“You have seduced me, Lord, and I let myself be seduced” Jeremiah 20:7

I remember perfectly a prayer in the chapel of the Legionaries of Christ seminary in Rome, I was 14 years old, kneeling in the chapel and I said to Jesus: “Lord, maybe one day I will also be here like one of them.” At that moment it was a shock for me, something unexpected. I had been in a deep adolescent crisis for over two years, since I had entered secondary school. I didn’t really know what I wanted… I was seeking success and to be the first, and also to have fun, and often these ambitions centered on myself left me quite disappointed and empty. This trip to Rome was transformative for me because I found Christ alive and close. I returned a different person, I liked everything and enjoyed it—the school, my groups of friends and plans, the piano, my family, Ecyd, skiing…

I thought about entering the Apostolic (minor seminary) to gain more clarity about my vocation. But I was undecided, I didn’t want to leave all the good things I had at home. So my parents told me to wait, that I had time. I liked the idea, but the next year the desire returned, and this time I felt I had to be “now,” even though it was very hard to leave my teenage world. I made the decision to try for a year “to see,” and if it wasn’t my vocation, I would go back. My parents and I went to see the director of my school to ensure that I would be accepted again at any time if I decided to return home. I didn’t say goodbye very well to my school friends, I didn’t tell them I was going to the seminary, nor did I fully understand what I was doing, and they weren’t believers… I didn’t know how to tell them, it was still like a secret.

I was very happy in the Apostolic, I felt my heart bursting with joy, deep happiness. I felt at home, in my place. All the doubts I had before entering dissipated like an evident truth: God wants me with Him, close to Him, and He makes me happy. With my generation in the Apostolic, we were an incredible group of friends, accomplices and joyful, with new projects every week. It’s not easy to “explain” the call, it’s like an intuition, a desire of the heart, something that surpasses us and cannot be rationalized, rather it is savored…

I entered the novitiate in 2007, at first it was difficult. I went from being “at home” in the Apostolic, to not knowing anyone, not speaking the language. It helped me focus on Christ, on the deep reason for my vocation. And after 6 months, I was happy again, full of God and enjoying the novitiate.

And then came the crisis of the Legion, a great moment for my vocation. Through this sad experience of sin and perversion, God has shaped my heart as a priest through forgiveness and conversion. He has taught me that He prefers humility and mercy over human success, that His work is in hearts more than in institutions, and that He has the power to overcome evil with good.

At each stage of my formation for the priesthood, I can discern the passage of God through my life and the wonders He has done. But this is a short testimony, not a book… Let’s say in summary that the constant in my Legionary life so far has been feeling very happy and loved by God, despite the poverty of my response. To conclude, I simply want to thank all these blessings from God that fill my life and allow me to be a privileged witness of His love: my family; the Church and the saints, my friends; my Legionary brothers, the consecrated men and women, the members of Regnum Christi; the young people I have had and have the honor to accompany; so many friends and acquaintances who fill my life with happiness.