Jesus’ Story

I’m a first-generation Mexican-American from OKC with one sibling. I will be the first person in my family to pursue an undergraduate degree.

I grew up in the Catholic Church—my family frequented Spanish Mass. After a while, my dad stopped going to church, but my mom continued to take me and made me receive the Sacraments out of tradition. I didn’t even know what a prayer life looked like, as my parents didn't really pray before meals or anything. When I turned 14, I didn't want to receive Confirmation, so I stopped attending Church regularly. I believed (I knew there was a God and believed Jesus was God), but didn’t really believe.

I felt a lot of pressure to attend this [Steubenville] conference. My cousin wanted a companion on the journey, my aunt and uncle desired for me to look out for their daughter, and my mom even offered to pay me for the days I missed work.

The night before we left, I had only slept two hours. The bus was no spot to slumber either as people kept waking me up. Despite the little sleep I got, I enjoyed Chick-Fil-A for lunch and a stop at Silver Dollar City theme park. At the amusement park, I had a great time trying my first ever rollercoaster and becoming friends with others like Alex and Arthur. Once we got to the hotel, I met my roommates and we talked for hours. I realized that I was starting to have fun and was meeting cool people

The next day, we woke up early and went to a short daily Mass, followed by Steak and Shake, which was really good. A group of us went back to the hotel and played Uno. Finally, it was time to attend the beginning of the conference. They invited us to give up our phones for the weekend to detox and focus on God. I decided to give up my phone and texted everyone I was going to be off for a couple days. I thought it might be a cool experience and I wanted to pay attention to what was said at the conference.

The third day was the longest day. The food wasn't the best. I went to the bookstore to buy a book that one of the speakers talked about, on discernment. Adoration was that night. Although it was really painful on my knees, it was very moving. I felt like Jesus was present for the first time ever, and I shed a tear when the priest came by with the monsterance. The music was moving, but it felt quiet. Everything was still. Everything felt light. It was peaceful. There was so much divinity, and my heart felt heavy. All my worries felt like they were gone. After Adoration, we went to our small group, where Zach was the leader, and then we went back to the hotel for the night.

One of the speakers, who was a sister, shared how she treats every Mass like it is her last. That’s what I try to do now, too, with the utmost reverence and attention. 

The Mass was beautiful on the fourth day, with the Bishop all the priests coming in. The priest who gave the homily was amazing. After the Mass, they invited everyone called to a religious vocation to come to the front, and I went up for it. I don't remember getting down there, just that I stood up. I went with almost no faith, but still went up there, almost blinded. I surprised myself. I was confused by what had just happened in the last five minutes. Once I returned to my seat, the conference was pretty much over, and we drove back to OKC.

Once I came back, I was disappointed that I wasn’t there anymore, and thought, “Why did I have to come back home?” When I attended the first Mass after the conference, I brought with myself a whole new view of God and the Church. A month later, I started going to daily Mass. I’d wake up at 6 to make 7am Mass before school.

I love learning from the missionaries and hearing them speak. Attending Jesus Class has been significant for me. I go and tell my friends everything I have learned. At Breakout, I learn about the saints, like José Sánchez del Río who was my confirmation saint. I also enjoy hearing about Zach and Jacob’s journeys through seminary.

All of a sudden, my values were different. I quit playing video games (I would play daily with my cousins every night from 8-10pm), I tried to stop cussing, and I started getting up early to go to Mass (which was really hard).

There are so many possibilities out there: seminary, monastic life, teaching the faith as a deacon, priest, or brother. I get some pushback, like one of my uncles telling me not to become a priest because it would be a terrible idea. Despite this, I want to serve God, and it’s the end goal and only goal.

Being a Catholic and following Jesus means to live up to the traditions of the Church, teach the Church’s teaching, and bring more people into the Church. It’s important to help people who are in need.