Laboure Society
“It’s my prayer that God would use the vehicle of my priesthood to work with youth discerning their own vocations.”
Meet the rest of my class
My name is Enrique Garcia. I am called to serve Christ and His Church as a priest with the Diocese of El Paso. This is my story.
I was raised in a devout Catholic family with my four siblings. We were deeply involved in parish life in our home church in El Paso, Texas. When I wasn’t serving at Mass, I was playing sports and throwing myself enthusiastically into reading and learning.
My mother has been a constant rock of faith and prayer for me, as St. Monica was for St. Augustine. No matter how much I neglected my relationship with her and my father through the years, she was there to intercede for me and remind me of God’s love. I spent many years physically and emotionally removed from my parents, but like the Prodigal Son, I’ve come to realize that God was calling me back to my mother’s side as an important step towards the priesthood. He’s asked me to practice serving Him by first serving my mother. I pray that, God willing, He grants me the consolation of allowing my mother to live long enough to see me be ordained a priest.
Though I heard the call to the priesthood in elementary and high school, the calling lay dormant through my college years. After a period of lapsed faith, I went on a pilgrimage to the Basilica of San Juan in Texas. There, I went to Confession for the first time in years. As I prayed the Stations of the Cross, I was moved to tears.
I had spent years as a high school English and history teacher, as well as an administrator, in public schools. In time, God helped me along my vocation journey by placing the desire in my heart to serve Him as an educator in a Catholic school. When I became the principal at a Catholic high school, I realized that I was responsible for being a faithful steward and spiritual leader for my students and staff. In this way, He gradually opened my mind and heart to saying “yes” to the priesthood.
When I finally said that full “yes,” I stumbled upon the High Calling Program, a year-long program designed to help men discerning a call to the priesthood. Led by priests, this formation was instrumental in preparing me for the seminary.
When I answered God’s calling to the priesthood, I knew I wanted to join the seminary where my journey first began: El Paso, Texas.
It’s my prayer that God would use the vehicle of my priesthood to work with youth discerning their own vocations. My hope is that I will be able to help young people grow in their faith and be better prepared than I was to overcome the challenges they’ll face in college and beyond.
Please pray for me and for my fellow Labouré classmates on our vocation journeys. Feel free to reach out with any questions you might have at: enrique@rescuevocations.org.
Download a PDF of my story
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