"LORD, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer, My God, my rock of refuge, my shield, my saving horn, my stronghold!"(Psalm 18:3).

The Lord has blessed me with so many gifts of love throughout my life, so many reasons to give thanks and to trust in the Lord as my rock and my stronghold. With that trust, I am studying to become a priest at St. John's Seminary.

Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be dedicating myself to the Lord as a priest. Then again, barely out of my teens, I have not been around that long to think about it! Nonetheless, the profound influence of my "growing-up" has led me to the Lord today.

I have been blessed with a wonderful family. Since I was a kid, my parents always taught my sister, my brother and me to put family first. We always have had dinners together, vacations together, and try to spend as much time as we can together. Most importantly, my parents have always supported my decisions in life, only requiring that what I do makes me truly happy.

With that in mind, I have always loved science and my plan through elementary, junior high and high school was to be a geologist (Hence, the Lord is my "rock"!). However, hearing Cardinal Mahony's call for vocations at Youth Day in 2003, I heard the Lord call to me. I began to discern the priesthood, getting the support of the wonderful team in the Archdiocese's Vocation Office.

I continued to study geology at UCLA, but my passion for the Lord grew. I realized that the true happiness of my life came not from studying rocks, but from ministering at my home parish, St. Robert Bellarmine in Burbank, and at my college parish, the University Catholic Center (UCC) at UCLA.

And so, earlier this year, I received my B.S. in Geology and completed the application process into the seminary. It is a source of great joy to be able to begin the commitment of my life to sharing my faith with others and being present to them as God has been present to me. I only hope that I can follow the model of my spiritual director and the wonderful priests in my life who have been present to me in my discernment.

I pray that the Lord will continue to bless me and all seminarians in our formation and to bless those who form us at the seminary.

Mary, Mother of Priests, pray for us!

This is part of a periodic series spotlighting those in formation for priesthood for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. For information on priesthood, contact the Office of Vocations, (213) 637-7248.