The road to priesthood

Three of our seminarians are in their final stages of formation. As they head towards their diaconate ordination, Roger Delmonte, Sam French and Aldrin Valdehueza reflect on their formation to priesthood.

Roger Delmonte

Since I was eight years old, I thought of priesthood as a very special and heroic kind of living one’s life. I grew up witnessing Fr Ferrucio Leoni SJ, our late Jesuit missionary parish priest from Italy who built our parish church and school many years back in my home province, south of the Philippines. His great love for the poor and Indigenous people, value for education, dedication to prayer, sacraments, Catholic faith formation of his parishioners, his simplicity, poverty, celibacy and so on was truly extraordinary and inspiring.

Knowing him well and altar-serving him in his Masses for years, initially led me to appreciate who Catholic priests are and what works and ministries they do. I was always inspired by him and wanted to do at least some of the things he has done as well. I truly felt God was calling me to know, love, follow, and serve God more and his people through him.

My parents and elder brother were also very supportive of all the things I did in the Parish, as they were closely working with Fr Leoni as Catechists, Pastoral Council president, and Youth Minister. Serving in the Church indeed, was always part of our life as a family. Hence, joining the seminary after High School was not really a surprise to my family, albeit with a little shock to my mother. Two years later, my mother became more encouraging and supportive of my decision to become a priest.

Roger Delmonte After many years of studies, discernment and preparation to become a priest, I am now finally with excitement awaiting my Diaconate Ordination for the beautiful Diocese of Broken Bay. For me, the best part of the final stage of the preparation is the parish placement I am very privileged to be given at Hornsby Cathedral Parish. It is where I am given a variety of opportunities and experiences not only to learn hands-on from what a parish priest and his assistants are doing in the Parish, but also to discover my own abilities, gifts and skills as a priest-in-the-making. It is not only dynamic and full of learning, but is certainly fulfilling and vocation confirming.

As I continue to respond joyfully with God’s call to the priesthood, I am always inspired by Christ’s words in John 15:16, “You did not choose me, but I chose you.” More and more,

I come to realise that my sole desire to love Him and offer my life as a priest after His own heart, is actually flowing constantly from His first desire to love me and offer His life for His people through me.

Deep in my heart and soul I believe that God has prepared me well for a life and mission in the Church of Broken Bay. Since the first day I arrived in the Diocese, I immediately felt at home, adjusted and easily connected with everyone. Up until the present, I am constantly and truly feeling God’s peace, joy, welcome and encouragement from everyone I meet. I never felt lonely, different, unwelcome or irrelevant. In fact, I always felt incredibly welcomed and generously supported.

With all these amazing experiences, I look forward to giving my whole life for the Diocese of Broken Bay as an

ordained deacon and priest in the near future, giving my all for the ministries and services of Christ’s beloved flock, spouse, vineyard, etc.

As a Deacon-to-be, I look forward to serving the Church as a minister of God’s Word with pastoral and spiritual services for His people. As a Priest-to-be, I also look forward to breaking open God’s Word with his people, administering His sacraments for His beloved people, and doing everything for God’s greater glory.

I hope and pray that young people will search more deeply God’s call in their life. May they find fulfilment in responding to it with a generous heart and courageous spirit, as I have been blessed to do, however unworthy I continue to be.

Sam French

I remember the exact moment when I submitted my last essay of my seminary journey. It was 9 June at 5:30pm when I hit ‘send’ on my computer. Usually, I had the satisfaction of slipping the physical papers into the essay drop-box at the Catholic Institute of Sydney, but since COVID-19 struck, everything was being done online. Nevertheless, sending that email sent a wave of relief through my body. After years of university classes alongside the spiritual, pastoral, and human formation, the seminary aspect of my vocational journey was finally complete.

I had been looking forward to this moment for several years. For although the seminary is admittedly an essential aspect of the priestly journey, and has been vital to my own personal growth, at the end of the day, my calling was to serve the Diocese of Broken Bay in the priesthood, not to remain in the seminary forever. I will miss the time spent with my seminary brothers though. Especially the banter,

Sam French

the communal prayer, fraternity events and facing common challenges together. But the time has come to take the next step.

