Jeus Jardin has found his vocation in the Eucharistleaving his nursing career to follow God's invitation to become a priest.
Coming from a non-practicing family, this Filipino priest who, after resisting God's call for a time, offers us his testimony of how he ended up surrendering to the voice that asked him to consecrate himself to Him alone.
God writes straight in crooked lines and creates authentic works of art. This is the case of Father Jeus Jardin, a Filipino priest of the Archdiocese of Davao, who came to know the love of God in his childhood and adolescence, despite coming from a non-practicing family, thanks to the important role of his grandmother.
When he had already taken the big step to become a priest, and even with the opposition of his parents, he ended up leaving the seminary a short time later. He studied nursing and went on to work as a university professor. But those letters that God had instilled in his heart would not be erased, until, finally, he had to surrender to the evidence about the path he had to follow.
He had a good life and had even obtained permission to practice nursing in the United States, but he knew he was called to a much higher mission. So, in humility and eight years later, he asked to re-enter the seminary to be finally ordained. priest in 2017. And he saw that everything was well done.
"God always has his way of making his will known through the desires of each heart, and the same thing happened with me, because I felt that the Lord kept calling me to the priesthood," he explains in this interview.
Jeus confesses that his heart told him that, if he wanted to be happy, he had to return to his origins, in this case, to the seminary. In reality, his life was going well, but neither money nor the fear of losing everything he had achieved professionally could not overcome God's call. "I saw that happiness did not come from there, and my heart felt it," he adds.
When he re-entered the seminary, his bishop decided to send him to study at the Bidasoa International Seminar and the University of Navarra, thanks to a study grant from the CARF Foundation, which allowed him to strengthen and confirm his priestly vocation.
"I was in Pamplona for seven years, five as a seminarian in Bidasoa and two as a priest. Pamplona is my second home. As a seminarian, I had formators who are truly men of God, who taught me not only with their words, but also with their own lives, what a priest is like," says Jeus Jardin with conviction.
His years in Pamplona not only gave him a solid intellectual formation, but, citing specifically Bidasoa, the University of Navarra and, in his second stage in Spain, the Cristo Rey residence on Padre Barace Street in Pamplona, he assures that it was in these places "where they taught me to be a priest, a friend and a person, and that is why I can say that they have taught me a lot".
Now it is Jeus Jardin himself who transmits this same spirit in the seminary of his archdiocese, where he shows young people the great challenges facing priests today. In his opinion, these are the best pieces of advice to face them: "try to know one's limitations and not exceed them; value the times of prayer and spiritual direction; and learn to rest with Our Mother and the Lord". In addition, he stresses the importance of the Holy Mass: "the priest finds his fundamental reason for being in the Eucharistis the reason for his priesthood".
In the face of the vocation crisis that seems to be plaguing the Church at the moment, Father Jeus is hopeful and assures us that "the Lord is always calling, although to hear his voice we need to be able to listen and not be afraid of silence, because the Lord calls, but his voice is subtle".
To the young people who have already heard this call, he invites them not to be afraid to respond. "In my experience, I see how I was very afraid to leave the things I had: that I would earn less money, that I could not have a house or a car. But the Lord is a good payer. We are not called only to have material goods. We are called to a transcendent life, to a life in communion with God. That is where our happiness lies," he adds.
As his most memorable moment as a priest, he recalls one in which he was able to experience Providence in a very clear way, where he had to put into practice everything he had previously learned. "In the seminary where I am now as bursar, we faced an outbreak of COVID with about 75 people infected among seminarians and priests.
My test was negative, but, because of the charge I had, I decided to be with all those who were sick. We were able to live together and survive, and really experience God's providence. The days of quarantine with the seminarians and priests have become unforgettable days for me," he recalls.
Finally, this priest from the Philippines wants to express his gratitude to the benefactors of the CARF Foundation who have done him so much good, first as a seminarian and then as a priest: "Thank you all very much. Your support makes it possible for seminarians and priests like me to receive the necessary formation for the task of being a pastor. May God repay you.
