Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/1546119
How has the Lord called you into greater hope as you have followed him towards your vocation? T he Lord called me during the World Youth Day in Madrid in 2011. I was going through a diffi- cult period in my life in which I did not want to be in the Church and wanted to follow the way of the world. At the time, I was studying art at a school, but I did not know what I wanted for my life, much less what the Lord wanted for me. I went to WYD really asking the Lord for an answer and I found myself so happy all throughout a pilgrimage which my parish organized. At the time, I liked a girl who was in my parish and had also come to that pilgrimage. However, the Lord made me feel so happy that I really saw the need to make a radical change in my life. So, I went to a vocational center where I How do you see the connection between Baptism and your own call to the priesthood? W hen I was ordained a deacon the day before my baptismal anniversary last year, it struck me that my vocation and all the graces I've received have their origin in my Baptism. I love to pray in thanksgiving at the baptismal font in my home parish because there I received my identit y as an adopted son of the Father. My vocation and the mission that I've received all f low from there. discerned God's will for a while. Then, eventually, I joined the Redemptoris Mater Missionary Seminary in Denver. The Lord has shown me his love for me more deeply all these years in the seminary. FAT H E R M A N U E L A L A R CO N Hometown: Albatera, Alicante, Spain Home Parish: St. John the Baptist, Johnstown FAT H E R JA S O N D I R ITO Hometown: Arvada, CO Home Parish: Shrine of St. Anne Parish, Arvada 48 AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2026 | DENVER CATHOLIC Photos by Dan Petty | Denver Catholic