«Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you were born, I consecrated you: I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.» Jeremiah 1:5
I am Fr. Jesús Silva Sosa, L.C., born in Cancún, Quintana Roo, on March 17, 1993. I grew up in a Catholic family surrounded by love from my parents and my three siblings.
With them, I learned to live my faith in the ordinary daily life; for example: when we got up, prayers from a Catholic channel could be heard in the background, where the rosary was prayed, and in the afternoon, the Divine Mercy Chaplet. My younger sister knew the Marian litanies by heart. We lived our faith through small actions that marked God’s presence in our day. We tried to pray on the way to school, before meals, and before sleeping. A very valuable memory is when we received visitors or ate outside the house, sharing those prayer moments with others. That became an important part of me, even when I was alone or with friends. For me, living my faith in those small moments was very important.
Another thing I highlight is that we were able to host many priests who came to Cancún to preach, so we spent time with them. I have a missionary religious aunt who, on several occasions, allowed us to contact other sisters from the order, so from a very young age I had references to what one day the Lord would call me to— a priestly and religious life.
I was in my first year of university when I decided to take a definitive step and follow the Lord; that was at age 19. But before sharing how this part of my life was, I would like to highlight some previous moments that were meaningful to me and that—looking back—I am grateful for God’s action in my life.
I begin with my parents’ second conversion. After some time as a couple, insecurities and fears about having more children arose due to campaigns like “Few children to give them much.” At that time, they joined the Charismatic Renewal, where they experienced a second conversion that reopened the door to life. Thanks to this, I arrived, the third child (Jesus), and later my younger sister (Mary).
My baptism was also a special moment, not only because of what the sacrament effectively transmits but also because it was a personal sign for my future vocation. It so happened that, quite spontaneously, the priest who baptized me also became my godfather, and a group of nuns also raised their hands to be my godmothers. In the official record, only one appears, but they have accompanied me with their lives, sacrifices, and prayers, especially from my baptism to now, as I prepare to begin my priestly ministry. They are Religious Missionaries Daughters of the Most Holy Mother of Light, and my godfather is Fr. José Antonio Blanco, Legionary of Christ, who has been a missionary throughout his entire ministerial stage in the Diocese of Cancún-Chetumal. A piece of the puzzle of my vocation to the priesthood is the missionary character.
Another important piece happened when I was between 10 and 11 years old. I was playing soccer next to a chapel when, at a certain moment, we were asked to stop playing so that a reverent silence could be maintained during the Eucharistic blessing. That moment was special for me… something happened, because after it, I told my mom that I had felt a kind of call to serve the Lord. After sharing that experience, I asked to become an altar server at the parish. So I looked for a group and ended up joining the first group of altar servers at the Cathedral of Cancún, which was near my house and was just starting its first phase of construction. This piece of the puzzle of my vocation is service.
This stage of service at the altar marked me in a special way, because being a small group of altar servers, it required us to be generous when offering ourselves to serve at Masses and support the priests. I started serving at weekday Masses, which was a new experience for me, since I hadn’t considered that one could dedicate time to Jesus during the week as well. On Sundays, I helped at the 10:00, 12:00 with the bishop, and at the 5:00 p.m. Mass. It was a period that helped me grow in my intimate friendship with Christ Eucharist. Both the bishop and the priests celebrating Masses during that time were Legionaries. This piece of the puzzle of my vocation is love for Christ Eucharist.
Another moment of my calling was the visit of a Legionary priest to me, who, despite not belonging to the Regnum Christi schools, was entrusted with the chaplaincy by the director, and the Legionary fathers. My baptismal godfather was the chaplain, so he would hear confessions and celebrate Mass on the first Friday of each month, a day dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Now I see that devotion to the Sacred Heart is also another piece of my vocation, because Legionaries are consecrated to Him.
One day—at this same school—a Legionary priest came to ask us three questions: the first was whether we had ever thought about becoming priests, the second if we wanted to talk about it with him, and the third if we would like to receive information about the Vocational Center in Mexico City. I answered yes to all questions, because even as an altar server, I had wondered if God was calling me to the priesthood. I was eager to learn about the Vocational Center, since a very close friend and former soccer teammate (now Fr. José Eduardo Gorocica, L.C.) had gone there, and I was genuinely interested in hearing more about it. Other altar servers had gone to the diocesan minor seminary, and the curiosity was growing stronger. I spoke with the Legionary priest after filling out that form, and he told me I needed to talk to my parents. Despite how difficult it was to ask for that permission, given the consequences of leaving home so young, I talked to my mom and shared the invitation. She told me I was still very young, that I needed more time to be pampered, and that if I still felt the vocational call later, I could pursue it. I felt a lot of peace with my mom’s response, because my desire to have that experience was sincere. But I was also afraid to take the step. For me, it was like telling God: “Lord, I have tried.” When the Legionary priest called me to see what would happen, I didn’t dare answer or tell him what had happened; I just left it there, and we lost contact. The vocational question was put away in a drawer; I had already stopped being an altar server, so I focused on another important chapter in my life: my sports career.
I have always had a great passion for soccer, but through a cousin, table tennis, better known as “ping pong,” entered my life. I discovered in this sport the possibility of competing at different levels: I started at the municipal level, then state, then national, and even international. It was a very enriching stage.
