Growing up in sincere devotion to the Holy Family and Catholic Saints and in obedience to the Teachings of the Church, I always dreamed of becoming a Catholic priest or missionary for Jesus and bringing His teachings to those in need worldwide. As much as I longed to fulfill this calling, my responsibility as the only son of my parents meant that I had to choose an ordinary life in order to provide for them. Still, I never stopped dreaming of being able to share His teachings with others, and so throughout my childhood, I held onto cherished memories of attending holy Mass daily at my native parish, praying with my family every evening and hearing stories of Catholic Saints and bible heroes from my elders. In my heart, I knew that even though I could not go out as a missionary, I could still follow Jesus’s mission in different ways. Therefore, with Faith and humility, I dedicated myself to living with love for others, being open to His will and teachings no matter what Life brought my way.
The story of the Donkey in the Bible has been remarkable to me since I was a child. Growing up, I never entirely understood why God chose an abandoned Donkey from the streets to carry Jesus on His entry into Jerusalem. After pondering it for many years, my Sunday School teacher taught us that Jesus’ choosing of the Donkey was a message from God that
“no matter what others may say about you or how abandoned and rejected you may feel, God still needs you. God uses all kinds of people, even those who feel forgotten and used up. He needs us all because we each have something to offer Him on His journey through our lives.”
These teachings from my Sunday school teacher kept motivating me in my childhood days that, one day, I would become the ‘Donkey of Jesus’ to carry him everywhere I go. This dream has always motivated me to proclaim my Faith wherever I went over these years.