Before
SEMINARIAN FORMATION
Deacon Miguel Colunga Santoyo Diocese of Lansing
“ What have you done with my son ?”
“
I knit you in the womb , I knew you .” ( Jeremiah 1:5 )
Before the thought of priesthood could ever enter my mind , I needed to first hear the invitation to a loving relationship from the one who knit me in my mother ’ s womb . I had to first come to know the God who knew me before I was even born .
In his wonderful design , the Lord chose to do this through my family , and specifically through their devotion to Our Lady .
The Blessed Virgin Mary played a significant role in my father ’ s faith conversion . When my father lost his faith in our Lord , he still mysteriously entrusted himself to Our Lady , who eventually brought him back to belief in Jesus . For my mother , the rosary was an integral part of her faith growing up . Even at the age of six , she would remember how consoling praying the rosary was and would imagine with childlike wonder the various scripture scenes for each decade . One of the first gifts my father gave to my mother while they were dating was St . Louis de Montfort ’ s Total Consecration to Mary . Needless to say , the rosary was a big part of my family growing up .
I , on the other hand , did not like praying the rosary . I knew it was important to my family , but it was not so important to me , and my attitude towards the faith reflected that same attitude . Still , I credit the daily rosary and the intercession of Our Lady to what happened next .
Fast forward to my freshman year in high school . My parents had just read the church bulletin , in it they found an announcement for a parish youth retreat and thought it would be a good idea for me to attend — I did not want to go .
Unable to get me to budge , my father later prayed saying , “ Lord , I don ’ t know why my son doesn ’ t want to go , and perhaps I have failed my duty as a parent in this regard , but I place him in your hands . He is yours .”
Jesus says in John ’ s Gospel , “ My sheep hear my voice , and I know them , and they follow me ; and I give them eternal life , and they shall never perish , and no one shall snatch them out of my hand ” ( Jn 10:27-28 ). “ No one shall snatch them out of my hand .” My own earthly father placed me into our Lords ’ hands , and the Lord would not let go of me .
Later that week , by God ’ s grace I found myself going on that retreat – on my own accord . On the first night of the retreat , the entire group split into small groups . I sat with a group of four other guys , and the small group leader led with the question : “ Why are you here ?”
“ Oh , this is going to be good ,” I thought . “ He is probably not going to like our answers .” That is until I heard the first guy say , “ I ’ m here to deepen my relationship with Jesus Christ .” I was completely taken aback . Then the next guy repeated the same thing , and so did the next . I was so dumbfounded by their answers that by the time it came to be my turn I didn ’ t know what to say .
“ Where are these guys from ?” I kept thinking , “ I thought no one my age would ever say something like that .” It was my turn , I realized my previous answer was not going to cut it around these guys and I found myself saying , “ Well , I ’ m here to make my parents ’ faith my own .”
Everyone congratulated me , but inside I kept thinking , “ What is going on here ? Why did I say that ?” It was the Lord at work , and by the end of that retreat , I had encountered the Lord in a new way and left on fire for the faith . My dad wondered , “ Who are you and what have you done with my son ?”
At that time I began to hear my first calling to the priesthood . Talk of the priesthood would always catch my attention . Thoughts about possibly becoming a priest kept persisting . It was hard to ignore the nudges in my heart to consider the vocation ;. I could not help but see these nudges as one giant sign pointing towards the seminary , and the next step seemed clear to me .
Entering seminary has been one of the most wonderful gifts in my life . Pope Benedict XVI once said , “ Seminary is a time to fall in love with Jesus Christ .” How perfectly that has been the case for me , and how I long to lead others to that same love as the Lord ’ s priest . shms . edu 17