 Br. Michael Augustine Amabisco, OP
I was born and raised in Orange County, California and I am the youngest of four
children. I wasn't raised in the Catholic faith, or any faith for that matter. Attending
church wasn't one of the activities we shared as a family. Now don't get me wrong, we
weren't a household of pagans, we knew who Jesus was, we just didn't belong to any
organized church. That slowly started to change for me when I was in the 4th grade. That
was the year I met my best friend. He and his family were Catholic and I would
occasionally attend Mass with them, and that is where the seeds of my faith were first
planted. After years of exploring different Protestant faiths and not finding the answers
I was looking for, I found myself praying in a Catholic church and feeling that I had
finally found a home. At age 23, I was baptized and confirmed in the Catholic Church.
This
is when the first inklings of my vocation started to appear. Not too long after I entered
the Church I began to think about the priesthood, but dismissed the thoughts and feelings
and figured it was just the fire and fervor of my conversion coming out. After a few years
the call to priesthood was back. I began a serious discernment with the aid of the local
diocesan vocation director and began to seriously consider studying and preparing for the
priesthood. As the time to make that decision came closer, I found that my fear of the
commitment was stronger than my faith. I abandoned my discernment and went back to the
pursuit of career, money, and materialism.
Three years later I find myself living in Houston, Texas. My career was taking off; I
was making good money and had most of the material things I wanted. I had those things
that I thought would make me happy, but I found myself feeling unfulfilled. One day while
at Mass, it struck me. "That priest has the best life. He is God's instrument that
brings Christ to the world in the Eucharist. That is the life I want." I heard my
vocation call again, and this time I listened. With lots of prayer and the graces of God,
I found my way to the Dominicans and the fulfillment I was searching for.
God works in strange and miraculous ways. It took me many
years to listen to His call, and entering religious life at age 37 was evidence of God's
wonderful way of guiding my life. I encourage all that read this to listen to God's call
in your life. I heard a wise priest once say, "Step aside and let God do his
work." Have the courage and faith to let God do his work in your life.
[Updated 9/10/03]
|
