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My Vocation Prayer
“Why did God choose me in this vocation?” is what I have been thinking
throughout my years with the Priests of the Sacred Heart. “Certainly there
are people more fitting than I. The realization of being called in the religious vocation fills me with awe. I was, and am still, very humble
to have been called into this vocation.”
I arrived to the US in 1989 as a refugee. I was the one of the last of
my siblings to arrive in the country. However, it would be another
four
years before we would be reunited with my parents. I became a candidate with the SCJs in 1992, joining the San
Antonio formation community. After completing my undergraduate degree, I spent
a year in Mississippi working in the parish and school there.
As a student at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago (CTU), I ministered in a variety of places – an alternative school, a homeless
shelter, and a parish. Looking back, I believed that these experiences taught me to be more patient with myself and others, especially those
who come from very different backgrounds and whose outlooks on life are different than my own.
I graduated from CTU in March of 2000, and was subsequently
ordained into priesthood in November of the same year. Currently, I am an
associate pastor at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Houston. I enjoy my ministry with
the parishioners tremendously. I hope that through my interaction with them, I
can manifest God’s love and concern for them. Beside parochial ministry, I
have been elected to be a member of the Provincial Council for the next three years, and so to those who contemplate being a
religious: the ministry of leadership can be yours.
Reflecting specifically on my vocation as an SCJ religious, I have
always had a strong devotion to the Sacred Heart, and appreciate that the
SCJs offer a healthy balance and lifestyle between contemplation and ministry. Of course, to say “yes” to this religious calling is a heavy
responsibility. But, I also realize that I am not alone in this journey. I
am a part of something larger. I am a member of a worldwide religious congregation – Priests of the Sacred Heart.
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