In 2007, I was fourteen years old and had a very intense year with my best friend and my coach to achieve good results at the National Olympics. After a historic success for the state of Quintana Roo in team and doubles events, we were in the quarterfinals of the individual event. There, both of us played at the same time, and the coach could only be with one of us. I was left alone, which caused even greater nerves, but I went to a corner to pray and ask God for strength. My mom also prayed with me and told me that the Lord would be my “coach,” and so it was. I started my match with great strength and confidence, trusting that the Lord was with me. I won in the quarterfinals, semifinals, and the final decisively. I didn’t know it then, but the winner would train in China for a month. That was the pinnacle moment of my sports life, and I thanked the Lord for those intense experiences He allowed me to have in sports. I was also surrounded by good people who helped me grow as an athlete and as a person. After finishing my time in table tennis, I tried my luck in soccer. Despite the good opportunities that arose over the next three years, I did not achieve my personal goal of playing professionally.
Once, during my last year of high school, I talked with my mom about that call to the priesthood stored away in the drawer. I reopened the question that still lingered about a possible vocation. She got me the contact of the diocesan seminary, and I called by phone. The secretary who answered told me they had no vacancies and that I would have to wait until the next year. I told the Lord again that I had tried my part. So, after finishing high school, I continued with “plan B”: studying Communication Sciences at the Universidad Anáhuac in Cancún.
After half a semester of studies, I realized that it was not my place, and that by the end of the year, I would definitely need to change course. I didn’t know how, but I had an intuition that it wasn’t in the diocesan seminary, so I looked for another option. I heard about being a collaborator of Regnum Christi, dedicating a year of my life to serve the Church. That idea caught my attention, and I decided I had to do it; it was a noble idea that would help me expand my horizons regarding the possibilities the Church offers for the priesthood. But I didn’t know how to start that process, so I left it in God’s hands.
One night, I dreamed of a long procession where everyone knelt down. I realized that at the end, a priest was carrying the monstrance with the Blessed Sacrament, but then I understood that this priest was Jesus Himself, looking at me and saying: «I need you now». Suddenly, the scene changed to a sacristy where I was being dressed in priestly vestments, and I saw a multitude of people waiting joyfully. They were waiting for me, and I saw the Pope. That dream was the push I needed to respond to the Lord’s personal call. I wrote everything down on a piece of paper along with feelings of peace and joy, and I kept sleeping.
A few days later, while on my way to university, my mom told me she had found a paper where I had written about my dream and asked what I was going to do. I told her that what I had written was true and that the vocational call was still present. I shared with her the idea of being a collaborator of Regnum Christi, and she got me the contact of the responsible priest. Without further delay, I called him and told him I wanted to be a collaborator. Since he didn’t know me and I wasn’t part of the movement either, he scheduled a couple of meetings to talk with me and propose options so I could better understand the charism. I also remember that a consecrated member of Regnum Christi interviewed me to see what I expected from that year as a collaborator and where I saw myself working. Everything was arranged for me to become a collaborator; I had already experienced a team that met weekly to read the Bible using the methodology of Encounter with Christ, and everything was ready for me to attend the formation course for collaborators. But one day, the priest responsible for the collaborators called me to recommend that I talk to another priest experienced in vocation matters. I agreed. We met the next day, and he invited me to consider the Legionaries of Christ. I remember he was surprised when I said I was very interested. That’s how the Lord helped me make the decision to take a very important step—flying for two months to Monterrey to discern a possible call to serve the Church as a religious and Legionary priest.
When I arrived in Monterrey, I went to the center where I would spend the next two months. I was filled with feelings of peace and felt I was in my place. At the end of the discernment period, I formally asked to be accepted into the congregation, and after visiting my family, I returned to Monterrey to receive my cassock and begin two years of novitiate, a time to get to know the Legionary life and to deepen my understanding of the call and its authenticity.
One of the biggest surprises was that I was sent to Germany to do my two years of novitiate. I was very happy about that opportunity, and my family was too. Those were two years of much prayer and disconnecting from everything the world offers, to become aware of the radical call to leave everything and follow Him. The Gospel passage that marked me most during that stage was the rich young man who is invited by Jesus to follow Him but decides not to. Then come Jesus’ words that make the apostles wonder about the reward for those who have left everything to follow Him. Jesus promises a hundredfold, and from the very first moment, I was already receiving it with the happiness of having found my place in the Church.
One of the happiest moments was my first profession after completing the two years of novitiate. It was the moment to make the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. My parents could attend the ceremony in Germany, which could be compared to my wedding, because although the vows I professed were temporary, internally they were already definitive, for life.
The years of formation in the seminary were not as easy as I had imagined. For those years, I use as an analogy the time before Jesus’ public life, because it was a growth in silence without great spotlight. It was a lot of study and internal community life, with little external apostolate. Later, I returned to Germany for apostolic practices, where I could share a bit of what I had received during those years of formation.
Today, after completing my ecclesiastical studies in humanities, philosophy, and theology, I find myself in Germany. The situation in the local Church tends to be challenging; however, hope is not lost. The Holy Spirit can rekindle zeal where it is lacking, as long as we are willing to receive that grace which transforms.
Many elements are missing from sharing the story of my vocation, the pieces of the puzzle are still many, such as the time of the Mega Missions during Holy Week, which taught me that there is truly more joy in giving than in receiving. The story of my father’s passing, who was preparing to become a permanent deacon while I was studying in Rome and who—due to a sudden heart attack—passed away, and I was able to accompany him in his last moments. I have had other stories with people who have been generous with me, contributing their part to help me become who I am today; I especially think of my family, friends, formators, and many others I have met along the way.
It is a great joy to be so close to priestly ordination. I ask the Lord for the grace not to fear being His instrument, to be docile to the Holy Spirit, and to cover myself under Mary’s mantle in the face of the circumstances I will face in the future, where my human fragility mixes with the strength that comes from Christ. May my trust be like that of a child with his Father, holding His hand as we walk toward heaven, and may my life be a testimony of His love, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
