Fifteen minutes before the diaconal ordination and I am more nervous than a groom before his wedding. I am restless. At breakfast, I only managed to swallow half a donut, and that with great difficulty. Now, dressed in white, I am sweating and apprehensive. Who knows exactly why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I line up at the back for the procession. The organ begins to sound. The last thing I expected happens to me. I felt a calm that left no room for nerves. Inexplicably, I experienced my diaconal ordination Mass with joy and great confidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is a very good image of my entire vocation, of these almost fifteen years of preparation to become a priest in the Legion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
God asks me for things that surpass me. I say yes (when I am doing well) and He makes things come out in unexpected ways (by me, not by Him), surprising and wonderful. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
How to put into words an unexpected calling, fifteen years of struggles, defeats that become victories, relationships that mark life forever? How to interpret in a unified way everything that has happened to me while trying to follow Jesus on this path?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Perhaps the best way is to see everything in the light of the paschal mystery. Moments of death, despair, loneliness: there are many. Experiences of accompanying Jesus in the silence of the tomb, too. Feeling resurrected by an unexpected power that surpasses my understanding and planning: if I am honest, every day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It has not been a straight path. It has not been what I expected. It has not been what I would have wanted. But it has been everything with Him. He has never abandoned me, not for a second. That is why everything makes sense. Everything is part of who I am: a child of God and hopefully a brother to all (pray for me). <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Fifteen minutes before the diaconal ordination and I am more nervous than a groom before his wedding. I am restless. At breakfast, I only managed to swallow half a donut, and that with great difficulty. Now, dressed in white, I am sweating and apprehensive. Who knows exactly why. I line up at the back for…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18995,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[732],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19026","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-testimonies-2023"],"yoast_head":"\n