“God placed this desire in my heart”

Just two weeks shy of the day of his Priestly Ordination, Deacon Luis Lozano is in good spirits: “I am excited, there are a lot of emotions and anticipations…” Nervous? “Not yet!”
 
As the period of his formation and studies comes to an end – he started his journey in 2018 – he is looking forward to putting all the knowledge into practice. His favorite class? “I really liked preaching class,” he said. “I learned a lot – I learned to make mistakes. And I got a lot of feedback from other seminarians,” first very gentle, then more direct. Church History, instead, was not his favorite – “too much information.”
 
Deacon Luis just graduated from Assumption Seminary in Houston, and he feels the need to prepare for his ordination: “I try to spend more time in prayer.” He goes to the chapel to spend time with Jesus, “and also to practice some parts of the Mass.” Soon will be the day when, for the first time, he will say his first Mass at St. Gertrude in Kingsville on Sunday, June 15 at 11 am. Another Mass of Thanksgiving will be at St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles in Corpus Christi, where he spent his Pastoral Year, on June 22, at noon.
 
When he looks back at the journey leading to this day, he had never thought about the priesthood for himself – until the second year of College in Kingsville when he got more and more involved with the Newman Center. “All of a sudden, the thought of becoming a priest entered my head… but I pushed it aside. I felt not worthy.” A few months later, Deacon Luis attended an Awakening Retreat, the ACTS retreat format for college students. “During adoration on the first night, I had a special moment in prayer, where all my resistance and doubts were consumed by the desire to become a priest,” he shared.
 
God placed this desire in his heart, and shortly after, Deacon Luis spoke with the Vocation Director, who was Fr. Joseph Lopez at that time. He took the time to discern and completed his degree in biology at Texas A&M. In 2018, he entered the seminary. The moment in Kingsville remains a moment of light: “Any time I had doubts or frustrations, I would remember that moment of intense desire – that moment sustained me.” Other consolations in prayer followed, revealing to him again and again that he was on the right path, following God’s will for his life.
 
His family was surprised, but supportive: “My parents could see how my life in College has been transformed; they would see where this was coming from.” His father would say, “If it’s your free choice, I support you.”
 
Looking forward to working in a parish, Deacon Luis has his favorite places to recharge: “I love being outdoors – hiking, going to a park, the beach, the hill country…” Another of his favorite hobbies is going to the movies – “Sci-Fi and action, but I am pickier about the movie being well done.” He looks forward to being with the people, meeting new people and getting to know them. Growing up in Laredo, he is accustomed to speaking Spanish.
 
Deacon Luis will pray his Holy Hour before his ordination together with Deacon Jim Craig tomorrow, Friday, June 13, at 7 pm at Most Precious Blood Church,