Seminarians Leonel González Chuscoff from Argentina and José Feliciano Salas from Mexico, students of the Ecclesiastical Faculties of Navarra in Pamplona and residents of the Bidasoa International Ecclesiastical College have carried out their pastoral activity this summer in the Basilica of the Great Promise in Valladolid. Both went to the Basilica to be close to the Heart of Jesus, to pray so that the words of the prophet Jeremiah "I will give you shepherds after my own heart" may come to life in them.
José Feliciano Salas González is 31 years old and has been with the company for two years. Bidasoa. He is in the fourth year of his Bachelor's Degree in Sacred Theology and has one year left to finish his formation period. He tells us his testimony of vocation and his days in the Basilica of Valladolid.
"I must begin by saying that, after more than eight years of thinking about the mystery of my vocation, I still cannot articulate how it was that the Lord called me to be with Him in the priestly life. What is certain is that, I have always felt a restlessness, although sometimes very subtle, by the priestly life.
However, since the Lord gave me the grace of being born into a loving Christian family and, above all, seeing the love with which my parents love each other, as an adolescent I also desired to have a family like mine as an adult. These desires, however, clashed with my "innate" restlessness for the priestly life, so I asked for vocational accompaniment.
During this period (I was 14 years old at the time) I realized that the Lord was inviting me to follow him along the path of the priesthood, but I was the one who was not completely convinced by this path so, to excuse myself, I chose to study a civil career in order to "continue" discerning my vocation.
In this way, almost ten years went by in which, in one way or another, I was running away from the call I felt in my heart from the Lord because I had already made a project for my life. However, everything changed on a Wednesday night in July 2013 when, after coming home from work (I had already finished my degree in Public Accounting and worked in an accounting-fiscal office) I started listening to music from my laptop.
Randomly, he started a song called "forgiveness" in which, In an inexplicable way I felt, as never before, the call of the LordThe constant, but weak restlessness that I had always felt for the priestly life after that song became such a certainty that in my heart I had no doubt what kind of life the Lord was calling me to.
Three weeks later, on July 24, 2013 I entered the seminary, and from that date until today, not without the natural difficulties, I have had a full and meaningful life and every day I thank my Lord for the grace of his call and ask him to give me and my other brother seminarians the gift of perseverance.
José Feliciano Salas González is 31 years old and has been in Bidasoa for two years. He is in the fourth year of his bachelor's degree in Sacred Theology and has one year left to finish his formation period. About his pastoral experience in the Basilica of the Great Promise in Valladolid he says: "The Lord gave me the grace to understand that the revelation of the Heart of Jesus is not just another devotion, much less a nice metaphor, but that Jesus really has a heart, a heart as real as mine that beats with love for me".
When I arrived in Valladolid, it was surprise after surprise: first I went with the idea that it was a parish, and it turned out to be a Spirituality CenterSecondly, I went with the idea of having "pastoral work", that is to say, to do tasks related to parish life and the first thing that Don Julio, the director of the center, proposed to us was to participate in a spiritual exercise of total silence.
On the same day we learned that that spirituality center was very specialThe revelations of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to Blessed Bernardo F. de Hoyos, a great mystic whose name I did not even know, had taken place there. There was a certain "mysticism" in the atmosphere that was very inviting for reflection and prayer.
In retrospect, I can say that this "pastoral" was quite unique: instead of going to talk about God, the Lord asked me to remain silent so that He could speak to me; instead of going to "work" He asked me to rest and, at that halt, He made me rediscover the greatness of His love and the reason for His choice: He called me not for anything else but to be with Him and only from Him to be able to bear fruit.
The Lord gave me the grace to understand that the revelation of the Heart of Jesus is not just one more devotion, much less a nice metaphor, but that Jesus really has a heart, a heart as real as mine that beats with love for me. and that this Heart is not interested in having "workers" who "do" things for Him, but what He longs for is to have friends, friends who are with Him and do the work of the Heavenly Father from Him.
Now I begin my penultimate year of studies in Bidasoa with renewed enthusiasm, seeking to strengthen my relationship of friendship with the Lord, because it is only from God that my life can be truly fruitful. future priestly life if your goodness grants me such an ineffable gift".
Leonel: "I can summarize my pastoral experience in Valladolid with these three words: rest, joy and availability".
Héctor Leonel González Chuscoff, "Lio" to his friends, is 28 years old and was born in the city of Presidencia Roque Sáenz Peña, located in the northeast of Argentina in the province of Chaco. He left his career in Industrial Engineering when God made him discover that there was something else that would fill his heart to the fullest. About his pastoral experience in Valladolid he says: "I can summarize my pastoral experience in the Basilica of the Great Promise with these three words: rest, joy and availability".
