Formation Stage

Configuration Stage III

Home Parish

St. Polycarp, Stanton

Seminary

St. John’s Seminary

Favorite Saint(s)

St Francis of Assisi St Ignatius of Loyola St Therese of Lisiuex St John Bosco

Favorite Marian Apparition(s)

Our Lady of Guadalupe

Favorite Book or Movie

The Lord of the Rings. Hacksaw Ridge

Favorite Hobby

Triathlons, chess, and reading

Background

What are some of the factors that led to your decision to enter the seminary and discern the question of a vocation to the priesthood?

I went on a retreat called Congreso de Jóvenes in LA and I felt the call at 15 years old. Honestly I didn’t want to think about it because I was afraid it might come true. Kept it a secret in high school but it was always in the back of my mind and in my heart. I would look up YouTube videos of what priests did and even went on a few discernment retreats but I was not fully on board. I knew that I wanted to give God everything but the priesthood was tough to accept. I give thanks to God for being persistent with me.

Who are some of the people who influenced your decision to enter the seminary? What is it about them that assisted you?

Monsignor Stephen helped me in my discernment. He was living at the parish and I would meet him for spiritual direction. Fr Aristotle also helped me out too, he was a seminarian at the time but I had some deep conversations with him when he was at St Irenaeus for his pastoral year. Finally, Fr Ian Gaston was the first seminarian I met and he was a brother to me from the beginning.

Describe the moment that you knew you wanted to take the next steps to become a priest?

There were two moments that had a big impact. First was during my senior year of high school I decided to go to daily mass for lent. This filled me with so much grace and I felt strong in the Lord. The second was when I went on a mission trip to Peru in my first year of college. I didn’t necessarily even want to go on this mission but it was probably one of the greatest blessings in my life. We were with some very poor families in Lima, Peru. One of the kids from the slums gave me a hug and for some reason that I can’t explain I felt overwhelmed by the love of God the Father. In that moment I knew that I was loved by God and that I was willing to do anything for Him.