Reflecting on my time in the seminary I have come to a few important realisations. The first is that expectation does not always reflect reality. My external self-expectations walking through the seminary doors in January 2016 were sky-high. I desired to leave the place with a sharp intellect, full of knowledge, and with a heart and soul positively overflowing with holiness.

I wished to break the back of every bad habit and walk tall with a confidence befitting a parish leader. What I received instead was quite the opposite. The more I learned at university, the more I realised how little I actually knew about the theology and the riches of the Catholic faith. The only realistic path forward for me is to humbly place myself in an ongoing stance of receptivity and openness to the intellectual masters both past and present.

Sam French

The same applies – to an even greater degree – concerning holiness. I have discovered holiness does not consist in me personally possessing or becoming something greater, but rather to get out of the way of what Christ is trying to do in me. This lesson has been learned through prolonged periods of profound spiritual dryness, and the realisation that trusting in God can often be very painful for the ego.

Where does all this leave me now? Well, I am about to take up my first post-seminary parish appointment at St Agatha’s Pennant Hills – for which I am extremely excited. But, if you were to ask me whether I ‘feel’ ready to take on the next steps of ministry, my answer would probably be “no.” The reason for this is that my feelings often reflect my personal estimation of my own abilities in light of what is needed by God’s Church at this time in history. Despite my personal misgivings, however, I do trust that I am ready. Why? Because Our Lord has led me this far despite my doubts, and I have no reason to think that he is about to stop leading me.

I would ask that those reading this, please take a moment to pray for me and my seminary brothers Aldrin and Roger during this period of transition leading up to the Diaconate. That we may be given the grace and strength we need to respond to God’s will and have our hearts conformed to that of Jesus, the Good Shepherd.

Aldrin Valdehueza

I moved to Australia in 2016 to complete my seminary formation for the Diocese of Broken Bay. From the very beginning of my time here, I found kindness and support. I never felt alone and unaccompanied in my journey. The Lord has gifted me with new-found family and friends. I could now say that the Diocese of Broken Bay is my home. It is a home where I would like to share the joys and sorrows, struggles and aspirations of every member of my Diocesan family.

Now that I have completed my formation in the Seminary of the Good Shepherd and finished my theological studies at the Catholic Institute of Sydney, it is not surprising that so many people have been asking me about the ordination to transitional diaconate. I noticed the incredible excitement and the joyful anticipation from each one of them.

I am really excited for the day that I will be called to ordination to mark the beginning of my commitment as a deacon to a life of service for God and the Church in the threefold ministry of the Eucharist, the Word and charity. However, I also feel fearful because alongside discovering my gifts and strengths that the seminary formation has accorded me, are my unworthiness and inadequacies. Please continue to journey with me in your prayers to sustain and strengthen me in times of doubt and uncertainty. On 15 July, I moved to the Parish of Our Lady of Dolours, Chatswood to be formed by the community. In my 10 years in seminary formation, I have realised that my call to priesthood is profoundly personal, but it is never private. Beginning in the Philippines until now, it has always been in the context of the community, that is, family, friends, parishioners, priests, seminary formators and brother seminarians. So, I am most excited to meet the community of Our Lady of Dolours. Also, I will remain grateful to the parishioners of Ku-Ring-Gai Chase, Epping and Carlingford, and St Patrick’s, Gosford who welcomed me with open arms and made me part of their lives during my stay with them. Finally, I pursued this vocation out of a deep sense that the Lord has called me to share the love that He has lavished upon me with others. It is clearer to me now that it is in priesthood that I can truly fulfil our fundamental vocation which is to love God and our neighbours. For the young people out there who hear the small, gentle, yet somewhat nagging voice within your hearts about priesthood and the religious life, let yourselves be seized by Jesus and listen to Him in your prayers and in other people. Please bear in mind that you are never alone. You do not make decisions alone. Trust me, God will surprise you with indescribable joy and peace through the prayers and support of the community.

If you would like more information about Vocations in Broken Bay, please email vocations.ministry@bbcatholic.org.au or phone Michelle Chahine on 0418 522 449.

Aldrin Valdehueza