Following God's call from legal career to seminarian

Courtesy photo

+ Enlarge

José Luis Gómez

SALT LAKE CITY — Born and raised in Mexico City, José Luis Gómez  was nurtured in a Catholic family; the youngest of three siblings, he has been used to being in church since he was born.

“My family went a lot to church, and that translated into a friendship with priests,” said Gómez, who is now one of the eight seminarians for the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City.

Despite his closeness to the Catholic Church, Gomez didn’t enter the seminary until after he graduated from the university with a bachelor’s degree in law and then worked in the Mexican president’s office and for the Mexican federal government.

Despite his successful career, “there was always something in my heart, it felt like there was an emptiness,” he said, so he decided to go through a deep discernment with the Benedictine monks in San Miguel de Allende Guanajuato. While there, he lived a cloistered monk’s life, which included waking at 3 a.m. to pray.

“This time, this silence, really helped me discern what I really wanted,” said Gomez, who at the end of this period of discernment decided that he wanted to be a priest.

The next step was to figure out where he was being called to serve.

”I kept on asking our Lord where He wanted me to be,” he said.

Things started unfolding. The problems with migrants were arising, and Gomez decided he wanted to be part of their journey, to help them.

“Being a lawyer helped me to have that global vision of human rights and the dignity of life,” he said.

Gomez contacted Fr. Javier Virgen, who at the time was the Diocese of Salt Lake City’s vocations director. With the help of Fr. Jorge Roldan, parochial vicar of Saints Peter and Paul Parish, and Fr. Eleazar Silva, pastor of Sacred Heart Parish, Gomez’s dream of becoming a seminarian in a place where he could walk together with migrants became a reality.

“My family and friends were a bit concerned about my decision; they told me that my life had already been established, I was making good money with my law degree … but after I explained to them how I really felt and how I knew God was calling me, they supported my decision,” Gomez said.

Reflecting on how migrants who live in Utah have many needs; how they leave their home country with lots of fears in search for a better life for their families and a better future for their children; running from violence, threats and extreme poverty, Gomez was assured that God wanted him in Utah, he said.

Right now he is taking English language classes at the University of Utah. He is assigned to Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Salt Lake City, where on weekends he helps the pastor, Fr. J.J. Schwall. He is scheduled to enter Mount Angel Seminary in Oregon in January, where he will start pre-theology coursework.

Living in Utah has changed him, he said.

“My vocation is stronger than ever. ... This time here [in Utah] has helped me to spend more time with Our Lord, to talk with Him to know that He is always by my side. ... All this has reinforced my vocation. It’s not easy to be away from your family, from your friends, from the people that you know,” Gomez said.

His refuge is the sanctuary, where he spends hours praying and meditating, he said.

People who feel they may have a vocation to religious life or the priesthood should “put themselves in God’s hands” and find a guide, such as a priest they can trust, he said.

“They have to look inside of themselves and recognize what they are really feeling. Don’t be cowards. Many are called but only a few have the decision,” he said.

If someone feels that God is calling him or her to a religious vocation, “be courageous and follow Him,” Gomez advised. “Keep your eyes to the front, don’t look back. Say ‘Here I am to love you, to serve you,’ and everything will unfold. He will guide you.”