was worried I wasn’t going to pass. So, one of my friends showed me a prayer, which was called “Prayer to St. Joseph of Cupertino for Success in Examination.” This prayer was my introduction to St. Joseph of Cupertino. After the test, I ended up passing, and I was surprised that he listened. I’m very grateful for having St. Joseph of Cupertino as my confirmation Saint.
In a nutshell, what is your vocation story? How did you feel called to the priesthood?
I started Discernment 2 years ago (as of 2023), by going to the discernment masses that Fr. Rey had started. During the days of the December 26-26 winter retreat I felt something. There was a good group of guys and seminarians as well. During the end of the retreat, I finally fixed the issues I had going on at that time. Which was that I wasn’t really happy with religion, I was happy with school and work, but my spiritual life was missing something. That retreat brought me the happiness that I was missing, that one piece of me that was missing. After my return I talked to Fr. Rey a couple of times and in March during my spring break from college I started my application and then in May, I was accepted. I feel happy with the decision I took and now I am following God and seeing where he takes me next, either to priesthood or he has other plans in mind, but I am grateful in the place I am now.
What is seminary life like for you?
I am new to Seminary, and as of today that I am writing this, we haven’t done too much, yet I am looking forward to it. With the bit of time that I have been here, I can say that the place is wonderful. It’s very peaceful here and I’m enjoying the time here so far. I’m currently meeting new people, and starting to build friendships, but in reality, I’m building brotherhood with them. I have enjoyed praying together and eating together as well.
What do you look forward to about being a priest?
What I look forward to about being a priest is mainly working with people and the community. One thing that I am passionate about and God willing it happens in the future is that I want to unite communities. I understand that there are different cultural, and political aspects in different communities, yet we all have one thing in common, which is to have Jesus as the center of our life. I want in whatever parish I serve in to at least try in some way to build unity with the different communities the parish. The other thing that I am looking forward to is having the opportunity of giving others the sacraments and celebrating special moments with the people.
What advice do you have for other guys thinking about the priesthood?
The advice I have for guys who are considering priesthood is to first talk to your vocation director and try to build good comminution with him. The second piece of advice is to go to adoration as much as you can and pray about it, for 30 or 20 minutes or an hour or two. However, much time you can give to our Lord and make sure to give some time to silence which is key because this would be the time for you to listen to him. I strongly recommend this. Another thing is that if you have the idea or thought of becoming a priest, don’t keep it to yourself, it’s hard to do everything by yourself. Like I said, talk to your director, it could be Fr. Rey or maybe you’re from where else besides Atlanta, but do reach out.
