I would like to begin with a consideration. Any vocation reminds us that God has a plan for each one of us. If we listen to His call, our uniqueness will bring about a distinctive contribution to the Church and the world at large. So far, there is nothing new.
Nevertheless, ‘reading’ about someone else’s vocation can expose us to some risks. We may be moved by mere curiosity to know specific details of its unfolding, or we may carry some biases if we already know the person, or we may distance ourselves from him or her because they come from a different country or belong to a different generation, and so on.
Therefore, be aware of it as you read some excerpts from my life journey!
“It is good that you have decided to give two years to serve people in need, but to give one’s whole life for them is far better.” Such words came as a total surprise, as they were addressed to me by the chaplain of a Christian NGO at the end of a short conversation when I bade farewell to him before going to South America in 1980.
Indeed, I found them quite disturbing. Even though they expressed some appreciation of my decision, I felt somehow minimised. I had left my well-paid job, the sport of my life, my friends and girlfriends, my family, and was all that merely described as ‘good’? It was not enough for me. However much I esteemed that priest, I did not allow the feelings he provoked to affect the last days before I departed for Ecuador, so I repressed the whole incident.
In spite of that, after some months of working and teaching in a rehabilitation center run by the Comboni Missionaries, the second part of that priest’s message came back in full force. The testimony of those consecrated brothers and sisters and of the local bishop removed all my biases towards religious life, the clergy, and the Church as an institution, and finally, the charism of St. Daniel Comboni came to the fore.
NEW PATH
By then a completely new path opened up for me. As a mechanical engineer, what I used to belittle, like philosophy, theology and psychology, became soon the focus of my studies and led me to spend some years in different countries: in Colombia where I completed my philosophical studies, in Austria for theology and in the UK for psychology.
At times I still joke about myself by saying that it all started because the Lord wanted me to take my skills in ‘planning’ and ‘repairing’ solid structures to other levels. Therefore, I moved from the material and metallic world to the world of ideas (philosophy), to the deep sides of our soul (theology), and to the hidden corners of our mind, where emotions reside (psychology).
During all these years (36) as a Comboni Missionary, serving in Germany, Austria, Uganda, the UK, Zambia, Italy, and now in the Philippines, I haven’t experienced prolonged moments when there was nothing for me to do or places where I could not be. There is always something that can be improved, starting from myself.
FORMATOR
Perhaps it is not by chance that the most common service I have carried out in my missionary life is that of a formator. In this way, the vocation path of our candidates constantly confronts me; their uniqueness is a permanent challenge to understand how best I can help them; also, through my uniqueness, discover the way the Lord wants to shape them.
This has led to innumerable significant encounters, which contributed to shaping the person I am now. Anywhere the Lord has sent me, I have easily found my place, and it did not take too long before I could feel at home.
I am still discovering the vastness of the ‘better’ choice mentioned by that priest, and this is what can make life more exciting after so many years. After all, as Christians we receive a double vocation: the first one is common to all who want to follow Jesus Christ, the call to holiness. The second one is the personal and unique call that God makes according to the talents and gifts He has bestowed upon each one of us. The first is self-evident, whereas the second needs to be discovered. However, none of the two can come about without the other, and this is the journey you and I are called to go.
