The illusion of being a Legionary is something that God planted in my heart many years ago, and as time passed, it evolved into a healthy struggle between His will and mine. What God had sown in my heart was germinating and going through wonderful experiences in ECYD and in Regnum Christi until God found it ready to take the step and leave everything behind. What it meant for me to take the step into the novitiate, trust in God’s call, and receive the Legionary cassock can be summarized in three experiences: A personal response to God, a response from the congregation to God, and a response from God to the congregation.

A personal response

“May he rest in peace,” said my passions, “They will never see him again,” responded my projects, dreams, and illusions. Because he who has fought to conquer himself and be master of himself now decides to die to the world and make God his true and eternal master… This is what came to my heart at the end of the spiritual exercises and a few moments before receiving the cassock, turning the ceremony into a personal act of surrender to the one who had given me everything: a deep desire to empty my heart so that it could be filled with Christ, and having only Christ, to be able to do nothing else but give Him to others.

A response from the congregation to God

Saying “I want…” in front of the audience and alongside 33 other brothers who decided to leave everything behind to respond to Christ’s call is madness for society, but it is strength and joy for those of us who have experienced His love on the cross (1 Cor 1:23). There I understood that being a Legionary is a calling to be part of a true family that, like a battalion in full war, supports you to persevere on the path and be part of the final victory.

A response from God to the congregation

In response to the generous reply of these young people, God did not remain silent and also asked to communicate something very special to the congregation. To a congregation still struggling to purify itself and in which many religious strive to remain firm in this great mission entrusted to them through His Church. God granted the Legion a gift that night… What better proof of God’s love than receiving more than 30 new young men willing to follow His call? God continues to call many men to surrender and sanctify themselves in the consecrated life.

Receiving the cassock, clothed in black, and dying to the world alongside my brothers is a proof of God’s love for us; it is a message of motivation from God to show us that it is worth continuing to give ourselves to Him, in a family environment, and trusting fully in His most holy will.