A Spark Rekindled
A Zapotecan young man reflects on the path of his vocation.
I am a Zapotecan. Thanks to my ancestors, my family, and my community, I have been fortunate to preserve the customs, traditions, and language of my pre-Columbian Aztec-Zapotecan culture.
When I was 12, I was curious about what being a priest and serving the community might mean. My godfather is a priest, and that’s probably where my curiosity came from. I forgot it for a while until I met a new messenger along the way.
I had emigrated to the U.S. and was working near Stockton, California, when I met the vocations director for the Sacred Heart Missionaries. This rekindled the flame I had known as a child. After participating in a retreat for vocational discernment I found and reaffirmed the call to respond with a simple, generous yes to the companion along the way, Jesus the Lord.
This path has not been easy, because pursuing my vocation means having to make many adjustments to a culture in which so many things are unfamiliar. But when you listen, God begins to work in you. I had to put my fears and doubts aside and made the decision to follow.
I trust that Jesus will guide me in the concrete situations of my life. I see my life in a different light now. I am about to return to the university and to continue along the long and difficult path ahead. With the support and accompaniment of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart I will continue this process of formation with perseverance until I reach the goal.
Your turn:
- Did you ever feel the call as a child but then put it aside?
- Is it now coming back?
- What are your fears and concerns?
