"When you have to talk about yourself, use it as an excuse to thank someone else." It would be good for everyone to follow this advice; however, when you are asked to talk about your vocation, there is no other: you have to talk about yourself.
Having said that, let me introduce myself: my name is Giuseppe Vignati, I'm Italian and I'm 23 years old; I'm part of the Sons of the Cross, of the Casa di Maria community. I was born in Mostar, in Bosnia Herzegovina, and I grew up in a deeply believing family that, through this particular spiritual journey, introduced me to an aspect of faith that marked my vocational history above all: the community dimension.
For me, living my response to God has always been a coexistence with other people, with other hearts, with other stories, and this fact has shaped me more and more deeply, or rather, has helped me in my vocational journey.
The House of Mary is a Marian community, born in the framework of the prayer groups formed in Medjugorje. in the first years of the apparitions. Founded by Don Giacomo Martinelli and Sister Nicoletta Reschini, it has its headquarters in Rome; this community is made up of the religious branch, which are the Sons and Daughters of the Cross, and the families consecrated to the Cross.
My parents, when they joined the community, chose to give their future children not only a carnal family, but also a spiritual family. The community, in addition to the headquarters in Rome, offers services at several Marian sanctuaries in Europe. And I was born just while my parents were in Medjugorje. Since then, I lived my childhood changing houses often: Loreto, Fatima, Rome... I even went to Allumiere, a remote village in the mountains of Tolfa.
I realized from a young age that my family had a different life than all my peers, but I didn't ask myself too many questions; children, you know, are quite self-centered, and I was particularly so. He lived with other children from other families, but this was more of a burden to me than anything else. Although I was taught otherwise in the community, I had never really considered them as my siblings, with whom, among other things, I rarely got along well (we are four boys and one girl).
My first "shock" that took me out of my little world was the so-called "Children's retreat" in Garaison (France), a period of living together among all the children of the community, guided by our superiors and the Daughters of the Cross, we prayed, played, in short, we were together in the joy and enthusiasm of every child.
Living all that, for me, who has always been quite shy and withdrawn, where everything we did was beautiful because we did it together, seeing boys and girls, who loved us as if we were their younger siblings, was really a very strong experience. I still remember it today as if it was yesterday, even though more than ten years have passed.
We enthusiastically absorbed everything he taught us, especially don Giacomo: we had never heard about Jesus with such passion and enthusiasm.But even more, we were struck by the communion and joyful friendship that we saw in the people who followed us on this retreat, capable of living with us and among us with a gratuity and freedom that I had never seen before.
Giuseppe Vignati, a 23-year-old Italian, belongs to the Sons of the Cross of the Marian community Casa di Maria, born in the context of the prayer groups formed in Medjugorje. I was born in Mostar (Bosnia and Herzegovina) into a deeply believing family which, through this particular spiritual journey, introduced me to an aspect of faith that marked my vocational history above all: the community dimension.
"My parents, upon entering the community, chose to give their future children not only a carnal family, but also a spiritual family." states Giuseppe who is pictured here with his mother.
I wish I could say that from then on my life was a quick trip down the road to holiness, but unfortunately that was not the case. We know that the period of adolescence is a period of rebellion, and for me it was no different. For years I have lived coldly everything that was proposed to me in the community, everything that came from my parents, without really getting involved with the brothers and sisters that the Lord had placed at my side.
Looking back on my past, I can say with certainty that I was not a happy child: it is of little use to live with those who gave their whole life to God, if you never knew God; without a true spiritual experience, everything in life becomes external and superficial.
Then, in 2017, like every summer, we children of the House of Mary had our spiritual retreat in Medjugorje. That year, however, it was different: it was as if I had really heard, for the first time, lhe words that Our Lady has been saying there for so many years; tt could all be summed up in this sentence of his: "Put God first."and this desire was born in my heart with extraordinary strength and clarity.
But above all, I saw the way God asked me to do it: in my spiritual family, with my siblings, guided by Mary through the spiritual father and mother she had given me. But the most incredible thing is that many young people in the community, with whom I had shared my journey since I was a child, had a similar experience.
And here I come to the heart of my vocation: fraternal life. My vocation, my story, has never been an individual story and vocation. I grew up with my brothers, God called me with my brothers and I want to live my vocation with the brothers of the community. Rereading my brief history backwards, I can say with certainty that I received God's answers to so many of my requests and so many of my needs in fraternal life. I did not always notice it at the time, but for me it is becoming clearer and clearer that the call to the priesthood that I received that year cannot be separated from the call to communion.
I was very impressed by the testimony of one of my brother priests: to the question "what made you abandon everything to embark on this path?", he, who had a past as a rich and brilliant businessman, answered with disarming simplicity: "when you find something really beautiful, you stick to it and never abandon it". This is the synthesis of every vocation: to find Something, or rather Someone, so beautiful that you decide to leave everything and follow it. Forever.
My vocation, like that of every Christian, is to be a brother and a son. I say son because I cannot think of a response to God, especially as a priest, without being guided by a spiritual father and mother. For me, quite simply, our founders are the voice of God. To see with what affection and dedication they live their relationship with their spiritual children is something that still touches me today.
"My vocation, my story, has never been an individual story and vocation. I grew up with my brothers, God called me with my brothers and I want to live my vocation with the brothers of the community," says Giuseppe Vignati, who appears in the photo with brothers of the Sons of the Cross, of the Marian community Casa di Maria.
He is clear that his call to the priesthood cannot be separated from the call to communion.
In any case, that year I began the path of vocational formation. After high school, my confreres and I undertook the study process required to become priests, attending Philosophy and Theology at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, an incredible environment and university, both because of the professors and fellow students, and because all of us, Sons and Daughters of the Cross, thanks to the help of the benefactors of CARF - Centro Academico Romano Foundation, are able to be formed in this University that has become our second home. I am now finishing the first year of theology, and will complete the three-year theological period at the Pontifical Roman Major Seminary, continuing my formation as a Son of the Cross.
This is, in broad strokes, the story of my vocation. As I said at the beginning, speaking of vocation is always a way of expressing gratitude. Since the list of people to whom my confreres and I are grateful, including the benefactors who allow me to experience formation in Holy Cross, is quite long, we prefer to save space, just a big THANK YOU! Thanks be to the Lord for all that, through His Mother, He has given us: the gifts, the help, the lights, and even the trials he allowed, without which we would never grow.
Of course, there would be so many facts and so many stories to tell, so many realities to talk about, so many signs that we have witnessed. But the only truly important event in every vocation, and also in mine, is the personal and authentic encounter with God, and that is what I want to share the most; the rest comes accordingly.
Gerardo Ferrara
BA in History and Political Science, specializing in the Middle East.
Responsible for the student body
University of the Holy Cross in Rome
