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First is Jesus

The vocational journey of a Chicago bishopBishop Gustavo García Siller

By Gustavo García Siller, M.Sp.S

I have always been able to love the Lord because of the love I received from my parents, and my 14 brothers and sisters. My parents, by their own personal witness to the faith and their prayer life, were instrumental in the development of my faith. The religious sisters who taught me in school and others who helped me prepare for First Communion instilled in my heart a thirst for Jesus.

My uncle, who was a seminarian at that time, and my pastor were great inspirations to me in my vocation. Their presence in my life exemplified the beauty of the priesthood. I wanted to be a priest like my pastor. All these faith-filled individuals imbued a passion for Jesus Christ deep within me. I most especially felt a great stirring toward the Eucharist.
My relationship with Jesus grew over the years and came to prioritize service to others. Every weekend, beginning when I was just 11 until I was 16, I was invited by the Missionaries of the Holy Spirit to serve the poor in a variety of ways in the city of San Luis Potosí. After seeing the lifestyle of the missionaries, I wanted to live like them. At 16, I went to Mexico City to join their novitiate. The words appearing on their vocational outreach literature moved me deeply. They read: “Belonging all to God, in order to belong to all peoples. First is Jesus, who leads us to find others.”
Being from San Luis Potosí, Mexico, I never thought I would be moving this far north. It was all part of God’s plan. Prior to my appointment I spent most of my priestly life on the West Coast of the United States. My order sent me to minister to migrant workers in California for the first time in 1980, four years before I was ordained.
While attending St. John Seminary in Camarillo, California, my love for Jesus deepened and instilled in my heart a greater desire to bring Christ to all people.
As the years unfold, I continue to experience the sense of my own limitations. Even though the growing sense of limitation continues, my faith journey gently reminds me of the overpowering scriptural words: “It was not you who chose me. It was I who chose you.” I believe that and remain committed to daily, extensive time in prayer with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. My relationship with God sustains, enlivens, and invigorates me in such a way that I want to share His love with others.
(Reprinted with permission from the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary, Very Rev. Dennis J. Lyle, Rector/President.)

Your turn
What inspires you? Have you ever been so moved by someone’s example that you decided to answer God’s call? Are you attracted to serving others? How much time do you dedicate to prayer each day?

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