He was accompanying some relatives on that visit, but his vocation to the priesthood was also forged at the university. There he realized that God was calling him to give himself completely to Him and to serve Him as a priest.
For several years this young Venezuelan studied in Rome at the International Ecclesiastical College Sedes Sapientiae, where he received an academic, human and spiritual formation that helped him to teach in the seminary of his diocese. In this interview with the CARF Foundation, he talks about life in Venezuela and the events that would eventually lead him to become a priest, a vocation in which he has found fulfillment, being able to serve God and people in need of answers in a world that offers the easiest path, but fails to fill their yearning for happiness.
Father Edicson Acosta as a Venezuelan is very aware of the complicated social situation in his country. "But despite the fact that in Venezuela the social situation is complicated, the health of the Church and Catholics is very good. The faith of the people is always strong. In the midst of the country's difficulties, people have turned to God. Although it is true that there was a strong moment, people find consolation and strength in God. There is a lot of participation in the Mass and in the various apostolate groups. The laity are a great support for the parish priests".
And what was Edicson Acosta's life like before he became a priest? Well, a normal life. Before becoming a priest he studied at the university and obtained a degree in Education with a major in Biology and Chemistry. However, he always had a very close life in the parish, where he worked as a catechist and also as a member of the choir.
He knew that God was calling him to the priesthood in 2004. Since he was young, he has always been involved in parish life and remembers that once "I went with my sister to visit a seminarian who was starting seminary and was her friend. We attended Mass and When I saw all the seminarians, a question came to me: "What would it be like to be there?
But it was something that did not have much significance at the time. He later started college. At first he began a career in mechanical engineering, which he later abandoned to study biology.
The Divino Maestro university parish was located on the university premises, and he began to be part of it. "There I had the opportunity to make my first spiritual retreats in which that old question made its appearance again and began to get louder. From that moment on I could not silence it, although I tried many times. I remember the rebellions of Jonah, of Isaiah and I lived the same", Edicson Acosta remembers with affection.
But let's see what situation made him say yes definitively to the Lord. The decisive moment took place on the premises of the seminary, where he was invited as a judge for the vocational song festival that is held every year.
Right at the beginning they showed a vocational video in which he saw clearly reflected his vocational experience, also with the visits to the Blessed Sacrament asking God what he wanted from him. "As I was watching the video, tears started to appear and my heart was pounding. At that moment I received a text message from my twin brother, who was present, telling me, 'I know what you are feeling.' That day I told the Lord: "Okay, I know you're calling me, I'm going to answer and be a priest"."
Previously, he had begun to receive spiritual direction with a priest and it was he who helped him make the decision. So it was that on September 22, 2013 he entered the seminary, and later, on August 27, 2014 he began his Roman experience.
Let us now go to Rome to learn about his experience as a seminarian at Sedes Sapientiae. For Edicson, the experience that impressed him the most was to feel the universality of the Church when they all gathered in the chapel of the Sedes Sapientiae International School.
Edicson Acosta recalls that "we were from many countries and all called to be priests from different realities and cultures. But the call to the priesthood was the same. On the other hand, the experience that I still have is to have built great friendships with companions with whom I maintain communication. And my heart is enlarged because when I think of China, Switzerland, Tanzania, El Salvador, Argentina, Sri Lanka or Ecuador, a face appears, a friend. It is extraordinary.
Formation always helps. And his three years of formation in Rome, he can say with great conviction, after almost six years of having returned to Venezuela, were engraved in him especially in everything related to the experience of baptism, virtues, fraternity or spiritual accompaniment. But especially for the love of the Church, the Pope, his bishop, in other words, "fidelity to the Church".
Today he thanks God for the WorkIt has been a great support for him during his first years of ministry, which were also spent living in Madrid, because it allows him to meet "with other priests, to maintain spiritual direction and frequent confession".
The intellectual formation in Rome allowed him to broaden his vision of the world, as well as his training in order to be able to support teaching at the seminary in the Diocese of San Cristobalin Venezuela.
In his short time as a priest, one of the most memorable moments for him is confession, to be able to be a witness of God's mercy when a person comes and tells him, for example, that he has not confessed for more than 20 years, and to see how he encounters Jesus who forgives him.
From his young experience, what the priest needs, to face the many challenges he faces, is "prayer, friends-fraternity, as well as frequent spiritual direction and confession", Edicson Acosta is very clear.
Do you want to say something to the benefactors of the CARF Foundation?
Finally, he remembered the benefactors of the CARF Foundation who do great work. And he adds with forcefulness: "I ask you to continue supporting so many seminarians and priests, because the Lord will multiply them a hundredfold. Thank you very much for having contributed to my formation. God bless you.
