FROM THE DESK OF OUR SUMMER SEMINARIAN

ello St. Edward’s Community! My name is Fredy Calderon. I am 27-years-old. I am a seminarian studying for the Archdiocese of Washington at Redemptoris Mater Seminary (Latin for ‘mother of the Redeemer’); even though it sounds like the ‘Redemptorist’ order, we are not from a religious order. We are one of the 2 Archdiocesan seminaries! The vocations from my seminary come from the communities of the Neocatechumenal Way around the world, and we study to be priests of this great Archdiocese. I have been in formation for 6 years, and I just finished my 1^st year of theology at Catholic University in D.C. I am originally from El Salvador, but I have lived in Maryland with my family for several years, so Laurel is home for me. I am the eldest of two brothers. My home parish is St. Catherine Labourè in Wheaton.
The story of my vocation is not short, so in the interest of space I will share the abbreviated version with all of you. I first felt God was calling me when I was 12-years-old, right after my parents came back to the Church after being away for many years. However, it seemed to me that the call was too high or surreal for me so I dismissed it. I went through the difficult high school years always with a question mark about it, but the ‘concerns of the world’ and the life of a teenager made me put any thought about it aside. I thought it would be impossible for me to follow God because I was not very religious. I was not the greatest student, and I liked to date and wanted to marry (I thought all those were disqualifying factors!). Nevertheless, God did not give up on me and kept trying to get me.
Fast forward to some years after high school, the thought of priesthood had vanished completely, but I still had a huge desire to be loved, to love truly and to be happy. The things that I had and the people around me were not enough to quench that desire. When I thought that I could not be happy in life that is when God appeared again and reminded me of the call. I attended a pilgrimage with my Neocatechumenal community and with the youth of the Neocatechumenal Way of the United States to Chicago, IL in 2012. It was a vocational meeting and there in the midst of my sadness God offered me happiness! I felt clearly that God was calling me but I still remained very afraid. Then in 2013 I attended World Youth Day in Rio, Brazil with the same group of people to meet Pope Francis. It was there that God confirmed my vocation and told me that the call did not depend on me nor on my human qualities, but on his love. I stopped being afraid and received the grace to believe that He alone could make me happy! I entered the seminary in September of that same year and have been there ever since.
I can only say that God has been good and faithful to me always and that he loves me even though I am a poor sinner in need of his mercy. I am very happy to be here at St. Edward’s with all of you, and I am looking forward to meeting you and sharing more about Our Lord with you all!