I grew up as the kid who did all he could to stay away from Mass. Throughout most of my high school years in Barstow, California, I announced myself as agnostic. My high school was very diverse and I was a confused kid still recovering from his Pokemon card days. Finding a "posse to roll with" was very much the task I had set out to conquer up until late junior year of high school. It was at that time which plain old religion appealed to me as a place of refuge from the exhausting lifestyle of bouncing between different high school coteries. My best friend who had come back from college assisted me in enrolling for the religious education program of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church that year. It was when I received the Sacrament of Confirmation that His grace pointed me towards a direction well passed social conformity and into the Hands of His will.

In my eyes, the seed which would grow as the formation of my faith was planted on the year of my Confirmation. After experiencing His goodness at my Confirmation retreat and returning to school, a friend of mine in French class gave me a medal of St. Benedict as a gift to remind me of the events of my retreat. It was early April, Pope John Paul II had passed away after twenty years of papacy. At the same time, my Confirmation date was coming, and as required by my director, I needed to choose a saint's name and write a report on him or her. After writing a two page report on St. Joseph, the patron of my parish, I decided to start new and find a saint that I could relate to more. After reading about the lives of many saints, I looked down, and right there dangling around my neck was the medal of St. Benedict; so, I decided to look him up. What stood out about him was his great serenity to God in the act of giving up all he had, including family wealth, and leaving his parents' house at a young age to live a life simple enough to clearly discern his holy purpose. That information was all it took to push me to choose St. Benedict as my Confirmation saint's name. As the month passed, and Confirmation drew near, the election of a new pope was also taking place. Walking into French class, I picked up a French newspaper with the frontpage headline translating to "Benedict XVI- the new pope." A few days later, during my Confirmation celebration, the Bishop of San Bernardino looked deep into my eyes after anointing me and said, "Go in peace, Benedict XVII." That moment for me was the beginning of a life of seeking God in a fashion somewhat similar to that of St. Benedict: leaving my parents (for college), growing in faith, and discerning my holy purpose.

Prior to leaving for college, I had experienced a couple other retreats which played a big role in my formation: Discipleship Week by Net Ministries, and Young Apostles at Steubenville San Diego. These two, week long retreats taught me the importance of, one, being a disciple and not just a Jesus fan wearing a "Jesus is my Homeboy" shirt, and two, the call to apostolic ministry.

The first couple of years of study at the University of California, San Diego were outstanding for my academics, but I found myself returning to my post-Pokemon-card phase, skipping Mass on a weekly basis. As my faith was challenged daily , I grew stronger primarily by God's grace in the Sacraments of Reconciliation, Communion, and the Blessed Sacrament. God has also blessed me with the Newman Center Catholic Community, the smiling faces of the teens at Corpus Christi Parish, the Young Adult Community of the San Diego Diocese, the Maria Goretti Group - defenders of the virtue of chastity, the Tertiary Dominicans with Fr. Vincent Serpa, O.P., and the spiritual guidance of our very own Fr. John Paul Forte, O.P., the man who initiated my interest in the Dominican charism. I am highly grateful for the great priests whose availability has worked in favor of us, the Church.

A priest at Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcala once said in a homily, "discern every moment as a sign of God's vocation for you.” It brings me great joy to meditate on how all the experiences which have led me here to this very community has been God’s way of forming me for this year, and for the rest of my life.

In the spirit of St. Dominic, and the fruits of Our Blessed Mother’s constant intercession, God’s inner peace and guidance to you all.

“May you attain full knowledge of God’s will through perfect wisdom and spiritual insight. Then you will lead a life worthy of the Lord and pleasing to him in every way. You will multiply good works of every sort and grow in the knowledge of God. By the might of his glory you will be endowed with the strength needed to stand fast, even to endure joyfully whatever may come, giving thanks to the Father for having made you worthy to share the lot of the saints in light. He rescued us from the power of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Colossions 1:9-14