Margarita, Manuel, Alex, David and Luis are a few of the benefactors of CARF collaborating in the campaign "Let no vocation be lost".. They tell us why they collaborate in the academic and spiritual formation of priests and seminarians.
Margarita and Manuel: "We learned about CARF from Alejandro Cantero, former president of CARF who passed away a few years ago). He spoke with real enthusiasm about this beautiful work and we witnessed it on our first trip to Rome, on a ENROME meetingwhen we visited the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross and the international seminar Sedes Sapientiae.
On this trip we were able to realize the true sense of universality of the ChurchThe priests and seminarians we met, young people of different races and cultures but with the same enthusiasm, with the same desire, to be formed as priests and then return to their countries of origin, where they will exercise their priestly work among their people and as formators of the seminaries.
We check the atmosphere of joy and service that permeated the seminary, not only among the young people but also with their formators, who are dedicated to caring for their formation and their life of piety.
You can imagine that their stories were very diverse, as was their call to vocation, but we understood right away that We had a responsibility to the Church. We had lamented so many times about the lack of vocations and asked God for them, and now we saw that God does call young people, all over the world, but they need to be formed and formed well, and here we all had a responsibility, so that none of them would be lost due to lack of means.
Getting to know these young people, where they study, how they live and their sense of responsibility, making the most of these formative years, and living in gratitude for it, reaffirmed our desire to do our bit.
We can tell you that We are collaborating with CARF, we are doing so directly with the Church around the world, priests are fundamental pillars, they are the ones who administer the sacraments and, therefore, where a priest carries out his work, the Church arrives.
LuisI got to know CARF through the Foundation's magazine that was sent to my home. It prompted me to help CARF financially, the transcendental importance of priests inside and outside the Church. Inside, for the administration of the sacraments and for the preaching of the Gospels (both decisive for the sanctification of all its members). And outside, for the propagation of the word of the Lord (both by word and example). The holier and better prepared they are, the more effective their work will be for everyone.
I would encourage people to invest in the formation of priests because of the above and the scarcity of financial means, which unfortunately the Church has, especially at this time".
"By collaborating with CARF, we help in a direct way with the Church around the world. Priests are fundamental pillars.
Alex is a benefactor of CARF who is currently collaborating with the formation of seminarian Jacobo Lama from the Dominican Republic, who is studying at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome and has just finished his studies. Alex is dedicated to the formation of people in the search for employment, a goal that he has also transferred to his work: "Priests and seminarians are going to work for God, they are going to be "God's staff". That is why, without financial resources for their formation, it would be very difficult for them to carry out this work to the full," he says.
Alex: "When I went to Rome I was able to get an idea of the importance of the work CARF does and of the human quality of the seminarians who are trained there. Seminarians The vast majority of them are diocesans, who come from the most diverse countries and who will then return to their respective dioceses to multiply the formation they have received. Dioceses that do not have the necessary economic resources, but instead are a wonderful quarry of vocations, a "raw material" that is a gift of the Church and that we must take care of at all costs. I have already been there five times (the foundation has awarded me the medal they give after five ENROME) and every time I come back more admired and encouraged to continue helping out after leaning out of this window from where the universality of the Church can be seen.
I am dedicated to helping people find work and therefore the theme "employment" motivates my day to day. My collaboration with CARF is not unrelated to this because I cannot help but see all these seminarians as "God's staff", those who are going to be on the payroll full time, with an unattractive salary but who contribute for the maximum pension, without a doubt. A job with guaranteed joy, for them and for us. And in the most diverse, distant and unimaginable places.
Entrepreneurs must look at, among other things, the return on any investment we make (ROI) and investing in the training of seminarians (which is tax deductible) is probably the best business you can do as you get "a hundredfold". In these pandemic times we have heard of "essential jobs". To be a priest, to be a priest, is an essential job like few others that does not admit "teleworking". We have a great shortage of priests and it is probably the most difficult position to fill because it is not about having a good grade to join a university or to be trained "online". It is about vocation and God's call. Therefore, when a vocation appears, and even more so if it lacks economic means, we must work hard to take care of it, form it very well and make it succeed.
We complain about the lack of priests but in CARF we have as many as we want, from all countries. They have the vocation. We have the means. It would be unforgivable to lose vocations for lack of economic resources".
"The world needs priests. It would be unforgivable if vocations were lost due to lack of economic resources."
"The world needs priests. It would be unforgivable if vocations were lost due to lack of financial resources.
David encourages collaboration with CARF for the good of the Universal Church. "Priests are very important to maintain Christian culture, traditions and faith, as well as contributing to the great social work that the Church and priests do in many underdeveloped countries," he says.
David: "I learned about CARF through Alejandro Cantero, who at that time, in 2005, was the President of the Foundation. He, with his patience and as if he had all the time for me, was explaining to me from his origins, trajectory and objectives pursued.
Among the aims of the Foundation are the integral formation of diocesan priests and seminarians from all over the world, especially from the most needy countries. In the first place, scholarships are given to seminarians who apply and are sent by the Bishops of the five continents.
CARF also dedicates its activities to the promotion and maintenance of the Pontifical Centers and Institutions where priests and seminarians live or receive formation.
After the extensive and complete presentation that Alejandro Cantero made to me, he proposed me to collaborate as a member of the Board of Trustees that governs the Foundation; and in spite of the great responsibility that it meant for me, I decided to accept the position. I knew from the previous explanations that the Foundation is a non-profit entity and I assumed from the beginning that this was going to cost me time and money; but the motivation for accepting the position was the observation of the need to defend my traditions, my beliefs and my culture, given my status as a Catholic and my Faith.
I thought: from this Foundation we can change the world, and how!
Later, working in the CARF, I verified in my person, how two characteristics infused by Baptism were fulfilled, which are: the Priestly Soul and the Apostolate. Priestly soul, to become aware of helping your Church, may it be Holy, Roman and Universal.
Apostolate, according to the Gospel mandate: "Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel". And who better than priests to preach the Gospel. So I had only to help and contribute with my means and according to my possibilities to that priority work of the Church where you touch its heart, its spinal cord. As Catholic Theology says, the Church needs the Eucharist and the Eucharist needs the priests.
That firm decision to dedicate time and work to collaborate with CARF, sharing it with a demanding professional job and with the duties of a large family of six children in my case, is something that has done me a lot of good and that I would like to share with all those people who would like to help us as collaborators or benefactors, working on something so fascinating and for which God will reward us abundantly.
Some may dedicate a lot of time, others less, but the important thing is to carry this message in our hearts and take advantage of every opportunity to inform and enthuse others about the objective and the work we do.
An anecdote comes to my mind that I was told about a Brotherhood in Andalusia, which took an image in procession and to defray the expenses, they put underneath a jar with a cardboard that said: with these donations we cover the annual expenses. The way to collaborate is as follows:
He who has a lot, with a lot.
He who has less, with less.
And he who has nothing, with nothing.
In CARF even if you have nothing it does not matter, because we can all pray and ask God for the Church and to send us many and holy priests. This is how the world would change, spreading Catholicism, speaking the Truth in capital letters, with freedom and without impositions.
I would encourage many people to collaborate with CARF because of the good they do for the Universal Church and also for themselves. And it is very important to maintain the Christian culture, traditions and faith; besides contributing to the great social work that the Church and priests do in many underdeveloped countries.
