School: St. Joseph Seminary College
75376 River Road
St. Benedict, LA 70457
Background
I grew up in the city of Lawrenceville, GA. My parents, Jesus, and Maria Leticia Zambrano are immigrants from Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. I am the youngest out of five of my siblings. I have two older brothers and two older sisters who I love very much. Three of my siblings are married, and only two have children. I am a proud uncle of three nieces whom I like to consider as younger sisters. My dad has a restaurant that sells Tex-Mex food called “Monterrey” and has been open for about 20 years. It is a family-run business, so I was able to be with my family at work. Ever since my high school years, I worked as a host, I cashed people out, I took to-go orders, and I was a busboy, dishwasher, and waiter.
I received the sacrament of baptism at St.John Neumann. My home parish is St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Norcross, GA. I have always been there sincei in my mother’s womb. I have stayed in religious education at my parish from the second grade until my sophomore year of high school. Thanks to my sister and mother’s encouragement, I have served as an acolyte right after my first communion for about ten years. I have involved myself in other ministries such as lector, sacristan, extraordinary minister, and catechist.
What are your hobbies and interests?
I like to journal a lot, especially in the form of streaming my consciousness. I just dump whatever my brain holds onto my notebook and let myself be carried away. I like to read the lives of the saints and devotionals. I also tend to watch talks, documentaries, and movies on YouTube. I also love to sing, in a private setting, either by myself or with close people. I enjoy hanging out with friends, eating, and playing at arcades. I do have a slight interest in nature, specifically watching the sunset and sunrise, walking in the rain, and sleeping during thunderstorms.
What is one of your favorite scriptures?
One of my favorite scriptures is Luke 1: 38, “Be it done unto me, according to thy word.” Mary’s surrender to God inspires me as a man who struggles to surrender myself to Him. I tend to worry about situations, especially life decisions, with a great deal of worry and think I must figure them out myself. Still, looking back at Mary, I’m humbled knowing I need to become little and trust our Lord in everything.
What are your hobbies and interests?
I like to journal a lot, especially in the form of streaming my consciousness. I just dump whatever my brain holds onto my notebook and let myself be carried away. I like to read the lives of the saints and devotionals. I also tend to watch talks, documentaries, and movies on YouTube. I also love to sing, in a private setting, either by myself or with close people. I enjoy hanging out with friends, eating, and playing at arcades. I do have a slight interest in nature, specifically watching the sunset and sunrise, walking in the rain, and sleeping during thunderstorms.
What is one of your favorite scriptures?
One of my favorite scriptures is Luke 1: 38, “Be it done unto me, according to thy word.” Mary’s surrender to God inspires me as a man who struggles to surrender myself to Him. I tend to worry about situations, especially life decisions, with a great deal of worry and think I must figure them out myself. Still, looking back at Mary, I’m humbled knowing I need to become little and trust our Lord in everything.
Who is your favorite saint, and why?
Well, it’s hard for me since I have my top two, which are St.Therese of Lisieux and Blessed Carlo Acutis. I admire both saints since they’re saints of simplicity. They didn’t experience any mysticism or anything grandeur as some people might expect saints to undergo. They were simple humans who did simple things with great love. What I admire about St.Therese is her humility and simplicity and her strong passion for wanting to give herself to God at such a young age. I entrusted my vocation to her and ask for her intercession in helping me do God’s will in all things with great love. What I admire about Bl. Carlo Acutis is the way he lived a normal life with an extraordinary love for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. He played video games, cared for his friends at school, and through his example of living a saintly life by visiting the Blessed Sacrament daily, he converted his parents and brought the youth closer to the faith, with the hope that reaching sanctity is not impossible.
In a nutshell, what is your vocation story? How did you feel called to the priesthood?
I started seriously discerning the priesthood during the winter break of my senior year of High School. I didn’t have a concrete idea of what I wanted to do after high school, so I considered the priesthood. At the time, I was reading “Story of a Soul” by St.Therese, and I blindly fell in love with how she described Carmel; I looked up Carmelite orders in the U.S., and my interest fell upon the Carmelite monks of Wyoming. I kept in contact with the vocations director for a couple of months and visited the monastery over the summer for a four-day vocational retreat. After the retreat, I later discerned that the life of a Carmelite was not for me. Upon starting the 2021-2022 school year, I was invited to become a catechist at my home parish. I helped with the first communion, life teen, and confirmation classes within the school year. Appreciating my surroundings of the youth I was with and developing friendships with the people I worked with, my discernment process became easier to understand, and I could take the next few steps in my discernment. I attended a vocational retreat in January 2022 to further help my discernment process, and thankfully the fraternity, knowing that there are guys who are striving for sanctity in whatever God is calling them to, was of great joy and peace to me. Joy and fraternity are what draw me to serve and love God.
What is seminary life like for you?
Although the academics in the school are the most toiling part of life in the seminary, seminary life has been of immense joy for me, mainly regarding friendships and social life. The brothers are like close people that I enjoy being with. I love the community activities we do together, such as praying, eating, and studying. I’ve enjoyed discovering that the guys here are still guys and that I don’t have to worry much about comparisons or anything of that nature. Developing close friendships with a couple of brothers has been a good fruit here in the seminary, knowing that I have someone to go to in times of difficulty and Joy. The brothers have been so good to me that I gradually appreciate their love and hope to reciprocate it.
What do you look forward to about being a priest?
If I become a priest, God willing, I hope to be of as much service as possible. I want to grow in understanding of the people I’ll serve and I hope to grow as a human by increasing in maturity and virtue. And I hope that, as a priest, I’ll grow in courageousness in defending what is true by charitable means. I want to help souls, by being with them.
What advice do you have for other guys thinking about the priesthood?
Your discernment is unique, just as you are. Don’t worry about how you should form your path. Just follow along as God leads you. Experiment with your interest and dislikes. It will give a better discernment of what God is calling you to. Frequent the sacraments, especially holy communion and confession. Stay close to our Blessed Mother Mary and pray the rosary every day. Consult with a spiritual director so you can be well advised and counseled in your next steps. Lastly, do not be afraid. Fear itself isn’t bad, but it should not overrule your life. At the Annunciation, Mary herself was nervous and questioned God’s will for her, but placing full confidence in Him, she allowed herself to be guided by Him to the point where she fulfilled God’s will until the end.