Héctor Leonel González Chuscoff, "Lio" to his friends, is 28 years old and was born in the city of Presidencia Roque Sáenz Peña, located in the northeast of Argentina in the province of Chaco. He tells us about his vocation and his pastoral experience in the Basilica.
"I have been in formation for the priesthood for four and a half years now. of which 3 years of philosophy I studied in the diocesan seminary of my city and the rest, the theological stage, I am doing in the Ecclesiastical Faculties of Navarra in Pamplona thanks to the help of the CARF Foundation that gives me the possibility to grow spiritually and doctrinally both in the Faculty and in the international seminary Bidasoa.
I left my Industrial Engineering career when God made me discover that there was something else that would fill my heart to the fullest. It was not a hasty decision, nor was it taken lightly.. If there is anything that can explain what prompted my decision and that has helped me to mature my response, it was these words that a priest told me: "That not to decide is to say" and that "in our indecisions many souls are lost".
I understood this very clearly and it made me think about the need for priestsI see this not only in my diocese but in the whole world and it is something that now, living with people of more than 30 nationalities, I see clearly.
I entered the seminary at the age of 24. God has been very patient with me and has known how to wait, always respecting my freedom. God always waits for us, he waits for us to respond to his call, respecting our decision. Vocation is a joy to be lived in community because that is where it arises and grows.
I also believe that it was not easy for my father. I remember that day when I told him, with total firmness and conviction: 'Pa I'm going to the seminary'. At first he didn't believe it until he saw my determination. Now, hearing from third parties the joy that my dad transmits for having a seminarian son makes me very happy. I have discovered that, although God is calling me, they are also part of my calling, because they accompany me.
My family is Christian and since I was a child I have always gone to mass with my parents. The education they gave me strengthened my interest in growing and being formed in the faith. Also very important in my vocational journey were the priests who accompanied me spiritually.
Regarding the pastoral experience carried out in August at the Shrine of the Great Promise, which is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, I believe that we were privileged by God to have the possibility of getting to know a little of the pastoral work of the priest of the Basilica.
Our pastoral time also consists of this, to take full advantage of this to continue our training and to see what are the tasks that a priest carries out because that is what we will dedicate our whole life to tomorrow.
I can sum up my pastoral experience in Valladolid with these three words: rest, joy and availability.
Rest because they have been days of intense recollection and prayer during the spiritual exercises we have been doing. In my heart resounded the call of God to rest in Him, because He is the Love we all seek.
The joy because it is proper to the Christian, we are called to transmit, not only with our face but with our whole life, whether it be a gesture, a word, serving at the altar, whatever the vocation to which God has called us. We are all called to share this joy.
Availability because we have accepted this vocation to serve, to be a presence of Christ himself among men and women and of the Church herself, which is a servant.
What I take with me as an experience is not only the testimony of a priest, of his service and dedication, but rather the commitment to pray for this new community, for these people that God gave me to meet, people who every day pray not only for their needs, but for the whole world.
The grace and presence of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which was revealed in this place to Blessed Bernardo de Hoyos, is felt and made present in the piety, the living Faith of these people and the recollection that one finds in the Sanctuary.
The National Basilica of the Great Promise is located in Valladolid. There in 1733 Fr. Hoyos, Blessed Bernardo Francisco de Hoyos, received from the Heart of Jesus the revelation of the Great Promise. "I will reign in Spain and with more veneration than elsewhere."
It is a temple of atonement and reparation by order of his holiness Pius XI. In the main altarpiece there is a wonderful image of the Heart of Jesus of 4 and a half meters. Many pilgrims, faithful who come to pray at his feet, to consecrate themselves to the Heart of Jesus, seeking to resemble their hearts to the Heart of Jesus, to the feelings of Jesus Christ.
August 4, St. John Mary Vianney, patron of parish priests and a great example for priests, was a special day of prayer for priests and for more priestly vocations. His phrase "The priesthood is Love in the Heart of Jesus" echoes in the hearts of many young men called to priestly ministry.
This is the case of Leonel Gonzalez Chuscoff from Argentina and Jose Feliciano Salas Gonzalez from Mexico, seminarians studying at the Ecclesiastical Faculties of Navarra in Pamplona, whose studies are supported by CARF. Both went to the Basilica of the Great Promise, to be close to the Heart of Jesus, to pray that the words of the prophet Jeremiah "I will give you shepherds after my own heart" (Jer 3:15) may come to life in them.
