Denver Catholic

7 DENVER CATHOLIC | MARCH 9-22, 2019 DEACON CHRISTOPHER JAMES CONSIDINE DEACON JUAN ADRIÁN HERNÁNDEZ DOMÍNGUEZ DEACON JUAN MANUEL MADRID DEACON CHRISTIAN JAMES MAST Deacon Chris Considine describes his vocation to the priesthood simply. "God called me to be a priest, and I know there's nothing else that would make me happier," he said. Deacon Considine was born in Seattle and grew up in Texas with his parents and older sister, Shannon. The family attended Mass on Sundays, and Deacon Considine remembers being a good kid. Although he had considered the priesthood as early as high school, he felt he wasn't mature enough to discern it wholeheartedly. It wasn't until he started his freshman year at CU Boulder and was rejected from the fraternity he rushed for that Deacon Considine had the chance to attend a retreat at the local parish. From that point on, the transitional deacon felt "a clear, undeniable call from the Lord, and then a resounding peace and happiness within my heart knowing that this life would bring me joy," and he said "yes" to God's call. He now looks forward to celebrating the sacraments as a priest and commit- ting his life fully to God. "Heaven is absolutely real," said Deacon Considine. "And that's what it's about — getting everybody there." Originally from Texcoco, Mex., Deacon Juan Adrian never imagined himself living so far from home. But reflecting on his life, he can see how God planted a seed in him when he was a child. One of his most memo- rable moments was the time when an elderly devout woman asked him if he had ever thought about the priesthood. That question prompted a curiosity that would re-flourish in his high school years. After a brief period of "ignorance and teenage rebellion against God," the devout life of his girlfriend at the time helped him recover his faith. When con- sidering the possibility of marriage, he was taken back by the attraction to the priesthood that resurfaced. He told his girlfriend he wanted to enter seminary and his girlfriend in turn disclosed to him her desire to become a Carmelite. Juan Adrián entered the seminary in Texcoco but later realized that it was during mission trips that he felt most alive. This reality led him to St. John Vianney Seminary in Denver. He looks forward to serving the Spanish-speak- ing community in Colorado joyfully, and asks for the prayers of the faithful so that he may be a saintly priest. Born and raised in Santiago de Chile, Deacon Juan Manuel experienced the beauty of the Catholic faith from an early age. This environment of faith instilled in him a desire to be a priest when he was nearly 5 years old. None- theless, such desire "froze" when he when through a "time of rebellion" during his teenage years, in which he rejected his family, the Church and God. After realizing that all the world ožered for happiness only left him empty, depressed and almost suicidal, he begged God to show himself to him. A couple days later, he heard a reading at Mass that would change his life for- ever: "The love of Christ urges us at the thought that if one man has died for all, then all men have died, and he died for all so that those who live may live no longer for themselves but for him who died and was raised to life for them" (2 Cor 5:14-15). He entered Redemptoris Mater Sem- inary in Chile and was sent to Denver as a missionary. After almost 10 years in formation, in which he has learned to value community deeply, he is very joyful to take this important step. Deacon CJ Mast felt Jesus call him to the priesthood on a mountain in the midst of a dangerous storm. "As we were trying to get down, a large rock that was around four feet tall was dislodged," said Deacon Mast. "It jumped over my back, landed on my leg, crushed it then continued to roll down the mountain." Father John Nepil approached Deacon Mast, asking him, "Do you trust me?" After Deacon Mast replied that yes, he did trust him, Father Nepil asked him again more fervently, "No, do you really trust me?" "It was in that moment that for the first time in my life, I told the Lord, 'If you're calling me to the priesthood, I'm all in.'" Father Nepil carried Deacon Mast for hours down the mountain, and the then-Colorado State University student began discerning the priesthood. A Loveland Native and cradle Cath- olic who grew up with his parents, two older brothers and one younger sister, Deacon Mast now looks forward to entering the fraternity of the priest- hood and bringing more souls to Christ. PHOTO BY DANIEL PETTY

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