“What do I have that you seek in my friendship?”

One of the fundamental threads of my vocation has always been friendship with the Lord. Since I was a child, I had the desire to be close to Jesus, to serve as an altar boy at Masses, I had my rosary that shone in the dark hanging on my bed, and on some nights, I would pray it. I felt as if Jesus had a magnet and was pointing towards me, attracting me to Him.

“I feel at home, Mom.”

In 2002, at the age of 12, Fr. Eduardo Linares, LC, visited my school, invited me to get to know the seminary, and later to participate in the summer course of the Porto Alegre apostolate, Brazil. At the seminary, I began to get to know the brothers, the priests, making friendships, playing soccer, going on outings, attending daily Mass, praying the rosary… At the end of the month, my mother and father came to visit me, and I told them I wanted to stay, that the priests were not forcing me to stay, that I was happy, that I felt at home. They not only accepted but also supported me, saying at the same time that the door of the house would always be open for me if I saw that priesthood was not my calling.

“Is my life not enough for you? Why are you taking my father?”

In the third year of seminary, at 15 years old, my father discovered he was ill; his disease is called ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). Over the next five years, I saw my father stop walking, lose strength, speak less and less, and become very thin by the end of his life. I went through a crisis of faith, blaming God for my father’s illness. If I liked the seminary before, now it was becoming a burden, and I felt rejection towards the things of God. It was through the paternity of a priest, Fr. Miguel Ángel de la Torre, that I began to experience that Jesus was walking with me through the dark valley I was living. My father’s illness, which initially caused me anger, disciplinary problems, rejection of God, transformed into a door opening to a new reality: the close presence of Jesus, the desire for Heaven to see my father again, embracing the mystery of suffering, human fragility…

“I will give you shepherds after my own heart.”

During my formation years, I began to understand that the Lord was not only calling me to be with Him, to be His friend. He was preparing me to send me on a mission. Just as firewood, when thrown into the fire, begins to burn and burns the one who approaches it, Jesus was drawing me close to His heart so I could experience His love, His truth, His mercy, His forgiveness, and be able to transmit these to others. The years of formation, besides academic preparation, were like a constant operation of the heart: Jesus, give me a heart like Yours, to love as You loved: the Father, the Virgin Mary, and people.

“Your brother’s love is a shield for your heart”

In recent years, I see that the Lord made me aware of being part of the Regnum Christi, that I am a child of the Church, that my vocation finds its meaning in her, and that my brothers and sisters walk alongside me towards Heaven. Some friendships and brotherhood relationships made me experience how the love of my fellow legionaries, consecrated persons, members of the RC, and others kept me standing; it was not only a comfort but also like a shield that protected me, a strength that pushed me to continue giving my life for Jesus, for the salvation of people.

“Let the children come to me”

Currently, I am at Colegio Everest Monteclaro, in Madrid, serving as chaplain and director of ECyD. I feel blessed to be able to help children draw closer to the Lord. I feel that the Lord has given me the most precious thing in His heart: children. I entrust myself to your prayers; do not cease to intercede so that I may be a priest according to the heart of Jesus.