To the Band of Brothers: January 12, 2021
Good morning!
Yesterday, Fr. Minsal celebrated the one-year anniversary of his priesthood. Amazing, I can’t believe it’s been one year (because it seems like 10). I remember how excited we were as the day approached when another Belen alumnus was going to be included in the priestly ranks. As you know, it doesn’t happen every day or every year for that matter. So, on the rare occasions it does, we have to be sure and make it as big as possible.
I remember Fr. Minsal when he was a student at Belen. He was in my Honors Philosophy class. It was only for a semester because I got shipped off to Chile for a year. Fr Cartaya took over the class and the kids were thrilled. I think they watched The Exorcist three times. By the time I returned, he had graduated, but we stayed in touch. As vocation promoter, I smelled a vocation in him and wanted to be sure he wouldn’t be one of the ones who got away.
Through his years at Xavier University, we were able to talk and you could see how the Lord was working in him. His visits to Miami were great opportunities to touch base and listen to how the Holy Spirit was slowly but surely guiding him towards the Jesuits and to the priesthood. It was great to see as the whole process matured and eventually came to fruition when he applied and was accepted into the novitiate.
Since Fr. Minsal there have been a couple more alumni considering the priesthood. Eric
Couto ’13 is finishing up his philosophy studies at St. Louis University and Pablo Velásquez ’12 is in his first year of the novitiate. Currently, there are a couple of other Belen alumni who are discerning their vocation and trying to figure it out. They are currently in the process of actively asking God to guide them to the right decision. Will it be a vocation to the priesthood or to the married life?
Here’s the thing. Belen currently has enrolled 1,382 students. That means there are 1,382 potential vocations. That means there are 1,382 possible priests among us. I know what you’re thinking… “not me,” “no way,” “that can never happen.” I know that’s what you’re thinking because that’s exactly what I was thinking when I was among your ranks. But it was me and it did happen.
The world needs good priests. The world also needs good married men. Either way, the world needs you. It needs you to listen to the voice of God and sincerely discern the vocation to which He is calling you. The one thing I ask is not to close yourself off to the possibility He may call you to the priesthood. Who knows, maybe one day in the future, we will be celebrating your one-year anniversary as well.
Auspice Maria
BELEN JESUIT PREPARATORY SCHOOL
500 SW 127th Avenue, Miami, FL 33184
phone: 305.223.8600 | fax: 305.227.2565 | email: communications@belenjesuit.org
500 SW 127th Avenue, Miami, FL 33184
phone: 305.223.8600 | fax: 305.227.2565 | email: communications@belenjesuit.org
Belen Jesuit Preparatory School was founded in 1854 in Havana, Cuba, by Queen Isabel II of Spain. The task of educating students was assigned to the priests and brothers of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits), whose teaching tradition is synonymous with academic excellence and spiritual discipline. In 1961, the new political regime of Cuba confiscated the school's property and expelled the Jesuit faculty. The School was re-established in Miami the same year, and over the next decade, continued to grow. Today, Belen Jesuit is situated on a 34-acre site in western Dade County, just minutes away from downtown Miami.