By Elena Macias
Traditionally, when the Office of Vocations announces the names of the new men entering the seminary every year, these men become seminarians and spend their first year of formation at the St. Junipero Serra House of Formation in Grand Terrace. However, this year, six of the eight men must spend their first year as “candidates,” in the propaedeutic (the Greek word for preparatory) stage, together in Bishop White Seminary in Spokane Washington in an environment of fellowship and discernment before formal admission to seminary. Profiles of these six men can be found in the October issue of the BYTE as well the BYTE website.
However, there are two new men who have entered the seminary and remain here in the Diocese at St. Junipero Serra House of Formation. Read below to meet Jose Hernandez and Earl Reyes and learn about their vocational journeys.
Jose Hernandez
Prior to entering the seminary, Jose Hernandez worked as a welder with his father, welding fences, gates and other metal items. For a time in his younger years, Hernandez admits that he was not interested in attending church or receiving the Sacraments.
“I wasn’t really into church,” Hernandez said. “I was partying, I was going out with friends, drinking, and then one day, my mom asked me if I wanted to [receive] my sacraments and I told her that I didn’t want to.”
However, after dismissing his mother’s suggestion, a family friend also urged Hernandez to receive the Sacraments. After this second suggestion, Hernandez says he heard the call from God. From there Hernandez began to attend adult catechism class at his home parish, St. Anthony in Upland.
“I started to learn about God, about church, and then I started to fall more in love with the liturgy,” Hernandez said. “Then from there, I started going to Mass and when it came time, I did my Sacraments. [Receiving] the Eucharist is when I felt that I wanted to know more about the priesthood. I felt warmth in my body, it was beautiful, I can’t explain it.”
Hernandez then became a catechist at St. Anthony, and after a year of teaching, he was discerning more about the priesthood. After discerning, Hernandez decided to call Father Hau Vu, Vocations Director for the Diocese and entered the seminary.
Now in the seminary, Hernandez begins his first year of formation studying philosophy. English not being Hernandez’s first language and being out of school for some time makes it a little more difficult for his studies, but Hernandez is enjoying his time at the Serra House.
“It’s lovely and we have a good fraternity, we have good seminarians here too,” Hernadez said. “The directors are really good as well; they teach us a lot and I’m still learning. I spend a lot of time studying, but I like to spend a lot of my time in the chapel praying the Rosary that’s my devotion.”
When Hernandez is not studying or serving in the Diocese, he enjoys playing soccer and reading.
Earl Reyes
Earl Reyes, a native of the Philippines, has prior seminary formation and has already earned a degree in Philosophy. Reyes is currently undertaking an “Apostolic Year” at St. Christopher Church in Moreno Valley. During this year, he will engage in parish life and gain exposure to various aspects of the Diocese. He will also study Spanish and take some online classes to acclimate to U.S. culture. Following this one-year period, Reyes will proceed to a major theological seminary to commence his graduate studies in Theology.
Reyes can trace back his first thoughts of priesthood to his childhood, when he attended Mass at the age of three or four and watched the priest raise the Eucharist and Blood of Christ.
“There was this feeling of being so close to that moment, it felt like I was immediately in front of the altar,” Reyes said. “It was only later that I learned the name of that sensation: intimacy. And it was in that very moment that I first articulated a desire to be a priest.”
With the desire to become a priest, but no idea what a seminary was, Reyes inquired about a new Catholic High School that was opening.
“This new Catholic high school was actually the high school seminary that was closed 20 years ago,” Reyes said. “It was re-opening, just in time. From then on, I walked by ‘crooked paths made straight,’ taken by His hand ‘through paths unknown to me.’ “
Now Reyes, in his “Apostolic Year,” which aims to have him get more acquainted with the diocesan life, helps assist in pastoral work at St. Christopher Parish in Moreno Valley and assists Fr. Vu at the Office of Vocation.
“At the parish, I assist mainly during the liturgical celebrations and help out in the youth ministry as well as in the different parish activities, and we do have a lot, in whatever way I can,” Reyes said. “Since I am not yet fluent in Spanish, I can only do a ‘ministry of presence’ with the various parish ministries but, fear not, as I am trying to augment this with the help of the Hispanic community of our parish. And I have to say they are always happy and eager to help.”
In his spare time Reyes enjoys reading fiction and non-fiction books, watching TV series, watching anime, and practicing Lectio Divina, a way of encountering the Lord through the scriptures by prayerfully reading and meditating on its sacred pages.
Elena Macias is the Managing Editor of the Inland Catholic BYTE.