Oh the places you'll go!

As I was finishing up my senior year in high school, I received a book from my youth minister, Kennya Gonzalez called, “Oh the places you’ll go!” by Dr. Seuss. This endearing book takes the reader into a brightly colored and fanciful adventure on learning about challenges that can be overcome. “Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So…get on your way”.

As I get closer to graduation, I am preparing myself for the next mountain in my life; Campus Ministry Internship at the University of Notre Dame. This year long position will provide me with the opportunity to grow personally, spiritually, professionally in the Church. However, there is one small but big problem; a two bed room house is provided, but that doesn’t include a meal plan- I do not know how to cook! I can’t ask mom dukes for help, because she doesn’t cook. I guess its back to the old school, chicken noodle soup with a soda on the side.What attracted me to applying for the internship at Campus Ministry is being able to prudently apply what I have learned in my bachelors’ degree in Theology to a pastoral context. Also, this will give me the opportunity to discern what exactly I want to do in the Catholic Church. As an intern, I will have the tasks of discovering possible areas of ministry, which include sacramental preparation, religious education, retreats, bible studies, catechist formation, prayer and liturgy planning.

If you know me, then you know, I will die for Mother Church. I have a tremendous passion for the lay apostolate, and I inspire to glorify God through my gifts and talents. Also, I have been waiting for an opportunity like this my entire life. I have been buried in Catholic books for the last four years, and I am sick of it. It’s time to start “Doing Theology”; I want to prepare people to live the sacramental life. I want to touch the hearts and minds of others, and I want to be a witness of Christ to the Notre Dame community.

Dr. Seuss says, “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. / You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own, and you know what you know or in other words, “For I am the least of the apostles, not fit to be called an apostle, because I once persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been ineffective. Indeed I have toiled harder than all of them; not I, however, but the grace of God that is with me” (1 Cor. 15:9). Or quite simply, “Did you hear about the rose that grew from a crack in the concrete?... Funny it seems, but by keeping its dreams, it learned to breathe fresh air. Long live the rose that grew from concrete”- Tupac (How did I go from Dr. Seuss, to St. Paul, to Tupac?) I am really excited to embark this new chapter in my life (Wow so cliché). Hopefully, it will help me develop the proper initial pastoral competence to help me grow as a future leader in the Church. Moreover, I hope this experience will help me achieve integration through Catholic theological reflection, professional campus ministry training, and maintaining the desire to build up the Notre Dame community. To sum it up, when you have found your vocation, you learn to become what you already are. And you will be the guy who'll decide where you'll go. /Oh the places you'll go. I will be working on the third floor of the Coleman-Morse Center or as the young people say nowadays-3rd flo'.

Feed your flock! This commercial is a disgrace

“Your eyes are doves behind your veil”

Fr. Larry Richards in his book called, “Be a Man!” said, “children will always love their mother, but they want to be like their father.” He goes on to explain how men are the sacrament of Fatherhood to their children just like St. Joseph was the sacrament of Fatherhood to Jesus Christ. Therefore, it is only fitting before you read any further to stop and ask St. Joseph for his intercession.

Recently canonized St. Andre Bessette once said, "I am nothing...only a tool in the hands of Providence, a lowly instrument at the service of Saint Joseph." Throughout my four years in college, I have been trying to discover what it means to be a loving man. Likewise, what it means to be young man in the midst of a hectic college world. It wasn’t until I started a weekly Wednesday devotion to St. Joseph, that I was able to discover the true meaning of manhood. Why St. Joseph? Of course He is the model of love and of purity, a model of responsibility and prudence, but all of this is based upon a more hidden holiness: being the husband of Mary and the foster father of Jesus Christ.

When St. Joseph discovered the innermost simplicity of Mary, he whispered, “Your eyes are doves behind your veil” (Song 4:1). In the book, “The Mystery of Joseph” by Fr. Marie-Dominque Philippe, he illustrates how it was the Holy Spirit that tied the knot that bound Mary and Joseph’s heart together. True love is bound by the Holy Spirit. Think about it, when we love someone, we receive what is most secret in that person and we desire to live it too. Fr. Philippe goes on to say, “Truly choosing to love someone means loving what is most profound in that person” (pg 60).

Have young men lost their quest to find the most profound and deepest part of a woman? Sadly, I think so. Young men are being ravaged by a society that rails against any notion of traditional values. Society is spearheading the moral, intellectual, spiritual, psychological, and emotional state of every man with hedonism, pornography and nihilism. Let’s be honest, sexual desire is probably the strongest physical urge that we all feel. Channeling it constructively, into loving friendships, or spiritual manhood is likely the greatest spiritual challenge each of us faces.

Yet, the Lord gives us a spirit of courage and steadfastness. One of my favorite scripture verses is, "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of courage and of love and of a sound mind. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, or of me as a prisoner, but share with the sufferings of the gospel, according to the power of God" (2 Timothy 1:7). Nevertheless, I think one of the biggest problems in our society is that young men are no longer oriented towards the Creator of Love-God.

