I was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I grew up in the Church but did not make it my own until I was a junior in High School – that was the year of COVID-19. God used this period of time to get my attention.
I would consider myself someone who was a good Catholic in high school but lived on the surface of things. In the Spring of 2020 (during COVID), the Lord told me to slow down, make the Catholic faith my own, and enter into a more personal relationship with Jesus. My deeper conversion did not happen in a flash but over time. Slowly, Jesus revealed Himself to me. Through prayer and Scripture, I learned about the gift of His mercy and what it means to abide in His grace.
At the end of my senior year, I was in prayer and the Lord put it in my heart to go to a discernment day with the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, New Mexico. While there, I had a deep encounter with the Holy Spirit, experiencing the excitement and joy of being confronted with the idea of being a priest. Coming down from that mountain high, I recognized the need to be thorough in my discernment. I met with the Vocations Director for the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, who suggested I enroll in the High Calling Program. It would be an opportunity to not only receive formation from some of the top minds in the Church but also meet other men my age who were discerning. So, I enrolled in the program while taking classes my freshman year at the University of New Mexico.
Over the High Calling Year, I learned about the foundations of prayer, tools for navigating the spiritual life, testimonies from Church leaders, John Paul II’s Theology of the Body, and many more essential truths that helped me grow in my identity as a beloved son of the Father. Later, I learned that a team of prayer warriors was praying for me at the Avila Institute (High Calling Program). The many blessings I received were the fruit of that prayer.
After the year of weekly courses, I continued contact with the vocations team with the Archdiocese. What was once an “idea” of being a priest was now becoming a reality, and after completing the application process in the late Winter of ’23, I was accepted into the seminary.
In July of 2023 I moved to Mount Angel Seminary in Oregon. My studies here have been challenging, but in a good way – God is calling me to go deeper and deeper in my faith. I am now finishing up my first year of seminary. I am eternally grateful for the many prayers and support of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe and the people put into my circle through the Avila Institute and the High Calling Program.