That July 4, 2017, began as a normal day. In the morning, I had taken an exam, and the afternoon was typical for a student in his final year of law school. That day, however, through a series of circumstances, I realized that my happiness did not depend on the success of my projects, big or small, but rather that it was a gift that could only be received. At the same time, for the first time in my life, I felt that God was calling me to give him everything. But there was a problem: I already had plans for my career and I wanted to start a family.
So the struggle began: having previously attended the Military Academy in Modena, I was not willing to give up even an inch of the battlefield. At a certain point, however, from the fertile ground prepared by my parents’ education and the constant company of my friends, the first sprout appeared. I proposed a truce to the good Lord, saying, “Lord, know that I want to do something else. However, I have realized that only You can make me truly happy, so let your will be done, not mine! I have other plans, but if you really want my whole life, I could go along with it. But allow me to understand!” At that point, I confided in a friend who, to help me see what was happening to me, introduced me to a priest, Don Antonio Anastasio. After listening to me at length, he suggested a very simple path: “Continue with your life as a university student. But set aside some time each day for prayer, that is, for a personal relationship and dialogue with God.” This simple suggestion changed my life.
“I have other plans, but if you really want my whole life, I could go along with it. But allow me to understand!”
My last year at university was fantastic: I began to enjoy everything more, many friendships blossomed again and new ones were formed. I began to experience the hundredfold! And it was precisely because of this experience of fulfillment that I decided to leave everything behind, friends and plans, to ask to be admitted to the seminary of the Fraternity of St. Charles. It was a community of missionary priests that I had known for some time and that had immediately made me say, “These are the happiest people I have ever met. When I grow up, I want to be happy like them.”
The definitive certainty that God was truly calling me to be a missionary priest came later, when, halfway through my formation, I was sent to Colombia for a year of mission. In that distant land, I was asked to teach religion to children in first, second, and third grade. It was a far cry from my plan to become an officer and start a family. Yet I was truly happy!
These are the reasons why I eagerly await June 21, 2025, the day when I will be able to definitively say yes to Christ’s proposal to belong totally to Him through priestly ordination.
Looking back on my life, I cannot fail to recognize the manifestation of God’s great preference and immense love for me. All this will culminate in the definitive vocational step I am about to take, through priestly ordination. Ultimately, it is nothing more than the question “Do you love that Christ asked Peter yesterday and repeats to me today. I too, supported by many friends and the intercession of all the saints, wish to respond with boldness and a joyful heart: “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you!”.