If we are ever going to learn how to properly love or be a man, we must turn our inward and outward disposition towards Jesus Christ—literally! We must regain a Christ-like spirituality; a St. Joseph-like masculinity. Similar to St. Joseph, we must thrive to be sons of the Heavenly Father. Let us continue to embrace the sacraments and the let this season of lent deepen our relationship with Christ and the church.

Class of 2011!

As I approach graduation, I am nervous, joyful and excited to finally receive a Bachelors Degree in Theology. When I was a freshman at Estrella Mountain Community College, I had no idea what I wanted to do. I hinted at getting a degree in public speaking or in communications; at one point, I even thought about being a paramedic (ha imagine me patching up your wounds). However, the Lord had different plans for me.

After my sophomore year at Estrella Mountain Community College, I transferred to Holy Cross College located in Notre Dame, IN. I also had the opportunity to be in seminary formation for a year and half on the campus of one of the most elite Catholic universities in the world-Notre Dame! Now, I am finishing up my last semester at Holy Cross College, highly anticipating graduating.

In three months, I will join the 6.7 percent of the world who holds a college degree (Huffington Post). It is truly an honor because I will be the first in my family to graduate with a bachelor’s degree. I must say that theology is one of the most underrated and toughest degrees out there. In the words of G.K. Chesterton, theology is the “brains of religion”, the queen of all sciences. In the most humble way possible, as a theology student, I tackle the most important questions of life: Who am I? What is my purpose in life? Who is God? Theology seeks to understand the mystery of faith which has drawn people since the beginning of time.

Moreover, trying to understand the mystery of God means reading a lot of books and writing papers. During my time at Holy Cross College, I have written eighty two papers-ranging from 2pgs to 28pgs. I have well read over one hundred books and articles. There is a joke when one receives a Theology degree he/she takes the vow of poverty, because it is one of the lowest paying degrees. On the other hand, in the words of Jesse Romero—we have a heck of a retirement plan (God willing-heaven!).

So what is going to happen after I graduate? I hope to start full-time ministry in the Catholic Church. This is a bit broad because as you know, the Catholic Church is huge! Church options include teaching, social work, healthcare, or working with youth, the poor, the elderly or other forms of ministry in parish settings, missions, or schools.

I am also graduating with another degree, more important than a theology degree. This degree is stamped on my soul, which is the Christian formation through the Congregation of Holy Cross. Even though, I am no longer in the seminary, I was still trained by the Holy Cross priests and brothers to be a man with hope to bring. Please continue to pray for me as I finish my last three months.

Breakin' the Bricks! 150,000

Brick Breaker High Score! But then my phone randomly turned off and I lost it!!! Luckily, I was able to take a pic of it!

Jack Frost aint messing around!

Jack Frost aint messing around! It has been three weeks since I have started living on the campus of Holy Cross College. It’s been an intense and super busy time for me. The first weekend back, I was off to Washington D.C. for the annual March for Life Rally. Besides the boring thirteen hour ride in a bus with college students, twenty degree weather, and metro stops, the weekend was quite eventful and inspiring.
I have also just survived my first blizzard, hence, a snow day meaning no school!
In addition, I have also been adjusting to living the lay life and having a girlfriend. Wait, did he say girlfriend? Yes, and she is white. Wait, did he say white? Yes, does he still have swag?...Absolutely. I will get to her in a minute.

The transition out of the seminary and into the “real world” has been quite challenging but peaceful. However, the word discipline takes on an entirely new meaning. The great St. Josemaria Escriva, “If you lose the supernatural meaning of your life, your charity will be philanthropy; your purity, decency; your mortification, stupidity; your discipline, a whip; and all your works, fruitless” ( The Way, 280). Some people are led to believe when someone leaves seminary formation, their love for God diminishes and their Catholic faith ceases to exist, unfortunately, in some cases they do. On the other hand, when one discerns properly and in accordance to the will of God, they come to realize their love for God becomes deeper and stronger. I would like to call this period of my life, walking on water (Matthew 14:22-33).

Back to the topic of girlfriend. Her name is Amanda Cup and yes she is white but I tell her deep down inside she is Nicaraguan, she just doesn’t know yet. Did you know Jesus was Nicaraguan? More about her will be said in later blogs but for now, just know that she is wonderful but most importantly Roman Catholic! She truly sanctifies me and inspires me to model myself after St. Joseph. One of the best parts about this relationship is our desire to pray together. We know that a relationship is not a relationship unless Jesus Christ is invited. She also proofreads by theology papers! I get better at writing and she deepens her faith by correcting my papers. I do not know what the Lord has planned for this relationship but I do know that I am blessed to have her in my life. I also know that she is even more blessed to have me in her life haha. Just kidding. Every minute she spends with me, her purgatory time decreases.
I am excited to end this last semester of college. Who knows? I might stay here in South Bend or in Chicago or…back to Phoenix. All I know is that I am extremely happy and peaceful right now---let the Lord’s will be done!

One of the greatest quotes

"The difficulty of explaining "why I am Catholic" is that there are ten thousand reasons all amounting to one reason: that Catholicism is true." - G.K. Chesterton